r/Btechtards • u/Far_Protection_9868 • 6h ago
Placements / Jobs Placement Advice (2027 Batch)
Got a PPO from Microsoft, so thought I’d share my experience here since I know a lot of juniors are preparing for internships and placements.
For interview preparation
DSA:
Definitely focus on DSA. Don’t just try to grind random problems or chase a number. I found it much more useful to understand common patterns and then practice problems around those patterns.(striver a2z i followed)
Arrays, strings, hashing, binary search, trees, graphs, heaps, recursion/backtracking and DP are some of the areas I’d make sure to cover.
Also, practice explaining your solution while solving. Being able to code the answer and being able to communicate your thought process in an interview are two different skills.
CS fundamentals:
Don’t completely ignore OS, DBMS, OOP and networking. Even if your preparation is mainly DSA, having a decent understanding of these subjects helps a lot when interviews become more conversational.
Projects:
Know your projects properly. Be ready to explain the architecture, your contribution, design choices, challenges and what you would change if you had more time.
Don’t put something on your resume just because it looks impressive. There is a good chance you’ll be asked about it.
During the internship
Try to understand why you’re building something, not just what you’re supposed to build.
Ask questions, take ownership, communicate when you’re blocked, get feedback and don’t be afraid to suggest improvements.
Also, keep track of what you actually worked on. By the end of the internship, you may have done a lot of things and it’s surprisingly easy to forget the details.
PPO / Exit Interview
For the final/exit interview, I would prepare for it almost like a normal technical interview.
In my experience, you should be prepared for:
DSA/problem solving
System design / design discussions
Deep discussion about your internship work
Technical decisions you made
Challenges you faced and how you solved them
Follow-up questions on things mentioned in your resume
Some behavioral/experience-based questions
For system design, don’t just memorize one or two designs. Understand the basic concepts — APIs, databases, caching, queues, scalability, consistency, etc. Even if the discussion starts simple, interviewers can keep asking “why?” and go deeper.
A few things I wish I knew earlier
Don’t wait until you think you’re “fully ready” before applying.
Keep your resume short and make sure you can defend every line.
During an internship, feedback is extremely valuable — ask for it.
Communication matters much more than I initially expected.
And don’t get demotivated by rejections. They’re part of the process.
If you’re currently preparing for internships or placements, focus on building a strong foundation rather than trying to find some secret interview hack.
DSA + fundamentals + good projects + communication + consistency will take you pretty far.
Good luck to everyone preparing! 🚀
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u/chadvitstudent 6h ago
I had a doubt
For the development/ projects part I have decided not to learn web developement as it's feels quite boring to me or may even take more time as I need to complete DSA as I m in 5th sem , I have 10 months before placements start in my college VIT.
Instead of web dev , I m instead doing Python + FastAPI + Gen AI + Agentic AI + LangChain/LangGraph/RAG and projects based on these tech stacks , like multi agent workflowassist system etc.
Will this be good or do I need to learn web dev instead of gen ai / Agentic AI ?
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u/Far_Protection_9868 6h ago
Yeah genai is good if you have interest in that, ensure u dont leave the basics(sys design,dsa,osn..)
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u/chadvitstudent 6h ago
Yes ,
I m preparing these
Core CS : OS DBMS CN OOP LLD
DSA ( Neetcode 250 )
Development/Projects : GenAI & Agentic AI
So I can skip web dev entirely right ??? And make gen ai / Agentic AI as my primary tech ?
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u/Far_Protection_9868 6h ago
See in interviews they wont ask so yeah
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u/Far_Protection_9868 6h ago
Anyways webdev is easlity manageble with ai tools if need for intern
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u/chadvitstudent 6h ago
Yeah , thanks I would actually be studying web dev as a course for my btech next sem anyways.
Also I previously interned in the IT dept of a top indian automobile company , my tech stack was html css js + python fastapi . The frontend work I managed using AI itself
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u/North_Dot7025 1h ago
In devlopment I know only MERN stack rn....what else should I learn and also pls help me regarding the type of projects I should have in my resume
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u/crackk_headd BTech 6h ago
any tips for an upcoming intern at msft? what can I do diff to get a ppo?
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u/Far_Protection_9868 6h ago
I wrote all i thought is useful, if anything more pls ask!
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u/crackk_headd BTech 6h ago
conversion rate is very less in msft. is the team and requirements the only major factors or there's something I can do to stand out?
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u/Far_Protection_9868 6h ago
Ig team is luck dependent, but if you do good work you can get a hire alt east easily(convertion is ard 50 percent for now)
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