Students' Speak: Placement Preparation Tips & Tricks

By: Anshuman Bhushan Singh

The topics which you have studied in the last 2-3 years makes your foundation and they should be strong enough because most of the companies check our basic skills first says Anshuman.

Placement is one of the most important and crucial part of engineering life. Campus placement season is about to begin in colleges and most of the students have started preparation to crack their way in the recruitment process and to get selected in their dream company.

In my college, the placement season has started and I am looking forward to it. Our placement cell is trying very hard so that every student can be placed and they get a good job to showcase skills and their abilities. According to me, placement is a two-way road in which both placement cell as well as the student has to work hard.

Tips and Tricks for Placement:

1. Make your foundation strong: The topics which you have studied in the last 2-3 years makes your foundation and they should be strong enough because most of the companies check our basic skills first. A lot of candidates ignore this and they start focusing on specific topic without any guidance which should not be in practice. All of your efforts will go waste if you lack the basic knowledge of your subjects.
2. CV shortlisting: This is the first step where elimination begins. Most of the companies eliminate the candidates on the basis of their CV that whether they are matching their selection criteria are not, what certifications they are carrying and what are the student’s technical skills. So, a candidate must be skilled according to the current technology and demand and should make a good CV.
3. Aptitude and Technical Skill Test: This is the second round where elimination begins- the technical and aptitude round. In this round, the company assesses problem-solving skills, logical thinking skills, algorithm making capability, and the coding skill of the students. Many students are scared of the aptitude round but all it needs is practice and continuous practice. Before appearing for this round, the student must go through the  previous years’ question paper of the company.
4. Written and Spoken English: Most of the companies demand people who have good speaking and communication skill so students must focus on their writing and speaking skills. Many people ignore this, but one should focus on their verbal ability and communication skills from the day they get admitted to the college.
5. Group Discussion: Group discussions are held to check the knowledge about current affairs, communication skills, and how a person handles the situation. So before appearing in this round candidate must go through basic Group Discussion rules that are to be followed during the GD process.
6. Be prepared for Red herring questions: Candidate must be prepared for the red herring questions like “Tell me about yourself?”, “What is your strength and weakness?”, “Where do you see yourself in ten year?”,” What is our unique selling point?”. These questions are asked to check the behavior of the student and how they feel about themselves.
7. Interview (Technical and HR): Interview is the final step in the recruitment process and this round decides whether you make it to a company or not. The interview can be technical or HR or it can be both. Many times, a student who has cleared his/her aptitude and technical round gets eliminated in this round. So, one should take his/her HR interview seriously and should be prepared for some basic questions in advance.
8. Look for your Appearance: Students must be groomed properly before appearing in the interview. Appearance is the first thing which an interviewer sees during the interview. A person should carry his appearance in his own way. Candidate should be dressed in formals and should be clean shaved to leave a positive impression on the interviewer.

About Placement Cell in my college and the opportunities they provide:

The Placement Cell of my college helps the student in every way they can. They always motivate the students to learn new and current technology. The placement cell always tries to bring the big MNCs and they maintain a good relationship with the companies so that they come every year and recruit a handful of students. The placement cell has also tie-ups with various third-party platforms like Examly, Myperfectise, Ebox, Hackerearth, Elitmus, Hitsbulleye, etc. on which students can learn various subjects and can brush up their skills. They always organize PEP (Professional Enhancement Programme) classes for the weak students so that they can learn the desired skills before appearing for the recruitment process.

They bring companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Cleartrip, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant and many other MNCs. Students from our college have a very good placement record because the placement cell tries very hard so that each and every student can be placed in a good company.

About the Author:

Anshuman Bhushan Singh is pursuing B.Tech in Computer Science from Lovely Professional University. He considers himself to be a 'fiercely ambitious opportunist' and wishes to step into different areas where I can learn and give results.