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A Complete Roadmap for On-Campus Placements

Prasun Das| June 20, 2022 at 3:31 PM | 7 minutes Read

Placements are an important part of engineering life, and while everyone hopes to get placed in a reputed company, only a few are successful. This is primarily due to lack of awareness and appropriate guidance.


Before you begin your preparation, you must have a clear answer to the following questions. –


1. What types of companies are you looking for?

2. What are the eligibility criteria?

3. What are the various stages of the recruitment process?

4. What should you study in order to ace the test and the subsequent interview rounds?

Assuming you are a complete beginner in this journey with no prior guidance, I will try to answer the above questions in the following article.






Types of companies -


Now as far as IT companies are concerned, they are mainly of two types.

 

1. Service Based Companies



Service-based businesses are driven by customer needs, and software development is typically done for clients.

For freshers, CTC (Cost to Company) is usually in the range of 3 LPA (Lakhs per annum) to 7 LPA. In general, they have three categories with various packages.

TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HCL, Accenture, Tech Mahindra, Mind Tree, NTT Data, NIIT, and many others are among the top IT service providers.


2. Product Based Companies



Product Based Companies are motivated by the desire to assist various customers. 

The focus of product companies is to develop software that is as configurable as possible. As a result, it can be used by a wide range of customers.

Cost To Company would be in the range of 5 LPA (in product-based startups) to 50 LPA and higher.

 Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Adobe, Zoho, Newgen, and other startups are among the top product-based companies.

 




Eligibility Criteria


The eligibility criteria for sitting in the campus placement vary from company to company:


1. Companies are usually unconcerned about your field; it is your skills that are important. However, students with degrees in computer science, information technology, electronics, and communication engineering are preferred by some employers.


2. To work for a service-based company such as TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Capgemini, or Cognizant, you must have a CGPA/SGPA of 6 to 6.5, which is equivalent to 60 to 65 percent (considering the multiplying factor as 10). Companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other tech behemoths will have eligibility criteria ranging from 7 to 7.5 CGPA/SGPA on-campus.


3. There should be no waiting list when it comes time to take the exam.


4. The overall academic career gap should not exceed one year 


Phases in selection process –

The selection process can be defined as the process of selecting and shortlisting candidates with the necessary skill set and qualifications for a specific post in the company and by the Placement Department of college, and while on campus placement, the difficulty levels are generally set by our college more than the companies, so maintaining a good relationship with them is important.

The job opening is always the starting point for the selection process; once published, the selection process begins.


1. Initial screening (Resume shortlisting)– Candidates can apply for jobs after they have been posted. The applicant's profile is evaluated during the initial screening round; if the profile meets the company's eligibility criteria, the applicant is declared eligible for the next round.


2. Online Assessment — The structure of online assessment tests varies by company. Here, I'm attempting to cover all possible rounds collectively, as listed below:




  1. General Aptitude test — In this round, a candidate's quantitative ability, reasoning ability, and verbal ability are evaluated (English).
  2. Technical MCQs — This round consists of multiple-choice questions from computer science subjects such as programming basics, data structures, algorithms, database management systems, operating systems, automata fix and computer networks.


Essay Writing — Some service-based businesses have a round of essay writing. You will be given a topic for this round and will be required to write an essay of a certain length.


Coding Round — During the coding round, you will be given one or two problem statements for which you must write code that must satisfy specified test cases. You can use any programming language, such as C, C++, Java, or Python. (I suggest using any Object-Oriented Programming language.)

(Online assessment is an elimination round, if you qualify this round you will be called for a face to face interview.)

Note: Only service-based companies (such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, CTS, Capgemini, MindTree, Tech Mahindra, and others) ask for general aptitude and essay writing.


3. Face to Face Interview —


F2F interview comprises of following three rounds:

Technical Round — Students who pass the written exam are invited to the Technical Interview. Depending on the interview panel, you can expect questions on any topic related to your domain in this round. If you work in computer science or IT, you can expect questions about programming basics, data structures and algorithms, operating systems, database management systems, and computer networks. Students studying computer science and information technology are expected to write code on sheets of paper and explain it to a panel. There will be questions based on your resume and the projects you have listed on it.


Managerial Round — Some companies (such as TCS) have a managerial round in which you are forced to answer puzzle-based and/or technical questions. The interviewer may exert undue pressure and perform extensive cross-checking. Your responses will be questioned in order to determine your stress tolerance. The key to success in this round is to resist pressure while remaining calm, confident, and focused on your thoughts.


HR Round — This is the final stage of the hiring process. The interview panel may question you about your personality, family, education, hobbies, internships, and general knowledge. The important thing to remember here is to be confident in everything you say.

 

Now, I hope you understand the different types of companies, their eligibility criteria, and, most importantly, how the selection process works. The next thought is about what to study for an online test.




What to study for Online Assessment?


a. Syllabus for General Aptitude Test

Quantitative Aptitude-



Quantitative aptitude refers to the ability to solve numerical and mathematical calculations. It assesses a person's ability to manipulate numbers logically. To master quantitative aptitude, you must first master the topics listed below. The key is to practice, practice, and then practice some more.




  • Number-System 
  • Average
  • Percentage
  • Ratio and Proportions (Important)
  • Profit and Loss (Important)
  • Time and work (Important)
  • Time, Speed, and Distance (Important)
  • Simple Interest (Important)
  • Compound Interest
  • Problems on Trains (Important)
  • Allegations and Combinations (Important)
  • Permutation and Combination (Important)
  • Blood Relationship (Important)
  • Data Interpretation – Tables, Pie Charts, Bar Graphs, Line Graphs, and so on.

 

Logical Reasoning- Logical reasoning aptitude tests are designed to assess candidates' ability to draw logical conclusions from statements or arguments. Logical reasoning covers the following topics:



  • · Problems on age (Important)
  • · Statement and conclusions (Important)
  • · Analogies (Important)
  • · Logical deductions
  • · Syllogisms (Important)
  • · Coding and Decoding (Important)
  • · Linear and circular arrangements (Important)
  • · Number and letter series
  • · Directions (Important)
  • · Symbols and notations
  • · Decision making
  • · Inequality


Verbal Ability — The ability to use written language and comprehend concepts presented through words is referred to as verbal aptitude. In a verbal ability test, a person's ability to spell words correctly, use correct grammar, understand word meanings, understand word relationships, and/or interpret detailed written information is assessed. The following topics will be covered:



  • · Reading-Comprehensions (Important)
  • · Jumbled-sentences
  • · Synonyms and Antonyms
  • · Error-spotting (Important)
  • · Sentence-correction (Important)
  • · Sentence-completion (Important)


b. Syllabus for Technical MCQs-You may be asked questions about basic programming, data structures and algorithms, database and management systems, operating systems, and computer networks during the technical MCQs round.


Here are some resources to help you learn and practice questions for the Technical MCQ round.



  • · C Language
  • Java Language
  • Data Structures
  • Algorithms
  • DBMS 
  • Operating Systems
  • Computer Networks 


c. For Coding Round- To participate in the coding round, you must be fluent in at least one programming language. I recommend starting with your favorite Object-Oriented programming language if you're new to programming.

You must complete three tasks to pass the coding round.