How a placement drive usually works
Whether the company comes to your campus or runs an off-campus drive, the steps are similar. Each one removes a share of candidates, so it pays to know what each round is checking.
- Online aptitude test. Quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning and verbal English, often with a timer per section. Many IT services companies add a short coding section.
- Group discussion (some companies). They look for clear points, listening and letting others speak, not for who talks the most.
- Technical interview. One programming language, data structures, DBMS and SQL, operating systems, networks, and above all your own projects and internship.
- HR interview. Your introduction, strengths and weaknesses, why this company, willingness to relocate or work in shifts, and sometimes the service agreement.
A two-week preparation plan
Days 1 to 4: aptitude and your resume
- Do one timed aptitude set every day: percentages, time and work, ratios, probability, puzzles and reading comprehension.
- Make your resume one page. For every line, be ready to answer "tell me more about this".
- Write down your two best projects: the problem, what you built, the tools, what was hard and what you would do differently.
Days 5 to 10: core subjects
- Pick one language (Java, Python or C++) and revise OOP, strings, arrays, collections and exceptions.
- Revise DBMS and SQL: keys, normalisation, joins and common queries.
- Revise operating systems and networks at the level of definitions and one example each.
- Solve two or three easy coding problems a day and explain each solution out loud.
Our list of technical interview questions for freshers covers these topics with short model answers.
Days 11 to 14: speaking practice
- Prepare your "tell me about yourself" answer and keep it to about 90 seconds.
- Go through the common HR questions and plan short, honest answers.
- Do at least two mock interviews out loud, one technical and one HR.
Mistakes that cost freshers offers
- Not knowing your own project. If you can't explain a project on your resume, interviewers assume you didn't build it.
- Memorised answers. Interviewers hear the same textbook lines all day. A real example from your college life stands out.
- Bluffing. "I haven't worked with that yet, but here is how I would approach it" is a strong answer. A wrong guess said confidently is not.
- Ignoring the company. Spend ten minutes on what the company does and which roles it is hiring for before every interview.
How Myna helps during placement season
Myna gives you voice mock interviews built from the company and the job description, so you can rehearse before each drive, and live help on the call that suggests answers from your own resume. Placement season means many interviews in a few weeks, so the Placement Season pack gives you 10 hours of interview help and 1 hour of mock practice for 90 days, on up to 2 devices, for ₹799. Minutes are counted only while a call is running.
Check the rules of each drive. Some companies don't allow assistants during interviews. Use Myna for practice whenever that is the case.