Saharsh Rathi
Textile technology
Placements
Sprinklr India
Product Engineer
Interviewed by:
Nikhil Danwani
Internships
Placements
20th September 2020
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When to start preparing for the Placement season?
Comparison between your intern and placement interviews?
Learnings from this placement season?
How did you decide your field of interest? What about backups?
Major problems that you faced?
Online vs Offline placements?
Does the higher studies application timeline and placement session go along easily?
Necessities for targeting your field?
Even if you do just one question every day, you can easily ace the coding interview rounds. So just start solving one question every day. I would recommend solving the
Leetcode monthly daily challenges. You don't need any prerequisites to start. Just pick any coding website like (LeetCode, hackerrank, hackerearth etc…) and start solving problems.
Leetcode monthly daily challenges. You don't need any prerequisites to start. Just pick any coding website like (LeetCode, hackerrank, hackerearth etc…) and start solving problems.
They were absolutely the same. I could recall the same type of test pattern was also asked in the internship tests. I just wished I would have started solving problems much before so I would have been able to bag a very good internship from a great firm for my 3rd year summer internship as well. I am 100% sure you will be able to get selected for a great company no matter your branch if you perform well in the online coding tests/ interviews.
Sitting for this placement season, I came to know that the companies don't care about your branch at all as long as you are able to ace the tests and the interviews. Although some companies are biased on your branch and don't even let you apply (e.g. Microsoft). But there are tons of companies that are not biased and will just select the top performing candidates.
After I came to know this, I just had one regret that If I had started solving coding problems much earlier, I would have been able to secure a great internship at a huge and reputable firm in my 3rd year also.
After I came to know this, I just had one regret that If I had started solving coding problems much earlier, I would have been able to secure a great internship at a huge and reputable firm in my 3rd year also.
I knew I loved to code and solve coding problems from the moment I studied for the COL100 course. I thoroughly enjoyed completing the coding assignments and getting full marks for every test case. I also loved to solve the coding assignments of my friends. Although I would have loved to help them for free, I still told them I would complete your assignment only if you give me a treat in the night mess :p
This made coding my primary field of interest.
If you know your only field of interest, all your problems are solved. The only thing you need to focus on is to get better and better in that field. You know your target. You just have to exercise and practice on hitting the target better and better.
Definitely you should explore every one of your options. You should start preparing for every role. As you go on preparing for them, you will gradually realise whether this field interests you or not. So you can streamline your options and eventually you will realise the field in which you are most interested in
This made coding my primary field of interest.
If you know your only field of interest, all your problems are solved. The only thing you need to focus on is to get better and better in that field. You know your target. You just have to exercise and practice on hitting the target better and better.
Definitely you should explore every one of your options. You should start preparing for every role. As you go on preparing for them, you will gradually realise whether this field interests you or not. So you can streamline your options and eventually you will realise the field in which you are most interested in
I didn't face any problems as such. Because I practised so many questions, I was also able to solve the new types/ variations of the questions asked in the online/ interview rounds.
I personally did not have any interest for further studies at all. I did NOT prepare for anything. I was sure the only thing I want to do after college is a job. So I only focused on preparing myself for the interviews.
I can't comment further on further studies because I don't know anything about it. Asking someone else would be better. Many prepared for CAT, GRE etc…
I also kind of consider myself very lucky because I did not drain my energy and effort on preparing for those exams. I knew what I wanted( A great job) so I only focused on that.
I can't comment further on further studies because I don't know anything about it. Asking someone else would be better. Many prepared for CAT, GRE etc…
I also kind of consider myself very lucky because I did not drain my energy and effort on preparing for those exams. I knew what I wanted( A great job) so I only focused on that.
For coding profiles, you only need to be good at solving coding problems. Nothing else. You don't even need to do COL106 (You don't need to do it, although it does help a lot.) or any other course for that.
Just like we solved tons of Math problems for JEE, with deliberate practice we all were able to solve those math problems with ease. The same applies for coding problems as well. If you practise more and more you will become better and better.
Just start solving just one question every day. You will realise later how far just that one question every day can take you. You will on your own realise and figure out what you need to do further down the road.
Just like we solved tons of Math problems for JEE, with deliberate practice we all were able to solve those math problems with ease. The same applies for coding problems as well. If you practise more and more you will become better and better.
Just start solving just one question every day. You will realise later how far just that one question every day can take you. You will on your own realise and figure out what you need to do further down the road.
All the words that I shared with you were indeed given to me when I was in your same shoes by my senior Anmol Ratn. He was from the 2016 batch of textile (I am from 2017 batch). He was also able to secure a great job at HiLabs with a very hefty package (>30LPA). The only reason I was able to get selected was because of his advice.
The only advice he kept on giving me was to keep working harder and harder and solve more and more questions. The only thing you need is to be great at solving coding problems. The company does not want anything else from you. He told me branch indeed does not matter at all. I came to realise this when I myself got selected for a job at a great company.
Takeaways
Although there would not have been a huge difference in them, I liked online placements better. It was more comfortable. You don't have to get ready (Just putting on a shirt will do), run/ cycle to LHC hoping you get there on time, you don't have to face your competition outside the interview room (I would have gotten very tense and stressed worrying about how I will be able to compete with them). There is no walk of shame back to your hostel after knowing you didn't get shortlisted for further rounds.
Also I think it would have been much more difficult to write my code on a piece of paper. So I consider myself lucky I had the luxury of typing the code on my keyboard during the interview.
Also I think it would have been much more difficult to write my code on a piece of paper. So I consider myself lucky I had the luxury of typing the code on my keyboard during the interview.
Q
If someone does not get an intern via OCS in their 3rd year, what should they do?
I was not able to get selected during the peak time when all the best firms come to hire for interns around September 2019 ( In my 5th semester). But this rejection indeed helped me in my job placement selection!
I was so disheartened that I was not able to get selected. Maybe because I am from textile. So I just had the mentality that no great company would hire me. So everytime I prepared for my coding interviews before the placement season, I always had this thought running in the back of my mind. This kept on motivating me to become better and better and work even harder so that I might have a mere chance of getting selected at those reputable firms based on my performance in the tests and interviews.
And indeed this is what happened! I was able to crack every one of my 4 interviews with flying colours. I knew the approach and method to solve every question asked to me during the interview.
So if you didn't get a great 3rd year intern at a huge reputable firm, No need to worry! Just use that as a motivation to work harder and harder and crack the best firm at your next shot in the placement season.
I was so disheartened that I was not able to get selected. Maybe because I am from textile. So I just had the mentality that no great company would hire me. So everytime I prepared for my coding interviews before the placement season, I always had this thought running in the back of my mind. This kept on motivating me to become better and better and work even harder so that I might have a mere chance of getting selected at those reputable firms based on my performance in the tests and interviews.
And indeed this is what happened! I was able to crack every one of my 4 interviews with flying colours. I knew the approach and method to solve every question asked to me during the interview.
So if you didn't get a great 3rd year intern at a huge reputable firm, No need to worry! Just use that as a motivation to work harder and harder and crack the best firm at your next shot in the placement season.