Interviewed By: Secretary
What was the general interview process for the companies that you interviewed? Please mention the number of rounds and the nature of the interview process.
Well I can answer only about ITC as that was the sole company that I interviewed for during the placement season. ITC first circulates a questionnaire which has around 10–11 questions related to academic profile, internships, projects, PORs and others are HR questions. Based on the answers we gave and the CV around 50 students were shortlisted which was then followed by a psychometric test, this test tests the cultural fit of a candidate, there are no right or wrong answers here, then we had a Group Discussion round which was followed by 2 rounds of personal interview. The first round of personal interview was more technical and there were a wide range of questions based on core chemical engineering concepts and their real-life applications and also some technical questions from my internships and projects. They almost covered everything that was mentioned in my CV. After clearing the technical round there was the HR round. The technical round is to check the competency of the candidate, and the HR round is to check the compatibility and the cultural fit of the candidate.
Could you please list down some of the questions that you were asked in the different rounds, like any technical questions or any other questions that you may think would be helpful for the students?
As far as ITC is considered, you should know your CV well. You should be able to answer every question that is asked regarding your projects, internships, POR’s, extra academics or anything that is mentioned in your CV, and for specifically chemical engineering students I would say that you should brush up on your knowledge of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, mass transfer, a bit of thermodynamics and working of pumps. The questions are not very difficult rather they are based on the practical applications of what we have studied like it could be as simple as asking why does the flow area of water falling out from a tap changes, so you should be able to answer the theory behind any such phenomena.
Would you like to mention some Frequently Asked Questions for the HR round, that students must prepare for?
So, the questions in HR round are very generic like, tell me about yourself or tell me about your plans. The main funda behind HR round is that you don’t beat yourself, be honest, keep a smile, and be confident. These are the main things that one should focus on. They just want to learn about your background, your ability to think on your feet, how you present your view and whether you would be a good cultural fit or not. In my opinion, the best way to prepare for HR round is to recall your past experiences which you think might be relevant and whenever a related question is asked you should be able to tell them such experiences to justify your answers, for example, I was asked if I am capable of putting my mind over matter I simply talked about an instance from my tenure as the Overall Events Coordinator of Spring Fest. So just be thorough with your CV and should be able to justify whatever is in there.
How did you prepare for the technical rounds and what tips would you give the final year students to be placed in ITC?
For the technical round I have prepared core chemical engineering topics. Apart from that, I have worked on all the technical concepts related to my intern projects. As all of my interns were in core sector so it was obvious that my interview may revolve around it and that helped me.
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the students?
Well for the final years I wish them All the Best, work smartly and give your best. For others, I will suggest them to take the most out of this great place. You can take different projects, courses, join different societies, fests or cell. Having academic knowledge is good but being part of any society or organisation on the campus will help you grow professionally. Whatever you do just don’t waste time in binge-watching shows or movies because right now you will get many opportunities and time to work on that with zero risks and nothing to lose. So explore yourself, keep yourself busy with productive stuff, and all the Best!