The foremost important thing to know for an corporate life, Rules:
- Guys should be wearing only Full hand type of shirts and tie is a must to the ILP.
- Communication should be mostly only be in English with the instructors.Instructors are notsupposed to called by sir or more, instead by their name.
- Trainees should be maintaining strict timings. Your entry time will be taken into account.
- Behavior inside the training centre will be strictly noted. If found without being in a same place, you will be ???.
- Trainees will be tested by keeping practical tests now and then.
- Each recruit will be provided with a computer. I am not sure about the choice, either with the company or the recruits, but once selected with a computer, you will not be allowed to change your places till the end of your ILP.
- Mobiles are not allowed inside the classes.
- You have to get your own transport to the ILP Centre. While going home, you can use the transport provided, but only for a short distance. (different for different ILPs)
- Internet will be enabled to the recruits with WebSense Firewall. You will be able to access only Google, Wikipedia, and other general sites. General mails such as GMail, Yahoo, etc. will be blocked. WordPress, blogspot, and other general blogging sites are blocked. Rapidshare, hotfile, megaupload, and other file sharing sites are blocked.
- You will be getting an email address within the first week. You won’t be allowed for the names. You will only be able to choose the names, which they provide. It might be a combination of your first and last name, and those kind of stuffs, with dots (.) and some numbers. You will be using your mail with a mail client called Lotus Notes.
The trainees who are failing to comply with the above, will be batched again with the next set of trainees.
Regarding the Pre-ILP Test, Test will be in the third day of joining. Test will be of 40 marks with no negative marking in it. Test will have the questions from DBMS, Java, Software and WebTech.
If you don't clear the test you will be put in normal training in spite of fast track ILP of 50 days.
Regarding the batches, there will be 4 to 5 members in each batch with us. It will comprise of bothCS/IT and Non-CS/IT, and the batching will be randomly done. We cannot choose our friends.
Knowledge in Java is important. Problems will be given and we will be expected to write coding using Java. Since it is a teamwork now, we will be able to cope up. But we should be prepared for the test, if not, we will suffer. Life skills classes are also there. So, there are fun activities also.
We are supposed to open a Savings Account and a Current Account. Those people from the bank will help you out to get started on the same day itself. In case if you have your accounts already, make sure that they are only from these supported banks:
1. Kotak Mahindra Bank.
2. Standard Charted Ltd.
3. ICICI Bank Ltd.
4. State Bank of India Ltd.
5. HDFC Bank Ltd.
1. Kotak Mahindra Bank.
2. Standard Charted Ltd.
3. ICICI Bank Ltd.
4. State Bank of India Ltd.
5. HDFC Bank Ltd.
In a single day, there will be two Lab Sessions and two Life Skills Session.
The Life Skills will have Sessions like Personal Grooming and Oral Communications
The Life Skills will have Sessions like Personal Grooming and Oral Communications
You will be getting your Permanent ID cards (the one with the SIM card embedded) within one and a half weeks of joining the ILP.
For dresses, check the attire guidelines in the post "packing -check list"
Now, I am sharing an experience of TCSer. Extract all the valuable Information of your use, though the whole article is really interesting.
This is an article by Satyajit Naib
You may find few blogs about experiences of people in TCS during their first few days....But this one is different because I don't want to show off my vocabulary and I have written this while undergoing the ILP....And for the TCS faculty, Nisha mam, Liza mam, & Nandita mam,(Oops couldn't "unlearn" the habit of calling you "Mam" but respect doesn't cost money...) I know you are reading or will read this...I hope I am not misrepresenting the facts as you had complained about the other blogs...and for other readers, the TCS faculty at the ILP centers too read these blogs...Hope you all find this a good read...
I was wasted with choices about which information to share with you first....but I finally decided to go step by step....Lets start with what you need to prepare before joining...First of all make sure you study hard, join tutions, and have a clear understanding of the basics of all popular languages (Or the ones they mail you with) so that you are not blank during the first few days...
TCS unlike other competing companies has a hell lot of documentation and formalities at the time of joining...Don't wait for your date of joining, make sure you start acquiring all these documents and mark-sheets as soon as you receive your offer letter...The joining letter annexure would mention in detail what all documents you need...Mind you, if their is even a small discrepancy in your documents your appointment will be put on hold...
After I was done with documentation & teary parting speeches, I left my place (Nagpur) on 28th June 2010 at 4am in the morning by Kerala Express(One of the only 2 direct trains from Nagpur to Trivandrum)...Found lot of friends at the railway station but still was disappointed not to find any of my branch mates in the same boigie as the journey was of 37 excruciatingly long hours...But had an AC 3 tier ticket and some known faces in the same boigie which made things a bit bearable...
Our train reached Trivandrum central station at 3:30 pm the following day...I had a lot luggage and the station has no ramps for dragging the luggage...only stairs...After much effort we guys managed to find a lone cab driver who could speak few words in English and after much bargaining he took us to our respective hostels at 100 Rs per person...I was allotted a private hostel which is hired by TCS called Mohanam...All 3 hostels viz. Peepul park, Kenton Liesure Executive hostel, & Mohanam are in Kazhakuttom which is 18km away from Trivandrum city...
At the first sight of the hostel, my first reaction was "Accommodation cant get any better"...My second reaction was "Oh shitttt", no hot water for bathing, frequent power cuts, acute water shortage & worst of all, the care taker here cannot speak either Hindi or English...But being students of a government college, we were used to being screwed...A silver lining to the cloud was that we were allowed to chose our room mates and there was a fridge, a good purifier and a TV for every 6 people. 9 of us, 3 from electrical & 6 from electronics branch where allotted the Mohanam hostel. After a little bit of shuffling, we settled in our rooms. I took a room on the first floor. We got fresh and made straight for the market and nearby areas and found out all the good hotels in the vicinity.
Mind you TCS makes no arrangements for your food. We tried each place and concluded that these are the best hotels around...The Punjabi Dhabba (On Kovalam/Kanyakumari road, and closest to Mohanam), B6 inn (plush but no so good), Geethhanjali)(Also very near to Mohanam). The rates are very good at all the hotels and both Veg and Non Veg food is readily available. TCS provides "Sodexho" meal coupons a while after you join which are accepted in any hotel that you can find...I had never lived in hostel before, so, it was a bit difficult for me to get used to walking few kilometers each time you need to eat something...
After dinner and little exploring in the market we came back to the hostel at 10 pm in the night and went to dreamland with the dread of getting up early next day and the nervousness about the first day of our corporate lives...
I was wasted with choices about which information to share with you first....but I finally decided to go step by step....Lets start with what you need to prepare before joining...First of all make sure you study hard, join tutions, and have a clear understanding of the basics of all popular languages (Or the ones they mail you with) so that you are not blank during the first few days...
TCS unlike other competing companies has a hell lot of documentation and formalities at the time of joining...Don't wait for your date of joining, make sure you start acquiring all these documents and mark-sheets as soon as you receive your offer letter...The joining letter annexure would mention in detail what all documents you need...Mind you, if their is even a small discrepancy in your documents your appointment will be put on hold...
After I was done with documentation & teary parting speeches, I left my place (Nagpur) on 28th June 2010 at 4am in the morning by Kerala Express(One of the only 2 direct trains from Nagpur to Trivandrum)...Found lot of friends at the railway station but still was disappointed not to find any of my branch mates in the same boigie as the journey was of 37 excruciatingly long hours...But had an AC 3 tier ticket and some known faces in the same boigie which made things a bit bearable...
Our train reached Trivandrum central station at 3:30 pm the following day...I had a lot luggage and the station has no ramps for dragging the luggage...only stairs...After much effort we guys managed to find a lone cab driver who could speak few words in English and after much bargaining he took us to our respective hostels at 100 Rs per person...I was allotted a private hostel which is hired by TCS called Mohanam...All 3 hostels viz. Peepul park, Kenton Liesure Executive hostel, & Mohanam are in Kazhakuttom which is 18km away from Trivandrum city...
At the first sight of the hostel, my first reaction was "Accommodation cant get any better"...My second reaction was "Oh shitttt", no hot water for bathing, frequent power cuts, acute water shortage & worst of all, the care taker here cannot speak either Hindi or English...But being students of a government college, we were used to being screwed...A silver lining to the cloud was that we were allowed to chose our room mates and there was a fridge, a good purifier and a TV for every 6 people. 9 of us, 3 from electrical & 6 from electronics branch where allotted the Mohanam hostel. After a little bit of shuffling, we settled in our rooms. I took a room on the first floor. We got fresh and made straight for the market and nearby areas and found out all the good hotels in the vicinity.
Mind you TCS makes no arrangements for your food. We tried each place and concluded that these are the best hotels around...The Punjabi Dhabba (On Kovalam/Kanyakumari road, and closest to Mohanam), B6 inn (plush but no so good), Geethhanjali)(Also very near to Mohanam). The rates are very good at all the hotels and both Veg and Non Veg food is readily available. TCS provides "Sodexho" meal coupons a while after you join which are accepted in any hotel that you can find...I had never lived in hostel before, so, it was a bit difficult for me to get used to walking few kilometers each time you need to eat something...
After dinner and little exploring in the market we came back to the hostel at 10 pm in the night and went to dreamland with the dread of getting up early next day and the nervousness about the first day of our corporate lives...
Let me remind you guys that if you are not ready to commit yourself 24x7 to your job, then TCS is not the company for you. I had been warned beforehand by many so I was mentally prepared.
So it was 5:30 in the morning on 30th June 2010 when I got up (with the help of 3 different alarms and few presses of the "Snooze" button). Everyone else at the hostel was asleep but I wanted to have enough time before leaving for the bus stop to make sure I haven't missed anything. The TCS bus arrives at each of the hostels at 7:30 am in the morning and it’s a hard time getting ready in full formal clothing so early in the morning given the fact that there is no hot water for bathing. And the dress code being so specific i.e. formal shirts (solids, checks, pinstripes), formal trousers. And yes the neck ties are compulsory. Girls have a lot of options but not boys...Friday is a relief from the dress code but again, you can’t wear anything flashy or with messages on it. (I really wanted to try my T shirt which said "I am the guy whom ur mom warned about" or the one saying "I can CODE serious shit" lolzzz)
If you get dressed wrongly or forget to shave, they send you back to the hostel and you lose a days pay. Some how we got ready on time and reached the main gate of the hostel where the bus was supposed to arrive.( The hostel warden though unable to understand our language came to see us off everyday and would phone and scold the bus driver if he ever came late.)
When we first set our eyes on the approaching bus, we all asserted, "not worthy of TCS" at almost the same time. We were only 24 people and it did not have space even for such a small group. We were already pissed off due to the fact that we had to reach the campus almost 1 and a half hour earlier. The TCS Peepul Park & Bodhi Park campuses are located in an IT park Called "Technopark" about 5 mins distance from all 3 hostels. After reaching the sprawling TCS Peepul Park campus we were awestruck. The building looks like one seriously huge 5 star hotel. The sessions were to commence at 8:45 am but we were supposed to have breakfast in the meantime in the in-house canteen (rare welcome news).
After waiting in a long Que for getting a visitors pass made we were seated in the "Saffron" auditorium. By this time we were used to getting awestruck due to the grandeur of the place but still I couldn't avoid staring like a kid at the 2 identical 125 inch projection displays in the auditorium. Out of habit I and my few friends sat in the first row. After eying the schedule we were sad to find inductions (Boring informative speeches) for the first 2 days. The schedule was very tiring,
8.45am to 10:30am==Session A (OMG such a longggggggg lecture)
10:30am to 10:45am==Break (You don't even notice this one because you are busy coding serious shit in your lab sessions or you enjoying life skills sessions)
10:45am to 1:00pm==Session B
1:00pm to 1:45pm==Lunch Break (Cold and stale south Indian veg/Non veg lunch is available in tcs canteen at subsidized rates, but I assure you food cant get any worse)
1:45pm to 3:00pm==Session C (Sooooo long)
3:00pm to 3:45pm==Tea Break (The trainer is back in the lab before you take even your first sip of tea.)
3:45pm to 5:45pm==Sessions D (Seriously long again) Sessions get a bit bearable when case studies start, which are group activities.
After attending the HR and ADMIN inductions we ventured out of the auditorium and loitered around. We found the different sections like HR bay, i-Security, etc and most importantly the tea and coffee machines which were of great help to ward off the stupor induced by the speeches. (PS: The tea is very good but you cannot carry the cups around the premises:-D). It was later on that day when we found that TCS Trivandrum center operates in 3 shifts i.e. Morning shift (7am to 2pm), General shift (8:45am to 5:45am), and the Night shift (2pm to 9pm). We were lucky enough to have been allotted to the general shift because it greatly simplified the meal times.
The suspense about the duration of the ILP and its second phase was broken later om that that during the ILP induction. The newly designed ILP is of 63 working days which includes both common and stream based training. There are a lot of changes both academic and administrative. For starters, they have omitted the foreign language training and started deducting HRA during the ILP period and a host of other changes and the most notable being the undertaking of both common and stream training at the ILP center itself.
The most awaited and last induction was the finance induction which includes bank account opening. The finance guy Ashutosh was a nice person and he brought ICICI bank people with him. We filled forms for opening a savings salary account, and a current reimbursement account. The account was a privilege banking titanium account with withdrawal limit of 50k and shopping limit of 1 lac. We were given a starter kit containing a debit card a cheque book and passwords for ATM and net banking. This was the first time we proud to be TCS employees, but yet again, titanium accounts without money in them are even more frustrating...
Finally, overloaded with information and tension, we left the auditorium at 6pm and went straight to the bus which was already awaiting us outside. Mind you, if you plan to stay back at office for work or completing exercises after 6:15pm, then you will have to walk back to the hostels which are about 3-4 km away from the campus.. :-D...Even after you reach the hostel, it doesn't end, you are hungry and have to walk at least 4 km for a single bite of food...As many have said, I bet 10k bucks you will lose 2 kg weight in first 10 days...
So it was 5:30 in the morning on 30th June 2010 when I got up (with the help of 3 different alarms and few presses of the "Snooze" button). Everyone else at the hostel was asleep but I wanted to have enough time before leaving for the bus stop to make sure I haven't missed anything. The TCS bus arrives at each of the hostels at 7:30 am in the morning and it’s a hard time getting ready in full formal clothing so early in the morning given the fact that there is no hot water for bathing. And the dress code being so specific i.e. formal shirts (solids, checks, pinstripes), formal trousers. And yes the neck ties are compulsory. Girls have a lot of options but not boys...Friday is a relief from the dress code but again, you can’t wear anything flashy or with messages on it. (I really wanted to try my T shirt which said "I am the guy whom ur mom warned about" or the one saying "I can CODE serious shit" lolzzz)
If you get dressed wrongly or forget to shave, they send you back to the hostel and you lose a days pay. Some how we got ready on time and reached the main gate of the hostel where the bus was supposed to arrive.( The hostel warden though unable to understand our language came to see us off everyday and would phone and scold the bus driver if he ever came late.)
When we first set our eyes on the approaching bus, we all asserted, "not worthy of TCS" at almost the same time. We were only 24 people and it did not have space even for such a small group. We were already pissed off due to the fact that we had to reach the campus almost 1 and a half hour earlier. The TCS Peepul Park & Bodhi Park campuses are located in an IT park Called "Technopark" about 5 mins distance from all 3 hostels. After reaching the sprawling TCS Peepul Park campus we were awestruck. The building looks like one seriously huge 5 star hotel. The sessions were to commence at 8:45 am but we were supposed to have breakfast in the meantime in the in-house canteen (rare welcome news).
After waiting in a long Que for getting a visitors pass made we were seated in the "Saffron" auditorium. By this time we were used to getting awestruck due to the grandeur of the place but still I couldn't avoid staring like a kid at the 2 identical 125 inch projection displays in the auditorium. Out of habit I and my few friends sat in the first row. After eying the schedule we were sad to find inductions (Boring informative speeches) for the first 2 days. The schedule was very tiring,
8.45am to 10:30am==Session A (OMG such a longggggggg lecture)
10:30am to 10:45am==Break (You don't even notice this one because you are busy coding serious shit in your lab sessions or you enjoying life skills sessions)
10:45am to 1:00pm==Session B
1:00pm to 1:45pm==Lunch Break (Cold and stale south Indian veg/Non veg lunch is available in tcs canteen at subsidized rates, but I assure you food cant get any worse)
1:45pm to 3:00pm==Session C (Sooooo long)
3:00pm to 3:45pm==Tea Break (The trainer is back in the lab before you take even your first sip of tea.)
3:45pm to 5:45pm==Sessions D (Seriously long again) Sessions get a bit bearable when case studies start, which are group activities.
After attending the HR and ADMIN inductions we ventured out of the auditorium and loitered around. We found the different sections like HR bay, i-Security, etc and most importantly the tea and coffee machines which were of great help to ward off the stupor induced by the speeches. (PS: The tea is very good but you cannot carry the cups around the premises:-D). It was later on that day when we found that TCS Trivandrum center operates in 3 shifts i.e. Morning shift (7am to 2pm), General shift (8:45am to 5:45am), and the Night shift (2pm to 9pm). We were lucky enough to have been allotted to the general shift because it greatly simplified the meal times.
The suspense about the duration of the ILP and its second phase was broken later om that that during the ILP induction. The newly designed ILP is of 63 working days which includes both common and stream based training. There are a lot of changes both academic and administrative. For starters, they have omitted the foreign language training and started deducting HRA during the ILP period and a host of other changes and the most notable being the undertaking of both common and stream training at the ILP center itself.
The most awaited and last induction was the finance induction which includes bank account opening. The finance guy Ashutosh was a nice person and he brought ICICI bank people with him. We filled forms for opening a savings salary account, and a current reimbursement account. The account was a privilege banking titanium account with withdrawal limit of 50k and shopping limit of 1 lac. We were given a starter kit containing a debit card a cheque book and passwords for ATM and net banking. This was the first time we proud to be TCS employees, but yet again, titanium accounts without money in them are even more frustrating...
Finally, overloaded with information and tension, we left the auditorium at 6pm and went straight to the bus which was already awaiting us outside. Mind you, if you plan to stay back at office for work or completing exercises after 6:15pm, then you will have to walk back to the hostels which are about 3-4 km away from the campus.. :-D...Even after you reach the hostel, it doesn't end, you are hungry and have to walk at least 4 km for a single bite of food...As many have said, I bet 10k bucks you will lose 2 kg weight in first 10 days...