INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KANPUR

Insight #1




Name: Samkit Tated
Department: MSE, B.Tech
Placed in: Deutsche Bank
Offered Designation: Analyst (Markets)
Other companies interviewed in: Diamond Consulting
Other companies that you were shortlisted for: Diamond, Capital One

Peaks of your stay in campus:
1. OPJEMS Scholar
2. Assistant Coordinator, Counselling Service
3. Intern, Futures First (Though it is not considered as peak :P but it was very helpful for DB)

Analysis of available options (based on profile, growth, compensation, Brand Name, etc):
I was very sure that I dont want to go for PhD/Core. So I was always focused on placements.
B.Tech students do not have enough time to prepare for everything. So I would suggest you to prioritize two
sectors where you want to go and prepare accordingly.

Pre - Placement Prep. (resume, apti, GD, interview, etc):
No matter what you are aiming for, you must practice few cases and puzzles. They can be asked anywhere. If you
are aiming for finance sector then you must know few things. I have listed some of them and I hope it will help
you in your preparations.
I divided my preparations in 5 parts
1. Basic Finance: I took Financial Economics as an elective course and then internship at FF made my life very
easy. You must be comfortable with basics of Bonds, Futures and Options. Though this year finance was not
asked to everyone, it is good to have knowledge. It makes you feel confident while going for an interview :P.
For people not having any financial background, first 5-6 chapters of Hull should be sufficient.

2. General Awareness: It is second most important thing (Most important is HR prep). You must be aware of
US Crisis (housing bubble), Euro Crisis, and Quantitative Easing etc. Reading newspaper regularly helps to
build opinion about current issues in market (Just having knowledge is not enough, you are asked for opinion
in interviews). Generally people read Economic Times for this. If someone is more interested, then regularly
reading Bloomberg and CNBC helps a lot. There you will get much better information and insights

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, KANPUR

Insight #1



3. Puzzles: Though I was not asked any puzzle, they are frequently asked to test your analytical skills. You can
do puzzles from Techinterview, Braingle and other resources available on SPO website. Heard on the street
is a book which also has good collection of frequently asked puzzles. Try to solve as many puzzles as you
can. If you do that then you just have to act in interview as if you are hearing about it for the first time.

4. Case Study: Though I was not serious about consult, I practiced few cases from Case in point and ISB
Casebook. Do cases in groups. I am not sure whether BCG/McK will come next year or not but for Diamond
doing cases from Case in Point and practicing few guess estimates should suffice.

5. HR preparations: It is the most important part of placemen prep. In my case, DB didnt focus much on HR
as I had internship in finance. But you must be prepared well for this. Your interview generally starts with
Tell me about yourself. If you are prepared well then it helps to guide your further interview. Do your
research about firm you are interviewing with. Questions like why finance, why DB (or any other firm) are
very common.

Selection Procedure:
DB and Diamond had resume based short listing. Capital one took aptitude test. Calculators were allowed in it
and questions were very easy (all DI). After this they took small case interview and shortlisted 21 candidates for
final interviews.

Dos and Donts:
Prepare well and be confident during interviews. Have much interview with your friends. It really helps (most
importantly, it makes you realize that you need to prepare well for HR ).
Dont panic, manage your time well. Many students have multiple short listing on day1. It is your responsibility to
make sure you interview with your dream company. Ask one of your friends to accompany you and handle your
phone.

Best of luck !!