Zerodha Assistant Sales Manager Placement Experience

Company: Zerodha

Profile: Assistant Sales Manager

Salary: 3.3 Lakhs Per Annum

Place: Zerodha Sales Office, Bangalore

Number of Rounds: 3

Result: Selected

I went to attend an off-campus recruitment drive conducted by Zerodha in Bilekahalli, Bangalore. Students from about 10 colleges were invited to attend the hiring drive on 11th November 2017. Those who qualified got spot offers too. Candidates from B. Tech and MCA batches (2018 and 2017) had applied as well.
I did not know much about Zerodha at that time. Thankfully I had read a little about the company on my phone, while traveling to Zerodha office. From what I read, I could make out the company was into stock brokerage and trading at discounted prices. Even though I had never traded before, there was a game in my phone which mimicked real time stock markets. I want not fond of this app but I had some idea of its functionality. My basic trading knowledge helped me face business-oriented questions in the final round.

My college had applied on our behalf and I submitted my application to my TPO. The hiring drive lasted for just a day at Zerodha Bangalore. Our college had forwarded the applications of only those with a career aggregate score of 65% (or CGPA 6.5) and just 2 active backlogs.

Interview rounds

The interview process comprised of 4 rounds.
Round 1 – General aptitude round
First round being a pen and paper round, lasted for 60 minutes only. Zerodha HR personnel provided us with a question and answer sheet. Invigilation standards were very stringent as we were not allowed to cheat or speak in the hall.
Part A of my question paper comprised of objective questions and Part B had subjective ones. I wore my watch and was able to split my time smartly as I gave 30 minutes to each part.
1. Objective questions – This section comprised of quantitative aptitude questions. These were very basic and required skills as basic as 10th standard mathematics.
2. Subjective questions – This section had English reading, writing and grammar questions. Every question had a small white space below to jot down the answers. I tried to write in legible handwriting with minimal cut marks.
The round lasted for an hour. After the test, Zerodha HR people evaluated our answers and took a few more hours to announce the shortlisted students’ names.

Round 2 – Group discussion
After this round, we were called in for a group discussion round. My GD batch had 12 students out of whom only 2 got selected including me, for the HR round. The GD topic we were given was about GST and its impact on the salaried people of India. It lasted for about 20 minutes and I was the first person to speak. I spoke first because GST is a very common topic and I did not want my points to sound copied or repetitive.

My advice for the GD round is quickly jot down 3 to 4 important points on a piece of paper and start the discussion. I acted as an initiator as there was a hesitation in the room after the panel signaled us to start. I addressed the panel and wished everyone before I warmed up the topic for a smooth discussion.

“Good afternoon everybody. Today’s topic of discussion is GST and its impact on the salaried class of India. I would like to start the discussion with a few critical points in this regard. All of us know what GST stands for. Goods and service tax is nothing but an indirect tax structure for the salaried class of India, who are already bearing the burden of a direct tax i.e. Income Tax. A recent study on employer-employee transactions by PwC or PricewaterhouseCoopers clearly mentioned that GST is payable by a common man if he receives cash value of more than Rs 50,000. Do you have anything to add to this?”

That is how I started the group discussion and my introduction is probably the reason why I got selected in this round.

Round 3 – HR Interview round
I was asked very generic questions. They were easy and I tried to answer with confidence. I was not over confident eve though I had performed so well in the GD round.

Round 4 – Quality test
In both third and fourth round (i.e. the quality round), I ensured to communicate properly. I tried not to stutter and avoided pausing for too long. Since the profile was that of a Sales person, I articulated in chaste English as much as I could with good words to showcase my vocabulary.

Zerodha HR interview questions I faced

 
Q. How will you handle pressure?
Pressure builds up when a deliverable is late or not ready yet. I will not overreact in this case. I will also not panic. Rather, I will try to analyze the situation, speak to subject matter experts around me and try to understand if a similar situation has occurred before. If yes, what was the course of action they followed? Once I figure the answer to this question, I will chalk out a strategy to solve the issue on hand with my team. Ask for everyone’s opinion in a minute, get approvals and execute the plan!
 
Q. Will you be able to reach the target given by us?
Yes, I will be. Become I plan and work accordingly. I assign a fixed time slot with room for flexibility for the most important or urgent sub-asks. Eventually the work gets completed, provide d the team cooperates. If not, I will notify my superiors well in advance about a deadline shift or alternative strategy.
 
Q. What other abilities do you have apart from the ones we discussed?
I am a base guitarist in the college rock band. I was the captain of my school’s basketball team, but that was a long time ago. I don’t know if these would count as abilities, but I feel I have pretty decent public relation skills! Honestly, I can get even a stone statute talking. 😊

My advice to candidates who are about to appear for an interview at Zerodha is stay calm and focus on your goal. Try to feel confident from within and ensure that your answer sounds spontaneous and not memorized.
Additionally, for the written round, I would suggest practice basic mathematics. Preferably questions from 10th standard or a similar level. Also, practice aptitude questions from R.S. Aggarwal’s book. Your knowledge about Zerodha’ s products and services will help you crack this interview as well. Try to use their product as well so that you can answer functionality related questions. If you are already into stocks and shares, and you love trading, then you will surely be able to crack this interview.

All the best!

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