Associate Software Engineer

I entered my B.Tech program through lateral entry, transitioning from a non-CSE background. Initially, I had no prior coding knowledge. Unfortunately, my college journey was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just three months into my program, COVID-19 forced everything online, severely affecting my learning process. By the start of my final year, I still had no coding experience. As placements approached, I felt worried, under-confident, anxious, and confused. However, I made the decision to prepare diligently for my placement interviews. Initially, I focused on understanding Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA), as well as core subjects like OS, DBMS, and Networking. I chose Flutter as my development Tech Stack because many startups were adopting it for its scalability and cross-platform development capabilities. I built five minor projects and one major project using Flutter, showcasing these projects in each of my interviews. Despite my weakness in DSA, I emphasized my development skills. After facing rejection in around ten interviews, I finally succeeded in securing a position as an ASE at Global Payment.

I got to know about the vacancy through LinkedIn. Then, I approached multiple employees to give me a referral for that position and connected with the hiring manager and HR. I wrote some cold emails, and after one week, I got a response from their end to schedule interviews.