STAGE III: Personal Interview

TECHNICAL INTERVIEW (TI)

• Have a clear concept on your domain knowledge before appearing in the TI round. You should be fully acquainted with whatever domain knowledge you have, no matter whatever branch you are from.
• TIs are generally like Grand Viva that you have faced in your college. In fact I must say, that it is much easier than Grand Viva. You will never be asked to derive anything or to prove any theorem. You will be asked simple straight questions and if required some tricky questions, just to test whether you have a clear concept on that subject or not.
• It is not necessary to remember everything from your branch subject. If a point comes where you don't know even 1 % percent of that question that you are asked, do not give up. At least try. The interviewer mainly checks whether you have the willingness to try new challenges or not that are beyond your knowledge. At least try to catch from the English meaning of the term that you are asked.
• Do not panic at all. Be confident to whatever you answer.
• Regarding programming stuffs, you need not be an expert programmer if you belong from a non CS branch. Your knowledge in C and C++ and some basic programs like Fibonacci series, palindrome number, prime number, hcf lcm etc.. are enough to pass through the round. If you are having knowledge in JAVA, then it will be a butter to a bread condition, otherwise it won't matter a lot if you don't have the knowledge in that topic. However, expectations are more from a CS and IT student and for them I would recommend to have a full clear concept in RDBMS, Data Structures and Algorithms, SQL, Operating Systems etc..
• Never give a bookish answer. Always try to give your answers in your own words and in a well described manner.

HR Round

Now comes the final and the most important round. For the HR Round, I will advice you to kindly follow the steps seriously as these are the only things that are observed during your HR round of interview.

• For boys, I would advice them to wear light coloured formal shirt with full sleeves buttoned. For girls, I would advice them to wear either formal salwar suits or formal shirts.
  
• You should carry your folder or file in your left hand and do not forget to carry a pen. Asking a pen from the interviewer will create a bad impression. Boys should carry the pen in their shirt's pocket in one extreme corner preferably near the tie. Girls on the other hand should attach their pen within the folder.
  
• Please make your Resume ready before hand so that you won't have to take it out from the file in front of the interviewer.
  
• Make your Resume a very simple and a decent one. Do not add colours. Adding colours or highlights and boxes may lead to a negative impression. However you may add some decent corporate colours only for the Headings. For eg: Greenish Blue
  
• Keep your font size within 11.
  
• Do not write too much in your Resume. You should not brag about yourself through that Resume. Do not write fake stuffs. If you are caught, it can be a serious problem.
  
• Always try to be as less predictable as you can. Remember that you are appearing for an On-Campus Recruitment Drive. So as much as you are less predictable, the more you are safe.
  
• For students who have dealt with Robotics in their college life, please make sure that you know everything in this world about Robots and Technologies before adding them as your hobbies or achievements in your Resume. Again I am repeating the same thing, BE AS MUCH LESS PREDICTABLE AS YOU CAN.
  
• For students who have plans for higher studies, do not say that you are interested for the same, even you are asked by the interviewer. The main reason behind this is, if you say that you want to do higher studies in the future, the interviewer may think that "this boy or girl can anytime leave my company in the future, so there is no use of taking him or her in my company".
  
• If you are asked about your hobbies, please do not say "Surfing net" or "Watching TV Serials". Try to say some productive hobby, such as singing, dancing, reading novels, playing football, reading magazines etc.. Make sure that whatever you say as your hobby, you must have a complete knowledge on that sort of thing.
  
• As soon as your name is called in the interview panel, just open the door and ask, "May I come in Sir?" After he gives you the permission, just walk on to his table and stop right behind the char and do not cross it.
  
• Take your right hand out and approach for a firm handshake with a decent smile, "Good Morning Sir. Very Nice to meet you."
  
• After he tells you to sit, say "Thank you" and gently take your seat. Keep your body posture straight.
  
• DO NOT keep your hands on the table. Remember that the entire table is his property and not yours. So you have no right in touching the table until you are said so.
  
• Look straight to his eyes and answer each and every question confidently with a decent smile. Do not act like a robot. Be normal and cool.
  
• When he asks you to tell him about yourself, remember that he wants to know about how the person you are, what are your strengths and weaknesses etc.. He doesn't want to know about which school you have studied in or where you are studying now.  A simple example is given below:
  "My name is XY. I am from Karachi, Pakistan. Being the eldest son/daughter of my family, I had learned how to handle big and huge responsibilities. I am a person who likes to explore the world and know about various things in various sorts of field. I like new challenges. Apart from these, I am a very passionate singer/dancer, so in the free time, I keep myself busy exploring the world of music. Last but not the least, I am a person who believes in simple living and high thinking."
  It should be simple and short.
  
• Your communication skills should be good enough to impress the interviewer, It is not necessary for you to speak like a foreigner, but you should speak clearly and your pronunciation should be very specific. And try to avoid grammatical mistakes as much as possible.
  
• Do not ask about your salary. Even if he asks you that what will you do if you are paid with a less amount of salary, answer him in a way like
  "Sir, Salary is not at all a big factor for me. What matters and excites me the most is the amount of knowledge and experience that I will gain while working in your company. And I believe that one day, with my technical skills I will impress you so much that you will be bound to increase my salary to double. "
  
• If you are a student from a core branch and you are asked that why do want to join an IT company in spite of being a student from a Core branch, your answer should be quite similar to the above one. Also add one thing like, "If I had the opportunity to study with all the branches, I would have happily done the same. So definitely, I would say that I am a person who doesn't want to get confined in one location with one branch and one set of subjects. I want to explore. I want to face new challenges."
  
• If you are asked a question like "Do you have a dream company?"
  
  Answer it like, "I don't have a dream company,but I have a dream in working as a Project Manager in a well reputed company. And in your company, I have the faith that I can achieve that with all my knowledge and learning attitude."
  
• If you are asked a question like, "What will you do, when you somehow came to know one day that a colleague in your office is spreading false rumors about you? Will you go and fight with him/her?"
  Your answer to this question should be like, "No sir, definitely I won't put up a fight with that person. However, if I any day find that person doing all those stuffs in front of me, I will  straightaway go and talk to him/her about the matter. I will convince him/her not to do that again with my calm and gentle attitude and will somehow come to a friendly conclusion."
  
• If you are asked a question like, " What  will you do if you find one day that one of your old school or college friends, desperately needs a job as his family is suffering through a critical period? Will you leave the job for him?"
  
  Your answer should be like, " No Sir, I will definitely won't leave the job, as my job comes first of anything and leaving the job may lead to losing a well efficient employee for the company. However, I will also help my friend and will try my level best to get him a job as soon as possible be it in our company or in any other company. "
  
• After the interviewer is done with you, he may ask you that whether you are having any questions for him or the company or not. To that, ask him about the various projects that are going within the company. Show him that you really have interest in the company.
  
• After that, stand up gently,shake hands with the interviewer saying " Thank you for your valuable time sir, it was really wonderful meeting you. "
  
• Remember one more thing, DO NOT ask for the Resume back from the interviewer. If you need your Resume, take another printout from the shop, as it will only cost 2 to 5 rupees, so you can take as much printouts as you want but I repeat, DO NOT ask for the Resume back from the interviewer. He/ She will keep the same for recruitment and selection purposes.
  
• Take one step backward. Push the chair to its original position. Turn backwards and leave. And do not forget to close the door with your hands.
  
  

--Written and developed by

Souvik Majumder