Engineering Campus Placement Guide

Campus placement guide for KTU B-Tech students

Campus Placement makes up one of the most important parts of campus life. This is a make or breaks your future. It is also one last chance. You have a chance here, even if you screwed everything in your life but you have this one to change everything.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why people come to B.Tech or Engineering itself is the idea of getting a job immediately after the course or campus placements. Even a college that may not have adequate campus life or education to offer but having a good placement record will stand apart from the rest.

Earlier campus placements or job fairs used to be a big pain to hold. Now, with everything online, even placement drives are online. Before that lot of time, energy and effort used to get wasted for the same. Now things actually easy for both students and recruiters.

In this article, we will discuss Campus Placements amidst the pandemic, selection criteria, preparedness, tips and tricks for the interview, debunking myths and misconceptions.

I believe I am qualified enough to speak about it as I was part of the project for nearly a year. As I have completed my engineering course and experienced the happenings here, I will talk about only this and most of it surrounding CS&IT. Although for other branches fear not, the process is almost the same and I will try to keep this article as inclusive and objective as possible.

Campus Placement happens usually in the fourth year and is a common phenomenon across various colleges in India especially for Engineering. Although it depends from college to college, university to university etc.

A typical placement drive includes

• Eligibility criteria-
• Resume shortlisting (Optional)
• Aptitude Test/Technical Aptitude Test or both
• JAM/Group Discussion (Optional)
• Technical/HR Interview or Both
• Offer

The entire period can happen within a day or may even happen over a period of days or weeks or even months. Campus recruitment is usually short and straightforward.

Placement Preparedness

Sitting for placements is actually not a compulsory thing, but it's up to you, your ambition and your choice whether you need to sit for the same or not. You need to make your mind and stay prepared if at all you are looking into the same. That is very important for you to stay committed till the end.

Placements usually happen across a year or even more. Also, you will have a lot of distractions from your personal life, anxiety, college life, activities, academics, family pressure, and even feeling of loneliness.

Since this does has a factor of luck, chances that your friends getting your friends placed even at the first attempt and you staying on till the end does have high chances. You must be mentally ready to stay not placed even when your classmates are already placed.

The most important aspect of attending is to be prepared beforehand. You have close to three years to prepare for placements. I don’t mean that you need to keep preparing for the placements from day one but whatever you do must have an effect on the placements. Here are a few things that you must keep in your mind.

Understand yourself

You must understand yourself first. What type of work do I like to do. Since you are a Btech student, most companies will be tech-oriented. Are you fine with that?

Check the company profile, does it sound good, will you find interest in working there, does it align with your greater career goals?

Look into the job profile or the role which you are applying for, Software Engineer, Systems Engineer, Cloud Engineer, Hardware Engineer, Engineer trainee, etc. are the most commonly sought posts. Companies do roll out a document describing the requirements and their expectations.

In addition to that, you have a Business analyst, Business Associate, Sales associate, Marketer, Digital marketing associate, Content Marketing associate. etc. which are non-technical posts. To understand the company profile and the job profile before applying.

Last but not least check the package and offer. My personal suggestion is not to put package as the first criteria because it is your interest and your career. You won't enjoy the job if you are not interested in it no matter how much it pays. So take that decision wisely.

Resume

It is in fact the most important part of getting recruited. On-campus or Off-campus, a resume is the single most important part of your identity for a company or a recruiter. Generally, institutions do have their own format for the same and try to stick to the same. You can also check online on how to write a resume.

Your resume will include your background, contact details, educational details, your skills, experience and expertise, and a lot more. Having an excellent and charming resume is essential to your chances of getting selected.

During massive off-campus drives, recruiters do use resume shortlisting to filter out candidates and find suitable people. They will use keyword checking to filter them out, Eg- Those who know python language, the keyword “Python” will be searched for.

Must include in your Resume-

• Include your educational details which are relevant
• Add your technical skills-

1. Programming languages you know- Python, C, SQL, Java etc.
2. Tools you know- PCBs, Multimeters, Embedded C, Simulators, Microprocessors, Microcontrollers, Softwares etc.
3. Any particular technology had worked with- AI, ML, IoT, etc.
4. OS you have worked with- Windows, LINUX, Firmwares, etc.

• Soft skills- Public speaking, Technical writing, documentation, leadership skills etc.
• Internship/Work Experience- Name, Place, Period, Your role
• Projects- Academic projects or external projects
• Certification Courses- Udemy, NPTEL, Coursera courses
• Extracurricular activities
• Achievements and awards
• Leadership roles- Clubs, organising teams etc.
• Include your LinkedIn profile- Have a profile, keep it relevant and updated

Tips for writing resume

1. Use a single font throughout the document.
2. Highlight important points in the resume.
3. Include the details only which you can answer for sure. If you have written that you know LiFi, then you are entitled to explain everything about LiFi. so be careful what you need to include.
4. Never include something which you have doubts about or are not sure about or something that you don’t know.
5. Change and keep your resume updated. Depending upon the company profile or the job profile.
6. Don’t miss anything that is important, especially internships and projects.
7. Add more of your hobbies and interests so that the Interviewers eye goes there and they can question you on that and you will be able to answer about yourselves so clearly.
8. For technical jobs, focus and build your technical skills and projects while for business and communication include more of your soft skills and extracurricular activities.

When you are done with the Resume you are half done. It reflects a lot about you and also something that they know about you. They might judge a lot about you purely based on that.

Understand test pattern

What will be the type of test, what will be the pattern, overall time period, the syllabus of the test, the difficulty of the test, frequently asked questions, interview questions, etc.

You can talk to seniors and take help in understanding the company, job profile and even the test pattern. Stay in touch with your placement and training cell for the same.

Attending the Placement

Technical Aptitude Test

If you are opting for a technical job, you will have to go through this round for sure. All the technical knowledge you know both on and off the syllabus will be put to test here. Even if you don’t know what was taught in class you will have the chance to clear it up, brush up before sitting for placements. Anything from class 11th to Btech final year can be asked. Usually, your knowledge of core subjects are being tested.

Types of tests

1. One word answers/Fill in the blanks
2. MCQ
3. Descriptive with short explanations
4. Output questions
5. Coding rounds
6. Table/SQL round
7. Writing a SQL query

Important subjects for the software technical tests include- Data Structures, Algorithms, Operating Sytems, System Software, Compiler Design, DBMS, Networking, Linux commands, etc.

Important subjects for Database jobs- Data structures, OS, DBMS, tables etc.

Important subjects for Cloud jobs- OS, Data structures, DBMS, Cloud Computing, Distributed Computing, etc.

Important subjects for Network jobs- Computer networks, Data Communication, Operating systems, C Programming, Linux, etc.

Important subjects for Hardware Engineering jobs- Computer Organisation and Architecture, Circuits, Embedded systems etc.

Importance of Coding

The majority of companies include Coding tests after an MCQ round. Over one to three coding questions can be asked. You should be prepared to answer it. So you must know at least one programming language. Usually Python, C or C++ are preferred.

In addition to that learning basics of SQL is important. Some companies might not have a coding round, instead, they can question your logic instead of knowing to program as such.

Tips for technical aptitude tests

Be proficient with your core subjects. Practice hundreds of questions and most of them are available for free online. Understand that this test evaluates your technical skills, knowledge, programming, logic, and also sums up your past few years.

Also, it gives you a glimpse of the job profile and expectations.

Use hacker rank and hacker earth for sample coding rounds, coding questions, output questions etc. You can also refer to subject materials from sites like Tutorials point, Java point etc. for learning theory subjects.

General Aptitude Test

Usually, technical aptitude tests are followed by any Non-tech aptitude test. Non-tech companies use this criterion to judge engineers. This is an easy round but the most important part here is to get the right answer in the shortest possible time.

All your class 6 to class 12 mathematics is asked here. Speed, time, clock, calendar, probability, statistics, arithmetic, areas and volume, shapes, work and power, etc. It can also include very basic physics and chemistry.

This test accesses your problem-solving aptitude, knowledge and time management. You can practise a lot of tests online or even approach your Training cell for sample questions and question patterns.

Logical Reasoning Test

General aptitude tests come long with logical reasoning. They are very essential for engineers as they are problem solvers. This test checks your decision making capability as well as your logical reasoning.

Questions asked are patterns, numbers, sequences and series, thinking based questions, decision making, etc.

Language Test

This test checks your basic English language and written soft skills. Most MNCs give due care to your soft skills and also your communication. So it is important to give equal importance to that.

Error check, spell checks, synonym, antonym, General Awareness, decision making etc. are the questions that are asked. If you know basic English and Grammar then this section will be extremely easy.

Interview

After your tests, if you are qualified you will enter the interview. The interview can be Technical or HR. Both evaluate a different aspect of you that was never tested during your tests. Given that interviews are dependant on the interviewer, there is a lot of subjectivity involved.

Technical Interview can be of two types- A mere verbal Q/A or it can be a test of your technical skills by giving you a problem and asking you to solve it then and there. It can also be a coding round.

Core subjects are the favourite area of any interviewer. They can ask you an objective question or an analytical question or even an opinion question.

Understanding of basic engineering subjects, different academic subjects and also the requirements of the job profile questions can vary. Most of them will be answerable and easy. If you are not sure of the answer you can tell whatever you know in a conversational mode.

Here, they test your communication skills and understanding of your subject knowledge. It is also a test of how far you can communicate your ideas and technical knowledge.

HR interview is all about knowing your personality, your interests and whether you are the right candidate for the company. It is not as easy as it sounds. It is generally like a trap that they try to put you in, forcing you to say something which you shouldn’t have and make mistakes.

Some frequently asked questions about yourselves include- your introduction, skills, activities at college, leadership roles, hobbies etc. FAQs on company-related ones include, why do you want to join this company, why should we hire you, why should we hire an engineering graduate, where do you see yourselves in 5 or 10 years, do you look for higher studies options, etc.

Interview Tips

• Take it easy, stay calm and focused.
• Make your introduction as interesting as possible. Depending upon the company you can shape your introduction. Talk about your background, education, technical skills and why you are in the interview.
• Answer all questions with confidence.
• Keep the answer crisp, short and easy to understand.
• You may be required to code and show output during an interview. So be ready with the text editor or a coding platform.
• Don’t hesitate to get clarification, or ask doubts.
• Don’t give pessimistic answers like I am not aware or I am not interested. Say you are unaware but I will check it up.
• Expect questions from your resume and be ready to get questioned on even minute detail.
• Never say your future study plans or that you are not interested in this company and you are just here to give it a shot.
• Ensure that you sit in a well-lit room, well dressed &the audio is working fine.
• Trying few mock interviews will definitely help.

Just A Minute (JAM)

This is a rare criterion for placements but yes, you should be prepared for anything and everything. You will be provided with a topic with one minute to prepare and one minute to talk.

Since you don’t have time to prepare, you might feel nervous. At the time you should be able to speak out whatever you have in your mind in a short span of time. To succeed in this, you have to practice a lot. Be fluent, try practising and it will go fine. Choose random topics and try to speak.

Group Discussion (GD)

Here, you will be divided into groups and will be given a topic to discuss in a given time period. You may or may not be given sufficient enough time to prepare.

Whenever you are in GD remember that you are in a group and not giving a monologue. It should feel like a dialogue rather than a monologue. Keep track of time and don’t take away the time of others too. Try to bring new points and ideas instead of reiterating others’. If you have had a previous speaking experience this round will be extremely easy for you.

Article Writing

This task is only for a content-based job. Usually, they can ask you to write an article with a designated word limit. The exercise can also include drawing, inserting graphics, design etc. While marketing companies can also include questions like building a persona, story writing, technical writing etc. Your prior experience in blogging, digital writing will also be considered.

Post Placement

After all this, you are done with all the procedures. You will get the result mostly by mail or through a call. It depends on the company when the results will come. Although don’t wait for the results. Start registering for the next and keep preparing.

If you get selected you will receive an offer letter. You must accept the offer letter in order to join the company. Following that the company will send you an appointment letter indicating all the other details. Depending upon the college rules you can choose to sit for higher options or not.

If you are not selected don’t worry, this is not the end of the world. You can choose to apply elsewhere, you can sit for future drives. Don’t get intimidated by anything else. Stay focused and don’t lose track. Despite everything else please make sure that you keep consistent with your academics.

Myth busters

There are numerous myths surrounding placements and we are going to look at them and bust theṃ.

• You need a very high CGPA- Most companies keep 7.5-8 as a cutoff. You don’t need to be brilliant or extraordinary. You just need a minimum qualification GPA. 8–8.5 is a healthy GPA. Getting 8 SGPA is very easy. The only thing you need to take care of is that there shouldn’t be any backlogs.
• You need to be academically proficient- Tests and interviews rarely test your knowledge as such. They are applications, they test your logic and skills. If you are skilled, you will be hired. They don’t care about your grades.
• You need to learn about everything- Not needed, check out what is actually asked according to the job profile and prepare accordingly.
• You need to have previous work experience- You are a fresher and companies knows that you may not be experienced at all. So you don’t have to worry at all. Although previous work experience is indeed helpful.
• You don’t need co/extracurricular activities at college- They do make a very important part of your resume. Also, it shows your interests and experience. Also, these provide you with valuable soft skills.
• You need to answer every question at the interview and the test- That's not correct, you just need to make sure that you are confident and let the interviewer know that you can do it and express whatever you know. Also, have the urge to learn more even if you don’t know

Things to keep in mind

Placement drives are monitored and proctored. Don’t try to engage in any kind of malpractice or plagiarism. Don’t make up your resume with things that you don’t know. Ensure that you include only which is true and what you are confident about. The interviewer can ask even the minute details on the Resume so never take a chance.

Always have your computer system ready and ensure it's fully functional. It is also advised to have a backup system ready just in case. Having your own computer is important. Avoid attempting tests and interviews by phone. It is highly difficult, unreliable and not suggested.

Dress professionally while attending interviews. Adhere to dress codes if anything there. Personally, I’m also not a supporter of dress codes but it might be needed to keep yourselves on the safer side. Also, make sure that you regularly check your emails so that you don’t miss any important updates. (Personally, I have missed some updates because I was too late in checking it.)

This placement is not a big deal, the world is not going to end soon. You will have enough and more chances. Never take any negative experience that happened to you at the placement drive or interview personally. It’s just a healthy competition and sometimes it is luck. Don’t get swayed away by what's happening around you.

I hope I have tried to stay objective and covered whatever is needed. I hope this would be useful for you and your peers. If you have any issues or doubts with respect to this subject please reach out to me on comments or social media. I have also made subject wise for all KTU CS semesters, so please do check them out and stay updated.

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