Placement Tips : Part 1 : Cracking the Aptitude Test

After writing quite a few aptitude tests and having gone through many rounds of interviews, i think i am capable enough of advising fellow bitsians and may be others as well about placements. There are a few things which must be taken care of, if you want to make it really big. Most of the following observations are in bitsian context -

1) CGPA is the first thing, companies look at from your resume. It's always good to be in a top few but you should try to keep it around 9.

2) Don't ever think you should learn each and every thing you ever studied to go through an aptitude test. You should never even try to attempt all the questions. You should always concentrate on the problems which you can try. Don't bother about the ones you never heard.

3) Try to attempt a decent number of problems, concentrate on accuracy rather than speed ( There may be a few cases where speed might be of importance. That you can guess yourself. (It happened to me while writing Oracle Application aptitude test. )

4) Software companies which come to BITS for recruitment, including the biggest names , generally put a significant number of questions about basic C concepts and logic. So learn structural C well. You can practice logical problems as well. These are generally small problems about probability, permutations and combinations, basic mathematics or small puzzles.

If you consider above things carefully, you should easily go through to the next rounds.

Helpful Resources:

1. The C Programming Language : Kernighem and Ritchie

2. http://www.c-faq.com
excellent website for clearing basic doubts about C. It contains a lot of common problems related to C arranged topic wise. It was of great help to me.

3. http://www.geekinterview.com
Contains placement papers of various companies as well problems and their solutions course wise.

4. Puzzles to Puzzle you - Shakuntala Devi
Probably the best book to prepare for logical questions and puzzles.

5. More puzzles to puzzle you - Shakuntala Devi

again a great book !

Graduation Party

It seemed like just another day, even boring then the others. I thought we are gonna listen to a few traditional speeches and then a little refreshment will follow. I had already got to know that party begins on time. And just half an hour delay is not late enough by Bitsian standards. I filled a form for BITSAA membership. It was the first blow which ripped my heart apart. Suddenly a thought crept in mind, You'll no longer be a student of BITS,Pilani. Within a few days, you'll have to leave this lovely town which has given you so many memorable moments.

Then came the VC address and now it was taking it's toll. I somehow managed to stay calm. It was amazing to listen to him. He used apt words to motivate us. Few batchmets too took the opportunity to share a few of their experiences, some sang and a few others told poems. All in all, it was a great feeling to be there. I was sad but i didn't want to be happy either ! It was an unique feeling, something i may never witness again.. I wanted to enjoy it to the fullest ! Then i witnessed the best part :-), snaps with my dear ones, with my wingies and batch mates.

When finally it got over, I was content. I knew, this place has given me much more than I ever anticipated. So many friends, wingies, lovely juniors and above all a humanistic approach to life. This place has brought man out of this little child. I will always cherish those amazing moments. Those were the best days of my life.

Farewell

कल शाम आँख से एक आंसू नीकल पड़ा था ,
हमने पूछी वजह तो कहने लगा था

आये थे जब तो न सोचा था इस दीन के बारे में
जो अचानक राह के बीचोंबीच पडा था ||

कल लगा था जींदगी शुरू हुई है
कल देखा तो यम् बाहें फैलाये खड़ा था

क्या पाया क्या खोया कुछ न याद रहा
बस अचानक दिल तड़प उठा था ||

लम्हे खुशियों के अनगिनत थे
पर कल लगा वो भी कम थे

मन ने कहा ये शाम फीर ना आये
पर सूरज डूबने को तैयार खड़ा था ||

Psychedelia ...oASIS 2k7 !

Having seen three versions earlier...this psychedelic version came as a surprise as almost all of the evens were on time. Earlier versions saw a continuous postponement and rescheduling of events but this year, it was a completely different story. Though i won't appreciate it too much on count of fun factor yet it was the best managed extravaganza till date at BITS, Pilani. I certainly missed the 'Hutch' stall at M-Lawns which kept the enthu levels high throughout the 96 hours previous time. It was replaced by a boring vodafone stall. Domino's and CCD were a prize addition though. This year saw a remarkable change- in the duration of the festival.

Inauguration ceremony was held on the eve of 16th oct. It made event scheduling quite easy for the controlz. The fire crackers show just after the inaug, the paintball wars, Psychedelic spoofs, beyond magic (naveen shenoy) , Jukebox at C-lawns were a few good changes to name. Still dance floor at S-Lawns was missed badly alongwith a stall by Nescafe and a green grass to rest after dance ! Oasis had a title sponsor in SBI( !). This was again a new thing. Audi events were fun-filled as ever. There were a few glitches yet Lucky Ali rocked the prof show. Everyone in the audi enjoyed it to the fullest.

Well, in short, it was a great bitsian effort, the best in terms of management till date. As it was the last Oasis for me, i wanted to live it to the fullest. That was particularly made impossible by the dull M-lawns. Still i loved it, after all it was my psenti oasis-the psychedelia continues.....
Love u Bits Pilani !

the last time...

May be it is
the last time we met,
but to know that
i have to wait.

life is different
places are new,
i am diffident
i am rue.

Yahoooooo !!

I already had a job, a zero week job offered by Cisco Systems with a healthy package. Yet i felt like going for ' Yahoo ! ' because it could give me a chance of working in hardcore internet application field and a challenging job because they have great competitors. So i went for it. Test paper was very good, almost tough. But i kept the tradition of making it to short lists going. Now i again became confused of whether i should try for it or not. At the last moment, while leaving for the interview, i decided to give it a try. I had three rounds of interviews which lasted almost two and a half hours. First two rounds were technical. They asked few complicated questions about trees and files. Final round was more of an HR. The guy also asked a few puzzles which i think i cracked easily. After that they put up a shortlist of eligible candidates for the online test. Only two guys could make it to the shortlist including me.

Online problem was a little tougher. I fought hard to make the code run. It lasted almost two and a half hour again. I was disappointed as i thought i didn't do well enough. But surprisingly they called me up at VFAST and offered the job. I felt so proud to be there. It was a great feeling. I would always cherish the moments.

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