Gauri G menon: Placed at publicis sapient

Gauri G Menon 200382 B.Tech BSBE Y20, studying in IIT Kanpur will be joining Job Profile Senior Associate Data Scientist L1 Company Publicis Sapient. Here are some brief insights.

Shortlisted Profiles & Companies:

Barclays Data Scientist

Selection Process of the Company you are selected in 1) Resume Shortlist, 2) GD, 3)Test

1. Resume Shortlisting 2. Test 3. Interview 1- Technical 4. Interview 2- HR

Insights on the interview process

Test Analytical, ML-based, and simple coding questions. Included 1-2 subjective questions. Application submission post-test with a cover letter. Interview 1 Duration 60-80 mins, Online. Experience Supportive interviewer, good conversational skills essential. Part 1 Resume-based technical questions (ML/DL/Data Science). Part 2 Problem-solving, related to expertise/company’s work. Part 3 Coding, ML/DL-based, focused on NLP/string problems. Interview 2 Duration 15-20 mins.

Sample Interview Questions?

1. Most common loss function used in DL models and why? 2) L1 and L2 regularization 3) Standard EDA questions 4) Regarding standard NN model architecture. Why is Batch normalization and Dropout used? 5) Problem Multiple Voter ID fraud detection 6) Coding Given a string, output a list of meaningful words that occur in the string(with repetition)

Preparation Resources

1. Interview Bit( For practice) 2) Coursera(I learnt everything ML here) 3) Geeks for Geeks 4) Standard DS/ML/DL questions on the internet 5) Plenty of (self) projects helped me explore topics at desired pace and depth

Advice for students (do's and don'ts)

1. Interview Students often forget that interviews are 2 ways ie; you must judge and gauge the company atmosphere just as the companies judges you. Instead of going from the objective to prove yourself, try to go into the interview from an objective of having a meaningful discussion with seniors in your industry, learning from their experiences and highlighting your capabilities. 2) Narrative Throughout your preparation, try to follow a meaningful narrative. I tried my best to work in not only the role but also the field of my interest. This helped me chart a coherent narrative regarding my journey, why and how I developed my skills, my PORs and the companies I worked for. This is a highly role and company dependent advice, do consult seniors in your dream companies regarding what the company values and looks for. 3) Confidence Most people can answer most questions, and there are high chances they can do it better than you. Your confidence and passion is your greatest asset. Even when you lose a job/internship opportunity, don’t get disheartened and try to learn from your mistakes(or forgive the company’s mistakes p) Placements are stressful and mentally taxing, but if you approach this process with integrity and honesty, your experience will not only be fulfilling but also much easier. After all, the journey to get your first job is a once in a lifetime experience, and you choose the stories you tell.