Gearing up for Placements !!

We had a great session today on Placements at Wadia college today, driven by Aurobindo Sarkar and must say it was a rare combination; it was both an informative and fun session. I have tried to summarize all the key aspects covered in the session, covering both the session details and the audience response, but this in no way complete and those who attended please feel free to add in your additional inputs and comments to this post. This may not exactly represent what was said in the session, i have included my inputs as well.

Why is doing well in college/placements important to you?

This was the first question posed to the audience and discussed. Couple of reasons that came in from the audience and are very relevant:

• Will boost your confidence - yes doing well will significantly boost your confidence, but you might need confidence to do well in the first place. Truly a chicken and egg situation, but do keep your confidence high and you are bound to do well.
• Give you a good start to your career/life - Yes getting the right first job, in the company you prefer, with the kind of work you want can defintely give you a great start in your career.

Couple of additional reasons why it’s critical to do well:

• Keep in mind that you carry the reputation of the institute that you are passing out from. Do you want to make sure you do well for them? How about doing well for the teachers who have made an impact in your life.
• Try and think that there is a responsibility beyond yourself, very importantly for the juniors from your college. How the companies perceive your college and your juniors does depend a lot on you.

Do not treat this as additional pressure. However keep this in mind that you should always put your best foot forward, next time you think about throwing an attitude in front a company that you do not like and do not wish to join keep in mind your broader responsibilities.

Key Elements of Placements

1) Pre-placement talks:

Companies conduct a pre-placement talk to give more information on their background and the kind of work they do. Also typically indicate the area of work you can expect to work on.  The main purpose is to actually Sell the company to you as a prospective employee.

It’s a good idea to prepare for a pre-placement talk.

• Visit their website at a minimum. Check their area of work/their products and services
• An even better approach, if you know a senior from your college who is in the company, try and contact them. Get first-hand information about the company, what they expect and the kind of work.

Questions you could ask during this session:

• Ask them about how the process of selection is going to be this day. They are typically happy to answer that question.
• You could ask how a typical day in the life a new joinee is at the company
• If you have a location preference, feel free to ask them about their locations and how new employees tend to get assigned to a location
• Ask them about the training program for new joinees  - They are happy to talk about their huge budgets they spend on this ;-)

Do not ask:

• How much is the salary range of the company - It reflects poorly on you as a person and gives an impression that you are heavily money minded. Chances are high that they will cover this anyway during the session and you will have other sources to get this information.

2) Resume:

Building a good resume is a very critical aspect of your placement process. Here are some key aspects:

• Objective: Do you really believe in your objective? Make sure you do or do not have it as an objective. Avoid mother hood statements "Want to work in a high technical and challenging environment to improve my skills blah blah .. ". Instead think about something which is more real and make sure you can back it up.
• Projects: It is really the most critical part of your resume.  Most of your assessment is typically driven through your project if you give the interviewer a good enough opportunity with your project. Make sure you cover all the key aspects of your project in 2-3 paragraphs:
  • Cover the business aspects of the Solution - Cover this in plain English
  • Cover the Technical aspects, technology used and solution - Cover key R&D aspects
  • Cover your person contribution to the project. Very critical to show how you contributed

• Know your resume very well. Do not be surprised with any part of your resume :-) .. if in the middle of the interview you are thinking who put this in there you have a problem !!
• Prepare with your resume in front of you and methodically cover each part of your resume
• Be excited about your projects and the work that you have done. The interviewer is more than anything else looking for people who are truly excited about anything that they are doing.

3) Interviews

Interviews are typically different based on the type of company visiting.  

Services Companies:

• They are checking if you can think on your feet. Are you able to give good logical answers?
• They are checking if you can break down a problem into manageable parts and at least attempt even if you do not know an answer
• They are checking if you can work well in a team, work with conflict.
• They are checking for good communication skills. They will need to put you in front a customer pretty soon and this is almost a must have in most cases.

Startups:

• They are looking for people who are focussed on the work and not on the pay scale and promotions.
• They may not offer a big brand in the short term and are looking for people who do not care about that.
• Looking for people who are passionate about work (read live and sleep work, could be long working hours :-))

Product Companies:

• Looking for people with depth.
• People who love difficult subjects and concepts.
• Be ready to solve difficult puzzles and spend all your interview time on difficult algorithm.

How to prepare for an interview:

• Have a mock interview. Great suggestion from audience. Is typically the best way to prepare if you have a good interviewer who can be honest and frank with you.
• Know your project well. This is your trump card make sure you can leverage this to drive the overall discussion.
• Make a list of Top 10 difficult questions that you hate and prepare for them. Once you prepare your mind will be clearer and you will face the interview with a lot more confidence. List down what you think are the questions you dread and answer them.

4) Top Few Difficult Interview Questions:

Tell Me About Yourself: Have a summary version and an extended version if they let you continue for a longer duration. Keep a list of 4-5 key areas you want to cover and make sure you rehearse this question.

What are your strengths and weaknesses: Do not fudge your weakness trying to present strength as a weakness instead. Instead think of a real one which would not impact your ability to work and present that in a factual way. 

Ethical Questions: Stay on the right side of ethics. Do not cheat and do not support it during your interviews.

Your biggest challenge: Make sure you have this thought out and its something that happened in the last 3-5 years. Do not rake up a childhood incident :-)

5) Other Key Aspects

Take your time to think and answer: Generally take your time to respond to questions. It’s ok to ask for a moment to think about an answer if you need some time. People want to hire thoughtful people and those who think through their answers and not necessarily people who rush into their answers.

Be Bold: Do not worry about rejects but be bold. Being defensive and worried does not reflect well and you may face a reject in any case, instead be bold and give it your best shot.

Companies look for a spark: More than anything else they are looking for a spark from you. They are looking for enthusiasm and the energy of youth. While all the technical aspects and your course are critical these are the aspects that make a difference. Make sure the energy shows.

Be Confident, Not Arrogant: It’s ok to be confident and bold but do not be arrogant. Make sure you put your points across in a clear, firm but polite way.