Want Job Alerts? Join UsStep 1: Build your profile
The first step in preparing for an off-campus interview is to build your profile. Building a profile is extremely important because unlike campus interviews off-campus interviews tend to have more number of applicants and hence more competition.
You can build your profile in a variety of ways: completing a certification course, building an interesting side project, getting featured in a blog, presenting a paper and showcasing your co-curricular achievements.
Building a profile might take anywhere between 3 to 6 months. We have found Crash Course as the easiest way to fast-track this. Crash Course provides a course to learn C programming which helps you create really good projects that will boost your profile. It also has more than 60 commonly asked interview questions to help you prepare for interviews. They provide a dedicated mentor as well to help in your preparation. All of these at a very affordable price which we have not seen anywhere else. We have a special coupon for you at the end of this article. Please make use of it.
Step 2: Create your resume
Once you have built a profile, the second step is to write a resume. Go through this guide on writing a great resume. Make sure you use the workbook and the checklist to create good resume points. You can then put those points generated in a template. You can download resume templates from various sites. One good example is this template from careercup.
Step 3: Preparing for interviews
Once you have created your resume, you need to prepare for three things.
Quantitative aptitude tests
Some companies have an aptitude round before shortlisting for interviews. You can use a site like indiabix or the book “Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive examination” by R S Agarwal. We have seen that a lot of candidates prepare only for the aptitude test. They do not do not prepare for technical interviews at all. This will affect your interview performance and hence it is best to prepare for all three simultaneously.
Technical interviews
In order to prepare for technical interviews, you need two things. You need to understand all basic concepts and practice a lot of commonly asked interview questions. One common mistake applicants make is that they keep watching video lectures but never end up writing code or practicing technical questions.
HR Interviews
HR interviews test two things. Your communication skills and whether you fit in the company culture. The best way to prepare for this is through mock interviews. Find a friend who can ask you questions and provide you with feedback on the answers you give. Or if you are purchasing Crash Course, you can ask your mentor to take your mock interviews.
