The Placement Procedure

"Mindset of a person is his biggest asset or liability"

It was 7th sem and the placement journey started. The first company that came was Amazon for SDE role. I did poor in the coding round. Not that I couldn't figure out the problems but the time management was the issue. And in the coming weeks, I realized that such competition demands not just coding ability but also speed. Which comes with alot of practice. A lot. 

So the deal here is, I was enrolled at SRM RMP campus while all the placement scenes were centralized from the main campus- KTR. And it would some 1.5 hours to reach from RMP campus to main campus. And since it was a daily affair, we used to commute using local trains. And after coming home via same channel and rejection, it needs too much grit to work on yourself and amend the mistakes.

And in first few weeks/months there were nearly 3K-4K students competing for a single job-opportunity. After nearly 15 failed attempts, I got to know my weak areas and got a hang of the placement process. I stopped applying. 

After a week of self-assessment and work. I again started applying, but very few and selective ones. Being one of the biggest private engineering institute in India, there were all kind of job profiles and companies. I decided, I will only apply when the prospects excites me and aligns with my interest. I was pretty confident that I know my stuff and I will be able to grab a job that excites me.

This went on for 4 months. I was still confident but in doubt. Then I cleared the first round of Nissan Digital's coding round and then only GD, PI and HR interview was left. Inspite of being a brand name, a decent CTC, there was a huge doubt in my mind, if I really want the job? The job profile didn't excited me. And I always wanted to work with a startup, small product based company where I will be able push my self out of my comfort zone and learn stuff while implementing. But this was a corporate. Nothing bad with it but I don't see myself working there. 

And again the deal here is if I would have gotten the offer then I will be able to sit for only those companies that offer more than 2X current-CTC. And that put me in the spot. Which is the fear of losing out on better future opportunity. I had a talk with my parents the night before interview and told them about the situation that I may reject the offer[if given]. You see, I belong from a average-middle-class family and the notion of starting ones carrer with 6LPA is a big deal. Inspite of that they were supportive, but also tried to convince me that this option is also a great one. And people change jobs and I can hop on to better opportunity, if I didn't like it. I got the point, but wasn't in agreement.

Also one point to be noted here is, if I get the offer, from that moment only the 2X rule applies. Even if I decline the offer later. And in such case it was inferred that one has to blow his interview on purpose. I wasn't sure if should accept it or blow. I left it to the interviewer, if I am not able to give a good interview then I will be automatically rejected. I cleared the GD. Then for PI, my turn came, I entered and the interview started. He asked me very basic stuffs. One of the most common coding question(realted to counting substring). I was able to solve it. Till this point everything was on point. Then the interviewer tells me, we are done here you will be giving HR interview next. Do you have any questions for me? I asked him questions like on what products does they work on? technologies they use. The pipeline of work. And he was not able to convince me that they are doing exciting stuff. And from my response and questions, I made sure he gets the idea that I ain't excited either. And HR never called me. I went home. I was feeling insecure that maybe I should have taken it[logically speaking]. But also happy that I had the guts and the confidence to do it.

Better opportunities came but wasn't able to clear the first round (mostly aptitude). Still confident but in doubt. Then in September, a company specific to our campus came. It was a startup, building its own product with nearly 150 employees. The JD was well defined and it aligned with me perfectly. But it was offering more than expected CTC. And the alarms in my head started, that maybe again I will be not able to clear the first round itself. But not only the JD aligned with me but their thinking process as well. They took a 6Hr coding test in their first round instead of an aptitude test. I cracked it up. Then I shined through the tech and HR interview.

Currently I'm interning with them, with an opportunity of getting full time offer. It's been more than a month working with Exotel. And it's is awesome.

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
- Steve Jobs