From College to Corporate: A Deloitte Journey

This article outlines my journey through the Deloitte placement process, detailing each stage from registration to final interviews. It covers eligibility criteria, a comprehensive breakdown of the online test, communication test, HR and technical interviews, and culminates with the final interview experience with a senior manager from Deloitte. The piece also includes personal tips and recommended resources for preparation, aimed at helping IT students navigate the Deloitte recruitment process successfully.

Table of Contents

1. About Me

2. About Deloitte

3. Eligibility Criteria

4. Registration Process

5. Online Test

6. Communication Test

7. HR Interview

8. Technical Interview

9. Final Interview

10. Resources

About Me

A passionate IT engineer with a strong foundation in Java, Python, and SQL. My curiosity and enthusiasm for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning drive me to explore innovative solutions and stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in the field. Beyond my technical pursuits, I find joy in staying informed through daily newspaper readings. My love for learning and continuous growth fuels my aspiration to contribute meaningfully to the tech industry.

About Deloitte

Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of employees in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms. Deloitte is a global professional services organization that offers a range of services, including: audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and legal. It is made up of thousands of independent firms that work together under the Deloitte brand. These firms are members of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), a UK private company.

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.

• 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(optional).

• 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.

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

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

Online Test

The online test was conducted on the HirePro platform. The duration of the test was 90 minutes. Each section had its separate timer. You are not permitted to move to the next section without completing 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 excel in the aptitude round, prioritize speed and accuracy. Focus on fundamental software engineering concepts, particularly DBMS, OOP, computer networks, and cloud computing. Verbal ability is a relatively straightforward section; strong grammar skills will be advantageous. For verbal reasoning, thoroughly read the comprehension passages and choose the most appropriate answer. Quantitative ability covers key topics like ratio-proportion, probability, and interest calculations, with a significant emphasis on pie chart questions (3-4). If unsure of an answer, make an educated guess as there's no penalty for incorrect responses. Be mindful of the time constraint.

Communication Test

The communication test involves a versant assessment. This round is highly competitive, with only the top 25% advancing. To qualify, aim for a score exceeding 60 out of 80. Of the 120 students in our college, only 25 were successful. The test consisted of six sections:

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 would recommend practicing communications skills to ace this round.

HR Interview

This was the easiest round of the entire process. The following questions were asked:

1. Introduce Yourself

2. SDLC Lifecycle

3. Willingness to relocate?

4. Higher Studies?

During the interview, the interviewer asked if I had any questions. I took the opportunity to ask him to describe his career life in one word, to which he replied, “Adaptable”.

The Interview lasted for 15 minutes, focusing mainly on communication skills and whether I was a cultural fit for their company. Out of 25, 24 students advanced to the next round.

Technical Interview

The technical round was immediately conducted after the HR round. Although this round was technical, the interviewer asked some HR questions as well. The majority of the technical questions were based on internships, projects. The following questions were asked:

1. Introduce Yourself

2. 2-3 Real-life scenarios were given and I was asked to provide appropriate solution.(e.g. How would you explain the technicalities of your project to a layman, How would you manage team conflicts)

3. Explain two projects from your resume.(Most of my projects were based on AIML, RAG applications, so, he asked me whether I was specifically looking for these roles)

4. Explain your internship tasks.(He also asked me, how the organization benefitted from my contribution)

5. Do you want to pursue a master’s degree in the future?

6. Are you familiar with SAP?

7. What is Data Migration?

At the end, the interviewer asked if I had any questions. I took the opportunity to ask him to describe his career life in one word, to which he replied, “Learning”.

After the technical interview, 16 students moved to the final round.

Tips: Explain your projects by crafting it in a form of a story and try to explain it with the help of SDLC. Also, mention how your Internships contributed to the growth of the company.

Final Interview

For the final round, everyone had the same panel where a Senior Manager of Deloitte from Washington, USA was interviewing us. This round was more of a personality check where the interviewer wanted to know more about us and whether we would fit into Deloitte’s work culture. The following questions were asked:

1. Introduce yourself.

2. What are your hobbies? (As I had mentioned Newspaper reading as one of my hobbies, he asked me to mention important pointers on the Trump vs Harris debate).

3. Tell me about your Internships.

4. What is your family background?

5. Do you have any plans to pursue a master’s degree in the future?

6. Where do you stay in Mumbai? Willing to relocate?

7. Given your father's experience as a Civil Services teacher, why you haven't considered pursuing the UPSC exam yourself.

At the end, the interviewer asked if I had any questions. I took the opportunity to ask him to describe his career life in one word, to which he replied, “Dynamic”.

This round was more of a conversation than an interview. The interviewer was very friendly with all of us. Mention genuine hobbies, don’t flaunt by mentioning reading books, newspapers.

I'll never forget the moment when the final shortlists were announced at 9:30pm. Seeing 10 of our students make it was like a dream come true. It was a testament to their hard work and our collective efforts.

Resources

• For Aptitude - India Bix

• For technical MCQ’s - Placement Prep

• For coding questions - LeetCode and GFG

Feel free to reach me out on Linkedin.