From Applicant to Ace: Conquering LinkedIn CoachIn 2024

Bonjour everyone! I am Nidhi, a computer science sophomore at Indian Institute of Technology, BHU. I’m thrilled to share my journey of cracking the LinkedIn CoachIn Program Season 5 through this blog. I am one of the 70 mentees selected for this year’s LinkedIn CoachIn Program out of 10,000+ applicants.

About LinkedIn CoachIn ’24

LinkedIn CoachIn is a mentorship initiative for second-year B.Tech female students in India, specializing in Computer Science/Information Technology, and slated to graduate in 2026.

Eligibility for the program required applicants to maintain a minimum cumulative percentage of 70% throughout their two years of engineering studies, with no backlogs.

Visit the official LinkedIn CoachIn website here.

Application Process & Selection Round

I got to know about this program from the Codess.Cafe community in mid-January. There were 3 rounds in total. All rounds were eliminatory.

I applied for the program through a link on a LinkedIn post. The form asks for basic details like name, college, graduation year, and specialization, along with the Resume and LinkedIn profile. Though a LinkedIn profile is not the criteria for getting shortlisted for the next round, it is better to update it. At the start of February, I received the link for OA (Online Assessment).

Online Assessment (3 coding questions + 1 essay)

The test was scheduled on the Hackerrank platform.

The assessment consisted of three medium-level Leetcode-type questions, and we were given 1.5 hours to complete them, followed by an additional 30 minutes for an essay asking, ‘Why do you want to join the CoachIn program?’

I passed all the test cases of 3 questions and then moved on to the essay part. Try to finish the essay quickly to save time for coding questions, which helped me in thinking more for them as we already know the essay question.

Telephonic HR Interview

About a week after applying, I got an email scheduling a phone interview. However, because my mid-semester exams were underway, I had to request a delay of nearly a week for the interview. Once rescheduled, it was a managerial round, lasting somewhere between 15 to 20 minutes.

Some questions asked were:

1. Why do you want to be a part of this mentorship program?

2. What technologies have you previously engaged with, and have you taken part in any hackathons or contests?

3. What drives your passion for expanding your knowledge and skills in the tech industry?

4. How much time will you be able to commit to this program?

Selection Day!!

Five days following the interview on March 4th, I received a mail in my inbox announcing my selection for the prestigious CoachIn program this year. I was jumping with joy when I read that email. It felt like a dream come true!

Perks

After paving the way till here, the wait is finally over! What’s next:

1. Personalized Guidance: 4-Month 1:1 mentorship by LinkedIn industry experts. A LinkedIn employee will guide you throughout the program for your doubt-related queries and tips.
2. LinkedIn Premium: The highlight? I get six months of free access to LinkedIn Premium! Even better, I also get exclusive access to curated LinkedIn Learning taught by experts, complete with specialized learning paths.
3. Mock Tests and Interviews: Boost your performance and ace your next interview by leveling up with regular interviews and mock tests, along with performance tracking and feedback sessions to improve on your weak parts and stand out.
4. Sessions: Tech Talks, Fireside chats, Classroom sessions, and more, helping in growing your networks, connecting with industrial experts, and real-time learning of current tech demands of the market.

All in all, a wonderful experience :)

Tips for preparation

Tips for Online Assessment

1. Practice DSA from Leetcode and problems from Codeforces, Atcoders for Dynamic Programming(at least first 10 problems in Atcoder’s Dynamic Programming Contest).
2. The topics generally asked are constructive algorithms, DP, maps, strings, arrays, DSA etc. so practice those to build solid foundations on those.

Tips for Essay

The essay should be genuine and personalized.

1. Share your journey into the tech field, including your initial exposure to technology and how it has evolved to your current background in the industry.
2. Why do you need this mentorship?
3. How will this mentorship help in achieving your dreams?
4. How CoachIn will bridge the gap between your aspirations and reality?
5. Essay is also given importance as coding questions, so attempt it well. Better prepare it beforehand, so it’ll save time for coding questions.
6. Add a blend of your journey, personal experience for growing in tech, and the motivation to strive more!

Tips for Interview

• Be genuine and honest in your answers.
• You can prepare for it beforehand to keep it short, clear, and up to the point.
• Tell them about your tech experiences and achievements along with your tech stack and interests.
• More importantly, let your passion for the program shine through.

Resources

Practice regularly on platforms like LeetCode, GFG, and Codeforces. It improves problem-solving skills and lets the mind think of approaches in a broader sense.

Leetcode: Go for Medium-level questions of DSA.

Codeforces: Good for logic building and constructive problems, in all sense the best way to train the mind for problem-solving. Also, the educational blogs for tricks and bitwise are nice.

GFG: Refer to DSA-based blogs and questions.

All these worked for me, but you can also go for other platforms like Coding Ninjas.

Note: During my selection process, graphs weren’t asked, but it's a good idea to practice questions based on graphs if you have time. They could come in handy down the road.

The final piece of advice

1. Practice (Yeah I am emphasizing it quite a lot but consistent practice makes a big impact on our thinking skills).
2. Be confident and have faith in yourself, You will make it!!
3. Keep exploring, the tech industry is infinite!! There’s so much out there, absorb all that in.
4. Be Yourself: Be clear and honest about what you say/write, about the passion that drives you.

Thank you for reading! In case you need any help, feel free to reach out to me! You can reach out to me for any queries via LinkedIn :) If the blog was helpful, show some love and smash the clap button below, and do follow Codess.Cafe for more such articles.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn: Nidhi

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