With IIT Guwahati’s placements coming up in less than three weeks now, we have Aakhil Shaik, class of 2019, walking us through his placement experience in this article as a part of the InPlace Series by Cepstrum, IITG. Aakhil is currently working for Oracle as an Applications Engineer.
The placement tests are very stressful — how did you manage? Do you have any tips for the current batch?
Yes, the tests are very stressful and at the same time we had our BTP presentations and submissions. My schedule was too packed. During the tests, I did not find much time to practice new questions. So, before each company test, I used to go through previous year questions which are posted in Inter IIT Forum / GFG. I’ve added a link to a forum as an example:
This helps you get an overview of the difficulty level of a company’s test and at the same time, boosts your confidence.
After each test, we used to discuss solutions and alternative approaches for questions which appeared in the test. Discussing solutions and approaches after the test was always helpful, because there were cases where we the same questions were asked in multiple exams.
Can you detail the preparation needed for interviews?
- Regarding your CV: Go through your CV thoroughly and familiarize yourself with it. Stop at each point to think of what an interviewer could ask you about it. You should be confident about each of your projects. Remove the things you are not sure about. Ask your friends/lobby-mates to take mock interviews for you because sometimes our friends can easily point out mistakes which we might have missed by an oversight.
- Prepare well for common HR questions like:
1. Introduce yourself (This is one of those questions which we think is easy but is actually not).
2. Why this company?
3. What are your short -term and long-term goals?
4. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
5. How would you deal with your team members if they are not working?6. Are you interested in pursuing higher studies? - Shortlists for Day 0, Day 1 and Day 2 will be released one week before the interviews. Reading interview experiences of the same companies will be helpful (usually available on GFG). If you have time, talk to seniors who are placed in the same company. (This helped me a lot)
- OOPS is very essential for all the interviews.
This is one of the sources I used to study OOPS:
- Most of the companies ask puzzles and system design questions. If you don’t have time to read all the puzzles in GFG, at least go through the InterviewBit puzzles.
Here are the links:
For system design, I found this helpful: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMCXHnjXnTnvo6alSjVkgxV-VH6EPyvoX
There are 20 odd videos, which will take half a day to watch completely. Understand the jargon used in those videos.
The interview process, the high pressure environment - how did you handle it all?
The first thing we need to remember is that recruitment is always a two-way process. We should never forget this. Sometimes we may not be selected in spite of being the best candidate because the selection process is always about compatibility. There could be several reasons which we are unaware of at that time.
We may not get what we desire but we’ll definitely get what we deserve.
Talk to your friends and seniors. Try to avoid negative vibes. As I said earlier, it is a two-way process. It’s not just that we need jobs; companies also need candidates. So don’t lose hope.
Be confident and give your best, leave the result to the universe.
What is corporate environment like and how much do you miss your college days?
Corporate environment is completely different from college environment. In college, we work with people of the same age group as us. But in corporate, you work with people from different age groups. You have to attend many meetings, you have to document everything you do. You are accountable in corporate. Then again, with great salary comes great responsibility :P
I do miss college life every other day. I can undoubtedly say that the past four years were amazing and beautiful.
Would you like to add a message for all the fourth yearites gearing up for placements in less than a month?
One of our seniors told us — “If you are not on the zeroth stage of preparation, you will definitely get placed”. I completely agree with him. Remember, placement is not the end. It is sort of a starting point. I’ve seen people who get a 6-digit salary every month and are still not happy; I’ve also seen many of my seniors and friends, who didn’t get placed in so-called “tier-1 companies”, who did not get “fat packages” but still found a better way to do great things in life.
If you are feeling low or nervous, don’t hesitate to talk to your friends and seniors because they will definitely make you feel better. Do not take too much pressure, because one day you’ll look back and laugh at the problems you think you have today.
Take good food, sleep well and do not neglect your health at any CTC :P
Help your friends during the process and enjoy the process as well. Believe me, the placement stories are something you talk about for many years to follow. All the very best and feel free to reach out to me anytime.
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