Mahindra, ABG - Company Research | Summer Placement Interview Prep

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Type: Company - Public (MNM)

Founded: 1945 (Ludhiana);

Industry: Automotive; Manufacturing, Agriculture, Food, Defence, IT solution

Area served: Worldwide

Employees: 20,000+

CEO: Anand G. Mahindra

HR Head: Rajeev Dubey

Campuses they go to: M&M primarily recruits from only top institutions for strategic management functions, mostly general management and leadership functions. However, they do offer Management Trainee positions to both Tier 1 and Tier 2 institutions, based on their talent and performances.

They come mostly on Day 1 in most of the IIMs.

Average CTC as of 2019

IIM A - Rs. 24.45
IIM B - Rs 24.54 LPA
IIM C - Rs. Rs 25.36 LPA
IIM L - Rs 18.17 LPA
IIM I - Rs. 18.7 LPA
IIM K - Rs. 20.67 LPA
SPJIMR - Rs. 22.90 LPA
FMS - Rs 23.2 LPA
XLRI - 19.21 LPA
IMT G - Rs. 12.50 LPA

What are they looking for?

Leadership qualities: Leadership qualities means leading people in a particular task. If you hold a position of responsibility or have lead any committees or clubs or even group projects, then you could be their ideal candidate.
Communication skills: As Mahindra is one of the top recruiters for GM positions, they are looking for general managers frequently. They test this through 3 – 4 hour long group discussion processes which are called chairman's GD. This is followed by PIs.
Alignment with Company’s culture: Companies such as Mahindra, at the end of the day, are looking for future leaders. Hence, it is crucial for them to gauge if the candidate is aligned with their company values. They will definitely be impressed by the candidate if he/she demonstrates their values through examples and instances in his/her life so far.
Your work experience: This is one of the influential factors. Since Mahindra as a company is known for its culture, they are clearly looking for cult fits. That includes:

Company you last worked for
The projects you worked on
The success rate of your projects
The value your contribution added
Please note, if you have only 9 or 10 months of experience, M&M will look at you as a fresher.

Hygiene checks: This involves mostly problem-solving skills and how well you know yourself and what you have done in the past.

Aditya Birla Group (ABG)

About the parent company: Aditya Birla Group (ABG) is a multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai, India. It is present in 34 countries with more than 120,000 employees worldwide. It is also in the league of Fortune 500 companies. ABG is a parent to UltraTech Cement Ltd., the largest manufacturer of Ready Mix Concrete (RMC), grey cement, and white cement in India. Other than that they are also into other business, UltraTech being the most important one.

Revenue: US$3.7 billion

Type: Company - Public (ULTRACEMCO)

Founded: 1984

Industry: Construction, Metal, Retail, Finance, Insulators, Fertilizers, Telecommunication

Area served: Worldwide

Employees: 120,000+ employees (worldwide)

Chairman: Kumar Mangalam Birla

HR Head: Mr Ramesh Mitragotri

Campuses they go to

IIM A
IIM B
IIM C
IIM L
IIM K
FMS Delhi
XLRI
SPJIMPRM
MDI Gurgaon
IIFT Delhi
ISB Hyderabad

and other Tier 1 b-schools.

They mostly come on Day 1 in most of the IIMs.

Average CTC as of 2019

IIM A - Rs. 24.43 LPA
IIM B - Rs 24.35 LPA
IIM C - Rs. Rs 24.31 LPA
IIM L - Rs 19.63 LPA
IIM K - Rs. 21.63 LPA
SPJIMR - Rs. 21.90 LPA
FMS - Rs 23.21 LPA
XLRI - Rs 21.20 LPA
MDI - Rs 14.22 LPA
IIFT - Rs 18.41 LPA
ISB - Rs 19.31 LPA

What are they looking for?

Jack of all trades: Jack of all trades is a person who knows something about everything. If you are that kind of a person, then you will fit perfectly in the ABG setting. This means you need to be an all-rounder, with a hint of street smartness. If you are in several communities, doing several things at a time, then ABG will love you.
Leadership: Leadership is the most important skill that they are looking for, as you will be managing a diverse team, some members being much senior to you. You need to be someone who can lead volunteers and not subordinates.
Communication skills: As ABG is also one of the top recruiters for GM positions, there will be brownie points if you are a great orator. There test consist of basic IQ screening followed by long hours of group discussion and PI.
Work experience: Work experience is important but not the most crucial deciding factor. They are looking for someone who is driven and get excited about climbing the “corporate ladder”. They look into your project accomplishments and growth trajectory in your past company.
Hygiene checks: This involves mostly problem-solving skills and how well you know yourself and what you have done in the past.