Hi Everyone,


TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is one of the leading Indian origin companies in the world. It is also one of the most sought after companies to work for, among us engineering graduates. Since TCS is going to start this year's hiring soon, I thought that sharing my TCS campus placement experience with you all would be helpful.


I was a student at BMS College, Bengaluru and got placed in TCS Campus Recruitment Drive that took place in September, 2016. The recruitment drive was open to all branches of engineering as well as for MCAs.


As you all know TCS is one of the leading IT companies of the world, their approach is to get almost all of the toppers and most of the talented students on-board. So your preparation must match that level.


TCS Eligibility Criteria:


There were 2 categories for direct entry to technical round, managerial round & HR round.


- The students who had 83% in the current course
- Top 5 students of every branch.


I did not fall in any of those categories so I had to appear for the aptitude test.


TCS Selection Procedure:


The company conducted 4 rounds of selection in our institute. These were : Aptitude (Written), Technical, Managerial and HR round. I have heard that this number of rounds etc. varies from college to college.


From my experience, aptitude round was the toughest among all 4 since it is essentially an elimination round. The whole process was very long and hectic. Almost 400 students had appeared in first round and only 287 students got selected for next rounds.


The test consists of 28 questions (Difficulty level: High) and two-star marked questions. The star marked questions carry more marks but keep in mind there will be -5 marks for every wrong star question and for others -0.33 marks. So, attempt only those which you know. If you score 60% in the aptitude test you qualify for the next round.


The aptitude round also had an email writing section. Here the students are expected to write an email within 10 minutes on a specific scenario using all the words / phrases provided in the question.


To clear aptitude, one should start preparing at least a month before the test.  


For aptitude test preparation I referred to Arun Sharma book and Oliveboard. Our college provided access to Oliveboard platform for all final year students and their company speciific mock tests were very similar to the actual TCS test in the end. One of my tech interview questions also came from there.


I did not use any other source for preparation apart from the above two. If you are very strong in aptitude, this test should not be very difficult although a little practice maybe needed before actual exam.


The next round for me was TR & MR combined.


They asked me about my projects ( 2 projects and in addition to that I had developed 4 mobile apps. I guess, that caught their attention and they asked me more question about that.)


They also asked me basic JAVA, C, C++ questions like:


1. What do you mean by 3NF in DBMS?
2. What is join in DBMS?
3. What is pass by value and pass by reference?
4. What is Operating System?
5. Difference between C++ and Java.
6. What is pointer?
7. They asked some tricky questions on pointer.
8. Also asked to write double linked list programs.


This interview round lasted for an average of 20 to 25 min for each student. Let me tell you, the interview is a little tough. So, do brush up your basics. Also, if you are from CS/ IT background, you MUST prepare the following topics:


: Project explanation.
: Whats primary key.
: Whats foreign key.
: Write and show me querry of projects.
: Cpp polymorphism.
: Virtual object.
: What is class.
: Inheritance.
: Resume subject of intrest questions.
: Implement os in kernel space And explain.
: Exp architecture of monitor.
: Steps that takes place from boot to startup.
: Diff between XML and HTML.
: Whats a Kernel? Why is it used?
: Types of OS


For people with Electronics background, the important topics would be (My electronics friends told me this, thought this would be helpful) :-


: What are registers made up of ?
: Whats SR F/F.
: Why master slave flip flop is used.
: Why JK F/F was Invented or Designed.
: What are Combinational Circuits.
: What are Sequential Circuits.
: Is Adder an Combinational or Sequential Circuit explain.
: What happens in adder circuit when two bits are added.
: How NAND Gates can be used as OR, NOR.
: What happens when Temp increases conductivity increases or decreases.
: Different OSI Model Layer and Explain(10 Min).
: Given an IP Address like 202.255.202.3 , Find their Class and other Parameters.
: Diode Characteristics.
: Difference between Micro Processor and Micro Controller?


Now in the HR round, most of the HRs were ladies. After some 1hr I was called for HR.


She asked me questions like:


1. Introduce yourself.
2. What is your favourite subject and why? ( prepare at-least 2 subjects well ).
3. Why do you want to work for us? Why TCS?
4. If company X offers you a better package than us, what would you do?
5. Would you be OK to work in shifts?
6. What have you done in your project?
7.  She also asked me about the mobile apps that I had developed (I showed all the apps over the internet to her she seemed impressed).
8. Are you aware of a bond policy in TCS?
9. Why aren't you going for higher studies? You have decent marks in graduation.


My reply to this was as follows:


Sir, I think using my educational skills to the best of my abilities to achieve the company's goal is similar to continuing studies. I want to practice and implement whatever I had studied during my 4 years of engineering.


The HR round lasted almost 35 minutes.


After 3 days the results were announced and 75 students were selected, I was among them.


As per my experience, I have the following tips for you all :


- Be thorough with your resume: Your resume is like your marketing tool. You will definitely be asked questions from your resume. So know everything you have written in your resume and be prepared for the questions. Be thorough with your projects.


- Your favourite subject should be the one you're most confident in. You should prepare at least 2 subjects for this purpose.


- Have knowledge about the company: So before going for the interview take out some time to visit the company\'s website and read about it and the services they offer.


- Be confident.


Well, to be fair this round is all on you. They apply several techniques to make you nervous, but don't cave. Be affirmative, answer gently and smartly. Improve your communication skills if you are deficient in it and most of all be confident and honest. Believe in yourself.


In my experience, they look for 20% technical knowledge, 50% personality & communication skills and 30% presence of mind in a candidate.


I know many of you appearing for the TCS recruitment this year, may already have faced rejection, but DO NOT let that get in your way. The key to success is hard-work, Just do your best and leave the rest.


This is my whole interview experience and I'm proud to say that I got placed in TCS and even received my offer letter.
All the very best to all.
Thank you!