Achievers’ Archive (Tanya Maurya)
Interviewee: Tanya Maurya , Mechanical Engineering ( 2017–2021)
Placed at Tata Steel
SIME: Which company have you been placed in and what’s the job description?
Tanya: I am placed in TATA Steel. My job is neither technical nor coding-based. It is a managerial type of job. Currently, I’m in the training phase so as such I haven’t been allotted any particular kind of work to perform but they’re training me. But as per my knowledge, let me explain… the general people who are selected from mechanical they are going to be involved in maintenance, so they are the part of the maintenance team in TATA steel and it is also divided into further divisions like boiler division, blast furnace, powerhouse and several other divisions are there. And in each division, there are two kinds of jobs first one is maintenance-related and the second one is if that plant is in the initial stage of setup, then you have to work on projects. For maintenance, your job is to ensure that all safety regulations are being followed by worker and you have to ensure that plant is functioning properly. You have to ensure that all operating machines are okay and running properly as required. And how you will ensure? — Not by you yourself on the floor like you are going inside furnace/boiler; you will give instructions to the worker or mechanic they will do all that work.
Another kind is project-related works that is usually related to new plant set up. When a new plant is being setup in your company then all improvement related, implementation, and design-related work will be there but you are not the only person to do all these tasks. Your solutions will be implemented along with all other ideas with the help of design team.
SIME: How is this new transition in life going for you? How do you manage your workload and social life?
Tanya: Yeah, you know due to the COVID crisis most of the companies adopted the ‘Work from Home’ culture. I’m also doing the same, completing my everyday tasks from home. It is quite exciting because you have some tasks to perform every day but in the absence of physical interaction with each other it becomes a little bit hectic because you know… all the time, we are working on the laptop screen. So yeah, this new transition in my life is full of enjoyment and excitement but college life is the most beautiful phase so live your college life to the fullest because you are gonna miss it badly afterwards.
SIME: How was your college life? Were you a part of any club or society in college and how did they help you?
Tanya: My college life was so fantastic. Enjoying festivals like BITOTSAV, Pantheon, and participating in different events. I was a member of NAPS (News and Publication Society) and Team SRIJAN and was also involved in the T&P department. I learned discipline being an active member of Team SRIJAN as you have to wake up early in the morning and go to a club meeting, plan and check your daily tasks and work on various design and manufacturing operations. As a NAPS member, I learned a lot of new things during college day like how to work with your team and also some great interpersonal skills. All these things are going to help you at every phase in your life. And you can easily make friends within your clubs. So you see networking is a plus point!
SIME: Since you appeared in the online recruitment process, how was this new experience? According to you, which one is more beneficial for students — offline or online?
Tanya: My experience was quite good because you know… you are giving an interview at your home in your room, so you will feel more confident. According to me, the Online recruitment process is more beneficial not because of obvious reasons as told before but during the online mode, more companies came and still coming to recruit the students so you have more chances to get your dream job. And you have the opportunity to write the written exam in your suitable environment in which you feel more comfortable.
SIME: How did you handle anxiety/stress and pressure at the time of placement season when several companies were coming to our campus placement?
Tanya: The first thing I’ll tell you is that almost all of my batchmates have been placed except backlog’ holders and those who are preparing for competitive exams for higher studies. So, don’t worry and never take too much stress about placement just focus on your basic aptitude and your technical and interpersonal skills. You will be placed! How I handled I don’t know but yeah, I never thought my friend placed and I did not in some particular company’s drive.
SIME: How one can prepare for internships and what role does it play in the placement process? Where did you pursue your internship? Whether doing trainings and internships help during placement?
Tanya: If someone is looking for an internship opportunity then I would like to suggest three things on which he/she can work:
- Prepare basic aptitude skills because aptitude round is in almost every company’s recruitment process.
- Try to improve your technical knowledge for example if you want to go to core companies then you should know the basics of your manufacturing and other core subjects. I’m not saying that you should master all the subjects but at least you must be well aware of the basic terms of your subjects.
- Lastly your communication skill and flow of your language, yeah communication skill is essential to clear PI round with HR/technical interviewer. If you don’t have a lot of certificates of training/projects then don’t worry just be confident on all your pieces of training/projects that you have accomplished.
From placement point of view, internship isn’t necessary but if you have done then it will play a positive role to build a strong CV and also help in your PI round. You will feel more confident if your interviewer asks about your internship experience and knowledge.
Yeah, it helps but it does not guarantee your selection in some particular company.
SIME: What are the projects and competitions that you have worked/participated in during your college years and how do they help in your placement and internship?
Tanya: I did two projects during my BTECH; first one is from Team Srijan and the second one was in the final year.
My first project (srijan) was related to composite. I made bodywork of the car like nosecone, seat, side panels, etc. And the second project that I did in my final year was related to robotics, objective of this project was welding defect detection using artificial intelligence like using a camera and machine learning concepts to detect the defects. It helped me to get confidence when interviewers were asking me about my projects.
SIME: What was the selection procedure of your company? Is there any particular advice you would like to give your juniors while preparing for PI?
Tanya: It is almost the same as other companies. First Aptitude-based written exam along with some technical questions and then interview round. For PI you have to be confident in yourself and then have good communication skills to be more interactive with them. And be honest in your resume skills section, never try to become over smart in front of them, that’s all.
SIME: Apart from CGPA, what other skills one should incur to make a strong CV/Resume?
Tanya: It depends upon you either you are interested in IT jobs then you should work on your coding skills rather than CGPA and if you want to go in core companies then you must have good knowledge in your core subjects like manufacturing, strength of material, fluid, thermo etc. From resume point of view, you should have strong knowledge about your final year project. And for building a strong CV you may involve in any project in which you are interested in BIT or outside BIT also.
SIME: Do you have any plans for further studies or giving competitive exams?
Tanya: No, as such I don’t have any specific plan for further studies and competitive exams like CAT, GATE. I am just exploring for now and maybe in the future, I will appear.
SIME: A piece of general advice you would like to give to your juniors?
Tanya: Just enjoy your college life with full joy and excitement because after these four years you have a lot of work to do in any company in which you will get placed. Along with enjoyment you should explore for your interests, explore more and more and work on your field or subject of interest. And try to expand your network not only within BIT but outside BIT as well because if you have more network then you will be aware of what is going on in other colleges and the world. It will help you find your true field of interest not only from placement point of view.
SIME: How one can prepare for TATA Steel Women of Mettle?
Tanya: Basically, in tata steel women of mettle, they ask you 3 questions in their registration form like why TATA Steel and similar kind of questions so it’s quite easy to answer and submit your form. After form submission, they ask you very basic knowledge in their shortlisting round mostly about your 1st and 2nd-year subjects like some basic definitions and formulas of core subjects. So, for this, you don’t need extra preparation but you have to basic knowledge of your 1st and 2nd year’s core subjects. When you get shortlisted then they will assign you a project.
Rapid-fire questions: -
1) If you have a superpower for one day then what would you like to do in BIT?
Ans. Offline convocation
2) Who is your inspiration and why?
Ans. Not fixed.
3) Happiest moment of your life?
Ans. When I was placed.
