Q. In which company have you been placed in? Please describe your job role.
>> I have been placed at Axis Bank Business Intelligence Unit as a Business Analyst. The role will involve — diligent understanding of data, systems and processes to be able to come up with data based decision making better solutions for the business. The job location being either Bengaluru or Mumbai.
Q. Which clubs and societies were you a part of and how did they help you?
>> I have been a part of 2 societies since my 1st year, namely ECE Society and EEE Society in which right now I am the Vice President and Joint President respectively. These two clubs helped me a lot in different ways, not just academically but also personally. It was fun to be a part of these clubs. I shared a great bond with my seniors and juniors here. They helped me to build a strong foundation, and also helped me to improve my communication skills. Personally I think being a part of any club or society will definitely help you in one or the other way as it helps us to grow as positive, confident, and refined individuals.
Q. What are the technical skills that are important for EEE graduates?
>> One should be familiar with both software and hardware. Students interested in the electrical domain should focus on DC machines, Power Electronics, Control theory etc. and must also have a good knowledge of MATLAB.
Q. How can one use time effectively and manage their time between academics, extracurricular activities (along with projects, learning job based skills) and social life?
>> I feel these 4 years are going to be the turning point of your life, something you will cherish your entire life. So my advice to the juniors would be don’t restrict yourself to anything. Enjoy your college life, attend fests, be a part of the clubs, socialise, explore your interests, do whatever you want you to, but just don’t sit idle. Participate actively in the different workshops that are organised by different clubs. Try to cover the syllabus 1 week before exams. In this way you can maintain a healthy balance between your academic and social activities.
Q. How much CGPA should one maintain in order to be allowed to sit in an interview for any company?
>> A lot of people say that CGPA is not important but in my opinion you must try to keep your CGPA above 8. Many companies put 7.5 CGPA as their minimum CGPA criteria, but they don’t shortlist students who have a CGPA of less than 8, or sometimes even 8.5.
Q. How early should one start preparing for internships? Where did you pursue your internship?
>> One should start preparing for internships from the end of 2nd year as by then most people decide the sector in which they want to pursue their career. I pursued my summer internship at NBC Bearings. There I worked on PLC programming using GX Works, implementing Ladder Logic to control an induction motor. Also I got an introduction to the working of Compo Arm (Cartesian Robot) which is useful to automate processes in industries.
However, later I switched my career domain.
Q. What other activities, except academic studies, did you engage in during 4 years of B.Tech (including projects) and how did they help in your placement and internship?
>> I participated actively in a lot of workshops during my 1st year. They helped me to explore the various career opportunities that engineering offers. I emerged as the winner of the Open CV workshop by ECE Society, which was a good experience. Also, I was part of a team that bagged the 3rd position of our tech fest Pantheon in 2019. During the 2nd year, our team emerged among the top 20 teams of e-Yantra competition by IIT Bombay.
Apart from this, I have enjoyed working for ECESoc and EEESoc as here I was able to shape my personality and gain the skills of team working and leadership. The projects that I have done are: Data Analysis of Shark Tank using SQL by importing Shark Tank India’s dataset into Microsoft SQL Server; and Classification of Impedimetric Signals for Identification of Chemical Analytes. These projects helped me in my placement as I was asked questions related to these projects which I was able to answer very well.
Q. What was the selection procedure of your company? How did you prepare for it and what was the toughest part of the interview?
>> The process of Axis Bank started with an online test in MCQ format. It was a 2 hour long test consisting of — Cognitive Ability (60 questions), Dimension8 (65 questions) and Coding Assessment (1 question). I cleared the 1st round. Followed by which, there was an interview round, in which questions were mainly from my resume (skills mentioned), past projects and experiences. I was asked to write some SQL queries and some basics of Python were asked. Some basic banking questions were also asked like “Explain the functioning of a Banking System”, “What are the different types of loans?”, “What are the different parameters that are analysed before offering credit cards?”. I was also asked a guesstimate question and 2 puzzles (refer to GFG puzzles for these). Some basics of MS Excel were also asked. At last, normal HR questions were also asked like “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years” and “Explain why you think you have good leadership qualities”.
Q.What was the toughest part while preparing for the interviews?
>> The toughest part while preparing for interviews in campus placement comes when a lot of your friends grab a very good placement in the beginning of placement season. Sometimes, you can get very demotivated, but the key here is to believe in yourself. As EEE undergraduates at BIT Mesra, we are fortunate enough to get a lot of opportunities and hence we must remain confident during our placement journey.
Q. Is it necessary to do internships for getting a good placement?
>> Well, Yes and No. Yes, because if you are having an internship in your resume, you have an edge over other candidates, you will have something to speak about. If the interviewer is dragging you towards topics that you don’t have knowledge about, you can instead drag them towards your internships and project experience to impress them. And no because even if you don’t have internships, it doesn’t mean that the interviewer will point this out. All that matters is how much knowledge and skills you have acquired during the 4 years of your engineering. If you have good knowledge and skills, and you can present it in the interview, you will definitely be recruited.
Q. What would be your message/advice for your juniors in different years respectively?
>> I would advise them to move out and explore everything during their college life. One should not just waste time sitting in their hostel rooms. College life is way different from our school life, and so here, our Social Life matters equally like our Academic life and Grades. I would not recommend leaving your studies totally, because a good GPA is also crucial. One should try to focus and manage time for both of them equally. Make good friends, talk to seniors, make good social connections. But above all, have fun and live your life!
Q. What are your future plans?
>> I really wish to work on developing my skill sets as of now, however I have plans to pursue MBA in the long run.