Top 10 myths about Placements @ Anna University

Disclaimer: This post is out of my experience as a Bachelor’s student at CEG campus, Anna university. It may or may not apply to other people.

#10 I wont get a job if I don’t know JAVA.

The companies require candidates to know an object oriented programming language in most cases. In equal number of cases, they test you in the language you are comfortable and you will be introduced to a new language after you join the company. So, any OOP based language can help.

#9 I can use same preparation method for all companies.

Wrong! That is a baseless assumption that most candidates realise after a couple of interviews. Some companies ask only linked lists and trees. Some ask DP also. Some ask for networks. It depends. Search the web for previous interview experiences. Bug the seniors who got placed on campus in the companies you dream to be at. Use their experience to your advantage. Else you would end up on the loosing side.

#8 I did not do any internship. Only bulk companies will pick me.

When it comes to placements, you need good projects. They would help showing your exposure to the interviewer. If you have done intern, then good but if you did not it does not matter much. Just forget it. Just because a person has an intern nobody would give him a job. And just because another guy does not have an intern, he wont be regarded with any inequality.

#7 I hate coding but took CS/IT by mistake. Now to hell with it! I can get placed only in a software company.

No! You still can end up in a heaven. There are lots of companies that do business analysis.  That would be the best place to be for guys who belong to “anti-coding” force. But watch your prep strategy. Those companies care a lot about communication skills and personality.

#6 I might end up without a job inspite of having no arrears.

This fear exists within every candidate every year. But statistics say that except the year of recession, there had been companies every year to end up without eligible candidates to interview. One important factor to make note of from 2012 batch is the increase in strength for various courses. The effect of this might not be obvious. But my logic is that, bulk companies like TCS, Wipro, CTS, Infosys won’t mind taking 50-75 students more than usual recruitement since it is CEG. Hence much of extra intake students will be consumed by bulk companies and make things even.

#5 It is a sin to skip a company

Not at all. It is mostly a call of one’s confidence in preparation. It is OK to skip companies not in your interests in the initial stages of placements.

#4 I do Contest coding. I will get the best job.

Sadly no! Most of the questions will be from theoretical data structures, OOPS, OOP Design and Algorithms. One should have a good idea of everything related to these subjects. Contest coding might help for a few companies. But in most cases contest coders will end up loosing to some guy who prepared specific for placements.

#3 I am an 8 pointer. CGPA toppers can only make it big.

Everyone having 8 or 8.5 above will have equal opportunity for all companies. From there, the challenge is to clear written round and convert the interview to an offer. So no CGPA advantage above the baseline.

#2 I am a book worm. Obviously I am the most eligible guy for the companies.

Ha Ha! Book worms do end up at good places. But not so always. Placements require problem solving skills. One should expose oneself to as many problems as possible and get familiar to the kind of questions that might be asking in the interview. Simply learning codes from text book wont take a candidate anywhere!

#1 I am a techie. Why do quants? They are for MBA enthusiasts.

Yea Y quants!!??? 😦 But that’s how the companies test candidates in written round. There will be good amount of quants’ questions that will provide big advantage for CAT students if techies neglected preparing for them.

And one last thing to remember! 😀

#0 I have the best profile. Fuck placements. I will do MS no matter what.

Never use this strategy. On campus Placements are the biggest lottery (gamble also! 🙂 ) out of CEG. So, never under estimate the value of it. Anything can happen! Going to US is a thing that will happen after 1 year from the time people get placed on campus. So, things might change within that time duration due to situations. Hence, make full use of campus placements no matter you have an idea to do MS or not. (Make sure you lie to the interviewer! 😀 )

Hope this post is useful for all placement aspirants and alerts few hard core MS aspirants. Feel free to contact me for any resources reg. placements.

UPDATES:

1. Please take a look at the Placement Info doc by our batch to CS&IT juniors. I had tried to spread this among all juniors. Still many are not aware of its existence. Please post this in your class groups and forward it to all. Make sure you ppl also document your experiences for juniors!

2. I recommend people to follow CSIT CEG in google groups. It has useful pointers regarding placements.

regards,

Vidhoon V

Elective – What it means in DIST,CEG??

Studying in Department of Information Science and Technology, I find the elective system followed here ridiculous to the core. Next semester we have two elective subjects. The elective in charge for the class, Mr.Headstrong announces “Give us your preferred set of electives .. 2 I guess… within two days without fail…”! The students start chattering over the elective topic and he interrupts “try to give two subjects common throughout the class so that we can easily manage staff.. it would be very difficult to provide more than two electives”.

Does he know the meaning of elective paper?
Why is this lazygoose taking such a responsiblity if he finds it hard ?
Should I choose a subject that I am not interested in just for the sake of saving this laggard’s work?

All these questions go through my head in a fraction of second .. clearly not for the first time! yes!! It has become a trend in CEG atleast in my department to get students struck up when it comes to electives. Why don’t they allocate additional staff so that students can atleast have one optional subject?? Instead of being so frugal with staff they can just abolish the concept of electives and allot a compulsory subject in its place…!

It’s high time for an institution of this standard to atleast understand the rationality behind the existence of ‘elective paper’ in the curriculum. Electives present students an opportunity to read and develop their knowledge in their area of interest. And this golden opportunity is ruined by the sluggishness and stubborn nature of some people in the department.

Hope it gets better not worse atleast in future….!!!

How to get a Tatkal Ticket?

Last week for Diwali I some how managed to get tickets for my on journey from Chennai to Coimbatore…

But I was not too lucky to get my tickets booked in advance for return journey…

This is how I was forced into the tatkal-panic-scheme of booking tickets!

On the previous day night,

me: Mom i want to book my return tickets through tatkal

mom: switch off the grinder

me:Mom i want to book my return tickets through tatkal

mom:drink your glass of milk.. or else you will become more thin

me:Mom will you listen?

mom: do whatever you want!

After getting mom’s consent I made a secret prayer that night so that the miracle happens! Not that I get a tatkal ticket but that i wake up so early to go get tickets…. lol 🙂

On the day,

Due to my special prayers god somehow showed some gratitude by pulling my eyelids apart…

The panic day begun…

It was 3 in the morning .. And it will take 45 min for me to reach the station from my home…

I took my i pod, story book and a scarf(my mom tied it forcefully !!)… The firest two items where only to kill the five hours idle time before the tatkal counter opens….

It was 3.45am when I reached the railway counter… And to my shock I was given token number…. 13….

I literally fainted on the spot… Inspite of killing my sleep and god showing his gratitude .. All I got was 13….

When I settled with the shock it was 4am and I finally placed my token on the queue. The people  there in front of me where in of the following category:

1.A poor daughter’s DAD(majority)

2.Working woman

3.Student

4.Commercial people

5.Watchman

6.Beggarlady

(She comes into picture because some ppl give them money to stand in queue from previos day night)

7.A poor old man who has a grand daughter working in Chennai

Some conversations:

man1: How many tokens will get tickets today?

man2: 5-6 only

me: !!!!! (heart beat raises)

man3: I once got a ticket when I had token 16

man1: Ya happens when the booking operator at the counter is quick!!!

man2: So we not only need luck but also a quick young booking operator! lol :

man3: yes! (they start laughing in the traditional ‘i know everything’ style)

Tides started fiercely from the bottom of my stomach… And so in order to help improve the situation I went to have coffee and stuff in a nearby shop. It slowly turned out to be 5am when I finally went back

Man3 seemed to have better experience in tatkal booking. So he preferred giving general advice:

1. Always reduce number of minutes you stay in the counter because the more you stay there the more you loose seats and more the others loose their chances.

2.Keep filled forms ready for all options of trains you prefer. There should be no overwriting or stikeouts

3.Fill the “Booking person contact address and phone number details” in the botton of reservation form

4.Place a tatkal label @ the top of the reservation form

5.If you carry 500 or 1000 rupee notes, please write down their unique identification numbers in the form.

6.Keep surplus change… 1re, 2rs, 5rs coins, 10rs, 20rs, 50rs notes and try to give exact amount so that operator wont waste time in giving you change.

I tried to follow carefully whatever he said. Then they started talking useless things and so I went to read a novel that I carried to kill time. It was 7am when I realised that the reservation counter started becoming crowded.

Another thing that I was in need of was the list of trains that were available for booking. This info can be easily found online but I failed to take it there unaware of the time issues. But I was lucky enough that some of the people out there had brought the list and happily shared it with me.

Finally I selected four trains:

1.Blue

2.Cheran

3.Special

4.Allepy

and filled four separate forms.

7.45am

We now started forming a queue. A policeman came to the rescue by helping us stay organised and avoid cattle fights before the counter opens! I was surprised to find that the last person to join the queue was with token number 37 and still confident. Actually it made me more confident! 🙂

7.59am

The booking operator came to the counter and started the system. She was young,fast and active(unlike most other railway employees I have seen!!) She gave some final instructions most of them that were already told by man3 and waited until the railways clock turned 8am.

8am

The booking started. I first guy got BLUE and the availability dropped to 53 from 205.

8.03am

The second guy got CHERAN (no BLUE for him) and the availabilty dropper to 105 from 205.

8.07am

The third,fourth anf fifth settled with CHERAN, ALLEPY,BLUE AC tickets.

8.10am

The guy before me got Special train sleeper.

8.12am

I went to the counter and asked for Special train sleeper.”Not available”

“Allepy sleeper?”. “Not available”

“Any other options for night trains?”

“Third A/C Special train?” the operator asked.

Without hesitation I shook my head in consent.

I booked my tickets and came back home!
man3’s instructions were really helpful and hope it is useful for you also!