HOW TO CRACK CAMPUS PLACEMENTS

College, a journey where there are restrictions in first semester for formals, deadline for 75 % attendance in lectures along with the need to maintain mass bunks with friends, practical labs where we copy each other's methods and answers, having more than 100+ assignment and hostel gossips, movies and group studies conclude the 3 years of college and then the placement season starts where campus is visited by many companies or students are needed to visit other university or other college for appearing in selection process for jobs. These are the times for which some people prepare all their college life and some become conscious regarding their preparation during the process. The College also provide some guidance about the dress code, instructions on how to deal with Companies' interview, but in reality questions are faced by the students and no one teaches them what to answer nor predicts the questions they are going to face. Of course no can teach what to answer but you can learn how to answer. So here we have provided few self-practiced methods to crack any company interview.

Plannings needed to be done to crack a placement:

Study and preparation are two different aspect of cracking placement. You do not need to study and know everything to make sure you will get placed, here are some key points you need to cover when you are preparing for campus placement.

Take a copy, pen and mark yourself out of 5 for each question by self-evaluation

How many of your technical skills match to most of the company requirements according to your concerned field and branch? Company list is provided by the training and placement department or you can also ask your senior and faculty to know the company names.

How many of your area of interests currently is in demand in the market? You can do some surfing on google to know the current market needs and options available.

What range of salary package you are thinking, you can crack based on your current skills? Salary package define the criteria and quality of students, if the company is offering large package then they will hire only few candidates with quality skills and only opt for the creamy layer students appearing in placements.

What is the rate of competition you are expecting from your companions? Competition is decided in the placement based on your surrounding companion who are often seen as competitors.

If you have marked yourself with honesty and the score goes more than 17, then congratulation you have more than 60 % chance that you will get hired by some reputed company.

Written Exam Round

Now characterize your knowledge into three broad categories:

• Academic (Aptitude, Reasoning and your branch questions)
• Behavioral (communication, innovative thoughts)
• HR (your life goals, planning, perspective regarding life)

You need to make sure that you are prepared to crack all the 3 stages, Academic -> Behavioral -> HR, before sitting for placements.

It does not matter in which phase you get rejected, if you get the rejection it's the end for you on that day in that company. So all categories are equally important.

No matter how well you have studied, the fancy CGPA printed on the mark-sheet is of no value, if you are not able to portray those marks and learning in your behavior, actions and attitude, it means nothing for the company. Remember it is not half an hour show, as mistook by most people, that when you sit in front of the HR team and the point you leave the chair that decides you will get selected or not, believe me Friends it is not true in most of the cases.

Things which Effect your Written Campus placement

Students in written exam try to answer all the question. In placement, most company prefers window marking which means, let's say in out of 100, your mark is 98 or 65, but there is a window range of 70 to 90, so only those students qualify for the next round who score between 70 to 90 both inclusive. Trying to answer all question increases the risk of not being able to complete all question in the given time or skipping your branch related questions more than that of aptitude and reasoning. Many companies also have sectional cutoffs. In both aptitude and reasoning you need to score only more than the cutoff marks, try to invest more time in your branch related question to secure score more than the cutoff mark for that section. The most important thing to remember is it's not essential to answer all questions but it's important to attempt all sections and score the minimum cutoff marks. To be on the safe side manage your time to answer at least 60-70% questions from all sections which will give you an upper hand in both window system and sectional cutoff system.

Group Discussion round

In campus selection every company usually have the GD round in which they provide with a common topic to discuss in a group of 6 to 9 students, or some companies provide a task to perform in a group and ask them to give their reviews on it. In both the cases there is a moderator assigned to each team who observes every contestant and allot them marks on the basis of body language, communication skill and team spirit.

The problems which student face while GD

Communication Problems which become hindrance in clearing Group Discussion (GD):

Unable to express your thought correctly while speaking in English, This happens when you are not habituated with the Fluency of the language and all of sudden you need to use it in front of a group of people.

Some methods to improve English Speaking Skills:

• Think in English: Your mind often first thinks in your native language and then convert it to English, which takes away the emotions and Fluency in the language. You need to start thinking in English. Every day devote one hour to sit and talk in English to yourself in the mind. Make sure your thoughts should be in English directly. Speaking in mind provide you an Environment to Practice.
  
  
• Watch English movies and whenever you watch movies in other language keep translating it to English in your mind.
  
  
• Stand in front of mirror and practice to talk in English and adjust your body language according to it.
  
  
• If you have someone to talk to in English that will be great, if not then you can call service centers of phone or any inquiry office and talk to them. It will help you to evaluate yourself that are you able to convince the other person by making understandable statements or not.

Have Shy nature or not able to express oneself in a group

You need to understand that now you are entering into a corporate world where every thing is professional. You must learnt to coordinate with others and for that you need to be expressive to some extent. From now on you will always be required to communicate with people whom you have never met earlier. Before placement period starts mentally prepare yourself for this situation. You can also motivate yourself by reminding your goal and all the hard work you have done to reach there. Speaking less also can let you to be hired but that needs to be to the point speaking, but yes you need to speak.

Important point which help to Clear Group Discussion Round

• If you are familiar with the topic be the first one to start with few examples, which would portray you are aware of the social issue. Summarize yourself in 40 seconds, as per study the HR, the managerial and your seniors focus on your words for 40 seconds only. Then they start to wait, for you to end, hence give vital points in less than 40 seconds.
  
  
• If you are not familiar to the topic then let others start and then get an idea and frame some understanding on the topic, add some points to it. Understanding situation and then reacting to it comes handy in these times.
  
  
• When you speak make sure you make eye contact with most of them in the group as well as the moderator and keep your body posture little bit lean and should not contain any lock poses for examples hand folded or crossed leg. Look confident when you speak, so that other have an impression that whatever you are speaking is from a experience and learning.
  
  
• Let others speak, giving chances to others exhibit your leadership skill. For instance you can say, "I conclude my point with this. Now I let the others give their comments on it", or, "I would like if we give 'xyz' a chance to put forward his ideas, as he has not got the chance yet". Statements similar to these shows you care for the team and can control the situation which is counted as great skill in corporate world.
  
  
• Do not panic or stop your words when someone interrupts. You can continue in the way of completing your point or can say “I will really appreciate if you let me Finish ”, it shows you have confidence in your ideas and words and do not get shaken by bad times.
  
  
• Try at least to get 2 chances to keep your points. If you are successful in it then it's pretty sure that you will be selected for the next round as you were able to make your way in front of 9 people in such short time. That's a really good achievement.
  
  
• Do not shout, do not get in quarrel or heat discussion. Do not make it a conversation b/w two, let others get involve and make it a discussion. Most important of all, do not plan among friends that we will give chance to everyone to keep their points, before group discussion. It never works. Do not make it a fish market. do not raise or fluctuate your tone while speaking or show any aggressive body language. If a discussion is going too loud, then you can calm the environment by making statements like, “Hey team, let us calm down and understand each other's points rather than arguing, it will help all of us to learn from GD more”. This will create a positive impression of you on the moderator.

Managerial Round/ Technical Round

This is the Round in which your Innovative and Technical knowledge comes in handy. There will be some question that will be asked by the panel, which would demonstrate your depth of knowledge in  the subject or technology in which their company works on. Make certain that you have the basic understanding of the company profile and their work, which we have covered in planning of cracking the placement section.

Tips to clear Managerial /Technical Round.

• Go through some sites which lists top 50 questions which is often asked regarding your field in interview. You can also practice your notes regarding company profile. Don’t try to read or memorize everything, practice which you believe you can grab better while revision.
  
  
• Understand the question shot at you carefully, do not hurry to answer. Frame a proper explanation of your thoughts and then speak. Don’t talk like you are confused or you are mixing up many things which would make you look like you are not sure about what you have learnt. If you know the answer, organize and produce it properly. If you don’t know then confidently and politely say “Sir I am not able to recall now, I will come back on this later ” or “Can I have another instead of this, I am afraid I am not aware of it properly”. But you can use these statements maximum 2-3 times throughout an interview.
  
  
• Body posture, facial expression and eye contact are three things which speaks of your body language. Sit straight and make eye contact and do move eyes left and right but not up and down while having interview.
  
  
• Better not to try to be over smart or believe you will get away with lies or false statements in managerial, trying to fool the interviewer with false answer may cost you your placement seat. Do not fear him, at the same time don’t get over confident. Have respect for interviewers as they are the ones who will open the gates of corporate world for you. It’s their job to read people, trying to lie while answering will lure in traps of so many questions.
  
  
• Learn to say NO, with confidence if you don’t know the answer. It conveys your honesty and clarification on ideas. Don’t make it a loopy answer. You will lead yourself into a trap of another question by doing so. Speaking truth avoids you to be arrogant.

HR Round/ Final Round

There is a saying in colleges, “If you are getting rejected in HR, it means you have an attitude Problems”. HR Round is one of the most soft cure and the most vicious stage, where there’s a person who want to understand you, your goal, vision, perspective and nature. If you are not able to clear this it means you are having behavior issue, because you are a good communicator that’s why you were able to clear GD, you have knowledge that’s why you cleared Written and Managerial Rounds but none of the earlier stages asked to explain yourself. Knowing yourself will solve this question and the round. Have a plan for your life and explain to the HR in brief.

Some Tips to clear HR Round

• He is the man who will go through you CV minutely, so make sure you have already memorized your CV. Whatever you have written should not be messy. It should be in proper order and skills should be to the point, according to company qualification needs. The CV should not be colorful, it is better to have black and white, without photo, qualification details (CGPA/Percentage of 10^th and 12^th ), your current college CGPA, skills, interest, hobbies and strength.
  
  
• Always note this in mind, everyone present there will be in fear of uncertainty of the result, and that will surely degrade there performance. Do not fall into the same zone, be happy and excited that now you are going to get for what you have worked all these year, talk to friends makes them relaxed, boost their confidence, behave like professional. Zone can be changed by changing your body language, think about your body posture when you feel confident, it may be anywhere, in front of  friends, family. You should have your own zone not surroundings. Zone does not shift in the flip of finger, once you open the gate. Be prepared for this from start and enjoy the process.
  
  
• Dress decent, not too colorful. You should look branded. Now, this does not mean you need to wear branded clothes. But the brand should be in the look of it, as good  dress boost your confidence. When you open the HR's door the first thing he observes is your dress, Dress should not be too tight or too loose,  wear formal, light colored, cleaned and pressed clothes to your interview. 
  
  
• The next thing is your voice. Make sure to clean your mouth properly and do not eat smelly food before interview, for ex Paratha, onion or garlic.
  
  
• The HR judges your body posture, so while explaining move your hands little bit, try to connect with him like you do when you meet someone in party. Try to build up a conversation between you and him. Do not get too comfortable or too cautious, be calm and alert. Keep a natural smile on face while talking and listen to his questions and answer briefly. Don’t tell him stories, talk to the point and informative regarding you.
  
  
• Practice common question asked in HR round before placement period.  You can do some surfing on net, so that you do not get surprised with most of the questions. Have a vision which contain your growth as well company's growth.
  
  
• Have chocolate in the placement day, as it is a long process so it may consume lot of energy. Eat frequently and also before going inside wash your face and look once at your clothes in changing room, because less energy slow downs your thought process and your voice.
  
  
• If you have been given chance to discuss your salary then before hand have some idea from google what company is offering for current post now. Don’t set your bar too low or too high from that. Usually in campus placement it does not happen, offered CTC is fixed but if provided then make demands like professional.

Conclusion

If you are prepared in advance for these things, it will be of great assistance for you in long run, because same work will be offered to you by two or more companies with different salary package. So it will be your choice what you want to have, what is the amount you want to see as your first salary, and behave, prepare, practice and perform accordingly.