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Name: Vinitha Valsalan (PGDM,2008-10)
Email id:[email protected]
Company: Infosys Technologies
Rounds: Personal Interview (Shortlisted based on CGPA; cut off
was 2.99)
Personal Background:
Work Experience: Zilch
Graduation: B.Sc. Agriculture
It is relevant here because I am a fresher and a non-engineer.
Whats more, I am an Agriculture
graduate! The purpose of saving this interview experience for
posterity is to show how you can turn
around things to your favour, even if all odds are stacked
against you (just how my lack of work
experience, zero IT knowledge and educational background
was).
Interview goes like this:
Give a background on your education and also your
specializations
I give a short yet comprehensive reply to that and tell them
about my specializations (Marketing and
HR).
Questions on my Strengths
They had my resume in hand and were basically asking from that.
I knew well what I had written.
They asked me to substantiate with examples. And I could do
that. For instance, when I said that one
of my strengths was attention to detail, I backed it up with my
role as the Managing Editor of
Dimensions. Hence, when you write down your strengths in your
resume, please ensure you can
justify it with some incidents/explanation/examples.
Questions on my SIP
I had done my SIP in corporate branding and that piqued the
curiosity of one of the panel members.
He asked to elaborate. I replied in a structured way on the
background for the need of the study,
basic methodology, what I did and the
results/recommendations.
Then one panel member questioned why I had done Agriculture, and
whether it was a course I
chose by choice.
I had to be frank here. I told them that I wrote the Common
Entrance Test, and when I didnt get
Medicine/MBBS, I settled for B.Sc. Agriculture. So he pretty
much summarized the soup I was in:You aspired to be a doctor, did
Agriculture, studied Marketing and HR and now you want to join
IT!
WHY IT????? Trust me; any non-engineerhas to answer this
question.
I had to justify myself here, and I think that clinched the
deal.
I first elaborated on my capability to learn things quickly and
adapt (that explained my topping the
Agriculture course at the University level and also being one
among the toppers in SDM IMD).
Then I justified that educational background has nothing to do
with excellence in a role (case in point:
Infys own Mr. Mohandas Pai, who is a B.Com and LLB graduate who
handles Finacle, HR and
Administration). I also brought in Bill Gates (!!!) and said he
was a drop out. So, I concluded that
going by educational background alone would never tell you
whether one is good at something or not.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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And I said, just because I havent tried IT, it doesnt make me
any less competent. I also added that
being in IT would add to my diversity of experience!
Then they told me that it is a huge risk and investment in
taking me, for they would incur costs on
training and if IT wasnt my thing, then I would not perform and
that would bring down the
performance and so on.
All I did was say that I am a person who is known for my
credibility and all that I can offer now is my
word that I will do my level best. I said my track record
clearly indicates that I excel in what I do. All
I had going for me was my conviction and confidence with which I
said it.
I was dragged into another Science vs. Technology debate (which
is too long and boring to be written
down); basically because I came from a Science background and
they were into Information
Technology.
Then they also spotted that I am interested in creative writing
and versification, etc. from my resume.
They added two and two and said, In our organization, people are
more analytical but you are
interested in writing, you are the Editor. Seems like you come
from the other side. To which pat
came my reply that is exactly why you need people like me in
your organization. Pretty insouciant.But that seemed to work. As
the interview concluded, they left me with the comment: You are
a
great debater!!!
Takeaways:
Communication skills: Helped me all the way through!
Confidence: Show it!
Presence of mind:When they throw lemons at you, know how to make
lemonade!
o What I mean is, think on your feet and respond
Resume: Write down what you can justify (the strengths portion
in particular). You will be
always held accountable for what is there in that. And I think
an Infy interview is basically
about you. So be sure about yourself! And please do a proper
reading of your resume.
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and other glaring errors
cut a sorry figure.
Attitude/Personality: Too late in the day to work on it (maybe).
But that makes the
maximum impact.
For any interview, look at what the company wants and tailor
your responses so that you seem
to fit their bill.
Key takeaway:Nothing is impossible!
Heres wishing all the best to future aspirants.
Vinitha Valsalan.
