Placement Papers - Siemens
Siemens STS Interview Experience - Kolkata 10/9/2015
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Anonymous
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My detailed Interview experience with Siemens CTO or Siemens Software Technology Services (STS).
First round (Technical):
Basics of C++ and by basics I mean "basics" for the technical panellists. So one might wanna buckle up for this round. I went in with my hopes high thinking that I could clear the first round without a sweat, and surprise surprise, I was wrong: P (Sure most of the questions were pretty standard but some tested my in depth knowledge).
Second Round (General Aptitude):
Clearing the first round, the second round started after an hour or so. The test was supposed to be conducted by Merittrac. I had prepared their past papers and found them to be manageable but what happened instead was that the test was conducted by some Talent Quotient (correct me if I'm wrong) group and the question set was unlike anything I'd seen before; each question had a timer (not the section, but each friggin question!) and each question had so much data that it nearly filled up the entire screen. I was intimidated at first by the amount of data, but soon realized that I only needed to look for the keyword corresponding to each question and voila! all the gibberish started making sense to me. The timer was still a pain in the arse because including the time required to sort out the required data and calculate the answer still required some time (each question had a timer of 75-90 seconds, let that sink in). The same was for logical and verbal sections but they were relatively easy as compared to the math aptitude.
Third Round (Technical Interview):
Yay! We were called in order of the score we got in the first two rounds. When my turn came, I was a little nervous because I thought the technical round would be tough (judging from the previous rounds) but fortunately, my interviewer was a gentle soul (by far the calmest and amicable interviewer I faced). He made me feel comfortable, asked me to drink water and started off asking about myself and what I like doing and the real interview started. He first asked which language I was completely comfortable with, not partially not 99%, but 100%. I knew they required students with C++ skills but I told him honestly that I only knew C and DS. He then started asking me questions from linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, sorting algos, searching algos, and their respective pseudo codes. I could answer most of them and the interviewer would help me out, dropping hints, with the ones I couldn't (for a moment I thought I was in a classroom). It went on for around 45 minutes and towards the end some puzzles and 'Do you have any questions for me?' types. Overall, he seemed to be satisfied with my answers and he forwarded my CV to the HR manager right in front of me. I was ecstatic.
HR round :
Having cleared the technical round, I was just feeling great. Thought that it was only a matter of time to destination paradise. That 'time' went on for 5 hours and "that" feeling waned. The HR manager was a stern-looking guy, had a French goalie and was South Indian. To be honest I was scared to face him. When my turn came, I was famished (hadn't had lunch.), but picked myself up and went in there with a growling stomach. And just as he walked in, the first words out of his mouth were, "you have 15 minutes to impress me" and I was like, It felt more like a rapid fire round than an HR interview. I started answering his questions but the nervousness started creeping in and I began fumbling. It went on that way to the end. Questions were pretty straightforward HR questions, just that one should be careful with what they say even if they seem easy. I was broken when I came out from the interview as it did NOT go as I expected (not the least bit). I could say that it was my overconfidence or something like that but, I think it was one of those moments when "happens". I left with a heavy heart.
The results were supposed to be declared the upcoming Monday but it wasn't. Some issues on their part. I did not hope for too much but still liked to think that I might just cut it. After TWO WEEKS from the scheduled date, they finally announced the results. They supposedly selected 8 students out of the last 16. I was one of them! Surprise right?!
And all of this over the PHONE! Just brilliant! No written Intents or Offer letters or anything! Until one bright sunny day (it was after 3-4 days I think, the days I cherished, the days I thought I was placed) when an official email was received by the Placement office in which it said that of the 8 students only 4 of them were actually selected and the other 4 were kept on HOLD! and I was on the HOLD list. In fact, I'm still on Hold. In short, I wasn't placed. They kept me in the dark for roughly 3 weeks due time only to Reject me. It hit me right on the feels.
Turns out, it was a "happens" kinda moment. The Siemens team were supposed to leave for the airport within the next 30-45 minutes from the start of my interview and hence the "rapid fire" round (I inquired later on). I'm not blaming them, its just that I wasn't good enough to handle the stressful situation. So, if you've read this through, THANK YOU! And to sum it all up, be chilled out for the interviews and don't mess it in the last round like I did; be confident about what you say and do even try to lie about anything, they can smell it miles away and you're sitting right in front of them.
First round (Technical):
Basics of C++ and by basics I mean "basics" for the technical panellists. So one might wanna buckle up for this round. I went in with my hopes high thinking that I could clear the first round without a sweat, and surprise surprise, I was wrong: P (Sure most of the questions were pretty standard but some tested my in depth knowledge).
Second Round (General Aptitude):
Clearing the first round, the second round started after an hour or so. The test was supposed to be conducted by Merittrac. I had prepared their past papers and found them to be manageable but what happened instead was that the test was conducted by some Talent Quotient (correct me if I'm wrong) group and the question set was unlike anything I'd seen before; each question had a timer (not the section, but each friggin question!) and each question had so much data that it nearly filled up the entire screen. I was intimidated at first by the amount of data, but soon realized that I only needed to look for the keyword corresponding to each question and voila! all the gibberish started making sense to me. The timer was still a pain in the arse because including the time required to sort out the required data and calculate the answer still required some time (each question had a timer of 75-90 seconds, let that sink in). The same was for logical and verbal sections but they were relatively easy as compared to the math aptitude.
Third Round (Technical Interview):
Yay! We were called in order of the score we got in the first two rounds. When my turn came, I was a little nervous because I thought the technical round would be tough (judging from the previous rounds) but fortunately, my interviewer was a gentle soul (by far the calmest and amicable interviewer I faced). He made me feel comfortable, asked me to drink water and started off asking about myself and what I like doing and the real interview started. He first asked which language I was completely comfortable with, not partially not 99%, but 100%. I knew they required students with C++ skills but I told him honestly that I only knew C and DS. He then started asking me questions from linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, sorting algos, searching algos, and their respective pseudo codes. I could answer most of them and the interviewer would help me out, dropping hints, with the ones I couldn't (for a moment I thought I was in a classroom). It went on for around 45 minutes and towards the end some puzzles and 'Do you have any questions for me?' types. Overall, he seemed to be satisfied with my answers and he forwarded my CV to the HR manager right in front of me. I was ecstatic.
HR round :
Having cleared the technical round, I was just feeling great. Thought that it was only a matter of time to destination paradise. That 'time' went on for 5 hours and "that" feeling waned. The HR manager was a stern-looking guy, had a French goalie and was South Indian. To be honest I was scared to face him. When my turn came, I was famished (hadn't had lunch.), but picked myself up and went in there with a growling stomach. And just as he walked in, the first words out of his mouth were, "you have 15 minutes to impress me" and I was like, It felt more like a rapid fire round than an HR interview. I started answering his questions but the nervousness started creeping in and I began fumbling. It went on that way to the end. Questions were pretty straightforward HR questions, just that one should be careful with what they say even if they seem easy. I was broken when I came out from the interview as it did NOT go as I expected (not the least bit). I could say that it was my overconfidence or something like that but, I think it was one of those moments when "happens". I left with a heavy heart.
The results were supposed to be declared the upcoming Monday but it wasn't. Some issues on their part. I did not hope for too much but still liked to think that I might just cut it. After TWO WEEKS from the scheduled date, they finally announced the results. They supposedly selected 8 students out of the last 16. I was one of them! Surprise right?!
And all of this over the PHONE! Just brilliant! No written Intents or Offer letters or anything! Until one bright sunny day (it was after 3-4 days I think, the days I cherished, the days I thought I was placed) when an official email was received by the Placement office in which it said that of the 8 students only 4 of them were actually selected and the other 4 were kept on HOLD! and I was on the HOLD list. In fact, I'm still on Hold. In short, I wasn't placed. They kept me in the dark for roughly 3 weeks due time only to Reject me. It hit me right on the feels.
Turns out, it was a "happens" kinda moment. The Siemens team were supposed to leave for the airport within the next 30-45 minutes from the start of my interview and hence the "rapid fire" round (I inquired later on). I'm not blaming them, its just that I wasn't good enough to handle the stressful situation. So, if you've read this through, THANK YOU! And to sum it all up, be chilled out for the interviews and don't mess it in the last round like I did; be confident about what you say and do even try to lie about anything, they can smell it miles away and you're sitting right in front of them.
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