How I landed my first Deloitte USI offer

TEJASWI KOULTEJASWI KOUL
8 min read

Table of Contents

  1. About Deloitte

  2. Eligibility Criteria

  3. Registration Process

  4. Placement Process

  5. Pre Placement Talk

  6. Online Test

  7. Communication Test

  8. HR Interview

  9. Technical Interview

  10. Final Interview

  11. Resources

About Deloitte

Deloitte Tax Services India Private Limited (“USI Tax”) commenced operations in June 2004. Since then, nearly all the Deloitte Tax LLP (“Deloitte Tax”) U.S. service lines have obtained support services through the teams in USI Tax teams.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Branches Eligible are BE (CMPN, INFT)

  • Aggregate Percentage 60% up to current semester

  • No live ATKT

Registration Process

  • The registration form was released on 14th September and the deadline was 17th September.

  • We had to edit our resumes in the format provided by Deloitte.( please make sure to only put projects and skills that you are well-versed with).

  • Registration was to be done on the company website and Google Forms provided by the college.

  • Registering through the company website required a resume and a cover letter.

  • A total of 242 students were shortlisted for the online test.

Placement Process

  • The online test was conducted on 18th September.

  • A communication test followed up with the online test only if you clear the first round.

  • HR and technical interviews were conducted on 26th September.

  • The final interview round was conducted on 27th September.

Pre- Placement Talk ( 16th sept 2024)

The pre-placement talk was held virtually over Zoom. Make sure to gather as much information as possible about the company during this session, as it can help you impress the interviewers later.

Online Test ( 18th sept 2024)

The online test was conducted on the HirePro platform. Please keep a spare laptop in case you face any issues.The total duration of the test was 90 minutes. Each section was timed differently. You could only move to the next section if you were done with the previous one. All the questions were in Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format except the coding questions. This round was split into five sections.

  1. Verbal Ability 13 Questions - 13 Minutes

  2. Verbal Reasoning 12 Questions - 12 Minutes

  3. Quantitative Aptitude 10 Questions - 15 Minutes

  4. Technical MCQ’s 30 Questions - 20 Minutes

  5. Coding Questions 2 Questions - 30 Minutes

To ace the aptitude round, aim to solve questions quickly, as speed can give you an edge in shortlisting. Focus on core concepts of software engineering, especially DBMS, OOP, computer networks, and cloud computing. We were also tested on MS PowerPoint basics. Verbal ability is the easiest—strong grammar skills will help you breeze through it. For verbal reasoning, carefully read the comprehension passages and select the most fitting answer. Quantitative ability included key topics like ratio-proportion, probability, and interest calculations, with a few pie chart questions that carry significant weight(3-4 qs). If you don’t know the answer to a question , just tick mark randomly as there is no negative marking. Be mindful of the time limit, as 70-80% accuracy is required to pass this round.

Communication Test ( 18th sept 2024)

For The communication test you will undergo something called the versant test. Do not take this round lightly, as only top 25% people are selected , for that u need to score over 60 out of 80. Out of 120 students in my college only 25 were able to clear it .It was split into six sections. It is recommended to use good-quality headphones for this round preferrably with noise cancellation.Switch off your fans if neccessary.(You can take a short break between the online test and the communication test, but it should not exceed 10 minutes.)

  1. Reading - This one was the most basic .You have to read some sentences given on your screen .

  2. Repeat - You have to repeat a sentence exactly the way you hear it. It could be tricky because of the accent , so work on that.

  3. Questions - You have to answer simple questions in one word. For example, what do we use to dry ourselves after taking a bath? (ans a towel) . Also hear the question correctly and do not overthink ,as the answers are pretty straightforward.

  4. Sentence build - You will have to reassemble a jumbled statement. e.g Wants eat to food Mary - so the correct order will be Mary wants to eat food.

  5. Story retelling - You will hear a story and you have to retell it in your own words. You would be presented with some facts e.g a little girl was born. Its her birthday on sunday . She went to the mall with her parents and they got her a beautiful yellow dress etc. So now after hearing these facts you have to narrate them like a story teller.

  6. Open questions - You will be given two statements one by one and you have to speak about it for 40 secs. For example, i was asked casual wear or formal wear what do i prefer ? and the other one was talk about the person who has had the most impact on my life.

I was able to answer 99% of the test correctly. The trick is to always listen carefully , do not miss even a single word. For the last two sections, be confident and use high vocabulary words if possible. I would again like to emphasise that do not take this test lightly at all.

HR Interview( 26th sept 2024)

The HR round is often the easiest to crack, where you need to present yourself as the ideal candidate. Confidence is key here.

  • Questions included:

    • Introduction

    • Family background

    • Extracurricular activities

    • Further study plans

    • Handling team conflicts

    • Strengths and weaknesses

    • Why Deloitte? (Answer this perfectly as it can make or break your selection(Focus on PPT)

The interview lasted about 10 minutes, focusing mainly on communication skills and whether I was a cultural fit for their company. Showcase leadership roles and who you are beyond academics. Avoid discussing technical topics, as the HR isn't interested in that. If you follow this approach, clearing the round should be smooth. Out of 25, 24 advanced to the next round.

Technical Interview ( 26th sept 2024)

The technical round was immediately conducted after the HR round. make sure to research your interviewer well on linkedin as it gives u an idea about what they might ask. Make sure you know the job description as many candidates were asked questions on it. Although this round was technical, the interviewer asked some HR questions as well. The majority of the technical questions were based on internships, projects, and the features implemented. I was majorly grilled regarding my projects , research paper etc. I was asked about their impact and why i chose a certain tech stack etc. I was also asked about my hackathon experiences as well as if i have ever made a project that was close to my heart . I was asked about my further study plans and when i said no , i was asked if deloitte sends me over for further studies and then after returning i would have to work for the company under a 10 yr bond so what would i do in this situation? . Another question was how I'd explain technical details to a team if a user reported an issue .To answer these questions effectively, you need to have a sharp presence of mind and a good understanding of what the interviewer is looking for. Always tailor your responses to align with the interviewer's expectations while staying genuine. It’s important to be authentic and not come across as fake, ensuring your answers reflect both your skills and personality.

Always aim to say something that sets you apart; you want your interview to be not just good but exceptional..It is extremely important to ask questions to the interviewer after your interview. Prepare really good questions and try to make them unique but still related to the job (i used reddit for it as well as for all the unique hr answers). Make sure to have a pleasant smile and always greet the interviewer before and after the interview.After the technical interview, 16 students moved to the final round.

Final Interview ( 27th sept 2024 )

In the final round, we all faced the same panel, including a Senior Manager from Deloitte in Washington, USA. This round served as more of a personality check, focusing on whether we would fit into Deloitte’s work culture. It's essential to study the interviewer’s background to anticipate the type of questions they may ask.

The questions included:

  • Introduce yourself.

  • As I’m not from Mumbai, he asked for my opinions on the places I’ve visited and the people I’ve met.

  • What are your hobbies? I mentioned watching cricket along with dance and listening to music, which led to cricket-related questions.

  • Family background. If your family works in tech, be prepared to discuss their roles.

I also took the opportunity to ask two insightful questions of my own. It's important to demonstrate that you have that "X factor" that aligns with Deloitte's values and culture. Even though I was quite nervous, this round turned out to be the easiest. The conversation felt casual, and the interviewer was friendly with everyone. My key takeaway is to be as authentic as possible. The results were declared a day later . 10 students managed to get placed at Deloitte, with 6 from the INFT department.

Resources

Feel free to reach out to me at Linkedin.

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TEJASWI KOUL
TEJASWI KOUL