6 months to go for placement. What to do now?

[RavS]

Hi, I am 7th sem student of BTech CSE. It's around 6-7 months before placements starts in my college.

Now though I am pretty much hopeful that I will get into some or other company. But I was wondering how shall I spend these remaining months so as to maximize my chances of getting into a Good company.

I have got fairly good grades till now and I think I am good in programming and stuff also. But I lack good communication skills (I always mess up in my Vivas) so I seem to be afraid of cracking the Interviews.

Also I don't have any idea what kind of rounds companies usually grind students though before placing. And what kind of questions are asked in Written tests and Interviews.

I will greatly appreciate if you people can help me out here. Thanks.

[furious_gamer]

Just go for a good English coaching centre. I knew a few of my friends, just got placed only for their fluent english and see some with good stuff and unable to express themself. I dont get a chance to fall in the pit, as i missed as i had backlogs at that time. ( )

I dont want you to fall in the same pit. So go learn it. Also aptitude(both Quantitative and Qualitative) plays a big role. So learn the as much as you can. Do your best and you'll be awarded for what you've done.

[celldweller1591]

Just go for a good English coaching center.

Chances to get a good insti for english is difficult. If you go in an avg. insti, they make your fool and will teach you nothing! I know those idiots, they themselves dunno anything, and then what do you expect from them. Only way to learn english is to make your environment totally on english, stay away from hindi, try to think in english never try to translate, better to speak it with friends, that will take some practice but its the only way to be fluent, watch news and see how they speak , english movies, songs and newspapers are the best source. As my Vice principal used to say "English comes from heart , not from hindi ".
Biggest thing is a good CV(curriculum vitae). Make it 0+ as much as you can.
Apart from that, you interview problem is not so big if you are good in your subject matter and you have fairly good IQ and good GK(current affairs) In my Air force SSB, it was 4 phases, but in normal interviews, there are 2 phases.
1st is Written test with loads of questions on subject matter, IQ(reasoning) and GK. If you clear that, interview comes in second phase. Be confidant. Thorough subject knowledge is necessary and you need to be very calm and keep smiling like you won a lottery that morning. A smile pulls things your side. Your way to speak, tone ,gestures and the way you sit are all counted. Apart from Subject matter, most basic questions they ask are :
"Whats your name ,hobbies blah blah !
"Why you want this job, Why you want to work in this company and all !
"What do you know about this company(turnover, job requirements, market status and shares knowledge and latest projects of the company)"
In the end, they always ask that if you want to ask something from them, if you have a query better ask, like "What are my chances to get promotion" or "In what other fields, the company deals in?" and all.
Rest is upto your IQ and whatever you have learnt in Btech till date. I dunnno much coz i m in 2nd year right now in Electrical engineering.
BTW Best of Luck !!!

[Liverpool_fan]

How about RHCE, SCJP, MCSE, CCNA type of courses?

Originally Posted by celldweller1591

Rest is upto your IQ and whatever you have learnt in Btech till date.
BTW Best of Luck !!!

Looks like I would be screwed if that is teh truth

[celldweller1591]

How about RHCE, SCJP, MCSE, CCNA type of courses

He has got 6 months left, in which he needs to spend time of FYP(final year project) and industrial training also. He can do only one of the above courses if he desires. But they will really add to a good CV

Looks like I would be screwed if that is teh truth

Its true. I am worried about the same . My concepts are good only in Electrical Power systems and Power production and i am avg in electronics and Circuit theory. I s**k in Electrical Machines(AC/DC motors and generators) and it is a very imp. subject in Electrical engg. I mug this subject every time b4 the exam and everything vanishes just after the exam.

[iinfi]

do u have british council library in ur city? they have good english speaking courses. its really good and worth it.
further look for interview questions and aptitude tests online and attempt those.

first question would however be "tell me something about yourself". the interviewer decides whether to hire u or not based on how you approach this question. mostly reputed organizations look for people with good communication skills. doesnt mean u will not find people speaking pathetic english in good organizations. such people have excellent technical knowledge i v seen.
At the same time u sud speak boldly. if u dont know a particular topic u can always say u dont know!!! rather than trying to bluff something. interview is not an exam!!!
hope this helps
can u answer the question "tell me something about urself here?"

---------- Post added at 07:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------

Originally Posted by celldweller1591

"What are my chances to get promotion" !

i v taken a few technical interviews till date ... if u ask me this question i wud say "100%, if u work hard and work smart"

frame ur question correctly. wats the growth in the company is a better way to ask!

[celldweller1591]

i just gave a rough idea...thats it

[furious_gamer]

Originally Posted by Liverpool_fan

Looks like I would be screwed if that is teh truth

AFAIK in campus interviews, 90% of the questions asked were not so TECHNICAL. I'm damn sure about that. Have a look at the set of questions asked for me while campus recruitment.

1. What's your hobby? - (My answer is ofcourse, playing games in PC,forumming and lil bit of pgmming )
2. So, what kind of games you play? - (I told them i play action,strategy and sandbox kinda games)
3. Name the last game you played ? - (some game.. i forgot that)
4. For how many hours you play each day? - (Me : About 4 hrs)
5. 4 hrs????

The conversation goes like this and the technical questions asked for me were :
1. Concepts of OOPS? - (Even a 2nd sem guy know this)
2. Does Java has multiple inheritance? ( Even my driver knew this..)

Look at that. Now you guys know how i felt at that time. Although i didn't get selected as i had 2 backlogs at that time

Its not for single interview, i heard these kind of questions in almost all interviews except 1 or 2 company. So English is King......

[RavS]

wow, few but some really encouraging and lengthy replies. Ok let me answer and cearify a few things

Originally Posted by rajkumar_pb

Just go for a good English coaching centre. I knew a few of my friends, just got placed only for their fluent english and see some with good stuff and unable to express themself.

I think I framed my question incorrectly. Actually English is a problem for me, but I am not like that I can't speak it at all or properly. It's just that fluency is not there, and I don't like to use a mixture of English and Hindi in conversation.

I think more than english it's the problem of self-confidence. Howsoever hard I prepare, I don't get confidence that I can nail my vivas (because of past vivas experiences). And I think I will feel the same at interview time.

Originally Posted by celldweller1591

Chances to get a good insti for english is difficult. If you go in an avg. insti, they make your fool and will teach you nothing!

Only way to learn english is to make your environment totally on english, stay away from hindi, try to think in english never try to translate, better to speak it with friends, that will take some practice but its the only way to be fluent, watch news and see how they speak , english movies, songs and newspapers are the best source. As my Vice principal used to say "English comes from heart , not from hindi ".

Biggest thing is a good CV(curriculum vitae). Make it 0+ as much as you can.

Thanks for the wishes mate. And it doesn't matter if u r in 2nd year Electrical. Sometimes practical knowledge matters more than age and experience.

Anyway, as you said most English coaching institutes are fluke. In fact there is an english coaching institute in my own lane:-P May be there are some institutes that can genuinely help but how am I gonna decide? So am not going to waste time there.

Now about practicing at home and friends. Well, most of my family members are Hindi speaking. So am not gonna get that envt. at home and while trying it with friends, I tend to feel like I am avoiding the conversation as am not fully comfortable with full English conversation. So I end up going back to Hindi. I am trying but it's not working as of now.

err.. and yes the CV also isn't top class. Besides good academic record and genuine interest in programming in particular and technology in general, I don't have anything much to show in CV.

Originally Posted by Liverpool_fan

How about RHCE, SCJP, MCSE, CCNA type of courses?

Well, would have loved to do one or more of these courses. But don't think have time enough to try for these certifications. Anyway, what about doing them after getting employed. Will they still hold value?

Originally Posted by iinfi

do u have british council library in ur city? they have good english speaking courses. its really good and worth it.
further look for interview questions and aptitude tests online and attempt those.

i v taken a few technical interviews till date ... if u ask me this question i wud say "100%, if u work hard and work smart"

frame ur question correctly. wats the growth in the company is a better way to ask!

British Council is there in New Delhi, but I don't think I will be able to afford their astronomically high fees (for an English course). Besides, I don't think they run their courses all year long.

hey, u have been the interviewer in few technical interviews? Then u can really help me out there. That is if you don't mind....

[Baker]

Originally Posted by RavS

Hi, I am 7th sem student of BTech CSE. It's around 6-7 months before placements starts in my college.

Now though I am pretty much hopeful that I will get into some or other company. But I was wondering how shall I spend these remaining months so as to maximize my chances of getting into a Good company.

I have got fairly good grades till now and I think I am good in programming and stuff also. But I lack good communication skills (I always mess up in my Vivas) so I seem to be afraid of cracking the Interviews.

Also I don't have any idea what kind of rounds companies usually grind students though before placing. And what kind of questions are asked in Written tests and Interviews.

I will greatly appreciate if you people can help me out here. Thanks.

Attitude .. the only think matters in campus placement is attitude..

these are my few cents....

Generally 2 categories of companies are coming to campus

so ur preparations need to be differ for these companies..

1: for mass recruitement Eg:wipro,cts,tcs,hcl,hexaware,accenture ...

these companies normally recruit more than 100 from the campus... , so the main filteration will be from written test...

1:go through RS agarwal and some logical reasoning that will be enough for these..
2:some times GD depends on number of candidates passed the written

be calm and wait for ur chance and make a bold strong statement... this will be enough to pass the GD
[in my time for accenture out of 12 , 10 got selected from a GD]

3:technichal round.

1:know ur resume [most most important]
2:just prepare the very basic questions. like oops,SE life cycle,DBMS,c datatypes
3:at max they will ask for the logic for prime num or palindrome..

HAVE COURAGE TO SAY "I DONT KNOW"....

4:HR round

be confident and answer their questions , i can assure u language will automatically comes from ur tounge.


[2] selective recruting companies.. eg:IBM labs,huawei,cisco,siemens, subex...

these companies recruit only 5-20 canidates max

here they will grill you in technichal round....................
1:written test -- defentely C aptitude.. use [yashwant kanetkar ]

2: minimum 2-3 rounds of tech round , they will ask what ever they eant

3:HR will be name sake , if u reach HR that means u got offer...



PS:campus placement is just a matter of luck , that doesnt means all dumbos can get through it , All they will check ,if they provide training u have the willingness to learn or not....

[rhitwick]

My two cents:-

Communication skill is very important for freshers. It may happen that depending upon d communication skill an average student got job but not the topper.

To develop communication skill get a good hold on making correct english sentences; thus u need good grammer skills. If u r good in written english, ur task id 80% done. Now u only need spoken practice.
As the wise men say, u don't need to have an accent for a good communication skill, just speak slowly and with proper pauses. In this case u will be audible, understandable and u can have control on what u r saying.
Watch news more, this time don't only listen the news but try to follow which words are pronounced which way, try to imitate it the same way.

For interview, learn a subject thoroughly, it should be in such a way that any damn question asked from anywhere the book, u should have an answer. Rest subjects just important topics only.

None expects u to be a master of all subjects u read.
In my case, I had written my skills this way: JAVA, C, OS, DBMS etc

He asked, JAVA then C? (Generally people write C then JAVA)
I : Yes, I'm better in JAVA than C.
He: OK, I'll then ask u questions from JAVA only.

I'm nobody to be an example but, just tried to give u some insight.

Be confident on what u r saying. If u say I know it all, that should mean u know it all.
10 questions asked from a certain subjects, u answered first three correctly and failed next two is accepted but if u fail to answer first two and answer next eight, its tough to create an impression.

[confused]

^very informative

[ico]

@RavS
Just try reading a newspaper slowly and clearly in front of a mirror. 10-15 minutes everyday would be enough.

Originally Posted by deepak_cucek

1:written test -- defentely C aptitude.. use [yashwant kanetkar ]

Joke of a book. no offense.

[furious_gamer]

Originally Posted by ico

Joke of a book. no offense.

+1

I'd rather read my XI'th standard C book.

Its like standard now. If one want to know java, they're going for book written by Balasubramaniam, and for C, yashwant and as for as APTITUDES they go for R.S.Agarwal. I thought WTF!!!! Do we dont have any other good books? Just my 2 cents and no offence meant on anyone.

[RavS]

Originally Posted by rajkumar_pb

+1

I'd rather read my XI'th standard C book.

Its like standard now. If one want to know java, they're going for book written by Balasubramaniam, and for C, yashwant and as for as APTITUDES they go for R.S.Agarwal. I thought WTF!!!! Do we dont have any other good books? Just my 2 cents and no offence meant on anyone.

Well, when I first read Let us C even I used swear by the book. I thought it is the most practical book for you learn C concepts. It teaches u just what you want...

But then I came across a lot of ebooks written by a number of different foreign authors. And then I came to know that Mr YPK has conveniently copied text from a lot of them (not even bothered to change the style of writing)... Even I could have done a better job at it.

So, if you just want to pass ur exam and programming isn't ur thing then please continue with LUC. But if you really want to learn programming concepts properly and comprehensively, then there are loads of better books out there. Thats my opinion..

Anyway, please don't stray away from main topic of thread, I am getting a lot of useful information. Thanks....

[gopi_vbboy]

in my exp

u need to be strong in english & verbal if u wanna crack a good company..technical also matters for IT guys...

i think there wud be a mass recruiting companies in many coll...they jus put som cutoff for apti...n interview is all abt u attitude n confidence

believe me i cud nt make it to any interview cos of apti din clear(abt 15 lost...quite lazy am)...but anyway interview waz cakewalk for me cos i was confident

---------- Post added at 10:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:19 PM ----------

Originally Posted by celldweller1591

He has got 6 months left, in which he needs to spend time of FYP(final year project) and industrial training also. He can do only one of the above courses if he desires. But they will really add to a good CV

Its true. I am worried about the same . My concepts are good only in Electrical Power systems and Power production and i am avg in electronics and Circuit theory. I s**k in Electrical Machines(AC/DC motors and generators) and it is a very imp. subject in Electrical engg. I mug this subject every time b4 the exam and everything vanishes just after the exam.

long way to go

3rd year elec wud be more elctrifyin if u are lik this...esp power elc,cntrl sys ,mcns n p.s.analy

understand and read

elek m/c n p.s are imp for elek eng

all the best..EE rokx

[dheeraj_kumar]

DISCLAIMER
This is not targeted at any user, just some of my own personal opinions.

1. Learn2Write. Write in proper, grammatically correct, English. Using SMS lingo, shortened words, and other forms of "kewl" writing is horrible, and I strongly detest them. Reasons? I've got two - reading them is difficult, and writing proper English will improve your communication skills.

2. Learn2Read. Read SOMETHING. Not what others traditionally suggest - newspapers, magazines, etc. No. Read something on your computer. Read news websites, Slashdot, blogs, anything, because when you don't know what something means, you can quickly Google it. If you have a dictionary extension for Chrome/FF, use it. Highlight a word to get its meaning.

3. Learn2Speak. Here's the most common scenario: Most of your friends speak your native tongue, and you can't find anyone to converse with. No problem! Download an English movie, or a TV show. Watch it once with subtitles. Watch it again, and try to speak ALONG with the dialog. Don't try to imitate the accent, just speak along the lines, and you'll be fine. This is my personal experience.

[FilledVoid]

I have got fairly good grades till now and I think I am good in programming and stuff also. But I lack good communication skills (I always mess up in my Vivas) so I seem to be afraid of cracking the Interviews.

When I went to USA I happen tor each right when 9/11 happened and trust em the job market was really bad so I happened to work as a recruiter in a firm. I can tell you this much.

All talk and no skills is bad. But all skills and no talk is worse. Communication is one of the most desired aspects any employer is going to look for. Some even prefer it more than the actual skillset. What I used to advise some of my students was to first of all get a some kind of media in English especially Newspapers and start reading. Don't just read through make sure you understand what you are reading especially. See a catchy phrase, try using it in a sentence in your mind. Why I would suggest a newspaper is because it also keeps you in touch with whats going on in the world today and that a huge plus especially in those General Discussion phases if you ever face one. Just my 2 cents of course.

PS I just noticed what Dheeraj wrote and I'm sorry I sort of repeated what he said but the above advice is definitely sound and the way to go.

[Liverpool_fan]

One query, how good an applicants communication skills should be? I mean does one has to be a great presenter or speaker as in giving presentations? Or is it just being confidently being able to answer when asked i.e. interviews? Personally I do OK only in those vivas which I actually have knowledge of, but suck in those in which I am not very sound. The worst case in when you can't really recite the technical jargon (*really* hard to memorize tbh, and you never know which can be asked) even if you have deep understanding.
I do OK in mock-interviews though.
Also are all these are applicable in off campus selections and interviews as well?

[furious_gamer]

@Liverpool_fan

Being confident is enough and when you don't know the answer just be confident to say no. Yes,it helps you in many ways. Take for example, if an interviewer ask a question from your fav topic so you can answer it well, but what if he digs in a new technology, just be frank and tell him you don't know that. It helped me in some ways.

Also, be it an on-campus or off-campus, the interview procedure is same. Especially in the present scenario, recruiting people become tough task for companies.

So, be prepared on what you're strong and knowledgeable and have courage to say no if you dont know the answer.

[pr.itdude]

First thing first, we all know On Campus Placements are better opportunity than Off-campus placements.
Why ? Coz the other aspirants are 4m ur clg and friend circle, the technical level/knowledge is roughly same (except some geniuses and certified guyz). So what really comes into play is the Communication Skills (that obviously includes correctly audible english, not so hi-fi) with a pleasant smile making you presentable.

And yes, start practicing Apti questions. Coz thats the first level [U may clear this if u r lucky enough, i've seen this many time.]

This is all my personal experience. Wishing u good luck