Placement Season!

Placement season is one of the nervous times for all students. There is a lot of joy, disappointment and ecstasy involved during this time. I thought I would make it easier by specifying few guidelines to follow to land in a good job. 

In the recent past I have got calls regarding placements. I will try to answer all of them in the best possible way. 

Placement training is usually given before the commencement of the actual placements. This is kinda warm-up which would ease a few nerves. Try attending all the sessions if possible. I understand that few of you would not be able to attend all the sessions due to internship or any other reason. In that case make sure the questions are collected, solve them in free time which would be useful later.   

Firstly, you must know that it is a long process. It might take a few days or weeks or even months to get the first dream job! Patience is the key during this period. Luck plays quite a bit of role to an extent, so don't worry a lot when you see other friends get placed before you. After all 'Perseverance leads to success'.

The placement process happens mostly this way: there is a pre-placement talk given by the company. It is then followed by technical and/or aptitude written rounds depending on the company's job profile. The candidates short listed are called for the first technical interview. There could sometimes be a Group Discussion round before the interviews. There could be one or two technical interviews. In worst case even 3!! The technical interviews are followed by a managerial round and later a HR round to wind up things. This is a little specific to the circuit branches. There is often a coding round for software profiles. The duration of the interviews can range from few minutes to a couple of hours too!!  Few companies announce results the same day whereas some announce a while later.

Now coming to the preparation! Starting the preparation early will help a long way. Dedicate 1-2 hours each day for solving technical as well as aptitude questions. There are various websites which give aptitude questions, solving them is a good practice. Technical concepts are very much related to the syllabus of the corresponding branch. So revise the concepts studied in the previous semesters. In case the interviewer asks questions related to concepts not studied by you, you can tell it was not a part of your course. You will not be penalized for it. However, answering the other known concept related questions becomes important. Self confidence in the interviews is a crucial thing. Have trust in your answers and back it up with appropriate reasons. The interviewer might try to trick you. Be courageous and face it accordingly! 

Searching about the company profile at-least the previous day is important and can come in handy in the HR round to create some good impression. Make it a must to attend the pre-placement talk. Do not take it lightly. Many crucial things are told including the profiles offered and the pay! Make sure you go in formals for the interviews. That includes shoes and belt for sure! In case you are a day scholar, keeping a pair of clothes in your friend's hostel room can be helpful. This is particularly for the guys! Decent and well dressed clothes should do for the girls.    

Finally, try keeping in touch with the concepts at all times. Relax, stay confident and give it your best shot! 

BEST OF LUCK! 

GOD'S OWN COUNTRY- KERALA

This is one of the trips that will be etched in my memory for a long period of time. It was a very enjoyable trip which added to my life a lot of happy memories.

Well this was not the first time I visited Kerala. It was the third time but for a different reason though. It was my friend's sister's marriage. The trip was ON since long but arrangements were made just in time. So it was a Marriage cum Jolly Trip.

8 of us set out from Bangalore to Ernakulam. We spoke a lot over the Bus ride and came to more about our own friends deeply. At the end of it "What happens in Kerala stays in Kerala".

DAY 1:
It was morning and a hot and humid place was in store for us. This was the first Kerala Style marriage I attended. It started with the breakfast where we ate Appam Stew. It was delicious and my mouth still waters remembering it. Then we went to the Marriage place. It happened in a different way and I liked a few things about it. Then came the lunch. I had a hard time remembering the names of the dishes.(Reminds me of the Onam Lunch at Rohith's place)
It was a sumptuous meal.

We took rest for a while and then set out for Marine Drive in the evening. Kerala is known for its boat rides and this was the first of the boat rides we had there and it was worth it. Then it was time for LuLu mall which is supposedly the 2nd largest mall in India. It didn't let us down. It was humongous in fact. All of us were tired and crashed after we came back.

DAY 2:

We started to Alleppey early in the day. The Payasam at the Ambalapuzha Krishna temple was just like Amrutam. We reached the place around noon. We finished lunch and came to house boat place. The place is famous for its back-waters and house boats. It was a 2 hour long ride which gave us a lot of joy. Lots of photos, dance, crazy masti summarized the boat ride. 

It was time for beach time now. It was amazing playing at the beach. It brought out the kid in each one of us. We all played like the world was going to end the very next day! Roaring waves, Castles made in sand, Setting sun added to the golden moment of the trip. 

Later we reached Ernakulam and had our dinner. We started playing cards. We didn't know it would turn out to be so much fun that we go on to play till 3.30 am next morning!!! 

DAY 3:

Even though we were lack of sleep there was no lack of energy. It was another awesome day to be looking forward to but sadly the last day of the trip. We boarded a bus to Fort Kochi. Chinese fishing nets attracted our attention. I hadn't seen this type of fishing earlier. It was time for some shopping. This place attracts tourists from everywhere. It is famous for handicraft items, hand made stuff etc. 

We then visited the Mattanchery Palace/Dutch Palace. It gave us more insight into the place history and how it has become the place what it is now. Later we went to the Jew town and found peace after lots of walking and talking. 

It was then the last boat ride of the trip which took us back to Ernakulam. 

   Picture taken from the boat

It was time for some Pizza. We ate so much food in such less time. I still cannot forget it! 

It was time to leave the Villa! 

We then boarded the train. It was still not end of the trip. We had lots of fun playing the Truth/Dare game. It was 12 am soon. It was Reshma's birthday where it was special celebrating it by cutting cake in the train! 

The journey had to finally come to an end after having made memories for a life time!!! Then it reminded me of "Don't be sad because it ended, be Happy because it happened" 

Chase your Dreams!

We all have dreams which we intend to follow and achieve. We lose ourselves in the midst of many things that follow up. The goals are left far behind with passage of time.

 

As we grow up in our lives our goals start piling up. It can range from achieving a small thing to a humongous task. The motivation and inspiration we have to achieve a goal dies with time if not nurtured carefully. 

When I was a kid I wanted to swim. I wanted to go swiftly in the pool like my other friends. I was good as an athlete so I had thought I would learn this sooner than later. I initially was excited to achieve this dream of mine. I also worked towards it but lost the path somewhere. Sadly I have not been able to swim till date. This doesn't deter me from pulling myself up from swimming one fine day! I will keep trying. 

Well what are the reasons for not meeting our own goals we have set. When we look back we will see complacency, procrastination, not giving enough time for ourselves to achieve them as some of the reasons for failing. 

There are dreams which we achieve perfectly the way we have thought. 

When I was in my high school I had a dream of topping my school. I was just an average student who was fun loving and loved playing. Being what I was, it was a Herculean task for me to achieve. I was inspired that anything is possible with will power. I backed myself to pull of a wonder. I started working early towards it. I spent time daily on it. It was a success story at the end of it. I did top my school in 10th grade and I am glad my dream was achieved. 

However, there have been many dreams of mine which haven't gone my way and I inspire myself by remembering "You cannot fail unless you quit"

There are many times when you look back n feel 'Maybe only if I tried a little harder, it would have been possible' and there are many times when nothing clicks. My close friend rightly reminds me 'Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies'

There would have been many dreams(goals) in your lives which would have died unknowingly. Go give life to it and embark on the journey of achieving them.

I would conclude by quoting

"A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder"