Management Round Interview Preparation

Introduction

• Presenter: Santosh, Manager at Microsoft
• Experience: 9 years in data-related technologies (data science, data analyst, data engineering)
• Projects: 80 projects in telecommunication, healthcare, e-commerce, banking
• Training: 5 years of experience training people in different technologies

Purpose of the Video

• To help prepare for the management round of interviews
• Focus: Top 25 management questions with answers
• Management round includes both tech and general (non-technical) questions
• Important for roles like Power BI Developer, Data Analyst, Data Engineer

General Tips for Management Round

• Be precise, spontaneous, and confident
• Be honest about your experience
• Management round can still be an elimination round
• 30% of technically strong candidates fail the management round due to lack of experience in answering management questions

Example Questions and Answers

1. Introduce Yourself

• Answer: Briefly describe your background, experience, current role, and responsibilities.

2. Current Role in the Project

• Answer: Describe your end-to-end responsibilities, including interaction with clients, requirement gathering, design, data engineering, and report building.

3. Day-to-Day Activities

• Answer: Start with analysis, handle ad-hoc requests, attend team meetings, discuss blockers, and work on report building.

4. Data Validation

• Answer: Compare data from source and destination, use transformations and DAX functions, and validate numbers using simple tables or stored procedures.

5. Task Tracking

• Answer: Use business requirement documents or functional requirement documents, and tools like Jira to track tasks.

6. Facing Challenges

• Answer: Share specific challenging experiences, how you managed ramp-downs, requirement changes, and tight deadlines.

Non-Technical Questions

1. Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths: Confidence, adherence to timelines, accurate results
• Weaknesses: Overthinking, taking extra time for validation

2. Handling Conflicts

• Answer: Give others a chance to speak, document and test solutions, focus on team performance.

3. Upskilling with New Technologies

• Answer: Passion for technologies, research articles, documentation, keep updated with the latest trends.

4. Difficult Situations

• Answer: Managing professional and personal time, not multitasking, overcoming challenges like team ramp-downs.

5. Managing Multiple Clients

• Answer: Prioritize tasks, manage deadlines, and client expectations.

6. Team Management

• Answer: Not a formal team leader, but experienced in handling tasks, interacting with juniors, and facing clients.

7. Process Followed

• Answer: Agile methodology, daily stand-up calls, discussing blockers, continuous feedback.

8. Future Goals

• 3 Years: Strengthen technological and domain knowledge
• 5 Years: Lead a larger team, take on more responsibilities and higher roles.

9. Reason for Leaving Current Job

• Answer: Lack of utilization, seeking more challenging roles.

10. Different Time Zones

• Answer: Comfortable with different time zones, experienced in working with US and UK clients.

11. Awareness of Job Description

• Answer: Understands job requirements, excited about the role, and sees alignment with own skills and experience.

12. Mistakes and Handling

• Answer: Learning from mistakes, conscious of actions, and ensuring accuracy.

13. Prioritizing Work

• Answer: Using to-do lists, prioritizing complex tasks, and team meetings to discuss challenges.

14. Individual vs Team Roles

• Answer: Experience with both, prefers teamwork for idea exchanges and collaborative problem-solving.

15. Handling Stress

• Answer: Taking breaks, coming back with a fresh mind, avoiding continuous work without breaks.

16. Non-Resume Qualities

• Answer: Passion for sports, mentoring people outside of work.

17. What Previous Managers Say

• Answer: Punctuality, honesty, and delivering work up to the mark.

18. Justifying Fit for Role

• Answer: Fast learner, strong research skills, knowledgeable in various technologies, ability to connect dots and solve problems.

19. Questions for Interviewer

• Answer: Inquire about challenging aspects of the role and express eagerness to understand the job better.

Final Notes

• Always ask questions at the end of the interview to show interest
• Review and prepare answers based on personal experiences
• Other interview prep resources are available including top SQL questions, Power BI questions, and upcoming videos on client interviews

Conclusion

• Video is intended to help clear management rounds
• Subscribe for more videos on interview preparation and other tech topics