FORESIGHT(2022): Summer Internship at Salesforce| Md Areeb Hussain

Brief Introduction

My name is Md Areeb Hussain. I’m pursuing a B.Tech. in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering and a minor in Computer Science and Engineering. During the CDC internship recruitment drive, I received an offer from Salesforce for their SWE intern role.

I was shortlisted for 3 companies on day 1 (Tower Research, GS, Sprinklr) wherein I couldn’t grab an offer after several rounds in these companies. On day 2, I was shortlisted for 4 companies, namely, Salesforce, Oracle, TI Embedded Software, and Honeywell. Salesforce was the first company I was interviewed for on the day and I received an offer from them soon after.

How did you get into Salesforce? What was the selection procedure?

Salesforce is open to CS, EE, EC, IM, MA branches

Online Coding Test — 1

3 questions

1st — Easy — Question based on STL implementation

2nd — Medium — Min. time to get all jobs done under some constraints (Binary search)

3rd — Medium — Question on graph (DFS)

Interview rounds — 2

First-round (Technical) — Few medium to hard level coding questions (similar to that in Leetcode), Discussion on some specific concepts of OOPs, and Puzzles (might be asked).

HR round — Behavioural questions, a brief discussion on the CV

How to prepare for them?

Test preparation — Complete InterviewBit during summers. Practice medium and hard difficulty level questions from leetcode.

Interview preparation — Conventional code writing skills on paper/online editor, being very precise about standard algorithms, OOPs concepts, and being well versed with the projects/internships written in your CV is a must. Computer science fundamentals could be particularly vital for dual degree students. ‘Heard on the Street’ and ‘Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability’ are good resources for puzzles.

General advice — Prior to interviews, check the Salesforce Core Values. Even though they won’t ask for it explicitly, a little knowledge about their values and culture might prove beneficial for you.

What difficulties did you face while preparing for this Company/Profile? How did you overcome this problem?

Finding the appropriate information to learn and practise with was the major challenge I encountered during my preparation for the software profile. There are a lot of resources on the internet for every single topic. For me, group preparation was the answer to this issue. Deciding upon which material to study and what all questions to practise is much easier in a group. Additionally, everyone keeps their motivation up the entire way.

According to you, who should ideally apply for this job?

Anyone who is really interested in working as a software developer in a top product-based company must apply for this job. If you appreciate a good work culture, then this is your destination. They have one of the best work cultures in the world.

What are some of the major points you think would be valid to mention in your CV while targeting this profile? (Any specific suggestions you would like to make?)

CV Tips for SDE profile:

1. Make your CV well balanced. Ensure you have an optimum number of projects/internships (2–3). Add a few PoRs and/or Extracurricular activities. It demonstrates your versatility. Additionally, it may occasionally assist the recruiter to determine whether or not the prospect is a good fit for the company’s values.
2. Neither exceed 1 page nor fall short of filling one complete page. The content should be properly structured and should highlight the terms you want a recruiter to notice.
3. Add each relevant detail to your resume. If you have a good Codeforces/Codechef rating, add it. If you have obtained a good rank in any of the coding competitions, add it. Online courses and certifications must also be added.

Any specific advice you want to give to the junta sitting for internships this year.

Don’t stress out if you’re rejected by some company. Believe me, you have better opportunities awaiting. I know the process is very stressful but this is where you learn to handle pressure. Prepare well. Trust yourself. Never lose hope. Cheers! Machake junta!!