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ZS Associates Business Associate Interview Questions & Reviews
Getting the Interview 18 Interviews
Interview Experience 16 Ratings
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Reviewed Feb 4, 2013
Interview Details –
Case interviews very heavy on interpretation of graphs and numbers. Not surprisingly, they were all about new drug launches. For one case, I was handed a packet of information and given time alone to prepare before meeting with the interviewer to discuss my insights. I just assumed that no calculators were allowed and did all my numbers by hand, but later found out that other candidates used calculators in their preparation for the case. More clear directions either way would have made things more fair.
One thing the company did that I liked was having an associate show me an example of his work. The associate walked through a sample powerpoint that would be typical work product for a client. This gave me a chance to see if the type of work being done by the company was something that I might enjoy doing.
Interview Question – One interviewer chose not to ask me any questions at all, and I had to fill a 45 minute session entirely with my questions. He told me he learned plenty about candidates based on the questions they asked. So come with a list of good questions. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
Declined Offer – Interviewed in San Francisco, CA Apr 2012 – Reviewed Oct 1, 2012
Interview Details –
First Round Interview
- 1 Case Interview: Guided, lots of visual and numerical data to interpret
- 1 Behavioral: Standard + fit questions
Second Round Interview
- Very long, but you really get an idea for the type of work that you will do | Various case interviews (structured and unstructured) | Lunch with current associates | Behavioral with partner/principal
- People at ZS are definitely smart and amiable. The only major con would be a repetitive workstream.
Interview Question – The self-guided case | you are left in a room for 15 minutes to analyze a case and prepare a presentation to a "client". The most difficult part is prioritizing your information and structuring it in a manner that is clear and effective. Answer Question
Reason for Declining – I decided to pursue another opportunity that I thought would provide a great learning experience, which it did. However, on hindsight I probably should have accepted the offer.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
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Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Princeton, NJ May 2012 – Reviewed Jul 24, 2012
Interview Details –
Got an 1 hour phone interview: 30-40 min case interview which mainly asked you to solve a case following the interviewer's instruction step by step; 20-30 min behavioral questions such as Why consulting/ZS; teamwork example; failure example...
Received invitation to an interview in the NJ office: 30 min behavioral interview similar to the phone interview; 40 min analytical case interview; 30 min structural case interview; 30 min presentation by a consultant regarding what they do; lunch with one consultant.
Very friendly people and collaborative atmosphere, though I did not receive the offer. The recruiter emailed me back a thorough interview feedback telling me that I did not do well in the analytical case section.
Interview Question – Give an example when you failed. View Answer
Helpful Interview?
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No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Chicago, IL Nov 2011 – Reviewed Jan 21, 2012
Interview Details – Initial on-campus interview which consisted of two parts, a personality interview and a typical case. Second round interview spanned a few hours at the Evanston branch and consisted of a couple case interview, a presentation given by a co-worker, another personality portion, and lunch with an associate.
Interview Question – If you were to set up a hardware store around town, how would you go about doing so? Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
Declined Offer – Interviewed in Philadelphia, PA Oct 2011 – Reviewed Nov 4, 2011
Interview Details –
The first round was a phone interview of app. 1 hour, where we discussed the usual background info and analyzed a case of app. 30 min. Mostly about Sales Territory and sales force optimization. Very friendly and helpful during the case, dialogue situation.
The final round consisted of a total of 5 interactions, one background/personality fit interview with a Principal, one guided case interview with a Senior Consultant, a product introduction (Javaline, ZS' territory software) with a Business Associate, a lunch with a Business Associate as a direct dialogue and a final case study of 40 min. with a Manager.
All interaction was very friendly and the atmosphere was pleasant.
Interview Question – Why do you think it can be problematic to allocate sales rep territories across state boarders? View Answer
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Philadelphia, PA Mar 2011 – Reviewed Apr 3, 2011
Interview Details – The first round interview consisted of a 30 min case study and a 30 min behavioral interview. They asked relatively standard questions. The case study involved profit maximization as well as being able to interpret graphs and charts. The case study involves some solving of numbers which was a bit difficult seeing that you are unable to use a calculator.
Interview Question – "When have you ever began a project without a specific outcome in mind. Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Mar 2013 – Reviewed Mar 18, 2013
Interview Details –
First round - 30 mins behavioural and 30 mins case where you have to answer specific questions
Invited to second round sometime this week
Interview Question – The case was fairly standard, they provided slides with information and specific questions that had to be answered. Behavioral was also nothing unexpected - teamwork, leadership etc; Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Nov 2011 – Reviewed Dec 12, 2011
Interview Details – Got interview through college recruiting process. Two part interview, both 30 minutes. One was behavioral/fit, and the other was a case interview. Was given a packet and walked through different parts of the case with interviewer. Should be comfortable with looking at graphs and doing math in your head.
Interview Question – Give me an example of a time you exceeded expectations Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Oct 2011 – Reviewed Dec 8, 2011
Interview Details –
Online Assessment - "cubiks"; few practice opportunities on the homepage;
Phone Interview - behavioral interview and analytical & business case interview
In Person - another behavioral interview, structured case interview, in tray case interview (includes preparing
power point slides - on paper), unstructured case interview (market sizing, random graphs, creativity testing)
Interview Question – How many litres of beer are there in UK bars right now View Answer
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
Business Associate at ZS Associates
No Offer – Interviewed in Oct 2011 – Reviewed Nov 4, 2011
Interview Details –
Got the interview through on-campus recruiting. First-round consisted of a half-hour fit interview and a half-hour case interview. Case was pretty standard- how to launch a new drug. ZS gives you the packet of information for the case so you can follow along and have the data in front of you.
Second round was a full day in the office. Day began (late) with a "demonstration" of the work. To me, the work did not seem super interesting. This was followed by a 45 minute case that was significantly harder than the one in the first round. I was totally off my game and could tell it did not go well. The interviewer was pretty quiet and gave minimal feedback. The case was followed by a fit interview with the manager of the office. The questions were expected. The final interview was another case, but they give you 30 minutes to sit by yourself with the case packet and then have 15 minutes to present your findings to the interviewer. I was also asked to take 10 minutes at the end of the interview to makes slides about the case. The day ended with lunch with a current BA who went to my school. The 1:1 lunch was pretty awkward.
Overall, the experience was pretty grueling. The people were not overly friendly and the office was strangely silent at all times. I didn't get a great vibe and was not shocked when I didn't receive an offer.
Interview Question – Case about sales force maximization Answer Question
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Problem with this interview?
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ZS Associates – Why Work for Us?
ZS Associates is one of the world's largest business services firms specializing in transforming sales and marketing from an art to a science. We help clients gain market share at lower cost. We do so by creating… — Full Overview
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