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ACCENTURE PAPER ON 11TH APRIL, 2008
Day 1
APTITUDE TEST
Something that should have begun at 8AM did so at 9:15 AM, which is surprising considering Ive heard that the guys from Accenture are never late. I was the first batch to begin its test. A simple aptitude test started at 9:30 AM. The format was as follows:
1) VERBAL SECTION.. Basic question types were.
* Put the correct prepositions in sentences.
* Mark the answer as the world which has its meaning closes to the one italicized in the sentence.
* 2 simple IT passages which non IT people wouldnt have a problem with either.
2) ANALYTICAL SECTION. Simple math but time consuming
3) A section to simply check your concentration..
It had questions like compare 11010110010101001 and 11010110000101001 to check if they are the same.
The paper had 55 multiple choice questions, 1 mark each and you had 1 hour to do it. They also get you to fill a basic data sheet before you begin along and staple this along with your answer sheet (an OMR sheet since the test is multiple choice) and in most cases they staple your resume to the back too.
They took in about 500 students in the first slot and the number of students who had shown up was close to 1500 (detailed info later). So they did the whole thing in 3 groups. Tests finished around 2 PM and results came out around 6:30PM
They had 30 lists having 15 students each. Each list is a group for a GD. 1500 students wanting to see these lists on one notice board is bound to cause chaos. The management didnt quite sadly think of this. When they realised it, they put students in 3 rooms on the 3rd floor and started announcing names in lists and also displayed the list on one corner of the campus on the ground floor. It took an hour to an hour and a half but it was done. My friends saw my name on the 29th list and told me about it. I was through from the aptitude test!
GROUP DISCUSSION
The usual topics were basically current events. They were based on IPL, the Tata Nano and Sania Mirzas decision not to play in India. Being in group 29, I had to wait till the end so the guy knew we were prepared with these. So he gave us a derivative of what a girl in my group suggested (on being asked). Should smoking off screen be banned as well? was my groups topic. Here are a few things you want to know about these GDs.
1.In a group, they will select anywhere from 0-10 people. You need to make good points and be heard. Dont make it a fish market though.
2.Follow up, be clear in what youre saying and make sure youre heard. Keep it short, simple and yet accurate.
An entire group got rejected because they were all shouting. Just maintain decorum
We got a small yellow chit saying were invited tomorrow for the interview. It was already 9:45 PM so it had been a long day..
Day 2
They gave us a 45 minute presentation on the company; a cut short one because they were already running late.
There were 8 panelists. 4 for Technical and 4 for HR. All technical on one floor while all HR on another. I went for my HR first.
HR INTERVIEW
It was really good tbh. We started chatting as if were friends.
He then asked me to explain how a cricket ball swings. I gave my explanation. He refined it adding a few technical terms like drag and asked me if hes right. I said yes. He then asked me how new balls swung and I said it had something to do with the grip but I dont know the exact reason since Ive never played with season balls (leather covered cricket balls). The actual answer was the grip is such that the seam points towards the slips and the new prominent seam cuts the air to cause it to go towards the direction that the seam is pointed. Thanks Dad, for that answer
He said he was done with me and was wondering if I had any questions about the organisation. I did so he answered them. And then it was done. I stepped out and 15 seconds later the guy standing outside the class telling students when to go in told me that I cleared the interview. Of course I did
I was sent to a room where all the selectees were sent. A floor above us all the technical interview selectees were seated. It was time for a 30 min lunch break so the panel left and so did we. On coming back, we were sent to the 4th floor while the guys sitting in that room (the ones who had already cleared their Tech interviews) went to our room. Now the wait began for the Tech interview. Unlike all the rounds prior to this, I didnt have to wait. My name was on the 3rd list. So I was outside the room which would decide my fate. The guy calls in the first girl and takes her interview for 30 mins. The next girl goes in and spends 25 mins.. Now its my turn. I want to drink water and I have none! So Im at the cooler trying to get water but there is none! Just then the co-ordinator says the interviewer is ready for me.. oh shiz
I go in.. he is just about to ask me something when a cup of tea comes for him. He offers me a glass but I declined saying Id rather have water. He gives me his bottle. I drink and say Sir, theres no water on the floor.. I was just trying to get some from the cooler... He calls in the co-ord and says Whats going on? Students want water and there is none! Go get the guys waiting outside some water
The interview started and he asked me to describe myself then asked me to tell him what subjects I had.
The trend in the technical interview was if you are from Comps/IT/Elex/ExTC youd be asked one set of electronics questions and one set of coding questions
I was asked about microprocessors first. The definition and the block diagram. Then an explanation how the ADD operation would work.
Next I was asked the difference between C and C++. He then saw my resume and asked me about my testing experiences. Then he asked me to rate myself in my C skills (looking at the competitions Ive won and projects Ive worked on). I said I was a 4 on a 1-5 scale (didnt want to go too high.. always leave scope for improvement). He said I should write an algorithm to find the largest number out of 100 numbers. Im like.. err linear sequential search is an inefficient yet simplest method. I gave it 5s for better methods then said Linear sequential search, though inefficient, is the simplest for the task at hand. I wrote down the algorithm and he jotted down my evaluation. He asks me the number of iterations and I said n for n numbers then he asked me if I was sure and I changed it to n-1. He asked me again and I stuck with it. Next, I was asked about different test cases and he was taking tone as if to suggest I was wrong. For a second I though I might have fuxed the simplest algorithm in the world in haste.. but I didnt. I showed him with a few example inputs. He followed up with more test cases and I provided all possibilities with explanations. He saw that I was confident of my answer and I knew that I was right. And then it was over!
He walked out of the room with me to the co-ordinator asking him for something. When I asked the co-ordinator where to go, the interviewer said go straight and then right.. youll see some students there.. youll know which room to go from there. Im like OK 8-)
I go there and it turns out to be a room full of the people who got selected
So there you have it, I have a job at Accenture
Overall stats:
People for aptitude test: 1438
People for group discussion: 449
People for interviews: 184
People selected for the job: 104
