PLACEMENTS FAQ’s
By Adithan.K (B.E Mechanical, 2014-2018)
“A broad look into the depot of dreams and what their numbers reveal “
If there is one thing that does not flicker away during the four (or five) year stay in PSG TECH, it would be the strong desire to end up in a really good place. From the past two years’ survey by THE BRIDGE, it has been evident from the words of students and parents alike, that ‘P’ is their favorite alphabet –let it be Placements or our college; for a really good number of them, at least.
We would like to extend our hearty thanks to the Placement Office, the Placement Officer and all the Placement Representatives of the respective departments for helping us through the article and providing the necessary details for the same. To begin with, let’s take a look at the last season’s portfolio.
Placement Records (2014-2015):
A general note regarding the placement results in 2014-2015 academic year is that they are better than the previous year and therefore, the outlook of the seniors had been more positive. A brief summary of the details:
More number of core companies have been registered in many departments. In IT sector, Data Analytics Segment has been blooming and shows promise to continue the trend in the upcoming years. Several departments’ strive to bring in more high profile recruiters, in addition to Placement cell’s tedious efforts, especially in the case of newer and lesser known departments was well received in praise.
As usual, high emphasis placed on Bachelor’s degree did appear to pay off well, considering the multitude of recruiters looking for potential students. A particular note here is that this year also sees the first set of students graduating from Robotics and Automation (RAE) department. Percentage of students (B. E and B. Tech) placed vs. Respective Department is graphed below.
The Master’s degree offered in our college (including integrated M.Sc. (5 year) programme) has managed to maintain its usual high scores. With regards their course, in placements as well as internships, they enjoy higher grade and pay.
The results of the constantly fluctuating Post Graduate placement records are displayed below. This probably doesn’t mean much, since there is no trend in PG placements and also considering the low strength and most people opting for other opportunities.
Disclaimer:
The above statistics have been derived from the Placement website and the complete details of the past five placement seasons are available at this link. It is only intended to highlight the trend across the academic diversity for the placement season 2014-2015 and it would be quite inappropriate to draw any conclusions without referring to the past timeline. All data are against the number of people appeared for placements.
Internships & Pre-placements:
There are a few records of pre-placements through internships, but are quite odd and small in fashion. Apart from M.Sc. Integrated and sandwich courses – where everyone takes up interns – other departments also have their fair share of students taking up both research and professional internships throughout the year. Getting back to college after internships, to quote the original words, has an “awesomeness” effect. Their views on the subject materials are said to be enhanced!
Placement Procedure:
To give a concise account of the placement procedure (for those who are not familiar with it),
- The details of companies visiting the campus on the placement drive are forwarded to the students of corresponding departments by the Placement Representatives (popularly addressed as PRs)
- The interested student’s list submission based on the eligibility criteria set by the company is also handled by the Placement Representatives.
- Preliminary round – Basic Aptitude and mathematical aptitude (referred also as ‘Apti test’)
- This should not be much of a barrier to students well versed in school level mathematical problem solving and logical reasoning
- Regrettably, an important fact to be noted here is that a good number of students fail to clear the aptitude test.
- Group discussion (if needed) – To check
- Candidate’s proficiency and directive over English Language
- Team spirit and measure his/her ability to work as a team
- Problem Solving as a team
- Leadership Qualities
- Two/Three rounds of Technical/HR Interviews– This platform matters the most as all the qualities of the candidate is gauged in addition to the technical expertise
- Attitude of the candidate
- Behavioral psychology and presence of mind
- Technical skills with respect to the job profile/role
Generally, this process is completed within the same day and the results are also announced immediately. The role of Placement representatives (PRs) role in approaching the companies, providing required hospitality for conducting the recruitment is paramount and they provide the very important communication bridge between the companies and the student community. For more details on the Placement Representatives, check out this article.
Other FAQ’s:
- What would be the general pitfall for students during the placement process?
Emotional Quotient (Emotional stability of a person) of a person plays an equal role in addition to Intelligence Quotient. Of course, being very strong in Subject Knowledge still tops the checklist. Some common factors which affect the candidates’ time after time are discussed below.
- Communication Skills – If you ask anyone experienced with the placement process to narrow down the most usual problem faced, it would be the inefficiency in expressing the ideas clearly. Every great idea needs to be communicated for successful inception and it is important!
- General aptitude – Odd as it may appear, most of the students get cut off at aptitude tests.
- Team Spirit – Rome was not built in a day or by one person. Team is the word and people adapting easily to a team and building up the synergy will find it rather easy to succeed.
- Basics! – Rocket Science is not what recruiters seek, but an individual enhanced in engineering practices and knowledge. The faculty stress the urge to have a good foundation to clear the placements and other competitive exams as well.
- Writing – Finally, with the advent of technology came the demise of our writing practice. Since most of the communications are through words, greater emphasis is to be placed on developing writing skills.
For more ideas on how to tackle the interview, read this article by our alumnus.
- Are there any facility in our campus to help improve the skills required for placements?
Placement Office provides a good deal of training to help sharpen the abilities of students. A more intrusive program under the PHASE project is being implemented in our college and will be open soon.
THE BRIDGE wishes a grand luck (package) to all the fellow Techians for this placement season so that:
Adithan.K (B.E Mechanical, 2014-2018) is a high spirited reader, enthusiastic gamer, who enjoys occasional coding, out-of-the box thinking, and often left awed by the very twisted fiber of nature and amorphously, by the scientific and engineering environment.
