I’ve been asked by one of my juniors to write a guide for interview preparation, and I am happy to oblige! It’s amazing that there actually exist people that are interested in what I write.
First of all you need to know that Interview preparation is all about research. You need to know about to company, you should know what to expect in the interview, the process, etc.
So if you’d split the research you need to do, you’d end up with 3 big components: Continue reading
It’s been a while.
A few of my friends have asked me to write up a guide on how to approach applications for internships or placements. To be honest I am really happy that I reached a point in which I am acknowledged as a reliable source of information. So I did my best to compile a concise list of steps and tips to simplify the application process for you as much as I can.
I’m sure all of you are stressed out of your minds because of lecturers and parents pressuring you into getting an internship or even because you yourself feel that it is an absolute must for you to succeed in getting one. May it be because of money or something else. Continue reading
I finally decided which company I am going to choose. It was quite difficult to choose between two great companies IBM and Intel but in the en I decided to go with IBM.
I talked to several colleagues and asked for help from my advisor and some other professors and in the end it seemed like this is the best choice for my future.
One of the suggestions I received from one of my professors was to ask the company I chose to decline if it was possible to go on a summer intern ship instead. I thought this idea was awesome, and will certainly try it. The worst thing that could happen would be that they refuse. I would have never even thought about trying this so I was very thankful for his suggestion.
For everyone that has received an offer and is currently going through the process of completing the mass of forms required to accept the offer. Make sure to read everything thoroughly and don’t be afraid to ask for help. The companies usually give you the contact details of a person that you can contact in case you have questions.
Also in my case my university also requires a cover letter that states you want to go on a year in industry and a form that your future manager needs to complete so make sure to check if your university might require something similar.
Other than that the process is pretty simple, just make sure to keep it within the time range.
Today something unbelievable happened, even though I as I told you before, I passed the IBM Assessment centre and was told that I still have to complete the final interview to be matched to a manager. I received a call today saying that I will get an offer without having to complete that interview. As you can imagine I’m ecstatic, TWO offers one from IBM and one from Intel each of them amazing companies from which I could learn a huge amount.
Now comes the hard part I need to reject one of the companies. This will take a while but I have already started to consult friends, family and lecturers. Of course I will update as soon as I have made my decision and received some more information about the placement.
Again this is a quite delayed post as I had this interview last week on Tuesday, the day after the Intel assessment centre.
I have to be honest I did not really enjoy this interview since as I have read before in preparation Microsoft just hires some people to ask you questions that have been typed off on some form and they read it off and type your answer. Nothing really friendly and ‘cold’ in a way not at all the way I imagined Microsoft to be.
The interview was basically split into 5 parts each of them concerning a certain characteristic that is important to succeed in their company. Motivation, Awareness, Confidence, Tact and Drive. In total it took precisely 45 minutes to complete it.
First of all before asking anything they ask you to confirm some data you have provided and remind you that they will request for proof if you pass. Then they explained that it is important to follow the STAR concept when answering the questions. Honestly do so, since I actually read that somebody had been rejected because of poorly structured answers.
One of the main reasons why I was so busy the past week was the fact that I got a call the same day that I got rejected from Nomura inviting me to an assessment centre for Intel. I actually got this call before I received the rejection from Nomura and even though I still had hopes them I immediately accepted the suggested date. Monday of the following week.
Compared to other companies application process Intel’s is much shorter it’s just:
Online application -> online test -> information request call -> assessment centre
But what amazed me the most was that the person that contacts you is actually your future supervisor. He is the person you communicate with.
Back to topic. The assessment centre entailed a 10 minute presentation, a competency based interview and a technical test.
Before I start to talk about my assessment I have to say that my assessment experience might differ from yours as I was the only applicant being tested. There had been another assessment centre with more applicants on the same day in the morning but I was not able to attend that.
Last week Friday 2 days after the actual assessment centre I received a call from on of the recruiters responsible for the placements. Since
it was a call I got my hopes up and thought I might have passed the assessment centre but this was not the case. I got rejected and ironically the
person that called me to inform me about the rejection was the one that introduced me to Nomura and made me want to work there.
Even though at that moment I wished she had just e-mailed me about the news in the end I was really happy about the fact that even though I was rejected
they still took the time to call me. They also provided me with extensive feedback.
Basically the way it works in Nomura is you only get the position if you managed to score a ‘distinctive’ in all or most of their areas. I don’t actually know what all of the
areas are but some of them are Initiative, Leadership and Teamwork.
As I mentioned before I applied to various companies in hopes of getting a placement. This list will show you which ones have already replied, how long it took and what I had to do. Hopefully it will give you an idea of how long the replies from those companies take.
Application sent: 16/12/12
Process: On line Application form
Reply received: 08/01/13 – Telephone interview invitation (Note: I have withdrawn that application)
Application sent: 20/12/12
Process: Online Application form
Reply received: 02/01/13 – Telephone Interview invitation (Note: I have yet to receive a date)
Application sent: 31/12/12
Process: Online Application form + CV -> Inductive reasoning test
Reply received: 06/01/13 – Telephone Interview Invitation -> 30/01/13 Passed Telephone interview
Application sent: 12/12/12
Process: CV template + Online Application form -> IBM Information Processing Aptitude Test Online (IPAT/CAT) -> Assessment Centre -> Final interview
Reply received: 13/12/13 (IPAT invitation) -> 03/01/13 (Assessment centre invitation)
Today I got an e-mail from IBM stating if I can advance to the next round or not. As I wrote before in my opinion I did very badly, even though I believe I had a good presentation I barely contributed to the success of the group tasks. But apparently I was mistaken.
Today afternoon my university colleagues, that attended the assessment centre on the same day, told me that they had received their e-mails already, each of them getting rejected. Honestly I was really surprised since I was in the same group task as one of them and it seemed to me that he did really well. Both of them are quite confident individuals and very skilled at what they do.My e-mail arrived a few hours after theirs and,
I advanced to the next round!!
I honestly do not know why I passed the assessment centre but I am really happy. It is of course not guaranteed that I get a space as an intern there but I am one step closer to my goal. The only thing I can do right now is to wait for them to tell me a time for the last interview.
Yesterday I went to the Assessment Centre in Hursley. Just like they tell you in your invitation this entails 2 Group exercises, 1 IPAT test and 1 presentation.
In my case the order was the following, IPAT, Group, presentation. But I don’t know if that is the case for everyone.
If you actually completed the IPAT necessary to get into the Assessment centre yourself you won’t have any problem with solving the one they’ll give you there. So you don’t need to worry about that.
For the Group exercises instead you should certainly practice, or at least read through some examples to get the necessary mindset. Another thing you can do is pray that you get a good group, one that actually collaborates instead of jut wanting to get the placement themselves.
I unfortunately can’t actually tell you the questions they asked us to work through since it is all confidential.
For the presentation you’ll have to prepare the questions you were sent about a week and half before. In addition to that be 100% sure that you know what you wrote in your application for by heart. For people that actually lied in some cases this might be a problem point as the interviewer might ask about something you mentioned and if you can’t elaborate you’re screwed. So be sure you know about everything.
So now once again I’ll describe in what way I believe I completely sucked. Or in other words I’ll describe the mistakes I made.
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