Placement Guide
Cadbury
Pranav
How do you describe yourself as a person ? What were your interests , inclinations when you entered IIT ?
After entering IIT , I didnt have any particular interests , I just planned to get a PhD or something after 5 years , so my inclination was towards research and the projects and interns that i undertook were all in one particular topic of chemical engineering , that was colloids and emulsions - I have done 2 projects in that topic . I liked to develop my resume in one direction , I was particular about entering into core engineering or do a PhD , I was not interested in going for a finance firm , hence i developed my resume for core field .
How did you zero in on the topic - emulsions and did you never have any doubts about your future plans , course of action ?
After you study some of the courses , you get a basic idea about your inclinations. I liked mass transfer operations and hence i chose that field . Normally it will take you some time to know what you are interested in , but you must find out and focus on that thing . If you are interested in chemical , then core is a really good option , but if you are not interested in chemical , then you may try other options like finance , consultancy e
Why did you chose a job over a PhD ?
After two of my projects i really wanted to work and gain some ground experience, PhD is not off the table , I may opt for applying for a PhD after few years .
How did you choose the companies that you were planning to apply?
I was as i said interested in core , though core companies pay comparatively less than consulting or finance companies but what matters is the profile they are offering you . I chose companies on the basis of the job profile on offer .
Did you attend the PPTs and will you recommend them ?
I had to attend them because I was the placement team member , but to someone i will suggest that apart from the placement rules and policy, I would have preferred if i attended only the PPTs that interested me , like I didn’t want to attend the PPTs of consultancy companies because that’s a waste of time for me , hence I would suggest other people to focus only on the ones they are interested in .
What was the shortlisting criteria for Cadbury ?
Resume shortlisting on basis of CPI,technical background and a little emphasis on POR(leadership roles)
GD was based on a very generic topic for a group of 10 people ( Taking the lead role did not matter here, ideas and innovative thinking were evaluated)
Interview consisted of a single round comprising of HR+Technical - Both needed to prove your leadership capability, team management and technical expertise
In retrospection what do you think could have been done better ?
well after attending many PPTs , I started to develop some interest and liking for consultancy . So i wasted some time for case studies and all , which i didn’t opt in the end . So I really think that time could have been used better , I advice all to really focus while in the placement season
What will your final message be to the Placement Junta in general ?
Resume should reflect your personality , prepare the resume as good as you can . Highlight only the points which you can defend really well . Practice really hard and gain the confidence in the field which you have opted . Plan it properly , people in IIT have the habit to do everything at the eleventh hour which doesn’t provide the necessary confidence needed in interviews .
ITC
Anurag Khandelwal
Message
I would like to be very practical and share some of my experiences.
Before anything else, you may like to download all three editions of “Be Prepared” from DC. These books have interview experiences of students of three batches of previous years. Personally, I got immense help from all these books.
Resume Related
DO NOT FAKE ANY POINT IN RESUME EVER !
Believe me guys; I have seen my batch mates not getting the job just because even after doing every other thing right they were not able to defend that particular single point of their resume. Having said that, some of the points can be written in a better form to portray some different qualities (conveying the same work).
Be careful in what you write about your second year internships. People tend to write many fancy words and could not defend in the end.
Refer to the standard resume workshop ppts available on DC (Opera, Mc Kinsey etc.). Download a list of action verbs.
Review by seniors generally takes a week’s time. Try to send your resume just before weekend so that they can review it without delaying so much.
Do not let your resume getting over reviewed. People will keep suggesting things on your 20th version too. Somewhere down the line, you will be required to take a call and stop.
Pre-Placement Talks
It is important to attend PPTs of all the companies relevant for you. You can always pick out things from the PPT to answer questions like why do you want to join our company? ; Why do you think we should hire you? ; What is so unique about us as compared to competitors?
Take notes during PPTs. At least note down what is unique about that company? ; What are the qualities they are looking for in a candidate? These things help on the interview day when one does not have enough time to go to the internet. One can just look at the notes and frame answers of some standard HR questions.
If you are unable to go to a PPT, request your friend to take notes and consult him later for the info. If there are multiple PPTs in a day, decide amongst your friends and try to cover every PPT.
ITC Process
Resume Shortlist (30 mech + 30 Chem + 20 elec), followed by case-based GD (20 minutes) shortlist of around 30 followed by 2 interviews (mix of both technical + HR). 9 people were made final offers, 8 joined in the end.
Note: Please do not have the mindset that only high CPI students can crack ITC. One needs to have a decent CPI to get shortlisted. After that, it all depends on GD and PIs. Out of the 8 students who joined ITC this year from IITB, 4 of them had CPI in the range of 8 to 8.2. So, don’t just drop this company from your target list without giving much thought.
Group Discussions
ITC always has case based GDs. Most of you guys would have experienced this in your 3rd year also. Generally, they come up with the same standard cases (This year may not). But, I will advise you to contact 3rd year students after they have their GDs during internship selection process to get the flavor of the cases. All the standard fundae of GDs are applicable here also, which you will hear from a lot of people in due course of time.
Interview
I had 2 interviews each of around 45 minutes. Both can be divided into 3 phases (Normal HR + Technical + Not so normal HR).
One thing is for sure, Expect anything in an ITC interview. Each of us had different type of experiences. Therefore, a lot depends on how well you answer the very first question, tell me about yourself. If you are able to justify this answer in the interview, I think you will be in. So, prepare this answer well.
Select three qualities of yourself that you would like to tell the interviewer. Keep some examples or stories ready to back them. At the same time, be ready with the 4th thing that you don’t like about yourself (basically a weakness).
If you try to portray yourself as someone who is in deep love with chemical engineering, then be ready to answer some chemical engineering fundamentals. Those who are genuinely in love with chemical engineering should not hesitate at all and earn some brownie points.
Technical
Be ready to be grilled on all the technical stuff that you have in the resume especially the internships and technical projects.
Go through reports and PPTs that you have made in your internship period. Find out the current status of the project you have done. Business aspect of your project should be clear to you.
Prepare one or two courses very well. They sometimes ask which your favorite course is and then accept you to answer all the questions.
Refer to a mail sent by Pratik Behra for the core preparation strategy. Ask dual degree batch for the same.
Bottom line is if you claim something in the interview , you must be able to back it up .
Human Resources
HR is a very crucial part of ITC interview process. You must spend a good amount of time in preparing for the normal HR questions. Two resources are:
o 64 HR questions
o HLPQ (available on DC)
Google yourself, look into various aspects of your life, pin them down. Do not wait for the last week for HR preparation. You may not be able to sit in peace in the last week.
In case you have multiple shortlists in the same slot, be ready to defend yourself when they ask what your preference is.
They will ask you about your higher study plans. Be diplomatic in answering such questions.
Some value based HR questions can be asked. There may be questions on ethical issues related to cigarettes.
British Gas
Kunal Gupta
How did you prepare your resume? Any help/material you took/read?
The resume looked totally dedicated to Oil and gas Profile.
Did you attend Pre-Placement talks? Did you gain anything out of them? Did you talk to anyone else about choosing between jobs/companies?
PPT is alwz important.... you get to know what they want..... ask in PPT and return back in interview............
Any website/material you read/used for preparation of Case-Studies/HR Questions/Puzzles/Technical/GDs? (Your sending across links/documents would help us compile a single point resource
Lot of them are available on Net and LAN.... but its better to prepare ur self..... this helps you to help ur self and introspect ur self...... do it judiciously
For interview/GD/Test preparation did you prepare in groups or individually? Which one do you think helps the most? Any details you provide will be of great help.
Prepare in groups..... and independently..... both are equally imp.......
What was the procedure of selection? Roughly how many people were short listed at each level? And how many were made final offers?
10 shortlisted..... group activites..... GD/ PI/ etc many other exercises.....
Walk us through the GDs/Interviews of this company. The questions that you were asked and other details that you may remember would be of great help.
"Cant disclose...." Talk in person normal HR questions.....
If someone wants to appear for this company, what all should he/she ideally prepare?
Oil profile.... leadership skilll group skills....
Your key learning from these experiences? What mistakes did you commit?
Never loose hope.... be confident , that what they seee... be smart, talk to everyone, let them feel you are interested.... and dedicated...
Flipkart
Namam Lahoty
How did you prepare your resume? Any help/material you took/read?
Referred to seniors resume. No material as such. Get the resume reviewed by as many people as possible.
Did you attend Pre-Placement talks? Did you gain anything out of them? Did you talk to anyone else about choosing between jobs/companies?
Yes. No help from Pre placement Talks. Talked to a lot of seniors for choosing between jobs.
Any website/material you read/used for preparation of Case-Studies/HR Questions/Puzzles/Technical/GDs? (Your sending across links/documents would help us compile a single point resource
Ya a lot of online material. I don't have the links now. But almost all of them were from Google search. 1. www.caseinterview.com 2. Some case material from SOM website
For interview/GD/Test preparation did you prepare in groups or individually? Which one do you think helps the most? Any details you provide will be of great help.
Prepared in group for GD. For interview did both types of preparation: Group as well as individual. For both of them has their own benefits.
What was the procedure of selection? Roughly how many people were short listed at each level? And how many were made final offers?
It differs from company to company. For flipkart: Aptitude test -> GD -> 2 interviews 11 Final offers
Walk us through the GDs/Interviews of this company. The questions that you were asked and other details that you may remember would be of great help.
GD topic: Wheel
If someone wants to appear for this company, what all should he/she ideally prepare?
Everything was asked in interview. Case Studies, Puzzles, Probability, HR, Guesstimates
Credit-Suisse
Jatin
How did you prepare your resume? Any help/material you took/read?
A) Looked up seniors resume whose profile were similar to mine B) Took help from "IITB resume workshop ppt" C) Resume was proof read by batch mates and seniors
Did you attend Pre-Placement talks? Did you gain anything out of them? Did you talk to anyone else about choosing between jobs/companies?
A) Pre-Placement talks were of little help B) I did not do much of a market survey on companies/jobs, which proved out to be a set-back for me during the placement season
Any website/material you read/used for preparation of Case-Studies/HR Questions/Puzzles/Technical/GDs? (Your sending across links/documents would help us compile a single point resource
None
For interview/GD/Test preparation did you prepare in groups or individually? Which one do you think helps the most? Any details you provide will be of great help.
None; Group preparation helps the most.
What was the procedure of selection? Roughly how many people were short listed at each level? And how many were made final offers?
A) 30 were shortlisted for GD through resume B) 15 went ahead for interviews (2 rounds of interview) C) 6 went ahead for final rounds (3 rounds of interview of 45 min duration each) D) 3 were selected for the job
Walk us through the GDs/Interviews of this company. The questions that you were asked and other details that you may remember would be of great help.
GD topic: Should government infuse money into the economy? Interview: 1) Resume based questions 2) weakness 3) puzzles 4) reasons for applying for the job 5) why should i get a preference over other candidates applying for the job
If someone wants to appear for this company, what all should he/she ideally prepare?
Learning: 1) Be chilled out in the interview 2) Try to get friendly 3) tell ur hobbies and u might get a connection with them 4) think from a bored interviewer point of view, as to what kind of candidates will the interviewer prefer (nerd/friendly/honest/excited etc. etc.)
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