GROUP DISCUSSIONS
A group discussion or GD is conducted to test the interpersonal, including communication, skills of candidates. It also tests a candidate’s knowledge and his ability to link the facts. In a GD, a group of students is asked to discuss a topic given to them. The topics that are given in GD are of two types – Knowledge based and Abstract. GD is conducted to test certain key attributes in candidates. They would be tested for their clarity of thought and clarity of language. The companies, also, test their ability to understand and structure a response to the topic. Their leadership skills are also put to test during Group Discussion. In order to do well in GD, candidates need to read newspapers, magazines regularly.
PERSONAL INTERVIEW
Certain companies conduct HR & Technical Interviews separately, while some other companies combine both types in a single interview. The interviews are conducted to test a candidate’s knowledge of self, his career plans, hobbies, interests, achievements, knowledge about his specialization etc. Questions can be drawn from any area. It is expected that a candidate has a clear career goal or objective when he/she faces an interview panel. If one is from the department of Electronics Engineering and one is applying to TCS, then it is expected that one has a good command over the subjects one has learnt in one’s engineering. At the same time, candidates need to show interest in the field of IT and come up with a convincing answer as to why they are shifting their field from “Electronics Engineering” to “IT”. Overall, one’s confidence and one’s knowledge are the key attributes which would be checked here.