Placement Odyssey!

To start with, this is my first original blog since i registered with blogspot... and what could be a better topic than to recount my tumultous placement experience! Well, my classmates and those wonderful people close to me will know wat i mean by 'tumultous' in this context..

Once sixth semester ended, all of us were anticipating the onset of the campus placements... joint studies with friends(couldnt manage to study for more than half an hour.. just timepass :D).. attempting previous years aptitude papers for d big companies.. searching for interview tips on the net.. and so on.. it was a rather hectic two weeks before the first companies arrived.. all through this, i was aware that it wouldnt be a cakewalk for me(because of my speech clarity), yet i always remained assured and confident.. and hoped for d best..

We got the schedule of companies that would attend our college.. naturally there was a lot of discussions among my friends as to which companies to sit for.. but most of us were content with whichever company came first.. My bosom friend Bharani suggested that i leave out d bulk recruitment companies and begin with the core companies.. but i had made up my mind to start with the first one, and i was glad i did so!.. The week before the onset of the placements, we guys went through the good old R.S.Aggarwal book and the puzzles from Shakuntala Devi.. as well as Infy aptitude test papers;my best friend Sanjay happens to have 1GB of placement stuff,of which only 5% was studied (thats natural for an engineer!!!)...

Now we come to the main focus of this post.. the CAMPUS PLACEMENTS.. in all i attended more than 10 companies before getting selected finally.. but there were a lot of positives that i gained from this, contrary to the fact that i should have been disappointed at having to attempt that many companies.. i had already anticipated that there would be roadblocks in my case, and was ready to accept things as they come.. fortunately i possessed the mental strength and willpower to withstand the unsettling effects of rejection, and focus on the next 'mission'..

Here are some accounts of the companies that i sat for :-

INFOSYS - The first company to conduct recruitment in my college.. an unbelievable 2000+ studenst sat for it.. the aptitude test was pretty easy, most of the questions having appeared in previous papers.. around 1200 students were shortlisted for the interview.. I will never forget the day of the interview for the wrong reasons- no power in d hostel,where the interview was being conducted; the HR people were late, and our scheduled interview times were delayed; no drinking water was available as there were simply too many candidates, and the supply depleted in no time.. i had to wait for my turn for 4 hours,during which my throat became dry and affected.. i feared the worst, but still was determined to do my best.. when my turn came, everything went well.. i managed to overcome my strained throat temporarily; the interview was simple and was concerned with my general knowledge.. the interviewer was impressed, but had some doubts about my hearing.. so i had to attend another interview,this time with the HR manager himself.. generally they dont ask our resumes during interview, but through sheer luck i asked my interviewer if she would like to see my resume, and she agreed.. that was the defining moment of my placement adventure.. well,the second interview was a flop, owing to a completely affected throat;i couldnt even get a word out(boy! it was embarassing).. it was a great disappointment to learn about my rejection, and indeed it took a few hours to get over it..

Phew! I ve written so much till now.. anyway with my affected throat i had no hopes of getting the next two-three companies.. i ll just give a brief summary for each company

CTS- cleared the written test, but couldnt get through the interview.. it was simple only, but u know wat.. they conducted the interviews very efficiently, and everything was wrapped up in a few hours..

TCS - the only company where i didnt get shortlisted.. i had written the test quite well.. but placements can be unpredictable like cricket.. :)

Flextronics - the first core company to come to my college.. i had to prepare a lot in technical part.. i did combined studies with the best brains of comp sci(bharani and niranjan).. those guys and another super brilliant guy Kumaresh, as well as my best friends in class,were a source of inspiration and motivation to me throughout! I cleared the written test and technical interview, but stumbled at the final hurdle,the HR interview :(

Accenture - One of the new upcoming companies, well known because of its brand ambassador,Tiger Woods.. had hopes of getting this one, but again failed in HR interview..

Computer Science Corps - Not much to say about this.. i hadnt expect to get selected for this one.. wasnt much enthusiastic about it..

IBM ISL- The first dream job i attended.. in fact IBM Global Services was supposed to conduct recruitment,and i had prepared well for it(the working conditions are great there).. instead they announced that Global Services wouldnt come.. my hopes were dashed at that point.. didnt clear the written test.. most of my friends in Comp sci got placed.. and niranjan didnt attempt it because 4.5 lakhs pa wasnt sufficient for him!!!

Aditi Technologies - This was one company which impressed me greatly, because it was founded by a microsoft veteran.. they place emphasis on consistent performance in acads as well as ability to solve problems.. i managed to clear written test and technical interview.. but i let myself down in the problem solving interview, when i was too tired to think clearly.. but the interviewer encouraged me to become more familiar with problem solving and attempt aditi off-campus.. the company definitely earned my respect

Siemens - I completed both written test and interviews.. i was confident of getting placed this one, but god had other plans..

De Shaw - Second only to Microsoft in terms of pay.. a mind blowing 9 lakhs per annum.. i was not interested in getting into a dream job, that too at hyderabad..

Microsoft - The mecca of the computer industry.. attempted just for the heck of it.. my friend niranjan deservingly got selected..

Juno Online - Heard that the company wasnt so good, but nonetheless attempted it,goaded by Sanjay.. didnt clear the written test

Caritor - no comments! They ask us to write essays!! Not my cup of tea..

Then came the most unusual moment in my placement odyssey. . it was august 3rd, and i was preparing for Sasken Communications on Friday 4th.. then i got a call on my cell; the number was unfamilair.. imagine my astonishment when the caller introduced himself as Santhosh from Infosys! The man who had rejected me in the second Infy interview enquired if i was placed yet, and informed me that he had taken pains to reschedule a reinterview on 4th at the infosys campus at sozhiganagallur.. it took time to realize that infosys was actually giving me a second chance, and it was a perfect opportunity to finally get placed! by that time i had recovered from my throat infection, and was primed to seize this golden chance.. i thanked my lucky stars for having given my resume to them in the first place,even though they didnt ask for it.. so i attended the reinterview, and answered quite well.. after 2 hours i was informed i had been selected! I had come back to full circle!! yippee!!

Things i learnt from my bitter-sweet experience :-
1. Its no good getting upset if you are rejected; just carry on,and never lose hope
2. I realized how so many people were concerned about me.. even those who were not that close to me! that too includes Dr.Kalaiselvan,the placement coordinator,for his admirable support..
3. It rekindled my interest in C, since a knowledge of C was needed for core companies.. had i got placed in Infy in the first attempt, i wud have remained ignorant of programming
4. It never is the end of the road.. and everything happens for good
5.Positive attitude is an ideal prerequisite to facing those obstacles
6. Last but not least, marks dont matter much in placements! For those who are gonna sit in future,just a decent academic knowledge is enuff for service companies.. dream jobs rely more on technical knowledge and have a GPA criteria of 7.5 and above

Thats all for now! I know its a helluva big post, but i have tried to condense it as much as possible.. ;)

- The InfoScion

Happy New Year

Dear readers,
Wishing u all a happy,fun filled and wonderful new year.. May all ur dreams and aspirations come true!

Prasan