Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the IBM Campus Hiring Drive 2025 for the Associate System Engineer role. As a final-year B.Tech student, this experience was both exciting and insightful.
Although I didn't make it to the final selection, the process taught me a lot and helped me grow professionally.
Let me take you through the entire journey.
Job Details
Role: Associate System Engineer
CTC: ₹4.5 LPA + ₹25,000 one-time settling allowance
Eligibility: 6.0 CGPA minimum, CS/IT/Semi-IT streams, No active backlogs
Skills Expected: Java, Python, C++, Node.js, SQL, SDLC concepts
Work Locations: Multiple cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, etc.
Selection Process
IBM's hiring process was systematic and had multiple elimination rounds. Initially, IBM hadn't mentioned that the Coding + English assessments would be conducted in-person at the campus before the interview as the number of candidates where more and IBM isn't a mass recruiting company.
Only a day before the interview, we received a mail informing us about the in-person assessments, which caused confusion and stress among many candidates.
Given that the number of shortlisted candidates was high and IBM isn't typically a mass-recruiting company, this last-minute arrangement may have been their way to streamline the pool. Still, the announcement came just a day before the interviews via email, which led to confusion and stress among many candidates, who were caught off-guard and had to prepare quickly for in-person assessments.
Round 1: Online Technical Assessment
Conducted on HackerRank assessment platform
Questions were MCQ + Coding (DSA, Aptitude, OOPs)
Duration: ~60–90 mins
📊 ~2,459 candidates were shortlisted initially
✅ I cleared this round
Round 2: English Spoken Language Assessment (Virtual)
AI-proctored, webcam and mic required
Tests included spoken grammar, pronunciation, sentence clarity
📊 ~873 candidates were shortlisted
✅ Cleared this round too
Round 3: Coding + English Assessment (In-Person)
1 coding problem on HackerRank assessment platform based on Arrays and Strings.
Duration: ~30 minutes
📊 ~147 candidates were shortlisted
✅ Cleared this round
English: Included 5 behavioral questions (each with a 5-minute timer) where we had to type out our responses.
Few questions:
- Tell me about a time when a team member wasn’t cooperating on a project. What did you do?
- Describe a situation where you helped a friend?
Round 4: Technical + HR Interview (In-Person)
🧑💼 Interview panel was calm and friendly.
Questions I was asked:
- Tell me about yourself?
- Why AI & ML specialization?
- Explain your internship experience and challenges?
- Walkthrough of your projects, team size, your contribution?
- Is this your first interview? What did you learn from past interviews?
- Can AI replace human jobs?
- Java vs Python - key differences?
- Mutable vs Immutable types - is String mutable?
- What are List, Tuple, and Dictionary in Python?
- SQL Joins - Types and differences?
- In what order are multiple joins executed (top-down or bottom-up)?
- What do you know about IBM?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What do you want to contribute to this role?
This was my 3rd interview overall, I answered confidently and felt a good connection with the interviewer.
Background Verification Request
Shortly after the interview, I received a request for background verification details - ID and personal documents - which gave me strong hope of getting selected.
Outcome
Despite my performance, I was not among the final 66 candidates selected.
Key Takeaways
- Be ready for last-minute surprises (like in-person tests).
- Strong communication helps in spoken assessments.
- Know your tech basics - Java/Python + SQL.
- Stay humble - even if everything feels perfect, final selection isn't guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
Even though I wasn't selected, this experience made me more prepared and confident for future interviews.