Manthan Kabra
Mathematics and computing
Placements
APT Portfolio
Quantitative Researcher
Interviewed by:
Ojas Srivastava
Internships
Placements
20th September 2020
Q
When to start preparing for the Placement season?
Well there is no such thing as the best time but most of the people start their prep a few weeks after the completion of the summer internship. As most of the internships finish around June end or July mid so try to start your prep from August as it will give you approx 2 month time for your preparation. By October you can expect the placement tests to start so starting in August will give you an ample amount of time. If you have never done competitive coding or do not know any particular coding language in depth I will advise you to start earlier.
I started my prep by improving my competitive programming as almost every company asks few coding questions in their tests and even in the interview. I mainly used Leetcode for the practice but some of my friends also used InterviewBit so you can decide which suits you more. Try to revise some important courses such as Probability & Stochastic Processes and Datastructures & Algorithms. To practice puzzles and probability problems you can start with books such as "50 Problems in Probability" and "Heard on the street". Also refer to www.brainstellar.com which contains a good collection of frequently asked puzzles.
I started my prep by improving my competitive programming as almost every company asks few coding questions in their tests and even in the interview. I mainly used Leetcode for the practice but some of my friends also used InterviewBit so you can decide which suits you more. Try to revise some important courses such as Probability & Stochastic Processes and Datastructures & Algorithms. To practice puzzles and probability problems you can start with books such as "50 Problems in Probability" and "Heard on the street". Also refer to www.brainstellar.com which contains a good collection of frequently asked puzzles.
Q
Comparison between your intern and placement interviews?
For me both of them differed quite a bit as for intern it was offline and for placement it was online. But the process was more or less similar in both intern and placement interviews i.e. based on your shortlists for a particular day you are assigned slots for the interviews. In placements no. of companies visiting on a particular day are more as compared to internships so time slots the given accordingly. The level of questions asked in placements were a little bit advanced as compared to internships. Also you should be ready to answer any question related to the projects and internships you are mentioning in your CV, during placement interviews a good amount of time is given to the discussion on your internships.
Q
Learnings from this placement season?
I don't remember anything regretful or unique but me and my friends created a placement prep group where we used to share important questions or any question which someone was not able to solve. We also discussed the past questions before the tests which was quite fruitful sometimes. Post test discussion was quite helpful as sometimes the same question gets repeated in multiple tests so do analyze the question which you can't solve during a test. Also it can help you keep track of your preparation level compared to your peers.
Q
If someone does not get an intern via OCS in their 3rd year, what should they do?
Well OCS does try to bring a lot of companies for Campus Placements and Internships but if you don't get an intern via OCS you should start to find an off-campus intern. Although finding a good off-campus intern may not be easy but you should try to get a decent internship. LinkedIn could be helpful as many companies do post internships there and sometimes it also helps you to get a referral. Try to do an intern or a project during the 3rd year summer as recruiters do look for internships on the CV and even in interviews there could be a good amount of discussion on your internship work.
Q
Major problems that you faced?
One of the problems which I faced was improper time management. Time management is crucial when you have your semester courses running in parallel to your placement preparation. Improper time management led to lack of time and because of it I was not able to finish some of the important courses such as Operating Systems and Computer Networks which cost me in some of the tests and interviews. Try to prioritize the topics according to their importance so that you don't miss the important stuff because of lack of time. Also when solving a coding problem don't jump to the solution if you are not able to solve it on the first try, give some thinking time and the same applies for puzzles.
Q
Online vs Offline placements?
Well both of them have their pros and cons. Online placements were a less tiring process as compared to offline as you can just give your tests and interviews from a single place so commute time and energy is saved. I felt that online interviews were done more efficiently as all companies and students were advised to strictly stick to the given slots to avoid any mismanagement. But there are multiple disadvantages like during an online interview the interviewer can't look into your copy to see your approach to a given problem so you have to constantly speak during solving a problem. Apart from it internet connectivity and technical issues from any side could waste a lot of time during a test or interview. I personally prefer offline placements as it is more transparent and also an interviewer could judge you more properly during offline interviews.
Q
Does the higher studies application timeline and placement
session go along easily?
session go along easily?
I don’t have much idea about the higher studies application process but from my friends' experience I know that managing both of them together could be tough. So try to set priority and manage your time properly. Do create your CV on OCS portal and apply for companies even if you are planning to pursue further studies as it will give you a backup in case of unpredictable events like COVID-19.
Q
Necessities for targeting your field?
So if you are aiming for a Quant Researcher/ Trader role the following courses and skills will be helpful (* is optional)
Courses:
- MTL106 Probability & Stochastic Processes
- COL106 Data structures & Algorithms
- MTL180 Discrete Mathematics *
- MTL108/MTL390 Statistics *
Skills:
- Good at solving problems/puzzles
- Decent competitive coding
- Knowledge of C++ is a plus *
Apart from these you should have a good academic record as most of the quant firms set a CG cutoff so try to have a CG 8+ or 8.5+ to be in a safer zone. Having good coding skills also help you clear the test round of software companies but in interviews they do sometimes ask core CS questions.
Courses:
- MTL106 Probability & Stochastic Processes
- COL106 Data structures & Algorithms
- MTL180 Discrete Mathematics *
- MTL108/MTL390 Statistics *
Skills:
- Good at solving problems/puzzles
- Decent competitive coding
- Knowledge of C++ is a plus *
Apart from these you should have a good academic record as most of the quant firms set a CG cutoff so try to have a CG 8+ or 8.5+ to be in a safer zone. Having good coding skills also help you clear the test round of software companies but in interviews they do sometimes ask core CS questions.
Apart from all the above mentioned things stress management is a factor which is generally overlooked. Many people take a lot of stress and become quite anxious before a test or an interview which sometimes affect their performance. I too screwed some of my important placement tests because of it, so I will advise you to remain calm. Do not let a bad interview affect your performance in the other interview; keep in mind that recruiters do not expect you to know everything just keep your basics clear and have confidence in yourself you will perform good in most of the interviews.
Takeaways
Q
How did you decide your field of interest? What about backups?
There are two ways to decide which field interests you more, first is by trying it yourself and second is by talking to multiple seniors in different fields about their work. As I did my internship as a Quant Researcher I had a fair idea about the work so I talked to my seniors to compare different profiles on various parameters like pay, work life balance, kind of work etc. Do talk to the seniors and don't be afraid to ask for help as most of the time they will be happy to help you.
Considering multiple factors I decided to have Quant roles on my first preference followed by Software and Data Science roles. I will advise you to have backup if not many companies visit for the profile that you are aiming for.
Considering multiple factors I decided to have Quant roles on my first preference followed by Software and Data Science roles. I will advise you to have backup if not many companies visit for the profile that you are aiming for.