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ACCENTURE PAPER & INTERVIEW - 28 APR 2007 - INDORE Hi
I'm Rajat Dixit, now a part of Accenture family. I got selected on April 28, 2007. The campus was held at my college, Medicaps Institute of Technology and Management, Indore (M.P.). There were five colleges in all, 2 from Ujjain 3 from Indore. A total of 900 people were there out of which 55 were selected finally. I was one of them. It was my first try for the placement and I was placed!!!
There were four rounds:
1. Written Test
2. Group Discussion
3. Technical Interview
4. HR Interview
1. WRITTEN TEST
First the written test was scheduled to take place on Apr. 27, 2007 in the evening, at 4pm. Well it was quite a wonderful experience to give a written test in the evening. We were studying for the paper in our college library since 8.30 am and reporting time was 2.45pm. We were seated in the classrooms at 3.30pm and the paper was started at 4.30 pm. There were about 18-20 rooms for 900 students for the written test. The paper was of 1 hour and 10 minutes. The topic for essay for our classroom was: "Challenges for IT industry in India". Paper was easy. Then we were told to wait for the result. They were about to declare result at 7.30 pm but it was finally declared at 8:45 pm. The students' names were declared according to their sitting arrangement and variable numbers of students (somewhere 3 and somewhere 18) were selected from each class room. Our college has a beautiful campus, so it was looking more beautiful in the evening.. While we were waiting for the result, there was also power cut twice. We really enjoyed waiting for the result of the Test Paper.
THE FIGURES: Around 150 were short-listed out of 900 people
2. GROUP DISCUSSION
Next morning, on April 28, 2007, we (150 students) were called at 8.00 a.m. for the presentation. I was right on the time. But the presentation started at about 10.15 am because of flight delay and late arrival of the delegates. Since it was my college, while waiting for the delegates, we accessed the website on the internet on the laptop that was connected to the projector for the students sitting in the auditorium. After sometime few delegates arrived in the auditorium, but were waiting for others to arrive. Meanwhile, delegates interacted with the students sitting in the auditorium. When the waiting became too long, they started the presentation. The presentation was good and full of important information. (Watch the presentation attentively it is important to collect the information about the company). The presentation ended at 12 pm. At the end of the presentation there was a small quiz of 5 questions. I was lucky I won a cool water jar for answering a question quickly!
There were 8 GD rooms and 15 teams of 9, 10 or 11 in 1 team. Teams were declared in the auditorium (according to the list of students which was made during the selection in the written test, so luckily 5 people out of 10 in our team were classmates and 3 were MCA students of our college only). Our team was 12th or 13th, so we were seated in the waiting room for 10-15 minutes and then were called for the GD. First we were asked to give a topic. We gave the topic "Downfall of India in Cricket WC 2007". But the delegate refused to discuss upon that. Then he gave us a topic, "Are Indians loosing their culture with the growing economy?" I was not giving too many points, but still I made 4-5 important entries. More importantly, I was listening quite nicely. During the GD, when two people were saying simultaneously, I asked the less loud person to listen to the louder person first, once. I was also confident through out the GD. Two out of the group of 10 were asked to summarize the topic. 5 out of the group of 10 were selected. I was one of them. Remember, in GD, personality and confidence matter a lot. 5 of us were told to wait in the room and others were asked to leave. From there we were taken to another room where we were seated and asked to fill up a form. After that there was a lunch break (1.30 pm to 2.00 pm).
THE FIGURES: 71 were selected out of 150 for the interviews
3. TECHNICAL INTERVIEW
We were asked to return to the same room after lunch and we did. It was now 2:45 pm and we were then asked to give the forms that we had filled. When they started calling the names of the people from whom they want the form, I found I was the first one of them! I didn't understand why they were asking for the form but then I came to know 10 of us were taken near the interview rooms, and asked to wait outside, I, being at the top of the list of 10! I then thought I cannot prepare for the interview now and then I didn't. After 5-10 minutes, we came to know 2 people were sent for the technical interview and 2 for the HR simultaneously. So, I and one of my classmate were sent for technical interview, and our another classmate and one more person was sent for the HR.
Since I was the first person, as soon as I entered:
He said- Hi (he was sounding cool, and he aged about 35-40)
I paused for 3-4 seconds and said (with a cool smile that I came to a nice person) - Good Afternoon Sir! Che tanaS
He- Had your lunch?
I- Yes sir! May I have a seat?
He said (with a smile)- Oh yes, you are supposed to!
I- Thank you Sir!
He- Tell me something about you
I- I did..
He asked (interrupting after about 20 seconds) - Have you done any project?
I- Yes sir, I have recently completed my minor project in ASP.net, shall I tell something about it?
He- Yes please go ahead!
I- I have build up a portal website, so I explained everything along with the problems we faced and key learning. We were three members in a team and I explained the role of each and every one. I told him we are using Visual Studio 2005 with MS Access. I was the main designer in my team and others were handling the database entries. (He was impressed)
He then asked- How did you connected with the database?
I- I explained about the Gridview control and AccessDataSource contol and their properties that are needed to be altered for the connection (He was impressed again)
He- Have you worked in Java?
I- No Sir, but I have a very good command on C, C++ (He gave a satisfactory smile)
He- Ok still can you explain the meaning of ASP
I- I explained the meaning, use and importance of ASP and Visual Studio 2005 (He was impressed again)
He- Why didn't you use Java? Do you know about it?
I- Yes sir, I know, like active server pages (ASP) we can also build JSP.. and I compared both of them telling the advantages of ASP (He was satisfied!)
He asked- Ok do you know about polymorphism?
I- I told him with an example of add( ) function having many forms
He- Ok, what is Inheritance?
I- I explained the whole concept with an example.
He asked (in between) - Then what is parent class?
I- I explained with the support of the same example, and elaborated my answer.
He asked- Then, do you know what do we call a class that cannot be instantiated?
I- "Abstract class" I also explained why? (He was completely impressed)
He then did some markings like he was doing throughout the interview, and happily asked me to go.
I said "Thank You sir. Have a nice day sir".
I was convinced I am selected for HR, but I was asked to wait for 5 minutes. After 5 mins I called for the HR interview.
4. HR INTERVIEW
As soon as I entered the room I found that it was the same lady who handed me the gift in the auditorium. Approaching her, I gave her a pleasant smile and I got the acknowledgment that she remember me, as soon as she also smiled.
I- Good afternoon Ma'm
She- Good afternoon
I- May I have a seat?
She- Sure, please (smiling)
I- Thank you ma'm
She said- So, Rajat. Tell me something about yourself
I did, but after 2-3 lines of introduction, I was thinking back of the mind that how should I continue (though there was a lot of things left to be told in my introduction). So I asked her- And mam, please you tell what would you like to know more about me?
She- Tell me about your hobbies (With a smile)
I- I told her I play music and I have done a course in meditation and had learned about therapy as well.
She- Can you please tell me about the therapy course (With a question mark on her face)
I- I did..
She said- Ok! So, have you done any project?
(She was evaluating all the time so rapidly as if she don't need to interview me. And I think, since the evaluation paper was same that was in TI, she read about my performance in the TI. That is why she was evaluating me fast and asked this question)
I- I explained mentioning the technology, key learning and importance (but in 2 sentences, non-technically).
She- Why do you want to join accenture?
I- I want to work with leaders..
She- There are leaders in every fields, so why accenture then?
I- Since I deliver my highest performance every time, I want to be a part of the company that demands High Performance (She was impressed)
She- So are you ready to work on any technology?
I- Yes I can..
She- Are you ready to sign the agreement with accenture?
I- Yes I am..
She- Ok Rajat, you can go
I- Thank you mam. Have a nice day mam.
I was convinced I am selected but they sent me in a control room and asked me to wait till the END. Since I was the 1st person to be interviewed, I waited alone in that room for 10 mins and then others started to join me. From there we were sent to another room where we waited upto about 7.00 pm and then result was declared in that classroom only.
THE FIGURES- 55 were selected finally out of 71 who were interviewed (36 were from our college)
About the Company & why accenture-
Today accenture has become no.1 in the world among all other consulting companies. Everyone would like to work with such a great leader. The company has 6 offices in India- Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and New Delhi . It has 1,52,000+ employees all over the world, out of which 26,500+ are in India (Till 28 Apr. 2007).
The word 'accenture' means "accent on the future" and the '>' sign over letter 't', is the accent that signifies to go ahead in future. The word 'accent' means an emphasis given to a syllable or word. CEO- Mr. William Green. Brand Ambassador- Tiger Woods. Other important information regarding accenture can be found on www.accenture.com. The website is superb and provides great information. Better visit the accenture world website first, and then go for accenture India .
THE SELECTION PROCEDURE, THE TEST PAPER, QUESTIONS & TIPS:
Eligibility-
60% through out in all 5 semesters of current degree (BE/B. Tech)
Backlog in 5th semester not allowed
All branches are invited
Students with year gap were allowed in this campus drive, so those who have year gap may be considered (all my friends who had year gap were allowed)
Percentage of class 10th and 12th were not in criteria
1. WRITTEN TEST
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Number of questions: 55 + 1 essay
Rules:
No negative marking
55 questions had to be done in 60 mins
Essay should be written in 10 mins (Topic is told at the end only)
Answer sheet was four paged, with-
1st page having bubbles to be filled
2nd page with name and other information to be filled by us
3rd page was rough page
And 4th page was left for writing essay
Cutoff- not told (it was later found that cutoff was about 34 or 37)
No Sectional Cutoff
Level of paper- Easy
SECTION I- Q.1 to Q.20 (VERBAL)
Q.1 to Q.3 Prepositions
One of the questions was-
__ his vacation, Ram went __ the forest and also walked __ the river.
Ans: During, to, along (other options may confuse you, like you would think it can be 'across the river', but choose the one in which all three are fitting)
There was 1 question that had only 1 blank as well.
Q.4 to Q.6- Choose the closest meaning to the words in Italics:
One of the questions was-
Due to his versatile qualities, Mohan was able to do all types of jobs quite easily.
Ans: Flexible
(Other options can confuse you like 'Multi-talented' was an option, but choose the word that exactly fits in the sentence and carries the correct meaning)
Q.7- Q.10 Articles:
Fill in the articles in the following sentences:
One of the questions was-
__ essay, which was later chosen as __ best, was written by __ student who used to be quiet in the class.
Ans: The, the, the
(These type of questions were quite easy and there were 1-2 questions that had only 1 blank as well)
Q.11- Q.15 were based on a passage that was related to operating system (OS 2 and its newer versions. It was compared to other operating systems and its advantages and disadvantages were discussed)
The answers of the 3 questions were within the passage and answers of 2 questions had to be given by interpreting the passage. So I would suggest, since the passage was long and time consuming, better have a glance on the questions before starting the reading.
Q.16- Q.20 were based on another passage on PLM (Process Life cycle Management)
This passage was very long so I left it for the end.
Apply the same trick for answering the questions of the very long passage!!!
SECTION II- Q.21 to Q.40
Q.21- Q.26 These were the questions based on Venn diagram.
Example:
If in a class 80 people speak English, 42 speak French, 65 speak Hindi, 12 speak both English and Hindi, 17 speak both French and Hindi, 13 speak both English and French and 6 speak all three languages, how many people are there in all?
Q.27- Q.30 A variety of questions were there:
Example:
1 question on Blood relation-
Example:
Pointing to a man Carl said, "He is the son of brother of my mother's husband." How are Carl and the man related?
Ans: Paternal Cousin
1 question on Directions-
A man walked 2 km east, then he turned NE and walked 5 km. Then he walked 2 km west. How much and in which direction should he move to reach the initial point?
Ans: 5 km South-West
31-35 were of following type:
Two sentences are given below. Mark the answer according to the following:
A- If only FIRST sentence is required to verify the sentence
B- If only SECOND sentence is required to verify the sentence
C- If both FIRST and SECOND sentence are required to verify the sentence
D- Cannot be verified even if both sentences are considered
Example:
Two trains are traveling towards each other. When will the two trains meet? If -
1. Train A is coming at a speed of 20km/hr
2. Train B is coming at a speed of 30km/hr
Ans: D
36-40 were based on:
If 1 is written as $, and 0 is written as *. Then answer the following:
(e.g. 4 is written as $** and 3 is written as $$)
Example:
3*5-12+10-9/3
The solution of the above expression can be represented as?
Ans: $*$* (1010 in binary i.e. ten in decimal)
SECTION III- Q.41 to Q.55
Q.41- Q.45 Mark the answers according to the following:
A- If all the three options match
B- If FIRST and SECOND options match
C- If FIRST and THIRD options match
D- If none of the three match
Example:
KKTUJNGDFTSR KKTUJHGDFTSR KKTUJNGDFTSR
Ans: C
Another example:
1896.5738491023 1896.5783491023 1896.5738461023
Ans: D
Q.46-Q.49 were based on the Puzzle-type question. It said:
Following was the criteria decided by the selection committee of Indian Cricket Board:
1) Player's age should be 18-28 years
2) He must be the captain of any cricket team for at least 2 years
3) He must be a Ranji Player for at least 2 years
4) He must have taken at least 20 wickets or made 1000 runs in a calendar year in Ranji
If 1st condition is not fulfilled .. referred to chairman
If 2nd condition is not fulfilled .. he must be an all rounder with at least 500 runs and 15 wickets
If 4th condition is not fulfilled .. referred to VP
Questions were like following example:
Rahul was born on dec.10,1979 and is a captain of Ranji team since Feb 2005. He won man of the tournament last year for taking 24 wickets last year. He is:
a) Selected b) Rejected c) Referred to Chairman d)Data Insufficient
Ans: a
(These questions are also easy if you draw a table with names of the aspirant in rows and criteria in the columns, and then checking whether he/she fulfils it or not)
Q.50- Q.55 were also a bit easy and were of two types:
Example of type 1:
If * means +, + means -, - means / and / means *, then what is the value of-
8+4-9*7/12+3
Example of type 2:
If * means /, / means -, - means + and + means *, then which of the following is true:
a) 7+43*2/13-7+8 = 22.6 b) 4-9*7/4*2/3-7+2 = 25 .. ..
(The type 1 are easier and less time consuming and type 2 are more time consuming but still can be solved. 3 of the questions were of type1 and other 3 of type two)
Note: The Examples that I have given are almost the same questions that were asked to us. Few examples are given by me to just make you understand the type pf question since I don't exactly remember the question.
Important things to be remembered:
Most of the questions were easy; all you need is time management and accuracy. Try to attempt the paper in two passes. In the first pass, do all the less time consuming questions and leave the others. Then start the paper again to do the remaining questions. Doing this you may find that you have attempted 35-38 questions in half the time (in 30-33 mins). So don't feel low because paper is very easy!
ESSAY-
Write the essay properly because was asked in the interview by some of my friends. Some important topics that were asked in accenture are:
Challenges for IT industries in India
If I would be PM of India
My dream company accenture
First day in accenture
First day I accenture
If I would be CEO of accenture
IMPORTANT TOPICS THAT SHOULD BE PRACTICED FOR WRITTEN TEST:
Venn diagrams
Direction problems
Age
Blood Relations
Time and Distance
Work
Percentage
Ratio & proportion
Data sufficiency
Trains
Pipes and cicerones
Calendar based
Race Problems
Profit and loss
Symbol based problems: * means +
Synonyms Antonyms
Prepositions
Articles
Comprehensions
Fill in the appropriate word
Pattern matching
Puzzle type
Probability
Series completion (aa__bbb__aaaa__abab)
IMPORTANT GD TOPICS:
Who is the better actor rajnikant or Kamal hasan.
Celebrity should be brand ambesder or not.
Who is the better anchor for KBC shahrukh or amithabh.
Can India be a world power
Black or white
Shahrukh vs amitabh
Kbc
Some viad ones like mother or father
IT industry
BPO is affecting youth
Men's day or women's day
World cup- India or Australia
Hardworking or Smartworking or Both/Support
Should india host the olympics.
State of women
Should there be dress codes in college
Indian economy.
Should Alcohol be banned or not?
IT is enabler (BOON) or not ? (my topic)
Is Salman Khan's Bail is Justifiable?
Communism & Economy Reform.
CPM's Role in Privatization.
Foreign TV channels should be banned in INDIA or not?
India out of world cup
AND CURRENT AFFAIRS....
IMPORTANT POINTS THAT I NOTICED TO GET SELECTED in interviews:
Knowledge, of course is important. You can start your TI with confidence; try to drive the interview towards a topic that you have prepared. Say NO if you don't know answer but ensure him that you can easily learn that thing or you would be aware of it if you study about it.
CONFIDENCE is checked through out the process!!!
FLUENCY- English must be fluent. If you face TI first, you should be fluent there as well because results are forwarded to HR and you get the advantage.
SMART and GOOD LOOKING people They want you to be smart in your answers. And as per my experience, they prefer to choose good looking boy/girl.
Have a wonderful campus drive and get selected in just first chance!!!
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