Here we will discuss the interview process of Software companies (big MNCs to Small startups) i.e. how many rounds of interviews will be there, what they expect from the candidate, how they shortlist the candidates, which skills they look for in every round and how freshers should act as per the round etc.
First let us take big MNCs like TCS, Cognizant, Accenture..etc.
There will be mainly five rounds.
They are
- Written Test
- Group Discussion
- Technical Round
- Managerial Round
- HR Round
| Round | What they look for |
|---|---|
| Aptitude Test | Analytical, problem solving abilities |
| Group Discussion | Presentation Skills |
| Technical(written/oral/both) | Programming knowledge/skills |
| Managerial | Thinking Ability |
| HR | Confidence, Communication |
Let us discuss about every round in brief
Written Test:
Almost every company will conduct the written test for freshers while recruiting them.
In this round there will be written test (objective on paper)/online test(objective on Computer) which contains aptitude/logical reasoning/analytical/verbal/non-verbal questions. Every graduate should be very good at this. Just because companies will eliminate so many candidates in this round it means if you clear this round, you are on the half way to get job. So prepare hard by practicing regularly General Aptitude: Quantitative Aptitude . And prepare according the company as every company will follow a different pattern like Cognizant paper will contain more verbal/non-verbal/logical reasoning questions than quantitative and Infosys paper contains more Mathematical quantitative questions and puzzles than others. You can check the patternby searching the internet for previous papers of the particular company.
In this round companies will check the problem solving, analytical abilities.
Group Discussion:
This round is optional round. Very few companies will conduct group discussion. Mostly for the Tech Support/IT HelpDesk roles only they will conduct GD. But few companies like HCL, Birlasoft..etc conduct GD for development roles.
So it will be good if you prepare for the GD also. Prepare for some hot/trending/general topics like Anti-corruption movement, Olympics, Cricket World cup, IPL, Television impact on people/children etc.
And when you are in the discussion its always good to start the discussion by yourself, but if don’t get a chance to start then wait for your chance to speak, till then note down some points to speak. Speak for 1-2 minutes by covering few good points, don’t speak for so much time.
- Never argue with anyone
- Never try to prove others wrong, just try to prove yourself correct by giving better points and examples if possible.
- Listen to others carefully.
- Speak at-least 1 time and at-most 3 times.
- Conclude the discussion with your points and others points so that you ensure that you are not only speaker but also good listener.
Technical Round:
This round may be written or oral or in the both forms, its depends upon the organization/consultancy, the number of candidates going to be attaended and their time scheduled for that particular interview.
So be prepared with the basic technical/programming skills theoretically and practically, because sometimes the companies may conduct machine/computer programming test which is to know the practical knowledge.
For Engineering grads attending On-Campus/Off-campus/Pool-Campus interviews:
In this round they test the basic technical skills of your particular stream/branch in engineering.
For a job in software industry, the companies test the skills on a programming language, database, operating system, Hardware/Networking. Because these are the mandatory things without which the software industry cannot survive. And every software professional should belongs any one of them.
So be thorough with the basics of the following:
| Programming language | : | C/C++/ Java |
| Database | : | SQL |
| Operating System | : | OS concepts, UNIX |
| Hardware/Networking | : | Computer Networks |
They will concentrate on the things which are related to the offered job profile i.e. computer networks if the profile is Networking, C/Java if the profile is Programming, SQL if the profile is Database.
Finally they will ask you questions on your academic projects (mini/main) to know your understanding, analytical, presentation skills and your role in a team by analyzing your answers on your academic projects. This is the important thing should be aware of. Explain them confidently up to what you have understood, don’t try to bluff because you should be able answer the questions they ask on your projects.
For grads attending walk-in for particular profile:
In this case you should be aware of , which job role is offered and whats is the job profile.