Prepare for group discussion
Another significant interview round is the group discussion (GD). Many IT companies observe various qualities in a candidate while on a group discussion. Some analyse the language used, others might go for leadership qualities, public speaking skills, thought-process, and spontaneity.
Stay updated with the current affairs. Group discussions usually revolve around current topics. Some simple tips to prepare for group discussions are :
- Do not be hesitant to speak, if you have a point
- Be calm and listen to other’s opinions without interrupting
- Keep your body language professional
- Be sure about the argument prior to you oppose someone’s point
- Understand the difference between a group discussion and a debate
- Have a proper clarity of voice and maintain voice modulation
Ask your friends to help you out in conducting mock discussions, this will help you in preparing well. The prime purpose of a Group Discussion is to discuss so that everyone’s opinion is highlighted. Group discussion is an excellent opportunity for exhibiting your thoughts. This is the section where you can create an impression with the help of your speaking abilities.
Ace the panel interview
A panel interview is done by a set of people interviewing you to grasp your capabilities. It basically consists of a group of three to five people who are inclined to evaluate your skills. People often turn nervous during this round mostly by the fact that more than one person would be interviewing them.
Students also feel intimidated by the number of questions various panel members solicit. An easy way to tackle this is to stay composed and poised and understand the motive behind the questions posed to you. Stay positive and speak with confidence.
A shiver in the voice can make them feel you aren’t confident enough to tackle the challenges. So, the key is to speak with firmness in your voice. Speak with absolute clarity, present your thoughts with no chance of ambiguity to arise & with a sharp explanation that leaves a mark on the panel.
Stay calm throughout the HR interview
This the concluding round of any interview process, where you have a conversation with the human resource management department. This round is really significant as it is the ultimate decision-making round, it decides your job confirmation with any company.
You need to be extremely vigilant and crisp while giving answers, we have mentioned a few pro tips for you below:
Research well about the firm
It is the HR round, where your awareness about the company is analyzed. If you have adequate knowledge about the company, you can have an energetic conversation with HR and contribute a lot to it. Do not become over-friendly, stay professional and calm.
Maintain a sober Body Language
Your posture tells a lot about your personality. You need to dress up professionally and sit up straight. Avoid lethargic expressions and actions. Too many heads and hand movements should be avoided as these are considered to be distractive. Try not to stammer while you speak. Have a decent hairstyle and do not attend interviews in casuals.
Avoid Fillers
Focus and avoid fillers as much as you can. Stay confident while you speak and take a small break if you need to think instead of using fillers in the conversation. This makes the conversation dull and gives a wrong impression.
Go through the common interview questions
There are a handful of conventional HR interview questions that interviewers ask. The most frequently asked questions are something like “Tell me something about yourself.”, “What are your short-term and long-term goals?”, and “Which is your preferred job location?”.
Ask questions
Usually, at the end of the HR interview, the interviewer gives you a chance to ask any question. You must have the questions in your mind pre-aligned so that you can ask them confidently. Do not ask any questions in between the interview, wait for the concluding section.
Understanding the interview paradigms
Except for regular practice, knowing the Interview paradigms of top-notch IT companies is essential, learners can iterate through the given interview experience of some young minds, who have efficiently made it to their dream companies with the assistance of their coding skills and analytical skills.
- Ritik Agarwal has been offered the position of Software Analyst at Goldman Sachs
- Sarthak Mittal who bagged the offer for working as SDE-1 at Microsoft, Hyderabad
- Savita Kumari got selected as SDE-1 at Paytm, Noida
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start preparing for campus placement?
Since most of the companies conduct an aptitude test as the first step. You can begin by preparing for this. Generally, this round is of two hours and the questions are from quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, verbal reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning, essay-writing. You need to score around 70-80% (varies from firm to firm) for clearing this round. Keep a stopwatch, as time management is really important.
How do I prepare my aptitude for campus placement?
You need to solve numerous questions for clearing the aptitude round. There are many topics and each topic has different paradigms for question-solving. Continuous practice is required as new questions keep coming up, every now and then. You need to keep a track of the questions you solve every hour so that you can solve maximum questions in any assessment.
How do you prepare for a College Placement?
You need to follow a clear strategy for College Placements preparation. All the main sections have to be covered such as Quantitative Aptitude, Competitive Coding, Group Discussion, Panel Interview, HR Interview,
What are the skills required for campus placement?
The main skills required for College Placements are :
1. Data Structures & Algorithms
2. Competitive Coding
3. Development Skills (Android and Web development)
4. Aptitude Skills (Numerical and Verbal ability)
5. Operating System (OS), Database Management (DBMS) and Computer Networks (CN)
6. System Design
7. Software Development Life Cycle
How much percentage is required for placement?
An average and decent percentage stand at 75% to apply for any well-reputed IT firm. Most of the top placement engineering colleges suggest this percentage is widely accepted and strictly required by most of the companies.
How much CGPA is required for TCS?
An applicant must have a minimum of 60% or 6 CGPA throughout academics and an aggregate of 60% or 6.00 CGPA in the highest qualification till the semester for which results have been declared. The applicant must not have more than 1 active backlog/arrear/ATKT while appearing for the TCS Selection process.
Conclusion
For cracking any College Placements, sharp Coding skills are an indispensable precondition. No matter if you intend to become a software developer in the future, yet optimum knowledge of Data Structures and Algorithms and Competitive Coding is required for getting into various hiring firms and sufficient practice developmental languages including Swift, React Native, Node.js, and so on.
You need to push yourself up to a certain level, you need to acquire hands-on knowledge about competitive programming strategies by practising regularly. There are numerous Coding problems available in the CodeStudio for learning Competitive programming. You can even check out our aptitude preparation courses.