Careers360: Tell us something brief about you where did you graduate from?

Any work experience?

Raviteja Dhavala: My name is Raviteja Dhavala. I graduated from M.V.G.R
Engineering College, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh. I am presently working in
T.C.S.

Careers360: What was your aim while attempting GATE? PSU recruitment or
further studies?
Raviteja Dhavala: My aim in attemptingGATE was to get a good rank. PSU
Recruitment or further studies was dependent on the GATE rank. I would have
joined the IITs if I got the branch of my choice. I was equally open to PSU
recruitment in case the PSU was an extremely good one with a good package.

I am very interested in joining ISRO though.

Careers360: What was your GATE score and which branch?

Raviteja Dhavala: My GATE score was 703, AIR 308. I attempted GATE in
Electronics and Communications.

Careers360: Did you apply for admissions to any of the colleges? and which
colleges?
Raviteja Dhavala: I applied to IIT Bombay but didnt receive any call letter from
them.
I got a seat in Electromagnetic and Antennas in IIT Kharagpur.
IIT Madras I got a call for M.Tech in Solid State Physics.
IIT Kanpur I was to attend the call from IIT Kanpur for Digital Signal Processing
but I had the ISRO written test on the same day so I declined it.

I havent joined any of the IITs since I wanted a seat in VLSI or Communications.

Careers360: Which PSUs did you apply to?

Raviteja Dhavala: I applied for Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), got
selected for the interview and cleared it.

Careers360: What are you currently doing?

Raviteja Dhavala: I am currently working for TCS but I will be joining in Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL) on March 5, 2014.

Careers360: How did you prepare for the PSU interviews?

Raviteja Dhavala: I just studied the basics in all the core subjects and my main
project. I also put extra effort on three main subjects

Careers360: What was your experience at the PSU interview? What kinds of
questions were asked? Core subjects questions, Current Affairs G.K etc? pls specify .
Raviteja Dhavala: I had a positive experience. They asked about our favourite
subjects. Once we mentioned those, questions from those subjects and topics were
first asked before moving on to other topics.
The main focus was on practical applications rather than problems and theoretical
concepts.

Some examples: how does an oscilloscope work - specifications, uses, knobs, mixer
specifications; what do you look for when you buy a mixer and things like that.
The main focus is on subjects like microwaves, radars, electromagnetic, antennas.
Questions are pretty basic.
And yes- they asked nothing about Current Affairs, G.K.

Careers360: How big was the interview panel? How did they start the interview
apart from personal introductions? How long was the interview?
Raviteja Dhavala: The interview panel comprised of three to four members with
one of them from the HR Dept.
They started the interview casually with questions like how was your travel, where
are you staying. Basically this is to put the candidates at ease and it did make me
comfortable with them.
After the initial ice breaking, they proceeded to the technical questions followed by
questions from the core subjects. There were one or two questions from the HP
personnel too.
The interview lasted for around 35 minutes

Careers360: At any point of time, did you feel confused about any questions or was
any part of the interview tough? In which way?
Raviteja Dhavala: Yes. I did once but the interview panel skipped those questions.
Basically one should avoid pretending to know and give a wrong answer. It is better
to let them know that you are not sure or dont know the answer.

Careers360: Did you participate in any group discussion during the PSU
recruitment? If yes, How was the experience? What kind of topics should one
expect? Any tips

Raviteja Dhavala: No. There was no group discussion.

Careers360: How should a student prepare for the PSU interviews? Any tips and
guidelines
Raviteja Dhavala: Concentrate on very basic topics in all core subjects, Prepare 3
subjects very well preferably the ones in which you are strong and good at.

The interview panel looks at your confidence levels through your answers. So if you
are clear about the answers, they will know that you are qualified. After all one has to
be technically strong to clear GATE. So keep your confidence and tackle the answers
with a cool head.