How to start placement preparation?

• Practice aptitude questions on a constant basis.
• Solve previous year exam questions and mock sample questions as final revision.
• Read interview experiences of previous year candidates to get a better idea of hiring.

As a recent graduate from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal with Bachelors in Technology in Computers and Communication, I do realise the importance of Campus Placement in an Engineer's college life.

You basically up-skill yourself to take up the tasks in the job you apply for - you enhance your core competence in the Software Development domain on basis of which you could prove your candidature better while sitting for a company's placement process.

Here is what it took for me to overlook all the computing concepts (from B.Tech) in a 2 - 3 month time frame as I approached Campus Placements in 2020.

I foremost divided the whole placement know hows into 4 fragments :-

You must be well versed with Basic Data Structures and common Algorithms, not only to make through the Online Tests but also to crack the Interviews. Practice of 2-3 months would suffice to crack a decent level question, but more the merrier.

Recommended Resources :

a. Narasihma Karumunchi is a bible to crack any Tech interview

b. Pick any one platform like Hacker Rank, GFG, InterviewBit, LeetCode etc, and finish all the Problem Solving challenges, rather than taking initial questions from various platforms.

This is very imperative for clearing online tests. One must know all the basic mathematical formulas, and should be able to solve the questions with a good speed and accuracy. Most of the online tests have basic level of questions, but speed and accuracy is what ensures you a shortlist.

Suggested Resources :

a. RS Agarwal Aptitude Book (if you have a time frame of over 6 months left) - this will be a long time commitment but one should invest here only if you aim non software job roles as well, or if you're aiming to write other competitive exams in future like GMAT GRE CAT etc.

b. GFG Practice and Learn topics (if you have more than 3 months left).

c. India Bix Tests (if you have approx. 1 month left).

Basic knowledge of Operating System, Object Oriented Programming and Database Management System would be expected of a candidate while sitting for Placements.

Suggested Resources:

a. Operating System

b. DBMS

c. CN

d. MCQs For Online Test

You must be very thorough with what is written in your Resume, if you have undertaken any Internship or any project, you MUST revise everything you did in that role. You should be able to answer/defend your work for following questions (for example):

a. What is the technology stack used in the task

b. What was your role in this task and how did you create an impact

c. How is this different from already pre existing projects available online similar in nature

d. Challenges faced while doing this task and how you overcame that

e. Why did you choose this (language/algorithm/framework/technology/IDE) to complete this task etc.

Campus placements season is beginning at almost all the colleges and each one of us wants to prepare to do our best. A lot of students have been asking on different forums “How to use GeeksforGeeks for placement preparation”? In this article, a step-by-step guide for placement preparation is discussed.

Set 2 – To guide you going beyond the basics and getting placed in your dream companies 🙂

Topics:

C++

Java

Python

Data Structure

Algorithms

DBMS

Computer Networks

Operating System

Now let’s see the part-2 of our Step by Step Guide that will help you in your placement preparation!

Company wise preparation articles, coding practice and subjective questions. If you like GeeksforGeeks and would like to contribute, you can also write an article and mail your article to review-team@geeksforgeeks.org. See your article appearing on the GeeksforGeeks main page and help other Geeks. Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or you want to share more information about the topic discussed above

Campus placement paves a path for a better professional career ahead, hence campus placement preparation holds significance.

In this blog, we shall discuss ideal & effective ways to prepare for campus placements.

Campus placement is simply defined as a recruiting program that is conducted in various universities & institutions with the intent to provide jobs to students who are nearing completion of their respective courses.

The main objective of campus recruitment is to identify & recruit desirable & efficient workforce at the early stage itself.

These candidates are further trained as per the requirements of the company.

Campus placement not only reduces the time & effort of students in finding their desired jobs at an individual level.

It also opens a wide range of opportunities for candidates to excel in the field of their interest right after completion of their studies.

Many students do not take campus placement preparations too seriously. However, for most this proves to be a big mistake.

We hope that you are not amongst those!

Campus placement has generally have the following stages.

Skill assessment is usually an aptitude-based test that helps in determining the reasoning & analytical quotient of a candidate.

This test usually consists of multiple-choice aptitude-based questions which need to be solved by a pen on a paper.

Skill assessment tests usually consist of a few sections such as communication skills, logical reasoning, quantitative ability & knowledge about your field.

Here are a few tips for aptitude preparations for placements.

Group discussion is primarily a campus placement-based exercise. This is an exercise that helps a recruiting manager analyze each individual during a group discussion & identify their problem-solving abilities as per the situation provided.

Preparing for group discussion during a campus placement drive is paramount.

Here are a few tips to prepare for a group discussion more effectively.

What is the topic, how to present it & the structure of your argument should be clear in your head before you start the discussion.

Think rationally before starting the discussion & always adopt a solution-based approach rather than constantly talking about only the problem with no solutions.

One of the most important aspects of a group discussion has to be communication skills.

To have an edge over the rest of the candidates, it’s paramount that your communication skills are well polished.

The best way to sharpen one's communication skills is by reading or speaking consistently.

Gather a group of friends around & practice for your group discussion ahead.

The whole idea of group discussion is to identify the best amongst the lot, hence the importance of being seen is huge.

However, being relevant & being seen are two completely different things.

It is for each candidate to take charge of the discussion right from the start while being relevant all the while.

Take clues from what other candidates are talking about & add in wherever you feel is apt. Be quick to respond but in a more professional manner, respecting everyone’s point of view.

Tip: You can note down relevant points to retain the facts and present better arguments.

As the name suggests, a panel interview is a round wherein a panel of professional recruiting managers interview a potential candidate face to face.

This is more professional than an aptitude or group discussion round.

This is the first time a candidate has one-on-one communication with professionals of a company.

This round determines whether the candidate’s application should be moved forward or not. Hence, the importance of this round is much higher.

A major chunk of campus placement preparations is concentrated on panel interview preparations.

Here are a few ways you can prepare for your panel interview round.

Confidence is a must-have trait when it comes to a panel interview round.

Practice for panel interview by asking friends or family to take your interview.

Ask for feedback once an interview is over & work on it to get better.

Be clear in your head about all the generic questions which are usually asked during an interview. Some of these questions can be: take us through your profile, why do you want to join our company , where do you see yourself 5 years from now, etc.

Before appearing for a panel interview, make sure you have researched well about the company, the position they are offering, the values of the firm & so on.

While preparing for campus placement, candidates usually take researching technical aspects of their domain lightly.

However, no matter how good you may be with everything else, if you are lacking in the technical field then the chances of you getting through are almost nil.

Rather than just relying on theoretical knowledge you may have gained, make sure you also read about technological advancements in your field across the world.

Deep dive & read about innovations in your field which are used or still are believed to come in near future.

Find out from various platforms online which all technical questions are usually asked during an interview in that respective firm.

Identify the most asked questions & prepare well in advance for such questions.

Your seniors who work in that specific or relevant company can help you understand their interview process, so reach out to them & understand the hiring process in detail.

An HR interview round is considered to be a basic communication round wherein the HR asks generic questions related to the candidate's resume, tries to understand their personality and gauge if the candidate is a good fit for the company.

These may be questions on why the candidate wants to join that organization , what is the salary expectation of the candidate, etc.

Candidate can prepare for this round from 11 Common HR Interview Questions for Freshers and get many more interview tips from Naukri Blog .

Campus placement is considered to be the first leap towards the transition of a student to a working professional and can be stressful for many.

Also read:How to handle the stress of campus recruitment.

The right attitude & right preparation are what make an individual stand out from the rest.

Hence, make sure you are well prepared for your upcoming campus placements.