Placements Through the DSC Lens
Part two of a three-part series.
The placement season at VIT seems to be a never-ending affair. Day in and day out we see seniors in formals running up and down the stairs of SJT, complete with a leather folder in their hands and a slight sense of fear on their faces. It is only when we look closer that we realise that it isn’t fear, these seniors seem to have it all covered! In this second part of my placements blog series, I take another peek into the daunting placement procedure through a series of Qs and As with my seniors at DSC, and get them to spill their secret tips to stay calm and collected as companies juggle their fate!
Abhishek Kaushik – Android Lead at DSC VIT
Q. Where are you placed, what is your profile and what is your package?
I got placed at Endurance International Group, The profile is Software Development Engineer. The package is 14 Lakh Per Annum base salary + all of the perks you get with the good companies.
Q. What did your interview entail?
The whole selection process of EIG was very very different from what you usually go through for almost all companies. The first round was a 30 min MCQ test with 50 Technical questions from core CS subjects, with ⅓ negative marking, and more than 2000 kids sat for this as EIG did not keep a lower limit for CGPA. 72 kids were selected for round 2, which was a coding round, but the task wasn’t to solve DSA questions, it was to make a Log Rotation System in 2 hours, and they provided us with an actual log file with over 1500 log entries from their actual server, it had 13 subtasks, out of which in the given time, I was able to solve the first 12. One amazing thing was that there was no restriction on the use of language/framework. We were provided with offline documentation on a local server, of all languages, with internet disabled. I think 23 people were selected for the Personal Interviews. The next day, the first interview had a lot of questions, some very easy DSA, but focusing more on computer science concepts. The questions asked weren’t the ones you’d expect to be asked from the subject but the ones that you’d think are too much in detail to be asked at an interview. I managed to answer most of the questions and was selected for round 2. The first round lasted about 90–95 minutes.
My second interview was with the director of the SDE Dept of EIG India, which I didn’t know the first thing he asked for was my CV, after seeing which he said that he hadn’t seen such a wonderful CV in a long time. Then he asked me about my projects and also asked me about my role at DSC. I explained everything to him about how we work and what we do and where do I fit into DSC. Then after a few more questions from my CV, he gave me a problem on system design, which with his hints, I was able to solve.
Q. When did you start preparing?
I started preparing 45 days ago, did a course from an institute called Pepcoding, and before that, I actually started in September of last year
Q. How did you prepare for all the rounds?
Being in DSC helped a lot. Even in this round 3, the HR asked a lot of questions on how I would handle the situations she kept giving me, fortunately for me I had experience with every single one of those while working with a team at DSC.
Q. What made you gain an edge over other applicants?
Perhaps the problem-solving ability and the ability to take a hint and use it to form a viable solution.
Q. How much coding knowledge should you have and in which language?
The choice of language, at least for my company wasn’t important, but generally, for placements, either C++ or Java, both are equally valued. You don’t have to know all the languages, you just have to know one language very well.
Q. How important is your CGPA to the whole selection process?
CGPA is pretty important for a lot of super dream companies that visit in the first month. In 95% of cases, anything above 9.00 is fine.
Q. How daunting is the whole interview experience?
It’s actually pretty easy. The interviewers are almost always nice and friendly, and they’ll encourage you to stay calm during the whole process.
Q. How did you deal with last-minute nervousness before the interview?
There was none, I’m sorry, but really there wasn’t any!
Q.How did you decide between higher studies and sitting for placements?
I love development. Higher studies would mean I have to wait to develop stuff for 2 more years and I didn’t want to wait for that long.
Apurv Nitanjay — Projects Lead at DSC VIT
Q. Where are you placed, what is your profile and what is your package?
American Express, as a Software Developer in the Technology Department, 13.27 Lakh Per Annum.
Q. What did your interview entail?
The biggest query that mostly juniors had is what exactly is asked in an interview. To be frank it depends on the company. A company looking for developers and works on java will ask you more java-based questions, a cloud-based company will be interested in your cloud and OS related knowledge. For American Express we had our first round at Codility platform than some people were shortlisted and after that, we had 3 technical rounds and 1 technical HR. The interview was mainly focused on my knowledge of how java as a programming language works, DSA, OS, DBMS, Python and about all the technologies I worked on. Interviewers asked a lot from my projects, hackathon wins and my internship.
Q. When did you start preparing?
I started preparing DSA around April. Started with doing 1–3 programs per day. Then around June, I started studying CSE core subjects.
Q. How did you prepare for all the rounds?
Whenever a company comes you are already prepared in all the domain knowledge, now you have to know about the company first. I learned how American Express generates revenue, their way of working. For technical interviews always read interview experience from GeeksForGeeks and do some company-specific programming questions from GeeksForGeeks or interviewBIT or Leetcode.
Q. What made you gain an edge over other applicants?
My technology stack, accomplishments, extraordinary projects, My experience in working in a team, working on some real problems, confidence in my skills. If the interviewer asked me something and I didn’t know the answer, I used this statement as a trick — “I don’t know the answer but I would love to try”. It gives the interviewer the idea that you easily don’t give up on problems.
Q. How much coding knowledge should you have and in which language?
You should have pretty good coding knowledge, as I said earlier a lot depends on the interviewer. So if the interviewer is good in some language which you mentioned in your resume. He can blast you for boasting on your resume or he can be really impressed if you answer well in his domain and information about the previous round is send to the next round interviewer so if good things are written by the interviewer for you it will give the edge in this interview also. But still, you need to have pretty good coding knowledge to succeed in this domain. Pick one language C/C++ or Java as your main language and learn it deeply, and then pick a secondary language like Python or Javascript which you use for day to day development.
Q. How important is your CGPA to the whole selection process?
For getting shortlisted CGPA is very important. I was allowed to sit for only one slot-1 company because I had a bad CGPA. Try to maintain above 8.7. People above 9.3 are allowed to sit for almost all companies.
Q. How daunting is the whole interview experience?
Well, I would be lying if I said it isn’t daunting. It is a little bit, it decides your future and I have seen a lot of deserving people struggling because they are not good at presenting themselves. So it is pretty scary. But the key to winning an interview is being calm and confident.
Go to an interview like you’re just going to have a good conversation with a person.
Q. How did you deal with last-minute nervousness before the interview?
I played relaxing games on my phone to distract my mind from the interview process. I usually had a lot of people in the interview room whom I knew, so we use to make jokes and have fun to lighten our tension.
Q. How did you decide between higher studies and sitting for placements?
To be frank I haven’t decided yet. But I was sure that I wanted to go check out how the industry works and if they have the same development culture as I thought. If not I will think about my further studies.
Akshay Raghavan – Operations Lead at DSC VIT
Q. Where are you placed, what is your profile and what is your package?
I’m placed at Barclays GSC (Global Service Center – Barclays Bank). Profile for freshers at Barclays is Business Analyst 3 and package is 11 Lacs CTC.
Q. What did your interview entail?
The interview process for any company is cumbersome. While many follow a particular pattern – online test, Technical, and HR round – the variation is specific to the company. Barclays had a technical interview that included resume screening followed by questions asked on projects, internship and finally testing your technical knowledge. Clearing the technical round, it was followed by HR round that included the Lead Data Analyst shooting scenario-based questions.
GFG is the go-to website for company archives, thereby giving you a good template.
Q. When did you start preparing?
Preparations during my 6th semester were intermittent. Shit got real only in the 7th-semester start.
Q. How did you prepare for all the rounds?
- Online Round has an aptitude, technical and verbal.
- Aptitude – IndiaBix or general concepts.
- Technical – Concepts include C++ output, Java output, DBMS, OS, Networks. – References include GFG, javatpoint, beginnersbook etc.
- Technical F2F interview – ALL DSA concepts, in-depth knowledge of one programming language, OOPS concepts, DBMS, OS, Networks (depends on the company).
- HR – puzzles and scenario-based question. Puzzles can be referred from GFG. Scenario-based questions can be best answered with prior clubs and chapters experience. Deflecting questions on the company is inevitable, so do your homework. (Eg. CEO of XYZ, what it does, why XYZ etc)
Q. What made you gain an edge over other applicants?
Be unique, know your strengths, play them out during the interview.
Q. How much coding knowledge should you have and in which language?
We ought to know one language in depth. We often mistake our fluency in a language based on coding or programming skills. Knowing a language includes not just the syntax, but the interior working of the language itself! That includes its history, motivation of development, pros and cons, and reading the documentation page!
Choices of language for placements – C++ or Java (Python is great too, but data structure concepts, problems, and solutions are often documented in the mentioned languages).
Java References - GFG, Java Documentation Page (if you got time), top interview questions, OOPS concepts, etc.
Q. How important is your CGPA to the whole selection process?
Quite important. CGPA isn’t everything, but being the criteria for eligibility, it can’t go unnoticed. While giants (Amazon, Microsoft etc) usually do not have a CGPA filter, the others do. Having a CGPA above 8.5 makes you eligible for 80–85% of the companies. (Sometimes your dream company could be in the 15%).
Q. How daunting is the whole interview experience?
It’s a rollercoaster ride in your nightmare. Rejections are painful and exasperating. It makes you doubt yourself and test your patience. But always believe there is something big coming for you that pays off the efforts you’ve sweat. Luck plays a major role in this journey.
Pro tip – move on from your rejections, learn from your mistakes. (Easier said than done. Try actually doing it, for your good.)
Q. How did you deal with last-minute nervousness before the interview?
Discover coping mechanisms unique to you. Memes and staying hydrated helped me xD.
While attending classes and attempting exams, it seems like your marks are the defining factor that will land you the job of your dreams, and while that may be the case sometimes, knowledge and attitude are paramount.
