In light of recent events in the city, the scheduling of interviews for placements has seemingly gone awry, causing students and parents alike to become quite anxious. We have reached out to the Academic Affairs Secretary, Shiva Saketh, and a few others to clarify things, and have received updates from the same.
When news about the late Chief Minister’s deteriorating health was at large, companies who were scheduled to arrive on campus were apprehensive due to concerns regarding potential disturbances. Though the situation was fairly stable throughout the city, the team did not want to take any chances and made the decision to postpone placements by two days. Companies who were to come on the 6th and 7th had no issues regarding this, whereas companies with large panels had scheduling difficulties with their panel members and are therefore likely to postpone them by two more days, as they do not wish to hold Skype interviews. A few other companies have reduced their shortlists from 50 students to just 1 or 2; these are still hesitant to come in due to the fact that it is not strictly necessary to do so given the new shortlist. They are, however, being requested to expand their shortlists. We have also received information that there are a few companies who will come despite the new shortlists, for which the team is pushing for walk-in interviews.
The placement season this year has been said to be relaxed with one slot planned per day, however unforeseen circumstances such as this had compelled the team to cram many slots on the 8th of December.
The companies which were scheduled for the 5th of December who could not attend, conducted their interviews yesterday, the 6th, via Skype and other media. These virtual interviews have been carried forward today as well. Companies scheduled to come in on the 6th have now been rescheduled to the morning (7am-2pm) of December 8th, and those scheduled for 7th and 8th have been pushed forward to the evening (4pm-11pm) of December 8th. On being asked about the steps being taken by the placement team and on the rescheduling process, the AAS informed us that it has indeed been tricky but the placements team has handled it efficiently by remaining in constant touch with the companies involved. With every new update, timely information was relayed to the respective companies concerned, as well as the candidates awaiting their interviews with them. Further, all information including the updated schedule had promptly been updated on the portal.
Meanwhile, the unexpected spare time during these two days has been used to informally conduct mock interviews and provide moral support to the interviewees. The Branch Councillors and the Placement coordinators from a few departments have been on the scene constantly in order to interact with the students anxiously awaiting their turn. Some departments like Civil Engineering, Naval Architecture, Metallurgy, and so on have been conducting the aforementioned mock interviews whereas some others such as Mechanical Engineering has had a hall discussion in the B-Tech wing. It is the discretion of the Branch Councillors as to how best this time must be spent, and for whom exercises such as mock interviews are crucial for. As these interviews involve more than technical prowess, students have been utilising this extra time to prepare well on other fronts. The AAS has said that on the 10th of December- the break period- the team as a whole will get a chance to regroup and assess the next steps in light of these circumstances. They will involve students as well, by sitting down to talk to them regarding these issues, taking their concerns into account.
Here is what Shiva Saketh has to say:
“I would like to ask students not to panic because most of the core companies have accepted to turn up for placements and are ready to stick to the number of offers. Please use this time to regroup and prepare well for the remaining companies. For companies that are not willing to come down, we have arranged Skype facilities to carry out the interview processes. Yes, the process will be slightly hectic tomorrow but things will become normal from 9th onwards.”
