Got recruited into Infosys yesterday. They have a pretty relaxed test/interview session that I found unexpectedly easy. I must have been the least prepared one in the entire batch of people who wrote the test, so this is indeed a boon. Some thoughts:

Peer pressure: I’m not interested in campus recruitments, I’m not all for a job, but just the fact that all of my classmates have it inscribed with indelible ink in their minds that a job is the end-all-be-all, is an enormous push in that direction for me. I imagine it must be worse for people who got into the process because of the same pressure, but didn’t make it in the end. I know for a fact that it has shaken the resolve of a lot of people who weren’t interested in a job before. I have just one advice for them, please don’t go with the crowd. Do something you’re really interested in. And I’m of the firm opinion that it’s too early for work if you don’t need it. There’s still lots more to learn in life.

Helping out: Everybody wants a job, nobody helps out enough so that a campus recruitment becomes a reality. The number of people in our college who work for the recruitment process, the number of people who contact companies, who look into the interests of the college as a whole is just a handful. If you don’t want to join in, I respect that. Please do listen to people who know about stuff though, and do help them when asked. Another firm opinion? You can’t be happy if you think just about yourself.

Formal Clothes: They are hot. I mean, literally. The first time I wore a tie I nearly sweated my armpits out. Then I got into the airconditioned interview room, and I found it a bit more bearable. What’s wrong with working in informals? And why should the A/C be turned so damn high? I suspect (rightly, I think) that there’s a connection 😉

Organization: If your college is in the middle of a recruitment, the most unhelpful thing you could do would be to organize a staff meeting in its midst. Do try to put the best foot out, that helps a LOT when it comes to visiting companies.

Record: 84 people were selected, out of 97 shortlisted and around 200 who showed up. This is a record single placement for our college. We’ve also matched the infamous CET when it comes to intra-college placement (they took 84 too from CET) and we’ve exceeded them when it comes to a single-campus placement for Infosys – we had three colleges appearing, and a total of over 130 selected. This really shows how far our Career Guidance & Placement Unit has come in recent years. 🙂

Oh, by the way, I’m done. Unless an extremely good company comes to campus, I’m concentrating on GRE.