IBM Associate Systems Engineer Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - Comfortable discussion. Being a fresher, nobody expect you to know a lot of things. Know the basics and give the panel a feeling that you are trainable, you listen, understand and reciprocate accordingly.

Interview preparation tips for other job seekers - prepare for appitute question which come in GRE, GMAT, CAT, XAT and also prepare for group discussion on general knowledge

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: The eligibility criteria was 70% and above in both 10th and 12th standards and 7+ cgpa in engineering. Only the selected students were sent registration links.

Round: Test
Experience: Both the sections had 18 questions each. A timer was given for each question with a time limit of 2 mins 15 secs per question. The questions were of moderate difficulty. Quantitative aptitude comprised of questions from time and work, time and distance etc.
Tips: Practice number series thoroughly as thats were you can score well.

Round: Test
Experience: The students who qualified the first test only were allowed to take the second test. It was a verbal ability test with questions on sentence corrections, active and passive voice, business writing, memos, documents etc. The test had 22 questions with no individual question time limit. The total time given was 20 mins.
Tips: Learn the formats for business emails, documents etc.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The HR interview has been a great experience for me. There was only one HR in the panel, He was a nice guy with a good sense of humour. The interview went on mostly like a casual talk. he asked me to talk about myself. When I told him that I have been the class representative throughout the 5 years of my course duration, he asked me how i could manage being in the post for such a long time. He also asked me to cite an example where I took a decision on behalf of the class and how I convinced my classmates to agree on my decision. We spoke about Leadership qualities for about 15 mins. Finally he asked me about my short term and long term goals.
Tips: If you are pursuing Computer Science Engineering, you need to be thorough with basics of C and Java. The Interview is very easy. They check your speaking skills and spontaneity. So speak confidently.

Skills: Verbal ability, Quantitative ability, Communication skills
College Name: Andhra University College Of Engineering

College Name: MITS Gwalior

Round: Test
Experience: Computer test consists of two sections Sequence and series , Aptitude questions(Profit and loss,Boats and streams etc.(Refer R S Agarwal)). Each question will be given separate timing(2.5 minutes).
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Questions: 36

Round: Technical + HR Interview
Experience: HR told to introduce about ourselves and asked everything that is mentioned in resume. Don't exaggerate yourselves. Speak the truth.

College Name: NIT Puducherry

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: CGPA about 8.00
Tips: Criterion for getting shortlisted for test - CGPA > 8.0
for GD - the score in their test
There was no shortlist after GD (all were called for PI) but they were looking to eliminate those who talked about technology and research instead.

Round: Test
Experience: There was a simple test on English and basic level Math. A timed test (no calculators allowed). CAT preparation can help but not exactly necessary.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: The profile is all about teamwork and hence GD was an important part of the selection procedure. The panelist, then, tried to confuse us by citing examples of advanced technology and research in the context of "smarter planet". He was actually looking for people who talked about "ideas for business expansions" and not about "knowledge of advanced technology".

Round: Interview
Experience: There was just one round of HR interview. Predominantly resume based. The interviewer just had a chat with me, asked about my hometown, discussed a few extra curriculars I had mentioned in my resume. There was this one common question about teamwork. He asked for my experiences of teamwork and what I had learned from them. I think he was also looking for communication skills.

General Tips: 1. 9.66 CGPA in Management minor stream, overall CGPA > 8.0
2. Internship at IMaCS where I worked in teams with MBA grads

1st and 2nd years - explore all branches, all fields, as much as possible. Maintain good CG. Have some extra curriculars.
2nd years - get your passport asap. do a core intern to get an idea of your field and also to fill your resume.

3rd years - decide whether or not you want to app. (I converted to dual degree because I was still indecisive on this).

If your CG is low and you are bent on apping, do some extra projects, put papers and maintain relation with profs.
Skill Tips: I did not particularly prepare for non-core. I just solved a couple of quant papers. I did not particularly prepare for core companies. I did observe that going through structures and geotech courses really helped my classmates land core jobs.
College Name: IIT MADRAS