Persistent Systems Limited conducted a pool campus drive at D.B.C.E Goa in August 2019 where the neighboring college students were invited (I was one of them). More than 50 candidates were competing. They started with a Presentation session describing the company, and the packages they had to offer. There were 2 packages. Candidate allotment to these packages depended on the results of the first round.
Round 1: Aptitude Test
This round was a online computer test (in D.B.C.E Labs) which had MCQ questions on Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Programming. These included questions like Time & work, Time-speed-distance, Algorithm analysis (Like Big-O notations etc.), Logic Design, Output of code snippets, few questions on OS & DBMS etc. It was a 1-1.5 hours test having around 60 questions. After the test, we all went back to the session hall, where the results were declared according to the rank.
- The Top few Ranked students (around 10) were eligible for higher package wherein they had to answer another computer test which had programming problems to solve.
- The Middle Ranked Candidates were directly eligible for the lower Package (No extra test). This group included me and many more students (around 30-40). The Candidates who failed to clear the above Programming Test (higher package) were also part of this group.
- The Lower Ranked Candidates were eliminated.
Round 2: Technical
This round was conducted one week after the first one, again in D.B.C.E. We had to submit Resume before start of the round. Generally this round is split into 2: L1 & L2 where you have to clear L1 round to be eligible for L2, and are taken by 2 different Interviewers. There were many Interviewers present (as a result of many candidates) in the interview hall which was having many tables, one for each Interviewer. However, I my case, The Interviewer combined both L1 & L2 as one (as my L1 went good) and both were taken by him continuously. What i observed is that L1 had purely technical questions & L2 had less technical questions. Below are the questions asked (bottom questions represents L2):
- How are you, How is your day so far?
- Tell me about Yourself.
- How important is Normalization in DBMS?
- Can you explain Transactions w.r.t DBMS? Explain the ACID Properties.
- Which open source Linux versions do you know? How are they different?
- Explain Semaphore w.r.t Deadlocks.
- What are the latest tags introduced in HTML 5?
- Tell me some of the protocols used in Web. Development.
- Why do we use CSS?
- Can you name some Software Testing Tools?
- Can you explain how multi-threading works in java?
- What is the difference between Encapsulation & Abstraction?
- Can you write a code to test whether a String is a Palindrome or not? Use any Language of your Choice. (After code was written, the Interviewer gave a test case string and asked me to debug code with that string)
- Puzzle on Water Jug Problem, where there are 2 glass jugs (2 ml & 5 ml) without any measurement scale on it. You have to fill the 5 ml jug with 3 ml of water. (code & puzzle was solved on the same supplied white paper)
- Have you ever built & uploaded any Android App on the play store? (since resume mentioned app development in the skills part)
- Tell me something about your Final Year Project.
- Tell me something about your Internship Experience.
- What do you know about our Company?
- Why should we hire you?
- Do you have any Questions for me?
Round 3: HR
After Round 2, i got selected for HR round, wherein they gave me a form to fill (Personal Details) & submit there itself. This form along with my resume copy was in the hands of the HR. This round was the easiest of all. Below are the questions asked:
- Tell me about Yourself?
- Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.
- Do you prefer to pursue higher studies?
- Do you stay with your family? what’s your family profession?
- Will you be willing to travel a long distance to Work/Training?
- Will you be willing to work in other states/countries if you are transferred?
- Are you Fine with the Salary we have to offer you?
- Which Technologies are you comfortable with?
- Do you have any Questions for me?
In Conclusion, i would say prepare well in topics like OOPS, OS, DBMS and also Software Engineering Tools & Methodologies, Data Structures and Algorithms. Study your Resume properly, and have some knowledge about the company. And also in the case of any company placements, practicing general aptitude questions is a must. Do ask Questions to the Interviewer/HR when he asks, this helps in stronger bonding between the 2 of you’ll. If in case you really don’t know any asked question, respond back by saying you don’t know the answer instead of just pretending & overthinking like you know! This indeed saves time of the Interviewer. Making it to the HR round almost confirms your selection by 95%. The final 5% is on how you present yourself in-front of the HR.
I hope this helps. Stay Positive. All the Best!