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:

1. Tell me about yourself?
2. Why AI & ML specialization?
3. Explain your internship experience and challenges?
4. Walkthrough of your projects, team size, your contribution?
5. Is this your first interview? What did you learn from past interviews?
6. Can AI replace human jobs?
7. Java vs Python - key differences?
8. Mutable vs Immutable types - is String mutable?
9. What are List, Tuple, and Dictionary in Python?
10. SQL Joins - Types and differences?
11. In what order are multiple joins executed (top-down or bottom-up)?
12. What do you know about IBM?
13. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
14. 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.

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