With the final
year of college only months away, the pressure of placement began to build in
my head. Terms such as “job security”, “company profiles” and “CTC” were
becoming a large part of my Google’s search history. And I don’t just speak for
myself, but for every student who at one point faces these months every year,
with everyone at their own levels of aspirations and anxiety. I write today not
to address a particular company, job or profile, but to address the whole
campus recruitment procedure in general. Here is my take on HOW TO PREPARE
YOURSELF for one the biggest responsibilities of your life – your FIRST job.
1. Ask
the RIGHT Questions
It’s needless to say, your seniors and college faculty are the ones who will give you their first hand experiences. If you want to really DIG DEEP, go beyond “how much money do they offer?”, and start asking these questions –
It’s needless to say, your seniors and college faculty are the ones who will give you their first hand experiences. If you want to really DIG DEEP, go beyond “how much money do they offer?”, and start asking these questions –
a. What
companies come to our campus, and WHEN?
Since many colleges offer a single-job policy, it’s important to sit for the RIGHT companies. Rushing into decisions might get you a job, but might not get you one that you truly deserve.
Since many colleges offer a single-job policy, it’s important to sit for the RIGHT companies. Rushing into decisions might get you a job, but might not get you one that you truly deserve.
b. What
profiles are offered by each of these companies?
You might hear huge names like Google and Microsoft, but you need to know what kind of work they’re asking you to do. For example, there’s no point sitting for a business analyst profile if you intend to get your hands on coding.
You might hear huge names like Google and Microsoft, but you need to know what kind of work they’re asking you to do. For example, there’s no point sitting for a business analyst profile if you intend to get your hands on coding.
c. What
are the LOCATIONS?
If you’re someone who easily gets homesick, or in contrast, want to head out and explore a new city, learn what options you will potentially be offered. Right now you might THINK you’ll go for anything, you just care about the job, but in actuality, locations are what often make or break the whole deal.
If you’re someone who easily gets homesick, or in contrast, want to head out and explore a new city, learn what options you will potentially be offered. Right now you might THINK you’ll go for anything, you just care about the job, but in actuality, locations are what often make or break the whole deal.
d. What
is the growth rate of the companies?
Your career is yet to begin, so there’s no point in moving towards a company that might seem to offer a relatively good package now, but has slow growth in the market.
Your career is yet to begin, so there’s no point in moving towards a company that might seem to offer a relatively good package now, but has slow growth in the market.
e. What
is the growth rate for the individual at the company?
If you’re truly up for some WORK, you’ll want to look for companies that offer lots of projects, challenging work, lots to learn, but at the same time, giving you space to breathe and go at your pace. People with even a year of experience are capable of saving you from their mistakes.
If you’re truly up for some WORK, you’ll want to look for companies that offer lots of projects, challenging work, lots to learn, but at the same time, giving you space to breathe and go at your pace. People with even a year of experience are capable of saving you from their mistakes.
2. Google It
Now, it might seem something not even worth mentioning, but many of us don’t even realize the masses of information that is placed on the internet for us to consume. Here are the top 4 websites I want you to checkout –
Now, it might seem something not even worth mentioning, but many of us don’t even realize the masses of information that is placed on the internet for us to consume. Here are the top 4 websites I want you to checkout –
a. Quora, a great community to find answers to just
about all your queries
b. Glassdoor, goes into the details of company-wise
profiles and have some GOOD advice to share from the employees themselves
c. LinkedIn, where you should build your virtual
resume and a lot of contacts, that will help build your professional network
d. YouTube, which you should now use to explore about
interview experiences, tips and tricks, lectures on various topics of your
field, etc.
3. READ
and SAVE
To be honest, I’ve never been this grateful for blogs before, but it was in this phase that I found the smallest forums and blogs my biggest saviour. BOOKMARK everything as you go, or take notes of the things you WANT to remember, because over the months to follow you’ll have SO much to remember that you’ll end up forgetting half the things you found, or HOW you even got to them!
To be honest, I’ve never been this grateful for blogs before, but it was in this phase that I found the smallest forums and blogs my biggest saviour. BOOKMARK everything as you go, or take notes of the things you WANT to remember, because over the months to follow you’ll have SO much to remember that you’ll end up forgetting half the things you found, or HOW you even got to them!
4. Understand
the Placement Process
There are multiple rounds of screening, each requiring its own set of skills as you go. So make sure you understand what each round is about, how many potential rounds you’ll be driven through, etc.
There are multiple rounds of screening, each requiring its own set of skills as you go. So make sure you understand what each round is about, how many potential rounds you’ll be driven through, etc.
5. Work
on Your Resume
Focusing on your field, start browsing through various resume samples, understand the keywords and pointers you can add to make your resume a HIT, and take the time to frame and reframe your resume to look clean and concise. Take a look at the ebook “The Google Resume” by Gayle Laakmann.
Focusing on your field, start browsing through various resume samples, understand the keywords and pointers you can add to make your resume a HIT, and take the time to frame and reframe your resume to look clean and concise. Take a look at the ebook “The Google Resume” by Gayle Laakmann.
6. Work
that Mind
Apart from your field skills, every company wants people who have the ability to work out puzzles, logical reasoning, and solve aptitude. Here are some reference books I would highly recommend –
Apart from your field skills, every company wants people who have the ability to work out puzzles, logical reasoning, and solve aptitude. Here are some reference books I would highly recommend –
a. Useful sites – lumosity.com, pagalguy.com
b. Brain teasers – “Puzzles to Puzzle You” by
Shakuntala Devi
c. Quantitative
– “Quantitative Aptitude” (R S Aggarwal)
d. Verbal and
Non Verbal – “A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning” (R S
Aggarwal)
e. Logical – “The
Great Book of Puzzles and Teasers” (George Summers)
Here are the
technical books and reference sites I studied from –
Useful sites – geeksforgeeks, stackoverflow
- Crack the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann
- 140 Google Interview Questions
- MCQ’s in Computer Science by Timothy J Williams
- Data Structures and Algos Made Easy by Narsimha Karumanchi
NOTE : I
downloaded free ebooks for many, and bought/borrowed the rest.
7. Work
SMART, Not Just Hard
Try and work with yourself to
device plans to study. Do what helps YOU. Things that worked for me were -
a. Discussing my progress with a friend I can
trust and can truly compete with.
b. Reminding myself that myself that only 15%
(3-4 hours) of the day was work, the rest was still for my leisure. It made me
feel bad when I couldn’t even give that insignificant 15%, thus keeping me
going.
c. Unlike many students who chose to study one
thing a day, I studied a little of everything everyday – some apti, some tech,
some coding, some vocabulary, etc.
d. Making milestones. Having short-term,
day-to-day based goals makes things on the long run possible.
e. Use POST-IT notes that plan your work
schedule, topics to be covered, etc. Cross out something once you’ve achieved
it. Within days, you’ll start seeing crosses which will motivate you to move
forward faster.
8. Work
on Your Self-Development
Take a look in the mirror and start thinking about the physical things you’d like to improve about yourselves. Even the smallest improvements can make all the difference in your personality and build your confidence. For me, it was things like –
Take a look in the mirror and start thinking about the physical things you’d like to improve about yourselves. Even the smallest improvements can make all the difference in your personality and build your confidence. For me, it was things like –
a. Grow out my shabby nails
b. Stand straight (I tend to shrug since I’m
tall)
c. Don’t move your hands too much or act
fidgety
Furthermore, work
on things like your vocabulary, group communication and fluency in speaking
English. Download the app called “MAGOOSH VOCAB for GRE” if you’re looking for
some (1000, to be precise) of the most common (yet somehow uncommon to most of
us Indians) words that aren’t just necessary for GRE, but for ANY course
requiring English proficiency.
Another thing I’d
like to advice is – CONTROL THY JARGON. In situations where you have developed
a reflex to use inappropriate words like “shi*t” or “f**k”, it’s time to
understand that these break the first rule of professionalism – sophisticated
speaking.
9. Learn
to Accept Failure
I was blessed to get placed in the first company I sat for, however, I also see peers breaking down and going into absolute depression as they see themselves still struggling after months. Here are things you need to know –
I was blessed to get placed in the first company I sat for, however, I also see peers breaking down and going into absolute depression as they see themselves still struggling after months. Here are things you need to know –
a. The number of companies that come to your
campus is only a small FRACTION of some of the best in this country.
b. Don’t waste time being morose, start
applying for companies OFF CAMPUS.
c. We all make mistakes, but you’ll succeed
only if you learn from them. If you’re being rejected one company after the
other, there’s a possibility that you’re making those mistakes more than once.
d. Even if you start losing confidence, set a
standard for yourself from the start, and do NOT resort to compromising to
anything less. NOTE: Please set a realistic standard only after you truly
self-evaluate.
10. Start
Preparing for the Interview
Don’t neglect your final round. Because while some companies have gaps between the various rounds, there are companies who wind up everything within a day. There are DOZENS of HR questions that you can easily screw up if you don’t go prepared for. Here is an article I really liked http://m.timesofindia.com/business/india-business/14-tips-that-are-designed-to-help-you-succeed-in-interviews/articleshow/39176273.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral
Don’t neglect your final round. Because while some companies have gaps between the various rounds, there are companies who wind up everything within a day. There are DOZENS of HR questions that you can easily screw up if you don’t go prepared for. Here is an article I really liked http://m.timesofindia.com/business/india-business/14-tips-that-are-designed-to-help-you-succeed-in-interviews/articleshow/39176273.cms?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral
These are probably
just some of the things you can do, and there’s a lot more you should! So get
right to it folks, all the best! J
