Engineering campus placement

Institute of Technology, Nirma University

Campus Placement process in brief:

• You will be getting a surprise mail from the campus placement head (III cell — CR head) regarding the visit of a company. Read details like test procedure, GD, date, backlog conditions, etc.
• Most of the companies come at short notice. So you have to be very active in checking emails.
• You should be in touch with at least 1 student of other colleges like LD, SVNIT, etc. to get an update regarding the common companies visiting our campus, their aptitude test pattern and the specific subjects from which questions are asked in the interview. The same shall accordingly also help in preparing a Resume. (This is just a suggestion)
• Most importantly, know the background of the company and check for recent news about the company. There have been few incidents where the company turned about to be an indebted conglomerate and denied students from joining.

Few tips for Resume:

• The interviewer shall take not more than 30 seconds to read your resume but it will surely take you days to prepare one
• Make it as simple as you can. Length: 1–1.5 page max
• For each, every word you write, ask yourself what value is it adding?

Selecting subjects of Interest:

• Your subject of interest & Internships will drive the interview. So make sure you mention only the ones you have a stronghold and are in relation to the company profile
• Don’t stick your self to the same subjects for automobile, petroleum, designing, thermal related companies, etc. Before placement season starts, prepare yourself for at least 3 subjects. No need to read everything (It’s not an exam). Take help from your seniors for that.

Extracurricular activities:

“Actions speak louder than words.”

• Your CGPA and the extra-curricular activities that you are involved in are a great ornament that would surely glitter in your CV.
• Just gaining the certificate will not help in cracking placement. But the actual learning definitely will. The way you handle the fear of interview, your confidence, your attitude will express the work you have done. Only mention stuff that you have earned. The collection of certificates for the sake of participation won’t help.
• Most of the companies are not even interested to know. They search for the quality, skill or talent required. The people sitting in front of you have come to offer lakhs of rupees and interviews thousands of students. So one can’t baffle them.

Aptitude test & Technical test:

• Let’s make one thing clear that this test as such no relation with your pointers. Secondly, having said aptitude is considered inborn potential doest mean it doesn’t require preparation. Few companies have elimination criteria in Aptitude tests. Obviously, engineers are good at math but the time limit is the main constraint.
• Most of the companies select only on the basis of aptitude and not on the basis of technical tests.
• If you are well versed in basic technical knowledge and concepts, it would be just a piece of cake for you to crack company tests before the interview.
• Most of the questions (Aptitude & Technical) are asked from the “IndiaBIX” website.
• Also, refer R S Aggarwal (Quantitative Aptitude, verbal & non-verbal reasoning) for math and Mech handbook for technical
• You will see the companies generally hire a 3rd party platform for conducting such tests and questions keep on repeating.
• There are very few companies that require above 8 CGPA for sitting in the first round. So CGPA is just a ticket. But for entry in the placement, you have to buy this ticket.

Percentage (%) = (CGPA — 0.5)*10

CompanyCriteriaMechanical core company
Like (L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance, etc.)Min CGPA: 6.5 or 7.0Non-core company:
Like (HUL, Mu sigma, Future first, etc.,)Min CGPA: 7.5 or 8.0

Backlogs:
Some company does have criteria like No backlog, while some company prefers no current/live backlogs. So that this stage, you must avoid any current or future backlogs.

Group discussions:

• Very few companies keep GD and that too is selection GD. You won’t be eliminated from GD, but they will judge your confidence and communication skills.
• Be prepared for a few common topics like digital market, sex education, Rich/Poor India, etc
• Stay tuned with the with recent news and preferably for companies and their competitors. That will help in improving current affairs and also help in GD.
• If you are not good in GD, speaking 2 effective lines with confidence is enough
• You can follow this youtube channel

Technical Interview:

• Dress well and be confident
• Avoid last moment reading as well as asking your peers about the interviewer questions. They won’t ask you the same thing.
• Be ready for some out of the box questions.
• Your projects, internships, and subject of interest create a great impact. Interviewers are for testing the attitude of a student. They refer to a resume just to start the conversation. Having good tactics, you can make the interviewer drive it in your way
• Your aptitude, presence of mind, way of answering questions, your approach, your clarity, your communication skills, your extra-curricular activities, etc. plays an important role

Keep these things in your mind:

• Be confident and don’t get nervous for things you don’t know
• Instead of lying, accept that you are not aware
• If asked, share only the positive points about your faculty’s or college’s feedback.
• If you deny the department to work in offered by the company you will be rejected.
• They might ask you directly which section would you like to work in like-Maintainance, sales, production, etc. Make sure your answer is in their favor.

Presentation Round:

• Few companies like Maruti Suzuki & Hyundai asked for presenting a deck about yourself
• Instead of making one at the eleventh hour, you can make 5 slides about your academics, skills, key achievements and future prospects.

What if we don’t have enough companies for campus placement due to COVID or couldn’t attend one due to pointer cut-off criteria:

• You can consult your project guide or your department faculties. Many faculties are in association with various industries.
• You can apply for Off-campus on some common platforms of state govt. like the OJAS (Online Job Application System). You can also apply online going to the official website of individual companies (in the careers tab).
• Job fair/ online websites/ Offline agents
• Prepare for some govt jobs or Higher studies if you want to pursue it.
• If you are good in your field, you will make your own way in any condition.
• Instead of thinking what you cant get, try exploring paths through which you can make your way

Few suggestions:

• Don’t get disheartened if you can’t make it to your dream company.
• You should attend all the companies including the ones with the lower package. Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity. Avoiding which affects the reputation of the university and your predecessor as well.