New normal: Placements go virtual in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Engineering colleges in the state, which in terms of placements had a good 2019-20 when many recorded their highest numbers in recent years, are looking forward with optimism to 2020-21, with virtual hiring the order of the day.

Several colleges are holding tests and mock interviews for their students. In some colleges, virtual hiring has begun and a few students have bagged offers.

Purushottam Hari, a final year computer science student who got a big offer, said he cleared three rounds of online interviews after initial screening.“Except for a lag issue, I didn’t face any issues during the interviews which lasted more than 45 minutes in each round.”
K Govind, an electrical and electronics engineering student from a city college who got an offer from an IT company, said he attended a technical round after clearing the online test. “They gave us a project and asked us to complete it within 24 hours. We were shortlisted for the final round.”
The interviews were through the zoom app. “There was a comfort feeling since I attended the interview from my home and I felt no nervousness,” said Govind whose college arranged online mock tests through platforms like Skill Rack.
At VIT, 125 students bagged offers in virtual hiring since July 14, with 7 getting a ₹44 lakh annual package each from Microsoft. “The process included pre-placement talk, online test, technical and HR interviews. Our placement calendar is packed till end-August,” said G V Selvam, vice-president, VIT. V Samuel Rajkumar, director (placement and training), said all students prepared through mock interviews.
Students at SRM Institute of Science and Technology had virtual town hall meetings. “We addressed students in batches explaining the dos and don’ts, requirements in terms of software and hardware, importance of private seating space and investing in tools. We trained our students to crack aptitude tests and coding tests in virtual mode,” said Sriram Padmanaban, director of career centre.
“We were waiting for semester exams to start campus placements for 2020-21. Following the cancellation of exams, the process will begin in the next few weeks,” said S Iniyan, director, Centre for University Industry Collaboration, Anna University. The university, which has invited more than 500 companies and got responses from companies like Oracle, Amazon, SAP Labs and Wells Fargo, will train and hold mock interviews for its students.
Top city institutions including RMK Engineering College and Sri Sairam Engineering College have started preparing students with the help of testing companies. L Arunachalam, dean (training and placement) at Sairam Group of Institutions, said almost all companies were prepared for online recruitment.
Institutions are also opening up campuses for students in remote areas for attending online interviews.