Getting started with placements: What you will do...

Last year XYZ Sir got package of 30 lacs in Europe, ABC Madam got package of 15 lacs in India. We are studying in IIT/ NITs/ DCE/ NSIT so, it is natural for us to expect us to get package of at least 10 lacs per annum, after all we are the so called best Engineers of India. I feel sorry for you people but I don’t blame you people for this kind of thinking. Even I had similar thinking sometime back but now I am well aware of the entire scenario and thus I am writing so as to familiarize you with the harsh reality of placements.

Now, let us come back to ground guys. If life would have been that much easy, then everyone one would have worked hard and got into the top colleges and secure a placement which pays you more than your professor could earn in his entire life time.

Let me describe you the first few weeks of placement season (this applies to most of the guys who do not get placed in the beginning).

1.      You come to know that some company is coming to your college, say XYZ Company. And you are lucky enough that this company is open to students of your branch.

2.      You will find out the package it offers. Let us say, it offers a tempting package of 15 lacs per annum.

3.      You get excited and you are least bothered about the profile offered by the company.

4.      D-day comes and that company visits your college. You get up and dress up in neat formals, with an expensive folder carrying all your certificates ranging from college to class 5.

5.      Company executives come and speak so pompously about their company. Then the writtentest starts. As soon as you see the paper, you realize that paper is full of coding questions which is an alien language to you. Now what?

6.      Thank god! Examiner said that there is no negative marking. You feel as if everything is going in your favor. You very audaciously mark all the answers and wish (just wish to) to clear the written examination. (Your mind knows that it is next to impossible but still your heart says that it can happen. You just recall all the quotes you have seen on Facebook which says” BE OPTIMISTIC”).

7.      Result is declared and you are among the other tens of students pushing each other to see their name in the list. Unfortunately, at this time stars have turned away from you and your name is not in the list. To add to your miseries, one of your so called friends got shortlisted for the next round whom you think to be far less intelligent than you.

8.      Next step is to come back to your room and wait for the next company.

9.      Next company is visiting your college after three days. Let’s call this company PQRcompany (I guess I will have to use all the alphabets). This company is offering package of 14 lacs per annum. Hearing the package, you gain back your energy and have strong intuition that this time you will make it. (Let us hope so)

10.  Entire process goes again: dressing up neatly, going for written examination, pre placement talk, and then written test. Last time, your hurdle was programming but this time it is case studies. You are sitting in written examination of a company which offers hefty package of 14 lacs per annum and you are wondering “What the hell are case studies?”

11.  To mitigate your woes, examiner announced that there is no negative marking. You marked all the answers (obviously not blindly but using a concept which we call as LOGICAL GUESS). Now, it’s time for the result.

12.  Exactly same scenario repeats. Only difference was the day and the company. You push your friends anxiously to look your name in the list. Again the conflict between your mind and heart goes on. As I said earlier, the only change was day and company, result was also same.

13.  Now this process continues, you sit in some 7-8 companies. Your friends have got placement. And that guy also got placed whom you consider far less intelligent than you. You start considering yourself a looser. Frustration is building up in your head. You start sitting in each and every company that visits your college. The only good thing is that you have crossed the stage of aptitude tests and entered into another era where clearing interview is creating problem for you.

14.  All the dreams of having 15 lacs package have been left behind. All you want at this point is a placement irrespective of company, package, place or profile.

15.  Finally, after this tiring fight of four months, your name is announced. You are placed and you are extremely happy to hear that. You go for a party and have fun. It seems as if the some heavy load has been lifted off from your shoulders. It does not matter that you have placement of 4 lacs, all you are concerned about is that you have placement. 


Click on the link to read second part of this article: Getting started with placements: How you can do better?