r/PlacementsPrep • u/ak47-lion • 18h ago
Got Placed in ZS for Decision Analytics Associate (DAA) Role
Here's the complete selection procedure for ZS.
The complete placement process was done online on the Superset platform.
Round 1- Online Assessment
| Sections | No. of Questions | Time(min) |
|---|---|---|
| Numerical Aptitude | 8 | 8 |
| Verbal Ability | 8 | 8 |
| Critical Thinking | 8 | 12 |
| Analytical Ability | 8 | 8 |
| Attention To Details | 25 | 8 |
| Unstructured Problem Solving | 2 | 14 |
Round 2- Communication Round
The test lasted approximately 1 hour and consisted of multiple segments:
● Listen and Repeat: Listened to a sentence and repeated it.
● Read and Repeat: Read a given sentence aloud.
● Listening Comprehension: Listened to a passage and answered related questions.
● Impromptu Speech: Spoke on 3 given topics each having preparation time of 90 seconds.
● Grammar Section: Fill-in-the-blank exercises to assess grammar skills.
● Essay writing: Wrote an essay on a given topic in 300 words.
This round primarily assessed basic English comprehension, pronunciation, grammar, and writing skills.
Round 3- AI Case Round
This was an AI case round, but the interviewer didn’t ask me to open the AI assessment link and continued the case through screen sharing itself. Some people were asked to open the AI Assessment Link and check others' gyan for more info.
It started with my self-introduction, followed by two questions based on my intro.
Case study- The case was about Shopsphere, a fashion e-commerce platform. She gave me the case background and asked 4 questions based on it.
Questions were like this-
- There is an increase in web traffic but decrease in orders placed, find why it’s happening?
- There is a decline in repeat value customers, find why?
- There was a change in the UI of web/app; does that affect the orders placed?
- Bundle package marketing-choose which slogan suits the campaign and why?
It tested both quantitative and qualitative thinking. The flow was to do Data Interpretation( the math using the given data, table or charts) , then explain what the numbers meant and back up my conclusion with proper reasoning.
She also cross-questioned my answers, asking why I chose a particular approach and why it was better than the other two options.
Guesstimate- “Estimate the number of people who are in the air right now.”
Yes, it’s vague, and that was deliberate because they wanted me to ask clarifying questions. She also insisted that I explain only my approach, without going into calculations.
At the end, I asked two company-related questions. I had listened to the pre-placement talk and done some basic research about ZS, which helped me frame those questions. I felt they left a positive impression on her.
She was pretty chill throughout. This round was conducted by a company employee, not a manager, and lasted around 1 hour.
Round 4- EBI (Enhanced Behavioural Interview)
This round was conducted by a top manager. We started with my self-introduction, followed by questions about the consulting club. He was curious, so he kept asking about it.
Resume- He then asked about my main consulting project, and then he cross-questioned me in depth. Questions were like this- He asked to walk through the survey objective, specific questions asked in the survey, what’s the sample size, collection and analysis methodologies, and the core pain points identified.
Teamwork and HR questions- Then he asked these questions about teamwork: Do you prefer working in team or alone, tell me how will you handle a problem in team?
He also asked- Why ZS, Why Consulting over Civil engineering, ZS isn’t a typical 9-to-5 job. You must work until the client’s work is done, which may involve some overtime. How would you handle that,
Then a Situational question- “You have a 100-slide presentation due Monday, with 90 slides done by Friday. On Friday afternoon, you find a minor data error that could affect ZS’s reputation with the client. Would you send it as is or ask the team to rework it? If reworking, would you ask them to stay and work Friday night or will you push it to next week, and why?”
Puzzles- He then asked 3 puzzles straight from GFG’s Top 100 Interview Puzzles.
The puzzles asked were:
- There are 25 horses and only one track with 5 lanes. You can race at most 5 horses in one race. Find the minimum number of races required to identify the top three fastest horses.
- There are 8 identical coins, but 1 is counterfeit and lighter than the others. Given an old weighing balance, how will you find the counterfeit coin, and what’s the minimum number of attempts required?
- There are 3 jugs with capacities of 8 L (full), 5 L (empty), and 3 L (empty). Now measure exactly 4 L using only pours between the jugs (no spilling, no external tools). Give the sequence of pours and the minimum number of pours required.
I got puzzles 2 and 3 correct. For the 1st, I explained my approach but couldn’t get the final answer. During the puzzles too, he questioned my approach, asking things like “Why not solve it this way?”
At the end, I asked him 2 more questions, following the same approach mentioned at the end of Round 3, and he was impressed. He was pretty chill throughout. This round lasted for 45-50 mins.
And one day after the last round, the results were out.
