ABOUT AMBITIONBOX

Ambition is at the very core of success and extraordinary accomplishment. Given the right direction it
can become a constructive force turning eager desires into reality. It gives the necessary thrust that
drives you through the thick and thin and lead a happier, more rewarding life. At AmbitionBox, we plan
to build products that connect users with their true ambition in a well-structured progressive manner
and help them build happy careers.
AmbitionBox (an IIT-M alumni startup) gives you free access to authentic reviews and Interview
Questions of companies you want to work for. We do this by taking in highly detailed & structured
reviews and interviews from employees of those companies. Our mission is to help you prepare and
research exhaustively about any company you set your eyes on.
We believe in the power of an Individual. An Individuals Experience. An experience is powerful. But
what is more powerful is an experience shared. It resonates. It simmers, sinks in and shapes us,
directing students towards new knowledge, polished insights, forming a clearer picture of their goal.
An experience shared is an experience remembered!
We wish the IIT-M Batch of 2015-16 all the best for their placement preparation!
Founders, AmbitionBox

FINANCE
Introduction:
The umbrella term Finance incorporates jobs like financial manager, financial analyst, personal financial
advisor and financial examiner. Financial workers stay abreast of economic developments, tracking and
predicting changes in order to increase efficiency and profit. Their solid money skills can be the backbone to a
successful business or personal investment.
Growth Opportunities:
The growth for financial sector in India is around 8.5% per year. India's banking industry could become the
fifth largest banking sector globally by 2020 and the third largest by 2025. In the next 5-10 years, the sector
is expected to create up to two million new jobs driven by the efforts of the RBI and the Government of India
to expand financial services into rural areas.
Profiles:

Business Analyst: The responsibilities include managing liquidity risk, fund-raising requirements,
assessing the creditworthiness of the firms counterparties, monitoring market risks associated with the
firms trading activities, designing and operating systems to support financial management, building risk
models to support new businesses and derivatives analysis; managing the firms relationships with
regulators, rating agencies and creditors; and providing broad analytical and regulatory compliance
support across all businesses
Exit Opportunities: Private Equity, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds, Start-ups, business development.
Investment Management: It involves working with clients, from individual investors to large financial
institutions, to develop advanced portfolio management strategies to help them achieve specific goals for
their own or their institution's financial future. It can further be organized into Private Wealth Management
and Assets Management.
Exit Opportunities: Hedge Fund
Venture Capital: The primary work profile is to finance innovative but potentially risky new companies and
their projects. This financing may be concluded by loans, direct investments, or other financial
manoeuvring between a company, the venture capitalist, and third party investors. It involves analysing
the financial strength and credit risk of potential investments, and research the potential market for a
companys offering.
Exit Opportunities: Another VC firm, Start-ups.
Investment Banking: The profile involves responsibility in identifying and securing funds, merger and
acquisition deals, managing and investing large monetary funds, and buying and selling financial products
on the behalf of the clients.
Exit Opportunities: Private Equity, Hedge Funds

Skill Sets:
Good at crunching numbers, Communication skills, Writing and presentation skills, Listening and asking the
right questions, Fluent English, Team skills, Problem-solving skills, stamina to work for long hours, passionate
about finance in general, financial markets knowledge, Numeracy skills, Organization and Time Management,
Global Outlook, Basics of Accounting and Economics

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Preparation material:
Courses:
Minors - Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Development Studies, Management, Economics
Mathematics Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Graph Theory, Money Markets, Econometrics,
Applied Economics, Optimization
Examinations & Certifications:

CFA Chartered Financial Analyst

NCFM NSEs Certification in Financial Markets
BCSM BSEs Certificate on Securities Market
BAT Bloomberg Aptitude Test

None of these are compulsory but if you give them it adds to your finance knowledge and helps you build a
better profile. Also having CFA on your resume can be a add-on as this is one certification that has immense
credibility compared to others.
Tips:

You must follow Economics Times/Business Standard and try to understand the terms.
These magazines are a good read: Economist, Wall Street Journal
Some articles about financial crisis, etc you could refer from Reuters, Bloomberg websites.
A finance internship always helps to get a basic exposure to the sector but is not compulsory. Though
a Finance Internship might look good on your resume it sometimes can backfire because companies in
this sector then expect you to know the basics and if you dont then it gives a bad impression. You are
better off sometimes
Puzzles and standard case studies
Understand the industry and market dynamics
Improve your quant and analytical skills, good with numbers
The exams/certifications mentioned above are really helpful
Sometimes opening up a Demat account and doing some basic trading also helps to understand the
finance jargon and basics of trading concepts.
Investopedia.com animated videos are very helpful to learn the basics.

Helpful books:
The Intelligent Investor, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Damodaran on Valuation by Aswath Damodaran, The Essays of
Warren Buffett, Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, Too Big to Fail by Andrew
Ross Sorkin, Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin and there are many more.
Helpful/Inspiring Movies:

Billion Dollar Day (1986; documentary; 30 minutes; forex trading)

Trillion Dollar Bet (2000; documentary; 48 minutes; option pricing)
Wall Street 1 and 2
Floored (2009; documentary; 78 minutes; floor trading)
Wall Street Warriors (2006; documentary series; 30 minutes each; entrepreneurship)
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2011; drama; 133 minutes; moral hazard)
Other Peoples Money (1991; comedy; 103 minutes; corporate takeover)
Margin Call (2011; drama; 107 minutes; financial recklessness)
Barbarians at the Gate (1993; comedy; 107 minutes; leveraged buyout)

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Rogue Trader (1999; drama; 101 minutes; equity futures trading)

Boiler Room (2000; drama; 120 minutes; securities fraud)
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005; documentary; 110 minutes; accounting fraud)

These are some of the most famous ones.

Videos:

The Causes and Effects of the 2008 Financial Crisis - http://y2u.be/N9YLta5Tr2A

Global Financial Meltdown - http://y2u.be/VQzEWeGJLP0
Investopedia Videos - http://y2u.be/JrGp4ofULzQ
The Stock Market Explained Simply - http://y2u.be/CgM68Yf-C0Q

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Introduction:
Aerospace Engineering deals with the research, design, development, construction, testing, collaboration
processes, science and technology of aircraft & spacecraft, and their products. It involves the study of science
and engineering behind the physical properties of rockets, aircrafts and spacecrafts. This domain is a complex
subject and essentially requires superior & sophisticated tools. Aerospace Engineers also deal with
development of new technology in aviation, space exploration & defence systems.

Sub Sectors:
Aeronautical Engineering: Deals with aircrafts operating in the atmosphere of Earth.
Astronautical Engineering: Deals with spacecrafts operating outside the atmosphere of Earth.
Growth Opportunities:
Aerospace Engineering is more than hundred years old, but still this discipline requires a lot of innovation for
development of next generation Spacecrafts, Launch Vehicles, Hypersonic Aircrafts, etc. Thus, this specialized
field has become an ever-evolving discipline that is offering exciting career opportunities and challenges. With
several private players entering the Aerospace Industry, job prospects for fresh graduates are very bright.
There is ample of scope to grow within the sector or pursue higher studies and then join the industry again
after studying further.
Also, there are plenty of job opportunities in countries like US, France, UK and Germany. Indian Aerospace
Engineers are employed with NASA as well.
Aerospace Engineering students have various opportunities in India and in foreign countries. In India, we have
companies that do computational work i.e. CFD and FEA, defence, structural analysis of an aircraft, engine
manufacturing and a few more that deals with control systems. But it is always preferred to have a more than
a B.Tech degree since this field demands it. There is scope for research and development and much more. In
foreign countries, there is a broad spectrum of opportunities ranging from manufacturing to research and
development.. The barrier here lies in the nationality of an individual, since many companies are engaged in
building military planes for their countries and there are always confidentiality issues.
Exit Opportunities:
Since the students of Aerospace Engineering are known to have a strong background in Mathematics they
have various exit opportunities. They can join a finance company as an analyst. They can also join insurance
companies. Students can also go for big data and data Analytics. Also, depending on the computational skills
they have mastered they can go for those jobs where these skills are required. After gaining a lot of knowledge
of this field the students can join consultancy firms too.
Skill Sets:
Strong foundation in the fundamental subjects of Rigid and Flexible Body Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics,
Thermodynamics, Propulsion, Strength of materials, Structures and Controls. Mechanical design skills,
Structural analytical skills, life cycle analysis skills, PORs, extracurricular skills, leadership skills and
communication skills would help. Also, students would do well if they would have some basic programming
skills in C/C++ and also the basics of some high end technical softwares like ANSYS-FLUENT and Matlab.

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Companies:
Eaton
General Motors
Lennox India Technologies
Shell
Cummins
Airbus
Altair

GE
Honeywell Technology Solution
Rolls Royce
Tata Motors
DRDO
GKN Aerospace
Ansys

Preparation material:
Books
Introduction to Flight-Anderson
Strength of Materials-RC Hibbler
Principles of Ideal-Fluid Aerodynamics-Karamcheti
Fatigue of Materials-S Suresh
Low Speed Aerodynamics-Katz and Plotkin
Gas Dynamics
Modern Experimental Stress Analysis
Gas Turbine Theory
Introduction to the finite element method

Aircraft Structural Analysis-Megson

Fluid Mechanics-Kundu and Cohen
Modern Compressible Flow-Anderson
FUndamentals of Aerodynamics-Anderson
Theory of Vibrations with Applications
Elements of Gas Dynamics
Fundamentals of Gas Turbines
Shock Wave Reflection Phenomenon

Blogs
http://aerospaceengineeringblog.com/
http://www.isro.gov.in/
Courses
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Unsteady Aerodynamics
Helicopter Aerodynamics
Physical Gas Dynamics
High Temperature Gas Dynamics
Impact Mechanics
Structural Dynamics & Aero
Elasticity
Introduction to Aerospace
Engineering
Aerodynamics
Gas Dynamics
Experimental Aerodynamics
Structural Design
Flight Dynamics and Performance

Grid Generation
Computational Aerodynamics
Acoustic Instabilities in Aerospace
Propulsion
Rocket Propulsion
Finite Element Analysis
Mechanics of Damage Tolerance
Micromechanics

Boundary Layer Theory

Turbulent Flows & their Prediction
& Computation
Combustion, Explosion, Detonation
Combustion and Flow Diagnostics
Composite Structures
Elasticity
Contact Mechanics

Fluid Mechanics

Basic Strength of Materials

Propulsion
Flight Dynamics-I & II
Introduction to Space Technology
Advanced Flight Mechanics

Aircraft Structures
Vibrations
Aerodynamic Design
Aerospace System Control &
Estimation
Mathematics for Aerospace
Engineers

Object Oriented Programming for

Scientists & Engineers

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CREDIT SUISSE
Profile: ENO

Industry : BANKING

"This review has been posted by Srishti Jain Dual Degree student of Engineering Design Branch"
SELECTION PROCESS
Resume shortlist--> Group Discussion--> HR Interview--> HR Interview
ROUND 1: RESUME SHORTLIST
Experience
There isn't much I can write here in terms of my experience. But it wouldn't be fair to skip this as this was the
first selection criterion.

Tips
Have a neat readable resume- not too crammed, not too blank. Get it checked by atleast 10 people. If you
are from a non-finance background, they want to see your enthusiasm to learn. Be sure to write about
relevant stuff - certification exams, relevant projects and courses (economics, accounting,operations
research) taken up in the institute, conferences, business plans etc.

ROUND 2: GROUP DISCUSSION

Experience
We were a group of 9 people - 5 girls and 4 boys; a ratio in line with the topic given to us. Each of us was
initially given 40 seconds to talk and then a discussion of 10 minutes followed. It was necessary to make a mark
in the beginning since these 40 seconds were uninterrupted.
I started by declaring that I would wish to discuss this topic first at a national level and then at a global level. If
you can relate to a current issue, you have started well. I mentioned a few points about empowering women
from PM Modi's speech delivered on Independence Day. I also built on one of the points raised by a member in
the group. As I was the last one to speak, I took advantage of it and gave structure to the upcoming 10 minutes
of discussion by declaring 3 major issues to be tackled when it comes to empowering women - Education,
Employment and Safety. All of them around me agreed and the discussion was constructive. I was told, "Always
summarize" and I did so when we were told that we were left with two minutes only.
P.S. - I was told later that I was ranked the highest in my round.

Tips
What gives you an edge above the others is
- Making a new/different point
- Structuring your ideas/thoughts
- Connecting to current affairs
- Summarizing at the end

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ROUND 3: HR INTERVIEW

Q1: Walk me through your resume.

Q2: Where do you gain your interest in finance from?
Q3: Technical questions (based on idea generation, implementation and financials) on winning Business Plan
Q4: Technical questions on an academic project - Product development from design till launch
Q5: You seem to have a consult-based resume. Why finance then?
Q6: Trap question: Just because you couldn't make it to a consult firm, you want to join Credit Suisse?
Q7: What is something in you that you would want to change?
Q8: Pitch Credit Suisse to a Manager for 1 minute.
Q9: What is the difference between the roles being offered at Credit Suisse for IITM students?

Experience
Oh this was an enjoyable interview. Once the ice was broken, we were having more of a conversation setting
than an interview one. Credit Suisse definitely wants to see your inclination towards a particular division with a
clear notion of why you picked one over another. The lady who interviewed me had just moved from the division
of Prime Services to Private Banking(PB) Americas. I wanted to join PB and laid down my motivation for the
same. Towards the end, I asked her about the learning curve and her 6-year experience at Credit Suisse. She
asked me about my significant achievements (non-academic) in my undergraduate years.

Tips
Know your resume inside out. Expect anything. Carry documents/certificates that will increase your
chances. I carried a copy of my Business plan and she had a question to ask for every page she
turned. Stay relaxed. They don't have a stress round but the interviewer wants to interview someone who
doesn't have well-prepared answers. If you can get the interviewer to have a casual conversation with
you, it's likely he/she will recommend you for the next round.

ROUND 4: HR INTERVIEW
Q1: Tell me about yourself
Q2: Why do you want to join Credit Suisse?
Q3: Is your father a Private Banker?
Q4: How often do you speak to your Banker?
Q5: If your account balance was multiplied by a million, what would you do with it?
Q6: Considered doing an MBA? Why not?
Q7: Been to 11 countries in the world, but not the U.S.A.(Immense finance activity hub)? Why not?

Experience
I pride on telling everyone that I didn't have a Puzzles round. The selection process right from the Group
Discussion seemed very smooth and I was directly sent to a Senior person for supposedly the last interview.I
started with a line in Swahili (the national language of Tanzania - a country where I lived for around 15 years).
The translation to English brought a smile on his face and I knew he was one who was looking for something
different in a person. At a point, he asked me whether I had been to the U.S. and then with much excitement, he

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himself started telling me about the Financial Hub, his tales from Morgan Stanley and his experience of 15 years
in Prime Services.

Tips
Understand what the interviewer wants to buy. And then sell accordingly. This was certainly not an
interview where the interviewer had a fixed set of questions.
The answer to "Tell me about yourself" drove the entire interview. So be smart and steer the conversation
allowing you to talk about stuff off your resume - some interesting experiences and your hobbies.

KEY SKILLS TESTED IN THE PROCESS

1: Communication skills
2: Finance
3: Accounting

Tips
Just be fluent in whatever you say or explain. Usually client side roles demand that otherwise even that is
not a must. Knowing basics of finance is a must so that you know what kind of profile you are getting into.
Finance is a big field and has lots of divisions where you can try your hands on. Like Investment Banking,
Private Equity / VC, Private Banking, etc

PREPARATION MATERIAL THAT HELPED YOU BUILD THE REQUIRED SKILL-SET

BOOKS
NCFM Beginner's module

WetFeet Insider Guides

CFA Level 1 books

FRM Level 1 books

BLOGS/ARTICLES
1. http://aswathdamodaran.blogspot.in/

WEBSITES
1. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
2. http://www.investopedia.com/
3. http://www.financialexpress.com/
4. https://www.learnwithflip.com/

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COURSES/CERTIFICATIONS
1. Principles of Economics
2. Principles of Management
3. Fundamentals of Operations Research
4. Marketing Management
5. Accounting and Finance for beginners
6. CFA Level 1 Certification
7. FRM Level 1 Certification
8. NCFM Certificates

CLASSROOM COACHING
1. Pristine Classes
2. Chennai

VIDEOS
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx_LWm6_6tA
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhDkZjKBEw
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQzEWeGJLP0
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ECi6WJpbzE
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrFSO62p0jk
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A3YLOfxNd4&list=PLlYbZvQL-lkqqEbFBGt6foQA7yKr1jqx6

GENERAL TIPS/ADVICE
Getting placed during the campus placement season is a huge achievement.Start preparing early. And
remember, placement prep never happens alone.
Irrespective of the kind of profile you are looking at, pair up with friendsand study together.

YOUR MOTIVATION FOR APPLYING TO THIS COMPANY

CreditSuisse has a long tradition of meeting the complex financial needsof a wide range of clients, offering
advisory services andinnovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worthprivate clients
globally.I applied to Credit Suisse specially for their Analyst role inthe Private Banking Americas division which
was set up in Mumbai in March 2014.
The pre-placement talk on campus by Credit Suisse officials, a neat jobdescription on the institute placement
portal made the role very appealing andtalking to IITM alumni at Credit Suisse helped me strengthen my choice.

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FUNNY MOMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE

Since I have studied till 10th in Tanzania, Africa they asked me to speak in Swahili :P I not only spoke but also
sung a Swahili Jingle.

Find more interview experiences, questions & tips of Credit Suisse from the link below
ambitionbox.com/credit-suisse-interview-questions

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FLIPKART
Profile: Graduate Trainee

Industry : INTERNET

"This review has been posted by K.n.s. Pavan Kumar BTECH student of Metallurgy Branch"
SELECTION PROCESS
Test--> Group Discussion--> HR Interview--> Case Study Interview
ROUND 1: TEST
Experience
The questions were mainly from Verbal ability, Reading comprehension, Mathematical ability and logical
reasoning. All of them were MCQ with +3 for right answer and -1 for wrong answers I think.

ROUND 2: GROUP DISCUSSION

Experience
100 students were divided into 16 groups. That comes something like 6-7 per group. The duration of the GD
was 15-20 mins depending on the group. The evaluators mainly looked at our body language, the way we put
across our points in the discussion, the quality of the points we told and finally our involvement in the
discussion.

ROUND 3: HR INTERVIEW
Experience
There were two rounds of interview:
1st round: This round was a good mix of technical and HR questions for about 25 min if I remember correctly. I
was asked a few puzzles,a guesstimate and HR questions like:Tell me about yourself,What are your strengths
and weaknesses?,Why do you want to join Flipkart ? Tell me the latest news about Flipkart ? Estimate the
market size of groceries in India?,Do you think entering into e-grocery business is a good idea? Some puzzles
were also asked
2nd round: A few cases studies I prepared for Finance and E-commerce. I took 3 Finance courses (one of them
being my minor) from the Institute and registered for a few online Finance courses to gain insights into the
subject.Also did a small project as a part of my minor.I have been following E-commerce industry closely from
2013 by reading articles online and the ET.

Tips
Dos: 1. be confident; Follow the company on media if possible to increase your confidence 2. Know the
company & profile well before you go to the interview
Donts:1. dont lie to the interview about thing that you have not done or about something you do not
have much idea about. 2. Dont discuss anything relatedyour pay scale. If the interviewer brings up that,
gently brush it aside

ROUND 4: CASE STUDY INTERVIEW

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Q1: How do you make 720 with 6 zeroes using mathematical operators?
Q2: Flipkart charges a shipping charge if the order amount is less than Rs. 500. How do you avoid it if you have
an item which is less than 500 yet you do not want to pay for shipping?
Q3: Given the probability distribution of the sales in various areas, how do you make sure that you group items
ordered at different points of time so that it reaches the customers within the shortest possible time?

KEY SKILLS TESTED IN THE PROCESS

Tips
August would be the right time to start.

Rather than starting early, I think having a time-table for self would help a lot and make us stressfree.The material provided by the placement website is sufficient. But please form a coherent group
of your wing-mates or friends so that you are not stressed out in your preparation. Group preparation
does more good than harm. But make sure not to waste time! Pre-final semester....very precious!!!

GENERAL TIPS/ADVICE
Choose your passion!

Dont be chasing things which others think are cool-stuff to do. If you are really talented in your passion you
can become the next cool

1stYears: Try to put fight to get an awesome CGPA in the two semesters. It will be easier to maintain a good CG
thereafter. Say NO to other extra-curricular activities but do keep track of them as you SHOULD do some for a
good resume. A simple vol-ship may be okay if it is not time consuming.

2ndyears: Decide whether you want to pursue your branch further or not. If yes, start reading more about your
interest, do some projects and learn some academic software like MATLAB, Origin Pro etc. If you are not
interested, then try various fields like Finance, Analytics.

3rd& 4thyears: Dont leave any opportunity in your chosen field and make use of all that insti can provide you

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YOUR MOTIVATION FOR APPLYING TO THIS COMPANY

I got selected for Flipkart because I was well oriented for E-Commerce industry and well-versed with the jargon
of that industry.

Find more interview experiences, questions & tips of Flipkart from the link below
ambitionbox.com/flipkart-interview-questions

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