As we all know, we are approaching the hectic and nerve wracking internship season. This time of uncertainty causes a lot of stress and anxiety among third year students. Deciding your interests, preparing for entrance tests and interviews seems like an uphill battle. Thus, to help third years out during these worrying times, Pulse NITK has collected excerpts from students who did internships in various fields of interests, ranging from the usual campus ones to the research internships and off-campus internships as well. Going through these answers might help you calm your nerves and take a strategic approach to achieve your internship dreams. We wish everyone internship season in a cool and calm manner and hope you all have a rewarding experience at the end of the academic year.
REGARDING SOFTWARE AND ANALYTICS INTERNSHIPS ON-CAMPUS
1. How was your preparation? What resources did you use? Anything specific to work on?
“My preparation for the internship season started in the month of July of 2020 (recommended to start in your summer vacation). I had decided to sit for any company that was open to my branch irrespective of the field. Owing to my unclear mindset I decided to give every company, be it core or software a shot. I started with a basic course on DSA in Python on Udemy and followed YouTube videos to understand frequently asked CP problems. For core companies I brushed up my second year notes on DSD , DSP and Microprocessors. Spend more time preparing for the technical part more than the aptitude. My resources were- Interviewbit, Udemy, SOLO learning,YT. Now coming to the company I got into at last- Credit Suisse. It offered an entirely different role for internship- Valuation and Risk Control under Product Control (VRC). I understood thoroughly what the role has to offer and did research on it one day before the interview. Just be confident with your preparation and never give space for self doubt. My tip- early preparation, be sure which companies you want to sit for and don’t let others’ results affect you.”
– Janavi Narasimhan, ECE 4th year, Credit Suisse
“I used Codeforces, Leetcode, and GFG mainly. I practiced timed contests and also contests without using auto-completion or any other IDE feature. I also practiced OOPS, DBMS, OS, and a bit of System Design.
-Aditya Sohoni, CS 4th year, Uber India
“I started my preparation around 2 months before the internship season. It was pretty tedious in the beginning because I had to revisit some concepts and topics which I had no clue about. I spent 2 hours every day coding. Honestly, the key is maintaining consistency. If you code enough, most questions will eventually get easier to tackle. Once you get the hang of the concepts, all that’s left is to try as many different variations of questions as possible.
I mainly used InterviewBit and LeetCode for practising Data Structure and Algorithms. InterviewBit is great because they have a very clear distinction in subtopics and their hint system is also pretty good. But the only issue is that questions listed there are more likely to be asked in an interview than a coding test, and clearing the coding round is your first step to bagging an internship. LeetCode, on the other hand, is great to practice possible variations in a subtopic.
Apart from DSA, for topics like OS, Networks and DB, I used GFG to clear concepts.
All software roles will inevitably ask DSA questions, so you need to know those concepts very well. Apart from coding, know your resume like the back of your hand. Never lie on your resume. Not knowing your resume properly will tell an interviewer that you are a weaker candidate.”
– Meghna Kashyap, IT 4th year, Wells Fargo
“My preparation was mainly through GeeksForGeeks and InterviewBit. A solid few months of continuous preparation is usually suggested. Many companies have tests that consist of aptitude questions and computer science MCQs. Thus, having clarity in these concepts can help in getting a better score.”
– Sharvari Kishore, Chemical 4th year, Fractal Analytics
2. What are the expectations the company has from an internship candidate?
“Depending on the profile and company, you can deduce what the company expects from you. Read about the job description and Gyan of candidates who sat for the company in the year before yours. Expectations of Credit Suisse- Basic knowledge of Finance, interest in the field, confidence, ability to answer all questions in the interview. Where some companies look for technological expertise, some look for your interest in the field, and some only stick to your resume. So, choose wisely which company’s a right fit for you and sit accordingly.“
– Janavi Narasimhan, ECE 4th year, Credit Suisse
“The company is looking for someone who is smart and has the willpower to work hard at a given problem and not give up. Smartness is also not really required. In my internship, I was given a really hard problem that I couldn’t finish but was still given a PPO, because I tried many approaches when traditional ones failed.”
– Aditya Sohoni, CS 4th year, Uber India
“During the interview, something people tend to forget is that the interviewer knows you don’t know everything. They don’t expect you to be a complete pro at all topics, and you can tell them what your strengths are. Interviewers try to see your thought process and how you tackle the problem and the method with which you arrive at the solution. It’s okay to make mistakes and rectify them during the interview. They want to ensure your basics are strong and your ability to learn and catch errors are good.
When it comes to the actual internship, do your project well and ensure you don’t take it for granted. Try to learn as much as possible and show interest in becoming better. Be punctual with deadlines and stay in constant touch with your managers. Use the feedback you get in reviews, it will make a huge difference and will show dedication to your work.”
– Meghna Kashyap, IT 4th year, Wells Fargo
“During interviews, the interviewer expects an efficient and straightforward approach to the problem which is asked. Some companies may test you on your language fundamentals (say, Java), and some may ask further questions on DSA. They seek your interest and willingness to work.”
– Sharvari Kishore, Chemical 4th year, Fractal Analytics
3. Can you share some Interview tips?
“To begin with, pat yourself every time you get shortlisted for an interview. It is a big deal and you did it! This will boost your confidence. Next thing don’t bother seeing the entire list of who all got shortlisted, you don’t need it. If you have enough time before your interview, do prepare or revise, but if the list is out today and the interview is tomorrow, don’t open a book. Just relax yourself the day before and go for it. Greet your interviewer and break the ice with a small joke if possible. This will help you know what kind of a person is interviewing you. Be on time for your interview and never complain if the interviewer joins the meeting late. If you are struggling with an answer, don’t panic. Your interviewer might try to nudge you in the direction of the answer , you just have to stay alert and try to come up with something. If you still can’t think of anything , no problem, ask the interviewer to move on to the next question. You would know if you had a horrible interview or a terrific one. Even if it was horrible, it is not the end of the world. I gave 4 horrible interviews before making it on the fifth try. Each one just helps you become better at it.”
– Janavi Narasimhan, ECE 4th year, Credit Suisse
“The most important thing is to feel confident and realize that it’s not a do-or-die situation. The company is also looking for good candidates and sometimes they are also desperate for good talent. So thinking this way really shifts the power dynamics in your mind and that makes all the difference. Approach your interview with a clear head, don’t panic, and don’t fumble. (I lost out on a Google internship cause I fumbled a lot).”
– Aditya Sohoni, CS 4th year, Uber India
“The time right before interviews can be pretty nerve-wracking. But the truth is, once you get into the interview, it’ll go with the flow and be alright. Interviewers are always very nice and try to help you as much as possible. So when stuck, and your interviewer gives you a hint, use it. Constantly think aloud. Start off with the naive solution and move on to the optimised one. Explain your approach and then begin coding. Don’t forget to explain time complexity.
If you didn’t understand the question, don’t hesitate to ask your interviewer to clarify certain points. A small detail can completely change the approach to be taken. So, understand the question well and begin.
Another tip that might help is, practice how to explain your resume beforehand. This will ensure you don’t fumble and you’ll have clear cut points.
If you can, try to do mock interviews with your friends before the internship season begins.
At the end of an interview, if the interviewer asks if you have any questions for him/her, never say ‘nope, nothing’. Ask a bit about the company or the role. That shows you’re interested in them.
Before your HR interview, prep for a couple of typical HR questions and go through your companies website. Asking questions always leaves a good impression.”
– Meghna Kashyap, IT 4th year, Wells Fargo
“Be confident while answering. The interviewer usually encourages you to speak your mind. So think out loud and explain your approach. Interviewers are pretty friendly. If you do not understand, clarify the question, ask for any constraints in the problem, and then begin to formulate your answer. Take advice from seniors who have appeared for an interview with a particular company. “
– Sharvari Kishore, Chemical 4th year, Fractal Analytics
4. How did you manage the stress and other mental factors?
“In the first 4 weeks of the season, I felt suffocated and wanted it all to end. Seeing my colleagues get placed just made it worse. I knew exactly where I was going wrong and still didn’t bother to correct it. The internship season takes a heavy toll on your health (physical and mental). It deteriorates proportionally to the amount of time taken before you end up securing an internship. My family was my biggest support, they constantly reminded me that it was ok to fail. The important thing is you get back stronger. Don’t worry guys! A lot of companies come for internships and even more for placement, so you will eventually be successful in securing an internship/ job. Just don’t let the stress get to you. All the best kids!”
– Janavi Narasimhan, ECE 4th year, Credit Suisse
“I didn’t really manage my stress completely but reduced its bad effects with the way I prepared.”
– Aditya Sohoni, CS 4th year, Uber India
“Honestly, the internship season was pretty hectic for me. I saw my friends and classmates getting internships one after the other and it was pretty demoralising. I would clear coding rounds and would get rejected in the interview stage, which was really frustrating. But now when I look back, a lot of it had to do with luck also. You just have to be persistent and keep learning from the previous interview. As cliche as it seems, that’s the best way to look at it.
After a bunch of rejections, I went for my Wells Fargo interview waaay more chill than the rest and it worked to my favour. So try to remain calm during interviews. Everything will always end good. All the best!”
– Meghna Kashyap, IT 4th year, Wells Fargo
“Appearing for the interviews and, in general, the internship season can be stressful and an anxious period. Avoid comparing yourself with others, and don’t worry about things that are not under your control. Keep yourself motivated and take rejections sportingly :)”
– Sharvari Kishore, Chemical 4th year, Fractal Analytics
REGARDING RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS
- Any tips on how to choose institutes/ professors and how to cold mail professors?
“ Make sure you have your interests by the time you decide to apply for research internships. Don’t constrain yourself to one field, try exploring multiple areas. Approach profs in your department to get a better understanding of each topic,and at the same time try looking at research papers online to get a fair idea of how research is conducted.”
– Karthik Menon, Mining 4th year, University of Michigan
“There are two ways to go about it. Firstly, you can target a specific institute and look up their faculty pages to find professors working in the field that interests you. Secondly, you can read specific work which interests you and from there find the principal investigator of that work. After deciding which professor’s work intrigued you, you can reach out to them after doing your background work on them. Cold emails are a powerful tool that could work for some while not work for the rest. They require patience but have the advantage that you do not lose anything in giving it a shot. The important aspect is for your mail to stand out in the numerous emails a professor receives. Hence, following a generic template for all could be hazardous as they should not feel they are one in the many emails you are sending. After your brief introduction in a mail, make it a point to connect with them by providing them some context or connection (that is where your homework comes to the rescue) and then also suggest an actionable (answer a question or schedule a short meeting).
– Manav Singhal, EEE 4th year, Robotics Institute Summer Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University and Reinforcement Learning Open Source Fest participant organised by Microsoft Research, New York City
“Narrow down the course or the field you’d like to pursue. This will help you find professors who have related projects and who specialise in the field.
When it comes to cold mailing, make sure you mention how their experience could help you and how your past work might be related to the work you hope to do.”
– Rea Jacob, Mechanical 4th year, Indian School of Business
2. How did you find your interests? How did you work towards improving yourself in that field?
“ I found my interests by working on projects in areas similar to the courses I undertook throughout my second year. I also interacted with a few seniors and took their advice regarding interesting topics within my branch. Furthermore, I had an inclination towards certain topics which I felt would offer better opportunities in the future.”
– Karthik Menon, Mining 4th year, University of Michigan
“I initially began exploring the basics of Machine Learning. When I was intrigued by that, I began delving deeper to learn new stuff and experiment with it. After that, taking up some projects in that field through clubs or working with a professor helped in building on those basics to improve my grip.
– Manav Singhal, EEE 4th year, Robotics Institute Summer Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University and Reinforcement Learning Open Source Fest participant, Microsoft Research, New York City
“I identified my strengths, weaknesses and most importantly, what seemed interesting. There’s no point pursuing something that you find boring, it’s hard to drive yourself when there’s no passion involved. Strategy was among my many interests and so it was one of the fields I’m trying to pursue. That involved staying up to date with mergers and acquisitions, market activity and reading research papers on firm growth and innovation.”
– Rea Jacob, Mechanical 4th year, Indian School of Business
3. Any pre-requisites required for such internships?
“No fixed pre requisites unless you are applying for an internship program like DAAD or MITACS. In such cases, a minimum GPA is required. Otherwise, a good profile and interest in research should be enough.”
– Karthik Menon, Mining 4th year, University of Michigan
“Since my internships were both specific program-based, I had to go through an application procedure for each that included submitting application material like a resume, letter of recommendation, and statement of purpose. Hence, working on finessing these materials with guidance from seniors can be considered as a pre-requisite. Also, putting in the effort to have some research experience before applying for established programs will certainly be a plus.
– Manav Singhal, EEE 4th year, Robotics Institute Summer Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University and Reinforcement Learning Open Source Fest participant, Microsoft Research, New York City
“Having prior internship experience and academic knowledge in the field helped my case.
Being an engineering student looking for a research internship in a management field won’t be easy unless you’ve been actively trying to advance in the field for a while with extra work, projects and separate courses. But engineering students adapt well and that’s a major plus point, one that professors appreciate and value.”
– Rea Jacob, Mechanical 4th year, Indian School of Business
4. How did you manage the stress and other mental factors?
“I never really got stressed about such things mostly because to me it wasn’t a do or die situation. I was just exploring my interests and always knew that if you work hard enough you will be rewarded for your efforts. To those facing stress, I suggest you talk with a few seniors or professors who can give advice in such situations. Overall try and enjoy the entire process.”
– Karthik Menon, Mining 4th year, University of Michigan
“Initially, I tried sitting for company internships and successfully failed all the tests that bogged me down (In hindsight, it was lucky). Given research internship results take a while comparatively, it can induce some fear of not having an internship for the summer. The selection process has a lot of noise, therefore staying mentally strong helped me. At the end of the day, it is just a two-month experience which if not experienced is not going to shut all doors for you! (Very useful thought to have at the back of your head.”
– Manav Singhal, EEE 4th year, Robotics Institute Summer Scholar at Carnegie Mellon University and Reinforcement Learning Open Source Fest participant, Microsoft Research, New York City
“Overworking, overscheduling and burnout is the worst thing you could do for yourself and what you hope to achieve.
Make sure that you take time off for yourself. Work is important, but so are you. Know your limits and prioritize your health.
Plan out your week and keep aside a sufficient amount of time for yourself, a calming activity and of course, a decent amount of sleep.”
– Rea Jacob, Mechanical 4th year, Indian School of Business
REGARDING CORE COMPANIES
- How was your preparation? What resources did you use? Any specific concepts to work on?
“For core specifically, I first went through Gyan on IRIS. It’s very useful to know how the recruitment process of each company goes about. The general recruitment pattern for a core company is that they’ll take a written test first (which will have technical as well as behavioural questions), followed by a Group Discussion (GD) round and finally, an interview. For the technical part, I just revised the important subjects of my coursework. For aptitude and GD, Indiabix is a very good website (found this one from Gyan as well ) and for the interview round, I just went through YouTube videos on how to answer during interviews.”
– Saumya Karri, Mechanical 4th year, ExxonMobil
“You need to be thorough with all the basics that were taught in 1st and 2nd year. The fundamentals of subjects like thermodynamics, applied mechanics, material science, fluid mechanics and mechanics of machines are some of the most commonly tested topics”
– Varun Ramadurai, Mechanical 4th year, Becton Dickinson
“a. I studied the basic DSA stuff from coursework and some extra practice from the common online websites (gfg, leetcode, etc.). I revised bit manipulation after getting shortlisted for Texas Instrument’s interviews. The rest I attempted from memory from past college courses in Digital Electronics, Signals and Systems, C programming, Power Electronics, etc.
b. Since I had appeared for a software profile most of my preparation involved my class notes and Geeksforgeeks is every interviewee’s holy grail.
c. If you are sitting for software/EDA profiles for electronics companies (TI, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Samsung, etc.), it helps to have a few relevant projects on your resume since the interviewer would surely use that to gauge your thinking process instead of asking the prepared questions.”
– Anshuman Sinha, EEE 4th year, Texas Instruments
2. What are the expectations the company has from an internship candidate?
“Since an internship candidate will be in their third year, the company obviously won’t be expecting a lot of work experience (I didn’t have any before my third year ). What they do expect from a candidate is that they have the required technical and behavioural skills to fit in the company. The technical skills will mostly be covered in the curriculum. Some common behavioural skills that they might be looking for are good communication, time management and ability to learn new things quickly.”
– Saumya Karri, Mechanical 4th year, ExxonMobil
“For the technical rounds, I went through all my old textbooks and made flashcards/short notes summarizing different topics. Your old lecture notes or ppts would also suffice. Focus on the subjects that you’re the least confident in first
For the aptitude portion, IndiaBix proved to be incredibly useful. It offers practice problems and tests on a variety of commonly asked topics. Brush up on your probability and combinatorics concepts as they will come in handy”
– Varun Ramadurai, Mechanical 4th year, Becton Dickinson
“For the Software profile, brush up on all of your basics (C programming from first year, OS and DBMS if applicable) well. Look up on the company specific domains because it definitely sets you apart to learn about bit manipulation and microprocessors/embedded systems apart from the regular DSA, OOPs concepts for Texas Instruments.”
– Anshuman Sinha, EEE 4th year, Texas Instruments
3. Can you share some Interview tips/ How to approach an interview?
“ I gave a technical interview for the first company that I appeared for. To prepare for a technical interview, first and foremost, make sure you know what the company does. From that you might be able to judge which topics they might ask. If you’re not able to, it’s still always good to know about the company before you face them. Be thorough with the basic concepts of important subjects. Secondly, KNOW YOUR RESUME! If it is a behavioural interview, you’ll find the most commonly asked questions on the internet. Try to improvise the answers to those based on your profile. Most importantly, be confident while answering and if you don’t know the answer, be honest about it. They don’t expect you to know everything.”
– Saumya Karri, Mechanical 4th year, ExxonMobil
“To put it simply, they want to see if you’re diligent and sincere. As a 3rd year student, you’re not really going to blow them away with your knowledge. Instead, they expect you to be able to take your textbook knowledge and understand how to apply it practically. Small things like attending the pre rec talks and showing that you understand the company’s values can go a long way!”
– Varun Ramadurai, Mechanical 4th year, Becton Dickinson
“Everyone wants an internship, so get comfortable with the hustle. Minimise your emotional engagement during the interview, stay focused and on your feet, for which giving mock interviews might help strengthen your nerves. The interviewer is usually not there to intimidate you, just to confuse you. Play their game and don’t let them play you.”
– Anshuman Sinha, EEE 4th year, Texas Instruments
4. How did you manage the stress and other mental factors?
“ It’s going to be quite hard, the whole recruitment season. Most of the stress I faced was due to the competition. All I tried to do to manage that was to not look around, but to focus on myself. Being prepared beforehand helps a LOT. You’ll probably not be able to prepare much during the semester since you’ll be juggling coursework and clubs along with this. To reduce the stress, start preparing early.”
– Saumya Karri, Mechanical 4th year, ExxonMobil
“It’s going to be difficult in the beginning, watching your peers get into companies very early. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that your hardwork will not go unrewarded. Be patient, because the right company for you is just around the corner. Focus on a particular hobby or pastime that takes your mind away from college and internships for an hour or 2 each day. Talk to close friends or seniors and share your experiences. It always helps to know you’re not the only one going through this phase.”
– Varun Ramadurai, Mechanical 4th year, Becton Dickinson
“Mental health is a top priority in this gruelling process. Internships are important but they DO NOT decide your future.
a. Regular zoning out of the race and checking in with yourself
b. Reminding yourself that an internship isn’t the end of the world, whether you get one or not
c. This is supposed to build your character for an unforgiving and competitive world, not break your will. Know when to tap out and relieve yourself.”
– Anshuman Sinha, EEE 4th year, Texas Instruments
REGARDING OFF-CAMPUS INTERNSHIPS
- How was your preparation? What resources did you use? Anything specific to work on?
“ Like every normal college student, I too was worried about my future when I finished my 2nd year and I wasn’t feeling anything clicking. I had joined the Rotaract Club NITK that year and I decided I shall throw myself into my work there. My very supportive seniors kept me on my toes and I feel that’s where my appreciation for a good marketing team appeared.
Through the 3rd year, especially with the onset of Covid, I was attracted to popular brands with their very creative marketing trends.
I understood that to create these, I would need to learn Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator or some kind of editing software. I started learning from YouTube videos and just messing around in Illustrator, learning the tools and what they do. Eventually I started making posters and flyers for my friends as practice and it helped me strengthen my foundation for this internship.
Honestly, if you are confused about what you want to do in the future, it is counter productive to sit and think about it so much. If you like something, think about THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP to achieve it and the rest will fall in place.”
– Suraj Shenoy, Mechanical 4th year, Digital Marketing Intern, 360tf
“My preparation was not very structured. I was exploring off campus internship opportunities since the beginning of my 3rd year because I knew that the roles offered on campus were not aligned to my interests.
Product Management and Consulting were two fields that piqued my interest the most. To familiarise myself with these fields, I mostly engaged with online communities and reached out to working professionals via LinkedIn.
Here are a few communities you could check out if interested:
The Consultants’ Circle
Girls Who Consult
Upraised Product Guild
Product Folks
Once I identified the skills I would need to develop and build on to have a chance at these roles, I decided to double down on where I was currently and what I needed to learn more about to get to where I wanted.
I also made sure that my resume portrayed my work in the best possible light. Highlighting leadership skills and showing them that I’m multi talented was important. Add any meaningful and impactful work that you’ve done and make sure to update your resume regularly.”
– Supritha Harishankar, ECE 4th year, Product Management Intern, KorrAI
2. If you got the internship via a contact (friend /through linkedin, etc.) what was the process? Any tips on how to expand your network?
“ I got the internship through LinkedIn. I had applied for a bunch of other internships but only this one felt more responsive. The number of connections are irrelevant to a company that is looking for new interns, because internships are for experience and it doesn’t make sense to expect huge numbers from someone just starting out. However this is not an excuse to not try. Just being a college student adds 200+ connections to your LinkedIn and you must try for that.
LinkedIn is a good way to collect your skills and achievements in one place. It helps gain perspective on what skills you have to develop and to get a summary of what has been done and what is left.
Steer away from the “I am grateful for XYZ internship” posts though! These can feel discouraging, but remember that your hard work will reap success too and you have to be patient for it.”
– Suraj Shenoy, Mechanical 4th year, 360tf
“I’ve lost track of the number of applications I filled and people I reached out to until I finally ended up getting an internship in March 2021 in a Product Management role at KorrAI, a Canadian startup specializing in extracting insights from geospatial imagery using AI (www.korrai.com).
Getting this internship was a simple and straightforward process. I had set Job Alerts on LinkedIn and came across this opening back in January 2021 and had applied with my resume. After that, I sent a connection request to the founder with a personalised invitation and we connected. A few weeks later, the founder viewed my LinkedIn Profile and reached out to me to schedule an interview to discuss my experiences and what I can bring to the table. It went smoothly, I spoke about stuff that I had done in college and my Product Manager role in Team IRIS. At the end of the interview itself, he said that they’d like to offer me the internship and congratulated me. We proceeded to discuss the role, what I’ll be working on, what I was hoping to learn and the expected stipend. It went well overall.
Leveraging LinkedIn can do wonders to your internship search. If you haven’t made a profile already I would highly insist you do. Initially, start connecting with your friends, NITK students and alumni. Gradually connect with people who are in similar roles and industries that you aspire to be in. But please do not send requests in masses, this is not to be treated like cold emailing. Be strategic with whom you want to connect and definitely don’t annoy people with a lot of questions in the beginning itself. Take time to build a relationship and pitch your most genuine self.
Stay active on LinkedIn by creating content, sharing other people’s content and engaging with their posts.”
– Supritha Harishankar, ECE 4th year, KorrAI
3. What are the expectations the company has from an internship candidate?
“On the technical side, an intern should have a basic idea of Microsoft Office. This is an absolute must. Anything else can be learned.
Other than that, I feel confidence, faith in your own skills and being open minded to learning something new is necessary. If you don’t get a response from an internship, this is what will keep you going. You use the time to learn new skills, even if it’s something small like learning what every Excel function does, or figuring out what a pivot table is. “
– Suraj Shenoy, Mechanical 4th year, 360tf
“ Since I interned at a startup, my role was a cross functional one where I was expected to pick up the ropes and learn new tools on the go. One is expected to take ownership of tasks and complete them on time in a professional manner. If I faced any obstacle or doubt, I could clear it up immediately and continue what I was working on. I was never treated as just an intern, I was expected to contribute to the thought process and collaborate with the leadership team. It was very flexible and I did not have strict timings as such which was a great thing.”
– Supritha Harishankar, ECE 4th year, Product Management Intern, KorrAI
4. Can you share some Interview tips/ How to approach an interview?
“I can imagine that being confident is hard when your heart is pumping at 250 mph on your first interview that you have ever given. I feel practicing with someone you trust and just reading up on general interview questions will help. I shall tell you this: Interviewers aren’t searching for skills, they are looking at your attitude towards a new opportunity. You can always be taught a new skill, but the flexibility to do that cannot be taught. 99% of the time you will not be “that guy” the interviewer is looking for. You have to convince them that you are open to absorb anything new that they can teach you.”
– Suraj Shenoy, Mechanical 4th year, 360tf
“Know your resume VERY well. You should be ready to elaborate on any point on it and justify the ‘why’ behind it. Practice walking the interviewer through your resume.
- Goes without being said but never lie on your resume and get caught in a web of lies during your interview. They’re smarter than you think.
- Some interviewers might grill you and try to cross question you. It is important to stand your ground and be confident. With that being said, you might have made a genuine mistake and your interviewer might actually be trying to correct you and get you back on track. Be open to that possibility as well. Never come across as being overconfident, it’s a major turn off and a sure shot to getting rejected in most cases.
- Do your research about the company and what the role you are interviewing for entails.
- While explaining the work done by you in clubs, your projects and other activities, speak about them in such a way that it’s impact oriented. What was the outcome of your actions? Who did it benefit? What did you learn and how did you apply that learning elsewhere?
Be ready with 2-3 meaningful questions to ask the interviewer at the end”
– Supritha Harishankar, ECE 4th year, Project Management Intern, KorrAI
5. How did you manage the stress and other mental factors?
“If the idle mind is the devil’s workshop, my mind would be a branch office of Hell itself. I don’t remember many moments in the last 2 months that I have been part of this internship, where I got to think of my future and contemplate my existence as a whole. You would think that work is a life sucking leech, sucking all motivation and excitement out of your life. I tell you that if you like to do something, it doesn’t feel like work anymore. It sounds cliché, but it’s worked for me.
The moments where I have been stressed, I have had my friends. They have been very encouraging, and now that I think of it, I feel it might be the treat I have promised them. Nevertheless, they have helped me forget about work every night, on video calls, be it watching Netflix together or a game of Valorant, where I get to vent all my frustration. They have been very supportive and I couldn’t ask for anything more.“
– Suraj Shenoy, Mechanical 4th year, 360tf
“It definitely wasn’t easy. Due to multiple factors, I went on the road less taken when it comes to internships and the off campus road is one hell of a ride. Get ready for multiple rejections, delayed or unanswered replies to your emails etc. The purpose of mentioning this is definitely not to scare you but for you to be prepared for what lies ahead. Be super persistent in your efforts and build that resilience. There were times where I would doubt myself and wonder if I was on the right path. Make sure you have a support system to rely on during times like these. It can be anyone. For me, it was a close bunch of friends I would rant to and my extremely supportive parents. It’s definitely difficult knowing you don’t have your friends physically with you but call them up often, be there for each other and support each other as you sift through this madness.
This might sound like the most cliched thing ever but trust me, it certainly isn’t the end of the world if you don’t get an internship. It does feel like that right now and you might even feel a bit down when you see others snag some really attractive internships. Don’t beat yourself up over it, it’s not worth it.”
– Supritha Harishankar, ECE 4th year, KorrAI
As mentioned earlier, we know how stressful this period can be, but we hope that you take this in a cool and composed manner. Seniors are extremely approachable regarding anything, so make sure you don’t hesitate to talk to them about any queries or doubts you have, they will definitely help you out with your problems. Work hard and work persistently, while focusing on your personal growth as well. We hope this internship season turns out to be a lucrative and rewarding experience for every one of you!
All the best!