Nirbheek Biswas

Pre-Placement Preparation, Group Discussions, Placement Experience, Interview

Profile at a Glance:

Pre-Placement Preparation

I personally had a lot of experience in R&D but was unsure if that’s what I wanted to do mostly because of dismal CPI. I also had a slight knack for finance and wanted to give it a shot but was scared that it might be too late to start. I would advise that you figure out what to do from the start or maybe eliminate the things you are sure you are not interested in. This would make the preparation that ensues less tedious and more organised.
I also started pursuing my passion for fitness more seriously this semester, this helped with the stress and also helped me organize my day slightly better as everything could pivot about my gym sessions. I feel having a hobby could really be beneficial and you would have something else to discuss apart from what is on your resume.
You could easily end up giving close to 50 aptitude tests in a short duration so I kid you not prepping for it as early as possible is the best thing you could possibly do. I was preparing for CAT so that was kind of taken care of, working on speed math and some amount of English would come in handy as well.

Group Discussions

Having a GD group and discussing various GD topics (at least 10) would be the smart thing to do. I made the mistake of not having such a group and would deem myself as lucky to have cleared two rounds of GD, but I wouldn’t lie, I have always had above average speaking skills and I usually don’t get flustered in large crowds.
I started working on my Resume and HR doc around the 27th ( I would suggest you start earlier if possible), ask for help from seniors, your friends and people around you, everyone would have something valuable to offer. Write and rewrite your answers, lie if you must, give as many mock interviews as possible. During the interview I felt confident because I had spent so much time preparing and the stories I was going to tell felt compelling and had meat to them.
Dr. Reddy’s had a pretty long test, they had a core test which was surprisingly quite easy, along with other tests which focused mostly on pattern recognition and completion of sequence, followed by a lengthy and to be honest quite taxing psychometric test. Each candidate had to also submit a 2 minute video talking about what they could offer as a chemical engineer, to my surprise all three people in the panel had seen and could remember instances from the video.

Placement Experience

For me Day 2 Slot 2 was Day 1 as I had zero shortlists on day 1. Slot 2 begins around 6, I had decided to wake up early that day and spent most of my day in solitude, I had mostly stopped looking through my resume and the HR questions and focussed more on get into the right frame of mind. I had promised one of friends a few days back that I would get selected in the first interview I gave and that somehow gave me a lot of positive energy and confidence.

GD Round 1

We got divided into groups of three, each group had 10 individuals, I personally felt that my group was slightly tougher compared to the other 2.
We had been given a brief description of a method to produce nano-particles that could carry an API, followed by a few questions (all related to the engineering aspects of the method) that were given and we were supposed to discuss on those lines. Another thing I noticed was that the adjudicator of the GD was really attentive and made sure each of us got a chance to speak and express our views. We were also given a sheet to sign out names on where the judgement criteria was clearly written and the points for each of those criteria stated individually.
I might have had an edge in the first GD as the topic was quite similar to my work in Nanologica AB, but I decided to keep that to myself and let others decide where the discussion would go. I don’t feel that starting a GD is quintessential but if you do, you should have a clear direction in mind and something valid to speak.
I personally like to take my time to understand the topic and figure out who else is doing well, being courteous and raising your hand whenever you want to express your opinions is usually considered to be a good habit, I also always try to ensure that people get to finish what they have to say and try to correct people as humbly as I could possibly could.
I personally felt that the first GD went pretty nicely and I was quite sure that I would clear the round. I had to wait for a long while to get the result, it helps if you have someone reliable to accompany you and also carry along some food.

GD Round 2

As expected I got selected for the second round, which I felt would be a technical round (had prepared a lot for it) but this was also a GD round. 10 of us got selected, 4 from my group and 3 each from the other groups. This GD started a bit late as we had to wait for a few other candidates who were busy with other interviews, this gave me an opportunity to have a conversation with
the panelists, this was a great opportunity to find out about them and also what they were looking for, I also got to know that after this was the last round which was supposed to be a HR round, this gave me a much needed confidence as I well prepared in my HR preparation.
The second GD was similar to the first one, it was actually the topic given to the third group, I think I struggled a bit in this GD mostly because everyone in this group was quite good and had already cleared one obstacle.

Interview

We later got to know that this GD was conducted to create somewhat of a pecking order, with the ones on the top more likely to be selected.
I was placed third. The guy before me was offered a spot offer so I was a little tensed as I had to live up to the expectations.
The panel had 3 individuals, with mostly one person (technical background) asking the most questions.
The interview started with them asking me about the coat buttons (like should they be open or should they be closed when you sitting etc), I think this was more of an icebreaker and also to see the candidates presence of mind. This was followed by general questions about my internship at Aditya Birla, I was quite confident in my work there so I dwelled into the details of my project.
This was followed with just general questions about my background, people I admire the most, qualities I would like to inculcate, things I’ve learned from my parents. I answered these questions quite comfortably giving them ample examples and instances that have shaped me into the person I am today,the interview ended with me asking them about whether Dr. Reddy’s plans to focus on creating their own API’s in the future and questions about the program that they were offering,the interview was quite short, probably did not last more than 10 minutes.
After this they asked me to leave the room, I knew they had given a spot offer to the candidate before me so I was quite disappointed as I was about to walk out of the room, just as I was about to step they asked me to wait outside the room for a minute, after a quick discussions they called me back in and offered me the job, they asked me specifically that I don’t tell anyone about it.
When I walked out of the room about 10 of my friends had gathered outside and from the huge smile on my face they could tell that I had been given the offer and they ended up creating a lot of noise.
To be honest the fact that the 2 candidates above me in the pecking order had rejected the offer might have helped me in the end. They panel called me again after all the interviews were over, approximately two hours later by then my suit was in shambles and we had a small discussion about the incident that ensued after they gave me the offer. We discussed how I had talked about the importance was honesty in my interview and how I had let them down, I apologised for my behavior and promised that this would never happen again, to my respite this was enough and I was offered the job.
I would like to reinstate that I was quite lucky that I got selected in Dr. Reddy’s, in no other turn of events would I have made it and knowing that probably was a very freeing thought, I was willing to persevere and I feel that is what it boils down to in the end, placements are weird and things happen that you would never expect, all you can do is think of it as one interview at a time and give your best shot.