Behavioral QnA

Mazher Khan - IIT (BHU) - B.Tech (DR-2)

Senior Data Analyst | Ex - OLX (EU)
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 OLX
1. Explain Day to Day activity in your current role?
- Morning daily connect with lead; discusses different tasks of different verticals and pick tasks
according to priority/committed timelines; Task could be one time ad-hoc; sharing the numbers
or related to dashboards. update the status of task and raised the blocker.
- Once task finalised, understand the requirement at top level. If there’s dependency- call that out
- Connect with tech team, data engineering team if any issue.
- From execution point of view> Explore the tables, and crunch data and have insights
- Grooming call – Next feature discussion and its impact evaluation
- Weekly stand-ups – Stakeholder about the task that will be picked in sprint
2. Why do you want to leave the current organization?
- Looking out for Dubai based job roles
- Looking for more product-oriented role (Work satisfaction)
- Relocate to other city due to personal reasons
- Company not doing well. So, lay-offs may happen
- Leadership issues
- Work life balance
- Poor Appraisal
3. Why do you want to join the company?
- Looking for similar type of product-oriented role in Dubai
4. What are you looking for in your next role?
- Challenges, learning and most important if I could get a chance for leading and mentoring
5. How do you know a product is well-designed?
- Simple , Easy understandable, Useful and innovative, Navigation
6. How you deal with conflict?
I put my thinking/observation to team/manager; That what is it or why is it and let take them final
decision.
7. What is biggest failure ?
I believe there are not such a huge failures but mistake happens or I may have receive the feedback
from manager. In this case, I take that as constructive manner and work on improvement
8. What are some of your strengths?
- Technical Skills, Good business Acumen, Communication, Asking the right questions
9. What are some of your weaknesses?
- Gets obsessed over things too much and JIRA
10. Daily apps that I use on a daily basis
Linkedin, Gmail, Youtube, Instagram, Phonepe,
 AXTRIA
2. Describe a time that you successfully
3. handed a stressful situation
a. In the starting phase of my 2.5-year project, I was the 2nd most senior person in the
project. With client, we had 45-60 mints bi-weekly connect in which my project lead used
to present the analysis discussion important KPIs, potential and future analysis. One fine
evening, due to some personal problems he was not available to take call and now I was
supposed to present the client 5-6. For that, I prepared myself to do mock presentation.
This was my first experience when I had to share a complete presentation to client and
one of the stressful situations.

4. Share a time when you made a mistake at work and how did you correct it?
I take failure as a learning experience. I go back and understand why I failed. That way I can ensure
that I don’t make the same mistakes again.
This was one of my first mistake in work that I clearly remember even now. I used to share
weekly summary in which we used to actual weekly KPIs and avg weekly KPIs. So here avg
represents dividing by # business days which I was unaware of back then. For the week I
was reporting, there was Holiday due to which actual # business days were 4 instead of 5.
I took this error as a learning. Going forward, I took two steps:
- Included this in my QC checklist
- Raised an alarm when in doubt about any metric calculation. No assumption

5. How you handle pressure at work

I stay calm and stay focussed under pressure and try to understand the correct picture.
Throughout my career, I have done some of my best work under pressure and I am always looking
for challenges that push me to give my best and to quickly come up with working solutions.

a. We used to have bi-weekly connect (alternative Friday) with client tracking important KPIs
and discussion with future analysis. We used to share 30-40 slide deck as final deliverable.
For this, data used to refresh on Tuesday afternoon, and we used to have 2.5 days for
creating a deck. However, there was holiday on Thursday so client asked us to share it on
Wednesday itself. So, once data got refreshed. We created a framework for the task and
team worked late night to deliver the deck on time

6. How do you handle conflict?

When faced with conflict, I work to collaborate with others to resolve the issue in a way that is
mutually beneficial for everyone involved. I totally understand that different people might have
different opinion for the same thing. I put my facts based on logical understanding and if things
are subjective, I always take Project Manager on call that what exactly should be done.

7. Recount a time when you had a conflict with a peer and how it got solved
I was working as a project manager on an IT project, and one technician was constantly late
finishing tasks. When I approached him about it, he reacted defensively. I kept calm and
acknowledged that the deadlines were challenging and asked how I could assist him in
improving his performance. He calmed down and told me that he was involved in another
project where he had to do tasks that were not in his job description. After a meeting with the
other project manager, we came to a resolution that alleviated the technician’s workload. For
the remainder of the project, the technician delivered great work.
 8. Tell me a time when you make an unpopular decision at work and how implementation?
a. In 2nd project, I noticed that as a team we are performing the analysis and we have no
business documentation for the same. In my previous project, I had done documentation,
automation along with doing the analysis. Business documentation and Automation
basically are very useful when there is migration of team member.

9. How do you motivate yourself?

I am very self-motivated. I enjoy my work, so I am always looking for new ideas to bring to the table.

o learning new things

o acquiring new skills
o meeting deadlines, goals and targets
o completing a difficult project
o overcoming challenges

10. Why are you leaving your current position?

I believe my current role has been very stagnant and is not challenging anymore. I have progressed as
far as I can. I am looking for challenging role with different domain with new responsibilities.

11. What is the most challenging thing about being a manager?

The most challenging thing about being a manager is also the most rewarding. It is easy to handle your
performance, however, as a manager, you are responsible for your teams. So you must continually
measure their performance, set clear expectations, goals, motivate them, and keep them focused. It
is a great feeling to be able to accomplish this.

12. How do you manage your workload?

I prioritize my task by what is most important and urgent to least important and urgent.
If there are some tasks that I can assign to others, I will also delegate.
If a task is unclear, I acquire more information

13. What kind of work environment do you prefer?

My ideal work environment consists of two major parts:

• Collaborative environment: I like to work in collaborative environments where everyone’s input is

taken into consideration because I believe approaching any project with a range of perspectives is
better in the long run.
• The time and space to get my work done

14. Why did you apply for this position?

This position is a great fit for my current skills, so I will be able to contribute to the company
immediately. Also, domain change will be a new additional challenge to take on

15. Can you tell me about your experience working directly with clients?
I have exposure of working with different clients from time to time. Initially, my interaction was limited
to just over mails but overtime I took responsibility to have virtual connect and presenting the main
analysis and answer the relevant questions. In my current project, we have a connect with client
sharing main KPIs and future analysis to be perform on a weekly basis. In that meeting, I get to know
client’s pain points and creating solutions to solve those issues.

16. Where do you see yourself in five years? What are your goals/vision?
I see myself as a responsible and well-reputed person taking projects and upgrading my skills and
helping juniors while contributing to the growth of company.

17. Why should we hire you?

In my current organization, I have worked on several projects and possess strong technical hands-on
tool like SQL, Tableau, Excel. I have worked independently with zero supervisions on several analysis
from scratch that has massive business impact for the client. So, my logical understanding and
analytical qualities are great. For this role, one requires such experience.

18. What was the least rewarding part of your previous position?

Documentation

19. What will you contribute to this company?

I will contribute my experience and knowledge. I have vision. Moreover, I have necessarily
experienced in the areas that this company will need to grow and I have a plan that will facilitate that
growth.

20. How do you go about coaching an employee who is not performing where they need to?

Collect 2-3 instances where employee unperformed. Have a connect:

- Casual Behaviour
- Technical
- Personal issues
- Align the employee with goals

21. How do you manage the performance of your employees?

Set Goal and track performance

22. Describe how you would manage your work week.

I would use Monday to come in early and prioritize my work for the week. I will set up deadlines and
goals for each day of the week. I would make sure that I allocate some time each day for a certain task
that may come up. That way, I have a plan of attack for each day of the week and also time to handle
unexpected activities.

23. How would you handle a decision that you made that did not have the effect that you were
expecting to achieve?
I would trace the root-cause and try to minimize the damage. I would then take this as a learning
opportunity and try a different solution for the current problem. However, if it is not possible to do
this, I would ensure that I do not take the same decision in a future situation.

24. How do you evaluate what success is?

At work, I evaluate success by meeting the goals that have been set forth by my leaders and team.

25. How will you achieve these goals?

This company has training for their employees that I would be interested in attending. I also plan to
continue my professional development by attending seminars, continuing my education, and other
activities.

26. How would you go about disagreeing with your supervisor about a decision that you know is
not the right one?

I always build a strong working relationship with my supervisor so, in situations like these where I have
a different opinion, I can openly speak to them. I would stick to the facts. I explain the implications of
that decision to my supervisor. Then I would help come up with alternatives.

27. Tell me about a time you solved a pain point for customers.
S: Monthly deck 30-40 slides used to take 2 FTEs for a week. If there is some data refresh at the
last moment, then client had to wait for the next refresh.
T: My manager requested the client that we can automate this on Tableau
A: Being zero expert in Tableau, first I completed Tableau training and worked on the views
R : It was one time activity and 4 weeks of 1 FTE was spent but it resolved the pain point for the
client. Client can see real-time data changes.

28. Tell me a skill you recently learned.

Python

29. Tell me about a time when you had to leave a task unfinished
Personal issues due to work from home.

30.Tell me about a time when you had to work with incomplete data or information.
Incomplete data is due to either data not refreshed or not shared by vendors late
S: No PAP data in SP
T: SP data used in every analysis, Weekly reporting
A: Extrapolated SP data for PAPA
R: Created weekly numbers which were aligned with previous deliverable

31. Tell me about a time when you raised the bar.

S1: first project >Owning all 8-9 reports for the client and leading the project.
S2: learnt tableau and hands-on to create dashboard

32. Give me two examples of when you did more than what was required in any job experience.
S1: first project >Owning all 8-9 reports for the client and leading the project.

33. Tell me about a time you had to handle a crisis.

 S: Project was transitioning to a new lead, and I was shadow. She shared the wrong insight with client,
and she went angry regarding the business rules and now question was raised for every analysis. This
happened over mail
T: I connected with client next day and discussed things in a very polite manner
A: I created a detailed business document and all the other reports where impact would have been
R: Client got calm once she knew there is no impact in any other report. Appreciate it.

34. Tell me about a situation where you directly impacted customer satisfaction.
S: Project was transitioning to a new lead, and I was shadow. She shared the wrong insight with client, and
she went angry regarding the business rules and now question was raised for every analysis. This
happened over mail
T: I connected with client next day and discussed things in a very polite manner
A: I created a detailed business document and all the other reports where impact would have been
R: Client got calm once she knew there is no impact in any other report. Appreciate it.

35. Tell us about a time when you struggled to communicate something to your customer. How did you
finally get it out?
I have never experienced a comparable circumstance in work. I have always conveyed things in
advance.

36. Describe a time when you showed initiative

There have been many instances when I took initiatives:
- Taking ownership of all the reports in my first project
- Learning Tableau for creating dashboard
- Smooth transition of projects to newcomer
-
37. Have you coached someone before?
In my previous projects, I had the responsibilities to guide new person. I generally attempted to be
pleasant to them and clarify everything in detail while knowledge transfer session. Not just about how
do metric is calculated or about data. I told them their importance and its impact. Also, I generally
asked them to follow up inquiries, to guarantee that they comprehended my guidelines effectively.

38. Tell us about a crisis of motivation you faced. How did you overcome it?
During my 2nd project, there was a time when workload was quite high. I overstretched my
working hours due to which I reached to point where I was just doing work. No additional pro-
activeness was there, and I feel very demotivated that why I am doing it. I took a 2-3 days
break to chill and discuss the same with my PL.

39. How do you imagine a typical day at work?

Initiation:
- Get the understanding of task and business objective and finding the scope
Elaboration:
- Create a framework and do the analysis. Go back and validate that figures are correct
Implementation:
- Sharing Key insights and deliverable

40. Tell us about a time when you missed a deadline or productivity target?
 Delayed happened due to data got refreshed late. Conveyed properly to team

41. What would you do if you found out your closest friend at work was stealing
Though this is a difficult situation to be in, I however dislike dishonesty. Also, theft is against
the company’s policy, regardless of how immaterial the theft may appear. I would go to my
manager and report the theft or utilize the organization’s suggested revealing strategy for
such conduct

42. Describe your most difficult customer and how you handled it
I once dealt with a situation when a customer was very strict about figures/numbers that we
report. Which mean he needed accuracy in decimals. Also, the version we referred from
SharePoint. To avoid any miss, we followed a strict QC checklist to create a deliverable

43. Can you describe a time when you took the lead on a project?

There have been many instances when I lead the project. However, recent one was my
manager and whole team was infected with COVID and were on leave for a month. During this
period, I interacted with client independently and ran the analysis and presented to client. I
created list of tasks that I will be doing with client and managed to convey proper project
timeline and scope.

44. Think about a time you received negative feedback. How did you deal with that?
First of all every negative feedback is an area of improvement for me. Once my manager told
me that although I have been hard-working and persistent in my work, but I lack pro-
activeness. She shared 1-2 instances where I should have raised flag. Going forward, I took
this as positive and worked pro-actively on each area of task.

45. Tell me about a time when you had to deal with ambiguity. How did you overcome the ambiguity
to reach a positive outcome?
We were tracking effectiveness of Speaker Program. For that, we received first time Speaker
Program data from the data vendor. Data had 18-20 columns out of which few were straight
forward columns like indication, date etc. However, there were few columns in data for which
I lacked clarity. Based on my logical understanding, I shared a detailed mail to vendor that how
we’re calculating #attenedee ? which was later confirmed.
So, in case of ambiguity. I avoid assumptions and I asked straight forward questions.
46. Describe a time when you had a set amount of time to complete a task.
I believe I set time for a task on daily basis. Whether it be report, training or goal etc.

47. Have you ever been wrong?

Explain Business days error
48. How you motivate others?
In my previous job, I was dependent upon the work of a colleague. He was fairly new to the team
and I saw that he was somewhat struggling in completing his tasks. While working, I had noticed
that his hands-on on excel wasn’t that great. He didn’t know excel shortcuts and formulas. For
next 3-4 days, I shared some links of best resources and my personal shortcut list with him and
asked him to apply while doing work.

49. What obstacles have you encountered in your career? How did you overcome them?
I landed into data science industry by luck. Before joining Axtria, I had no technical and business
knowledge but possessed good logical and analytical skills. At early days, everything was new to me
and I was struggling a lot in it. But I kept working and put my extra efforts and learnt from my failures.
50. Have you ever had to make a quick customer service decision without any help or guidance from
a co-worker or manager? How did you arrive at a decision?
Once client asked me to share a small analysis with him by EOD. It was Friday and all had left early
from office. He had requested me politely and this was very critical to him. So, understanding the
situation, I quickly pull the data and ran the analysis and double checked the numbers. For this,
client was very happy, and he shared an appreciating mail for the same.

51. Tell me about a time when you took a risk and failed. What did you learn from that experience?
Not at Axtria because everything we did was done at calculated risk. However, I recently invested
in PAYTM IPO without search and exploration.

52. What do you do when faced with an unfamiliar task?

In such cases, I try to understand the objective of the task that Why I am doing it. In case of
ambiguity, I approach my senior or do some research to create a framework. Once framework or
steps are cleared, I do the implementation.

53. Tell me about a time you helped a co-worker in their work.

I am Senior lead here at Axtria. Junior people always approach me whether business based or
technological issues. Many times, few of them get stuck in applying formula in excel or writing
code in R

54. Tell me about a project you are proud of. How did you ensure high standards were met in
delivering that project?
I am proud of one of my reporting project in which I was handling 8-9 reports and taking lead of
project. To ensure, everything is correct,. I spent extra time to create documentation QC checklist etc,
Data Management template etc.
55. Why do you want to work for Amazon?
I have a strong affiliation with your brand. I do my shopping on Amazon, I watch the latest movies on
Prime. You are a part of my everyday routine, and I love the way how everything is centered around
the customer here, how easy the shopping experience is, and that you always try to come up with
some innovations for people. What’s more, I’ve had a job of a business analyst for 3.5 years. Reading
the job description, I really feel that I would fit to your team at Amazon, and that the position of a
senior analyst perfectly matches my skills and experience.
56. How do you ensure you have positive relationships with your co-workers?
- Be a giver
o Give respect
o Gain Trust
o Give Credits

57. Tell me about a time when you have had to work to earn someone’s trust.
In early days, I used to work on fixed reports which includes series of fixed steps. However, every
time, I miss something which was highlighted by senior. So, my senior lacked trust me and always
checked before I share the final versions.
58. Describe a time when you were given a project to work on, but your responsibilities were
unclear. What did you do?
Never had such experience. However, whenever I feel things are unclear to me. I directly ask
59. Have you ever had to make an unpopular decision? Tell me how you handled it.
60. Describe for me a time when your actions directly impacted customer satisfaction.
S: Project was transitioning to a new lead, and I was shadow. She shared the wrong insight with
client, and she went angry regarding the business rules and now question was raised for every
analysis. This happened over mail
T: I connected with client next day and discussed things in a very polite manner
A: I created a detailed business document and all the other reports where impact would have
been
R: Client got calm once she knew there is no impact in any other report. Appreciate it.

61. What is your proudest professional achievement?

- Received Bravo Awards twice across Decision Science Vertical
- 3 Promotions in 3 years

62. Have you ever faced a complex problem and managed to come up with a simple solution? Tell
me about that.
Explain Trialist Repeaters analysis

63. Thinking about your current role, tell me about something that you have learned recently.
Technology _ Python
Pharma knowledge

64. What characteristics do you have that will help you succeed at Amazon?
Honesty, Patience and Persistence

65. When you have the interests of large numbers of customers to think about, how do you
prioritize their needs?
Segment the customer on basis of gender, region etc.

66. When was the last time you had to apologize to someone? Tell me about that.
Professionally – No experience
67. Describe for me a time when you had to choose short-term sacrifices to achieve long-term gains.
- Sometimes Stretched working hours
- Sometimes attend client call late nights when they have meetings
- One-week late night shift for the client as offshore was on leave
- Put extra efforts in learning new tools

68. How do you deal with having to provide feedback to someone?

Create a story, Start with good points and then areas of improvements, Have 2-3 instances

69. Tell me about a time you faced a challenge with a number of different solutions. How did you
decide on the correct solution?
Existing HCP or New HCP to get increase TRx

70. Have you ever helped a co-worker who didn’t want help? Tell me about that.
If capable of doing on own, then good
If not then time-delay and told him to contact if stuck as time is being consumed
71. A manager asks you to do something with which you disagree. How do you handle that?
If its ethical, then present your story why you don’t want to do this.
If unethical (sharing password), say NO.. Be firm

72. Tell me about a time you failed to meet a deadline. How did you cope with that?
Many times when data gets refreshed late. We share the analysis next day. Sometimes, if client
want the same day then we start out next day late.

Questions that I can ask?

1. What are the metrics for measuring success in this position?

2. What are the challenges that would likely surface in this role?
3. Can you describe what a typical workday is like?
4. What has the turnover in this role been like?
5. What are you hoping that the person in this role would achieve in the first few months and the
long run?
6. Why do you want to work here and what do you like most here?
7. Can you give me examples of projects I would be working on if I am hired?
8. What are the three most important leadership principles for this role?
9. What is the standard career path for someone in this role?
10. What is the performance review process like?

Sales Contest Report:

Weekly Deck/Monthly Deck:
Campaign Monitor: Canva,
Claims Analysis: Market level Braf/Mek : Based on business rules
Writers vs Non-Writers
Persistency:
Denver Analysis:
Referral Analysis:
Patient Count Analysis:
Trialist and Repeaters:
Test vs Control:
Voucher Pilot:
Loyalist Analysis:
Tableau Dashboard:
Demand Analysis:
Execution Deck: Execution Summaries:
 1) Imaginary country that wanted to reduce its CO2 emissions
2) Key KPIs for successful production and launch of an electric vehicle
3) How many people wear red clothes?
4) The classic how many golf balls could fit in a 747
5) How will you handle a client?

Have four or five unique stories ready to share; Examples include:

• Examples of situations where the candidates demonstrated impact, leadership, and/or

entrepreneurship
• Led an initiative to a successful/unsuccessful conclusion
• Had an impact on a team where you were not in charge
• Worked in a group where there was internal conflict
• Found success in a challenging work environment
• Initiated change within an organization
• Talk about a time where you showed diversity
• Talk about a time when you had to work to achieve something in a limited period of time
that was outside your comfort zone.
• Tell me about your biggest career achievement to date
• Tell me about a time you overcame a significant challenge at work
• Tell me about a time where you resolved an important disagreement with a colleague
• Tell me about a time when you demonstrated exceptional leadership
• Tell me about when you convinced a colleague to adopt a different viewpoint from one they
initially held
• How do you motivate people?
• Why are you interested in management consulting?
• Why are you interested in working for [particular consulting firm]?
• Why Consulting?