Sivaramakrishnan KN - PPO at Oracle
Written on October 30th, 2020 by {"login"=>"jcbitshyd", "email"=>"journal@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in", "display_name"=>"Journal Club, BPHC", "first_name"=>"", "last_name"=>""}Q.1. Could you introduce yourself and your SI?
A.1. I'm Siva from the 2017 batch, and I'm pursuing B.E Computer Science. I interned at Oracle during the summer for six weeks, and the stipend was 50k per month. Around four people got selected for the SI, but overall, including the other interns, only one of them didn't get a PPO.
Q.2. What was your position at Oracle while you had your SI there? What work did that involve you doing? What was your project about?
A.2. While I was at Oracle, I was a part of the team called Identity and Access Management that worked on OAuth. What it does, whenever you log in to a website through oracle or Facebook, is it links the two together through a particular protocol called OAuth. My task specifically was to fix the bug between Facebook and Oracle connect. But since my internship cut short from 2 months to 6 weeks, they mainly made me learn the codebase for the team that I would be a part of if I had gotten placed as they couldn't give me a full-fledged project. I had to participate in coding challenges and hackathons, and there were also weekly meetups with HR to discuss my learnings of the week.
Q.3. Could you tell us about the selection process, the testing process, and the interview you had for getting your SI?
A.3. The selection process started with an online quiz that didn't have any coding but tested the mental ability and basic computer science theory. Once I got through that, I had to go through 3 interviews, two technical and one HR. During the first interview, the interviewer asked DSA, DBMS, OOPS, and other CS fundamental theory questions. The next round revolved around my profile, the interviewer had asked me to talk about one of my projects, and since he was aware of data-mining, he asked me questions based on that. The final round was with HR, and the significant takeaway from that, I would say, is that they were interested in whether I would be doing masters after graduation, but I don't have any such plans. They were happy with that, and that's how I got the SI.
Q.4. When did you start preparing for your SI? How much time and effort would you ideally advise for the same?
A.4. I had started preparing for the SI selection process around two months before. So, ideally, if you are in your second year and halfway into your PS, it would be ideal to start preparing for the SI. You could begin by coding and solving questions in Leetcode or Interviewbit.
Q.5. What are the resources you used to prepare for your interview process?
A.5. Apart from the above sources, I went through Geeksforgeek's interview questions, which helped me get an idea of the interview process. And I also made sure I knew my CS fundamentals. Regarding CC, I think Oracle is one of the few companies that doesn't have a competitive coding round, so I didn't stress too much on it.
Q.6. What were the courses which helped you with the same? Were there any courses that companies look at extensively while selecting people?
A.6. The CS CDC's like OOPs, DSA, etc. were very important for the selection process. But apart from the CDC's, the interviewer looked for projects or courses that made you stand out from the crowd, so I had data mining, which I took up as an elective on my resume. And since I talked more about my data mining project than anything else, they were impressed by that.
Q.7. Could you tell us a bit about your profile and what you thought the spike helped you in the selection process? How important did you think those aspects of your profile were?
A.7. My profile's two fixed points were the project that I had done in data mining and my internship at an ISRO unit during my PS. I talked about using version control and remotely working with another team situated somewhere else. You need to be able to show that you can code professionally. All your projects need to have some specific impact on something, and they shouldn't be generic. For instance, mine was to implement an open data cube specifically for India's name. Overall, talking about the challenges you faced and how you overcame them, along with one internship or project that you can talk about for a while, is crucial.
Q.8. You were interested in creative thinking in data science. Could you talk about that?
A.8. There is something called data visualization, so basically, after you have done your data analysis, you'll get some insights, which data visualization helps put it forward in a fun way. You'll have cool graphs, neat looking presentations, and excellent design. So, I wanted to get into that sort of field because I like structure and I like data science, as I've done a lot of research work in data science.
Q.9. Did you participate in any non-academic activities (like Hackathons or coding challenges), and how did it help you?
A.9. I didn't participate in hackathons until after my internship. But I'm sure those who participated in hackathons will have a lot to talk about it. During the hackathon, they go through an entire cycle of development. In an interview, you need to talk about a problem you faced, and how you overcame that problem, they will be impressed as he would have also met similar issues in his development. So if he sees that you're doing something similar on a smaller scale, facing similar challenges, while thinking about it in the right way, they will be impressed since that's what they are looking for while hiring. They are looking for people who accept that they have challenges and overcome them.
Q.10. How heavily do you weigh the role of soft-skills, CGPA, technical skills and in your SI process as well as in the SI to PPO conversion?
A.10. I would put technical skills first, followed by soft skills and CGPA at last. CGPA doesn't matter, as it's just a cutoff. So, keeping your CG above 7 or 7.5 should be more than enough since only one or two companies have a cutoff around 8. Once you get past the cutoff, CG stops mattering.
Q.11. How did the WFH aspect of your SI affect the general nature of the job?
A.11. In my case, it didn't affect my work too much. But those who can't communicate well online, or during online meets, people who are shy and refrain from the public spotlight will have to put in the extra effort to share with others and get their views across.
Q.12.How did you find working with your team at Oracle, and how big of a role did the senior colleagues play in guiding you?
A.12. I thoroughly enjoyed working at Oracle. Even though it was work from home, the people at Oracle ensured they were in contact with us every week. And my team was accommodating, even if I had small doubts, I could ping them, and they would respond within the day. Overall it was an excellent and wholesome experience.
Q.13. Could you tell us more about the SI-PPO conversion process? What made you stand out apart from all your colleagues that led to your PPO conversion? How easy would you say it is to convert the SI to a PPO?
A.13. As I mentioned during my internship, I had to partake in a coding challenge and a hackathon. The challenge was like a test to the hackathon where I had placed 3rd. I would say that was one standout point for me. I had a final presentation to my manager and his team, so they were impressed with the work I had done in that period. Apart from that, I would suggest not to slack off and regularly, at least once a week, talk to your manager, and give him updates. So, converting the SI to a PPO is pretty straightforward. You'd have a good chance of getting a PPO if you are consistent with your work and don't do badly during your internship,
Q.14. How important do you think doing an SI is for a single-degree student? With particular reference on CS/IT roles? How much do you believe single-degree students should focus on getting an SI?
A.14. Not to sound too overconfident, but I am relaxed this placement season as I already have an offer at hand. I didn't have to face the pressure of sitting for placements as I was ineligible for sitting for placements, so there was no point in even preparing for them. It just saves a lot of mental burden getting a PPO earlier on as, if you get a SI, there's a good chance that you'll get PPO. Also, since you'll have a lesser amount of courses than any other year, you'll have a lot more free time, which you can use to explore different activities and courses or prepare for GRE. So, it helps to get a SI.
Q.15. What are your plans for the upcoming placement cycle, as well as the PS-2/TS process? Do you have any off-campus placement/internship plans?
A.15. I am planning to do a foreign thesis instead of PS-2 next sem. So, I'm still in the process of mailing professors and trying to see if there's any research option available because right now, I don't know what I want to do, I don't know if I want to get into a research field or work in the industry. So, I thought it might be useful to have a six-month experience in the research field. If I end up getting that opportunity, I'll take it up, but most probably, I'll do a PS-2.
Q.16. Do you have any suggestions for juniors appearing for the SI cycle this year or would be appearing for it next year?
A.16. There's no formula as such for this. But if I have to say something, I would put it into three points. Have at least two months of coding experience beforehand. Have one detailed project that you can talk about. Finally, an internship experience always helps to get another internship or a job. That's just how the world works; you need prior work experience to get a job.