NSITonline

Isha Agarwal, graduated in IT in 2009, hired by Aricent and Deloitte. Joined Deloitte, Hyderabad, shares her experience..

Academics

CBSE AISSE (2003)        89.2%
CBSE AISSCE (2005)    90.2%
NSIT-IT (2005-09)        70%

Preparation:

The preparation included studying C and data structures as the topmost priority, followed by algorithms, Networking, C++, and Operating systems, in that order. Read a few case studies from the Orkut community ‘Target Placements’ and some ‘Googled’ ones.

Placement’s experience:

I had applied to all technical as well as non-technical companies. Some of the companies I sat through the interviews also include Adobe, Deloitte, Aricent, Bain Capability Centre.
The Deloitte experience
Our first impression about Deloitte was very nice. They were very punctual about everything, from reaching the campus in the morning at 6 to starting and concluding the interviews on time.

There was a written test followed by 2 sets of technical interviews and an HR interview.

1. The written test was easy but there were 40 questions to be done in 45 minutes, based on quantitative maths, Data interpretation, English and C/C++.
2.   The 1st technical interview - The first round of the interview consisted of a case study given to us individually (general). We were given some time before we were grilled on it. Then, they asked me about the various projects I have done in my college life - that was probably the best part of my entire interview. Then some basic data structure questions, like make queue and dequeue in the most optimal way (By mistake I interchanged the 'back' and 'front' pointers that we use. In such situations don’t panic. I made up for it by saying "It's just a notation sir". That saved me). In the end, they asked me about my plans about MBA, told them not interested right now, maybe after some professional exposure, blah blah…
   (A word of advice here: However much nervous you are, shake hands with them firmly but don't crush their hands. Creates a lot of impact and shows your confidence)
3. The 2nd technical interview - This was followed by the 2nd technical interview. I was again asked me about my projects (they basically wanted to know the basic idea about the project and your thinking process, they didn’t want exact technical details). Then they asked me some technical C/C++ questions, just to test my thinking capabilities. Some others were grilled on networking.
4. The HR Interview – As usual it’s a formality.

The Aricent Experience
The Aricent procedure consisted of a written test comprising of 7 papers, followed by a technical and one HR interview. A group discussion was conducted at the end of this.
The written test again consisted of maths, data interpretation, English, C programming, along with a little networking, operating systems, electronics, etc.
My technical interview was very simple, majorly based on C and Data structures. It drifted a little into electronics too once or twice.
The GD was pretty simple, the topic being related to Indian politics. 13 out of our group of 15 were selected finally. My advice for a GD is – try to speak up in the beginning itself, if not make room for yourself in the conversation. Look for places you can speak. Don’t just mutter something; make some strong points that others can remember. At the same time it’s important to be a good listener too. If you have some strong points, don’t hesitate to speak up even if others repel.