As placement season looms in most B-school campuses, outgoing graduates are often in a dilemma as they make decisions from a myriad of choices offered to them. Candidates weigh various factors like their personal interest, organizational culture, growth opportunities, compensation, work-life balance and location to create a target set of companies they would want to apply to and prepare for their interview process accordingly.
When Capgemini ELITE came to my campus and delivered their pre placement talk, I had confidently placed them in the list of my target companies. It checked all the boxes which I had set out as my requirement for my first job post my MBA degree. The recruitment process for most companies visiting campuses is a gruelling one and so is the case with Capgemini. The rigour is important for mainly two reasons- Companies get an extremely small window to choose from the candidate pool and more importantly these companies are looking for the perfect fit to fill their openings. Capgemini invited applications from all the students of the graduating batch and all that was required at this stage was a one-page resume.
Shortlists were announced a few days before the placements started on campus. Anxiety levels in most candidates reaches its zenith at this point of time. Having found my name in Capgemini’s shortlist, I started channelizing my efforts for its interview process. I did an extensive research on the company, their clients, the industries in which it operates and the services on offer for its clientele. The ELITE program aims to nurture and groom leaders to work at the intersection of business and technology, and the recruitment process is designed keeping this idea in mind. The first round was a case based group discussion. The cases given to the students in the group discussion closely resemble the problem statements Capgemini gets from its clients. A business problem was posed to the candidates and a fruitful discussion ensued. Pain points were identified and ideas for technology interventions to solve the problems in the value chain was discussed and debated by the group. The discussion was moderated extremely well by the moderators and everyone in my group got a fair share of air time to put forth their points. Standard group discussion etiquettes like listening to others carefully, giving others a fair chance to speak and respecting the different views and opinions of the members in the group need to be followed very closely. This was immediately followed by a written round. The second round is an extension of the case where certain new pieces of information are added to the original case used in the discussion. All candidates are given a 15-minute window to articulate and pen down the solution for a new avatar of the problem statement. This is an individual activity and candidates are not allowed to discuss with each other. As it is clear from the format, this round is designed to evaluate the written communication skills of the candidates. Clarity of thought and the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly in a short period of time are extremely important in the professional world. Candidates who demonstrate these skills in the group discussion and written assessments are often taken to the next round.
Completing the group discussions and written assessments for the shortlisted candidates took a while and the recruitment team visiting the campus took a couple of hours to shortlist candidates for further rounds. The wait was a long and arduous one. Shortlists were announced and I was overjoyed to find my name for the interview rounds ahead. We were informed that this round would be a classic case based interview. With butterflies in my stomach and anxiety levels hitting the roof, I went for my interview process. But much to my surprise the interviewers (who I later got to know were senior leaders within the organization) wore a warm smile which put me to ease. The interview proceeded smoothly and was definitely not a stress test. The case given to me for this round was an extension of the group discussion and the written round. Systematic and exhaustive thinking with a strong logical reasoning at each step is extremely important to get through this case based round. A few back-of-the envelope calculations and quick questions may be posed to candidates to test their ability to think on their feet. During the interview I remained extremely calm and that probably helped me to keep an open and thoughtful mind to solve the case at hand.
As soon as I completed this round I was asked to move to the next and final round of the recruitment process. This round was centred around knowing more about me as an individual, my goals, ambitions and expectations from Capgemini ELITE. Interviewers typically explore the fitment aspect at this stage, hence it is extremely important to remain genuine and confident. Senior leaders from Capgemini are often the ones who interview candidates, and their years of experience and grey hair definitely help them in identifying the right candidates for the job. My last round was more like an amicable conversation rather than an interview and it left me with good and positive vibes towards the end.
I came out of the interview room and soon enough the placement coordinator informed that Capgemini was willing to roll out an offer for me. My happiness knew no bounds. I signed out from the placement process immediately and ran to inform my family and friends. This marked an end to one of the most exciting, emotional and nerve-wracking experience that I faced during my two-year stint at SPJIMR, Mumbai. I hope this article demystifies the recruitment process and helps prospective candidates to prepare for the interview process. All the best!