Placekode with Ayushi Rastogi placed at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
In this issue of 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗸𝗼𝗱𝗲, we have a conversation with 𝗔𝘆𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗶 that will give you an insight into interviewing for 𝗣𝘄𝗖, how the interview was different from usual and tips that surely help our readers on their own journeys.
Starting off the interview, Good evening ma’am, thank you for sparing some time and joining us today. Getting straight into the questions, what’s it like being placed at PwC?
It feels great to be associated with the Big Four. The culture within the organization is unlike any other. When I got to know that PwC would be visiting the campus, I thought of it as a great opportunity. The interview process was hassle-free, it was a bit different from the others as they majorly observe how you approach and start solving a problem, whether you are business oriented or are a problem solver, they judge you heavily based on that.
Could you tell us about your job profile?
Currently, I’m placed as a Salesforce Developer at PwC. Most of us heard of Salesforce only as a company until now, but when companies have to deal with other companies, they have to maintain dashboards of their clients, potential leads and many other things. Salesforce is a great platform to do that.
As a Salesforce developer, I work with a team that develops components that can be useful in a particular business scenario. Currently, they organize workshops where they train us, and since it’s a growing field, so I’m optimistic and excited about future opportunities.
How would you rate your confidence and preparation on the day of the interview?
I had appeared for several interviews before PwC, and I hadn’t exactly aced through them. After multiple last round rejections, I was kind of disheartened. But I was hopeful about PwC as the interview format, and questions in this interview were a little unorthodox.
What was the week before the interview like? Did you have a checklist for your last-minute preparation? What topics need more attention?
Okay, so step one in the interview process was an assessment test consisting of aptitude, SQL and Java questions, so I prepared for all that. I hadn’t practised Java much, so I dedicated time to that. Notes for last-minute preparation of core subjects are available on Geeksforgeeks, and I went through those as well. They’ve sorted out important questions and topics so I’d say that should be on everyone’s checklist.
For brushing up my programming skills, I majorly relied upon practising LeetCode questions. It is advisable to make short notes of core concepts because they make the revision process fast and effective during the placement season.
Could you walk us through the interview process in brief?
After the pre-placement talk, we had an assessment [a one-hour long MCQ test on Aptitude, SQL and Java]. For such MCQ tests, it is necessary to have the knowledge of a broader range of topics since multiple-choice questions do not tend to go deep into any topic. You should know what you are targeting and what you’d be asked and align your time and effort accordingly.
Next, we had an hour-long group discussion round. I hadn’t heard of a GD round in online placement rounds before this, so I didn’t know what to expect. A business problem was assigned to some 5 or 6 candidates. They judged you by your contributions say, whether this candidate understands real-life implementation, whether this candidate considers a wider set of parameters in his suggestions, whether the candidate is impressionable, whether he understands marketing restraints, whether he can work well in a team and such.
Next, we had the coding round. They started off slow with basic coding questions but went hard on the core subjects. Paging segmentation was a topic they inquired heavily upon, then backed it up with some DBMS and OS questions.
In the final round, they had a plethora of behavioural questions lined up for the candidates, which do not have a universally correct answer. These questions were open to interpretation. No two people could have the same answer. Try and answer honestly in such rounds.
Would you please share some tips on how on tackling a GD round for the pre-final year students preparing for their placements?
- Keep your anxiety under check. And for that do whatever works for you — have a little pep talk for yourself, watch boxing movie scenes, listen to upbeat Punjabi songs.
- Keep a bottle of water at hand. There are moments where you’d need that.
- Leave the judging to the interviewer, that’s not your job. It may seem like people are outshining you during the GD, and you wouldn’t have any counter-arguments, but it’s okay. Nobody is better than you. Take a pause and understand that you only need one moment in the GD to make your mark.
Could you please tell us about the online resources you used?
Questions based on the core subjects [OS, CN, DBMS etc.] are quite prevalent in placement interviews, so it’s important to have command over the primary topics. Revising from self-made hand-written notes would help a lot. The theory would take time to settle in your mind, so start preparing early and put in the hard work.
Jitna bhi padho, solid padho!
And if you are asked something that you don’t know the answer to, communicate. Let them know you don’t know the answer and the interviewer would move on. If you provide a half-baked answer, he’d grill you deep and that you wouldn’t want that. I primarily relied upon Google search results and YouTube videos. See, nobody cares whether you paid 4k for courses to learn something. What matters is your understanding of the concepts. There is so much to learn from on the Internet that you need not follow some specific tutorials, lectures or books. Just find whatever works for you and stick with it.
What would be some advice you’d share with your juniors who are in their pre-final year regarding internship experiences?
- Communicate. When you’ve been on the earth for 20+ years, your introduction has to be more than your name, college and hometown wrapped up in one sentence. There is nothing to be intimidated by. Your peers went through the same application process as you did and pretty much have the skill set as yours. So, when presented with the opportunity to speak, make good use of it.
- It is very important to have clarity in your work. Have a clear understanding of the task you wish for your code to execute. Maintain a doc to note down random ideas so that you can focus on your work better and then cater to improvements later.
- Do not shy away from experimenting. Try all possible scenarios and then choose whichever works best for as per the requirements.
- Take the learning curve seriously. There is a reason why you are subjected to all the workshops and assignments.
- Cater to the mentor’s instructions with precision. If there are some doubts, talk to them and get it sorted. Do not pile up. Be clear of what he expects and what you can deliver.
- Be open for growth. There is always scope for improvement. Be humble enough to accept that, and you’ll find opportunities to improve every day.
- The last would be not to make the same mistake twice. Internships are our first foray into corporate life. Mistakes are a part of the learning process. Don’t take everything for granted.
What role do co curricular experiences play in an interview?
I was the kind of student who’d participate in all the fest and club activities. I’ve been an EMT, I’ve been a coordinator. And people always ask why not invest all this time and effort into say CP or open-source or projects and studies. But getting out of the room and talking to all those people made me happy and, in my opinion, it is essential for a person’s comprehensive growth.
This is no way means disregarding your academics and learning process for club activities is fine. It’s about the balance, which varies for each individual. For some people, it’s a reason to step out of their hostel rooms, and if they are personally content with it, then I don’t see any reason for someone else to understate its significance.
How’d you compare to a 5-year-old version of yourself? What’s the one thing you would tell yourself if you could?
The obvious difference would be in my tech skills. Throughout the entirety of our college life, we try and experiment with all sorts of technologies, and that’s fun in its own way. I’m better at networking now, be it on LinkedIn or in person.
You know, stepping foot into the college I was very clear with one thing, “12th ho gayi hai, ab thoda chill karna hai”. So I spent most of my time in my initial months of college life making friends, talking to seniors, participating in club activities etc. which I have dialed down now. I’d say I was a bit naïve in the beginning, but when you are thrown into sudden and unexpected situations, you learn a lot.
A piece of advice to my younger self would have to be, “do not hesitate in making mistakes”. It’s all a part of the learning curve. The opinions you stress about won’t matter in the near future so just, take it easy.
Interviewed by Shivam Yadav
Coordinated by Himanshu Ruhela
