We understand that the Campus recruitment process could be quite stressful and believe that it helps to reach out to someone when you seek clarity. If you still have any queries post going through the Frequently Asked Questions section, we encourage you to “connect with us” on campusrecruitment2019@avendus.com

Our interview process is the best way for us to learn more about you. It also gives you the opportunity to learn more about Avendus, our culture and your role as an Associate.

We understand that the overall Campus Recruitment Process could be quite stressful and hence are sharing some interview tips to help you prepare better.

Most importantly, we want you to enjoy the conversation – so, don’t be afraid to show the real you.

Your Story

We have seen your resume, like what we see and that’s the reason you would be interviewing with us. It is then up to you to be able to articulate everything you have mentioned in your resume without referring to it and help us understand why you would be an ideal candidate. Tell us about your achievements and how you have been able to make a difference in your work – be it b-school projects, professional experience or extracurricular activities.

Our interviews are designed to evaluate technical and behavioural skills / competency of the candidate. You may be asked about situations where you have demonstrated a particular skill or competency. You should be prepared and confident about the examples that you would like to highlight.

An engaging story increases your chances significantly!

Technical Tips

As an Associate at Avendus, you will be able to apply the knowledge you have gained on campus in actual deal/transaction scenarios. We like to test some of it at the interview, so brush up on your concepts – mentioned below are some indicative areas which you could go through before the interview:

Corporate finance basic fundamentals

Understanding financial statements especially the inter-relationship between the P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow statement

  • Impact of each of the line items (Depreciation, tax, provisions) on the three financial statements

  • Understanding of the financial and operational ratios

    • Profitability ratios

    • Solvency ratios

    • Operational ratios

    • Return ratios

    • Liquidity ratios

  • Understand impact of various events (some examples below)

    • What happens to Earnings Per Share (EPS) if a company decides to issue debt to buy back shares

    • What do you infer if the inventory ratio for a company has increased

Valuation methodologies

  • Different valuation methodologies

    • DCF

      • Detailed process of the DCF method

      • CAPM model

      • Beta, and relevance of beta and levered vs unlevered beta

    • Comparable methodology

      • Transaction comparables

      • Listed comparables

    • Which multiple would be relevant for which kind of industry

    • Think about ratios which are not only related to financials (such as EV/ hospital bed, EV/ MW of installed capacity, etc.) and would be relevant for the industries where you would have done work in your B-school program

  • Application based testing – example: how would you adjust risk premium for a US company thinking of investing into an Indian entity

  • Thoroughly know any projects / valuation exercises you have done in your MBA. Be updated on the financial and operational performance of those companies

Detailed knowledge of a particular sector

  • Industry dynamics

    • Market size and growth rates

    • Growth drivers of the market

    • View on the future of the market

    • Relevant regulations

  • Market landscape

    • Key companies and their scale/ profitability

    • Listed companies in the space (Multiples for these listed companies)

    • Consolidation in the market

    • Global comparables in similar industries

    • Transactions in the industry – PE/ M&A

  • Details of public companies

    • Scale of the listed companies

    • Margin profiles

    • Valuation multiples

    • Key ratios (as defined above)

General knowledge and current affairs

  • Knowledge of key macroeconomic metrics (few examples below)

    • India’s GDP – size, historical and projected growth rates

    • Population & demographic split

  • Impact of various recent global and local economic/social/political events - e.g. impending general elections

Logical reasoning

  • Case studies to test logic / structure of thoughts – e.g. market sizing of paid mobile gamers in India / paid music listeners in India)

Behavioural Tips

At Avendus, cultural fitment is extremely important. As much we as appreciate technical skills we believe that a good cultural fit is essential to building a long-term career with the firm. Mentioned below are some areas you should focus on and tips you should keep in mind:

  • Familiarize yourself with what we do and our values - alignment to our values is a crucial factor for any candidate aspiring to join us

  • Be confident, engage with your interviewer and be yourself

  • Listen to the interviewer – don’t rush to provide answers

  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions

  • Be professional – we look for candidates that are presentable and professional