Hello everyone, I am a junior undergraduate student here at IIT Kanpur. I am majoring in mechanical engineering and my interests lay in dynamic systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence; I am exploring robotics and NLP as well. I have penned down my experience during the SPO intern season and some tips given to us by our seniors :heart:
I will be interning with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories as a technical intern in the summers of 2022 :slightly_smiling_face:

Resources that I used during my preparation :books:

I was focusing on Techno-Managerial, Data Science, Software and Core profiles in the same order of preference and hence the preperation level decreased in the same order :stuck_out_tongue:
Technomanagerial: I practiced a lot of GDs because that is where I felt I was quite weak. I also familiarized myself with some product supply terms like B2B (business to business), 3P (3rd party), etc
Other than that, one needs to revise their departmental courses as well, ESO201, ESO202, ESO203, TA201/202, ME231, etc (I can only cite about mechanical courses :smiley:)
Data Science: I brushed up on the basics of ML from the Andrew NG course notes on Coursera. Majority of my projects were in the domain of data science, so I prepared them by checking for any loopholes or how we could have improved the efficiency in our results.
The one thing that I did not do (silly me) was to look for its practical applications in various disciples which I believe was the reason I got rejected from AB InBev in the technical round.
Software: I majorly practiced through LeetCode and Codeforces contests to improve CP and did DSA practice from GeeksforGeek and LeetCode.
Seniors also stressed to focus on concepts like OOPs, DBMS and networking, so prepare it well through CS courses or some GATE resources.
Core: I did not revise my departmental courses much (ironic!) because I knew my low CPI wouldn’t lead to any good shortlists in the core profile. For courses, seniors told us to focus primarily on the practical applications of what we studied. For instance, the practical application of thermodynamics (ESO201), where and how the rankine cycle is used, fluid dynamics (ME231), working of pumps, all about gears (TA201/202) and a little bit of bazzarbatti (ESO203 - introduction to electrical engineering) as well. ESO202 will also be crucial, mechanics of solids, so do revise them well. In my case, however, before Dr. Reddy’s technical interview, I revised ESO201 (thermodynamics), basics of engines (dunno why) and mass transfer specifics. In the technical test for mechanical students in Dr. Reddy’s, there were questions form ESO202 (MOS), Manufacturing and ESO201 (thermodynamics) of course.
Aptitude Preparation: Brainstellar and 50 challenging problems was suggested by seniors. However I couldn’t devote much time to it. I was simultaneously doing the basics of CAT so the DILR and Quant section helped me in the aptitude section.
That is all for my preparation, which in fact was very random and all over the place :nerd_face:

Group Discussion Preparation :raising_hand_woman:

Filled with enthusiasm in the month of April, I decided to form a group for Group Discussion and added all the friends I knew who were aiming for technomanagerial in it. And then the group remained inactive for a month lol. We seriously started with moderated GDs after our fourth semester endsem exams. So, we’d ask seniors who were interning with technomanagerial firms to moderate our GDs. Gavish, Arjun, Shloka, were some of the seniors who aided us with the GDs. It is very important to learn where you went wrong in a mock GD and how you could have improved your points in it. Seniors also provide individual review, which helps immensely. Apart from our collective efforts, AnC also organised weekly GDs with seniors, Suyash, Kartik, Harshit and many others gave us wonderful time breaks on how to structure a GD (intro-discussion-conclusion)
All of us kept a track of each and every GD which led to a great improvement by the end of the month. I feel that 5-6 good GDs are enough to prepare :100:
Here’s a repository containing some mock GDs that we did and their analysis as well.

Stress and Anxiety during the Intern season :anger:

I was quite stressed out during the entire intern season. All of my friends got an intern on Day 1 itself. I was quite happy for them but it certainly led me to pressurize myself into thinking that I won’t be able to get an intern. I was particularly mad at CEM students (which is ethically wrong) as they had this plethora of opportunities while we, the non-CEM students were struggling to get till the interviews as well. And the case of the low CPI, I was literally doubting my own choice of taking up mechanical engineering at IIT Kanpur. I had a mental breakdown in front of my family at one time telling them that I can’t take it anymore, the pressure of managing 10 courses, preparing for intern drive, managing projects is just too much for me.
My father asked me to take it easy on the intern season and not stress out much. However I wouldn’t stop. So much so, that I wouldn’t talk to anyone apart from my department peeps. My friends were worried sick and a few days later, I got a box of chocolates from my dearest Dhriti :heart: I talked to all of them after a while, talked about my fears and what is causing the anxiety. The thing is, your dearest friends will understand, and they will be there for you. Each one of them was there for me and motivated me to a great extent.
The seniors were the perfect people to call and cry in front of (not literally lol) I would call Gavish and rant about the intern drive then text Pushpesh and Sameer about getting rejected from an interview and so on. I troubled the OPCs beyond limit, including Amisha and Utkarsh :stuck_out_tongue:
My friends have been a constant moral support, telling me what and what not to speak in an interview, last minute topic brush ups and everything. Thanks to Harsh, Navshruti, Diya, Aryan, Dhriti and Parth (of course!) :green_heart:

Interview Questions and other insights :notebook_with_decorative_cover:

AB InBev

Technical Test: It comprised of 3 sections, the first one contained the basic CAT DILR type questions, the next section contained CS basics like polymorphism, and yada yada yada (dunno much about it xD) and last section contained 2 coding questions (CP types).
I was shortlisted for the GD along with around 35 other students.
Group Discussion: The topic for our GD was “The preception of Beer in India and what can we do to improve it” It was during the GD that I found out that AB InBev was a company associated with beer :woman_facepalming: So always do your research and company background check beforehand. The GD went quite well in my opinion and I was shortlisted for the technical interview along with 15 others :beer:
Interview: It was a very weird interview because they kept switching between technical and HR questions. So, prepare HR questions well in advance (why you want to join AB InBev etc) They asked me about the correlation between mechanical engineering and data science, which I could not answer at all. If your major and your interests differ, you can expect such questions, again, prepare well in advance. They also asked me about the ways in which the Indian Govt. can use the machine learning project that I had done. All in all, I would say that they were checking how clear I was about my interests, how serious I was in pursuing them. I was very nervous and underconfident throughout. I was not selected for the internship :sneezing_face:

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories

Technical Test: There were analytical questions (CAT DILR types) and core questions based on simple thermodynamics and MOS.
I was shortlisted for the GD along with around 55 other students.
Group Discussion: The GD was very technical, unlike the GDs that I had practiced. So, for such a GD, think and structure your points carfully to avoid any loopholes. The topic given may look complicated but the arguments were based on very simple scientific principles (for ex, surface area, laws of thermodynamics, etc.)
I actually countered a fellow student’s point (I argued that using a propellor for non newtonian and highly viscous fluids is not a good idea as the friction caused between the fluid and the surface of the propellor would lead to a waste of energy; I am not sure if I am a 100% correct) and it sort of steered the first half of the discussion in a certain direction. However for the homogenization problem, I could not give any input.
I was shortlisted for the interview along with 20 others.

Technical Interview: The interviewee was a PhD in molecular science or something (a very high profile senior xD) He started with my introduction and then asked me about why would I, a mechanical engineer, be interested in joining a pharma company. So, do your research about the company, about their domain before the interview. Then he quizzed me on my resume and focussed soley on my SURGE project which included a lot of simulations using LAMMPS and OVITO. He then asked me how such simulations can be used in a pharma company. So, you must be very clear on your projects, anything and everything you write on your resume and it’s practical applications as well. He then asked me a bit about the robotics experience I had and asked a couple of questions based on the robotics project I had done. Further, he asked me why I wanted to join Dr. Reddy’s to which I replied with enthusiasm about their great work culture, the various opportunities one gets to work on, etc. Prepare such HR questions from before so that you appear confident in your interviews.
I was selected for the HR round afterwards.
HR Round: It took place after around 15 mins of the technical round. I was not prepared at all. It started off by my introduction, where I come from and what I liked the most about Odisha (my homeland and birthplace :heart:) He then asked me why I had such a low CPI to which I replied logically. I even exclaimed how I am working hard to improve on it. He then asked me how much does CPI matter to which I replied, it matters a lot but there are other factors to consider than just CPI and here he exclaimed to me that CPI is the most improtant point in your resume and everything else is secondary. I was totally flustered at this point. He even exclaimed “I don’t know what your seniors told you, but CPI is the most important thing” I quickly backed up my points “Yes, CPI is important, but a low CPI does not mean the end of the world” and likewise. He then thanked me for my time and the HR round was over. Do prepare such questions before hand. I think the only thing they check in the HR round is how confident you are, how good you will be for working in a team, that’s all. So be confident, be cool and be calm.

I finally secured an internship with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and got the confirmation mail in an hour :green_heart:
By the way, 7 is not a low CPI if you are from IITK Mechanical department :triumph:

Advice for students sitting for internship next year :innocent:

Low CPI: If you have a particularly low CPI like mine, you will have to be patient. Wait for the ones with high CPI get away and then you will have a good chance of getting shortlisted for interviews. CPI is an important factor to get shortlisted but after the shortlist, it is all about your efforts, skills, knowledge and communication skills.

Branch restrictions: If you are from a circuital branch (CSE, EE, MTH), then sit back and keep filling the flood of applications that will be pouring in. However, if you are not from CEM, then you need to be patient and resilient. The big tech giants won’t really open up for you and even if they do, there is a high chance that they will keep a high CPI as a shortlist factor. So don’t loose hope, these reestrictions don’t occur at the time of placements (except for a few companies, rest are open to all the departments)

Have faith in yourself and be well prepared. SPO internship drive is a very random process in my opinion. You may be a really good match for a company and yet get rejected, so do not fret much about it. Keep going with the preparation. Be patient, not everything needs to happen on Day 1 or Day 2. Your ultimate goal is to secure an internship and that is what matters the most :heart:
Another important thing, do talk to seniors, not just about preparation, but also about any fears or doubt or anxiety you might be facing, they understand all these things and are there to listen to you. Keep in touch with your friends, no one can cheer you up the way they can, it really gives a boost to your confidence.
It will all work out in the end for sure.
All the best :wink: :green_heart: