🎉 Zensar – Internship + Full-Time (PPO) Interview Experience

📍 On-Campus | Pune HQ (Kharadi) | AI/Software Engineer Intern → PPO Opportunity

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🏢 Company Overview

Zensar is a global technology consulting and digital engineering company by RPG Group with 10,000+ employees across 33 international locations. They work across industries like BFS, Hitech, Retail, Gaming, Healthcare, delivering cloud-native platforms, AI-powered systems, and scalable digital products.

This drive was for the Games Global Internship Program — a 6-month in-office internship with a PPO (Pre-Placement Offer) based on performance.

Primary Areas:
AI/ML, LLMs, Backend Engineering, Cloud, Web Technologies

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📋 Basic Details

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🧩 Rounds Overview

1. Online Assessment (OA)
2. Java Debugging Round (On-site)
3. Mini Hackathon (Backend System Build)
4. Code Review + Technical Discussion
5. Group Discussion (GD)
6. Managerial Interview
7. VP Interview (Final)

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Round 1: Online Assessment

Duration: 90 minutes
Date: Last week of September

Format

• MCQs on core CS subjects
• Aptitude & logical reasoning
• Basic AI/ML conceptual questions
• 3 DSA questions (Easy–Medium difficulty)
  • No option to run code
  • Required writing complete function + driver logic manually

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Round 2: Java Debugging Round (On-site @Pune HQ)

Date: First Week of October
Duration: 3 hours
Internet: ❌ Not allowed

Experience

• Given a Java codebase containing multiple bugs (logical + syntactical).
• Required to understand, debug and fix the code.
• This round evaluated:
  • Analytical thinking
  • Ability to read unfamiliar code
  • Working without guidance or external help
  • Approach to problem-solving under constraints

After debugging, each candidate explained:

• Their fixes
• Thought process
• Code improvements

Elimination: ~20 students eliminated.

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Round 3: Mini Hackathon (Backend System Development)

Duration: 4–5 hours
Internet: ❌ Not allowed
Tech Stack: Any (developer’s choice)

Problem Statement

Design & implement a backend system capable of:

• Handling large volumes of files
• Tracking historical logs, metadata, and events

Expectations

• API design
• Data modeling
• Code structure & modularity
• Error handling
• Scalability considerations

All candidates submitted their final codebase for evaluation.

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Round 4: Codebase Review + Technical Discussions

Date: 15th October
Shortlisted from previous round: 20

Process

• Recent Zensar joinees + experienced developers reviewed each candidate’s project.
• Discussion covered:
  • Architecture
  • Code quality
  • Logic correctness
  • System understanding
  • Improvements

Additional Technical Questions

• Previous project walkthroughs
• Basic system design (patterns, SOLID)
• OOP fundamentals
• CS basics (depending on resume)

Outcome: No immediate elimination — all moved to GD.

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Round 5: Group Discussion (GD)

Group Size: 10–12
Duration: ~50 minutes

Format

• No predefined topic
• Group collaboratively selected the topic
• Assessed candidate’s decision-making & leadership in topic selection

Evaluation

• Clarity and quality of input
• Listening skills
• Collaboration and conflict handling
• Structured reasoning
• Helping quieter members contribute

Participants with low participation were prompted to share their views.

Elimination: ~10 eliminated.

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Further Rounds were arranged simultaneously

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Round 6: Managerial Interview

Nature: Lightly technical, mostly culture-fit
Duration: ~10 minutes

Focus Areas

• Background & personal journey
• Basic technical checks
• Previous projects
• Personality & mindset
• Communication clarity

Very few eliminations occurred here.

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Round 7: VP Interview (Final Round)

Format: Panel of 4 candidates
Duration: ~1 hour
Depth: High — combined personal + technical grilling

Flow

1. Personal & Family Background

• Asked about family, parents’ profession
• Evaluated maturity, awareness, grounding
• Some candidates were critically questioned to check depth

2. Technical

• OOP concepts with examples
• Short code snippets to write/explain
• Time complexity questions
• Reasoning behind DS choices

3. Achievements & Learnings

• Not just what was achieved
• But what was learned and how it shaped thinking

Outcome

• Only one candidate from my panel (me) was approved directly by the VP
• Because of this, Managerial Round was skipped for me

Others had both rounds combined for final evaluation.

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🎉 Final Selection

All remaining candidates were gathered and informed of selection.

Total 3 students from PICT got selected for Internship

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💡 Key Learnings & Tips

🧠 Strong Fundamentals Win

OOP, DS/Algo reasoning, debugging, and clarity matter more than frameworks.

💬 Communication Is a Game-Changer

GD + VP rounds heavily emphasize articulation and structured thinking.

🚫 No Instruction Rounds Are Intentional

Be prepared to operate independently without internet or guidance.

👤 VP Round Requires Maturity

Awareness about your family, background, and personal journey matters.

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🏁 Final Thoughts

The Zensar Games Global Internship selection process was one of the most comprehensive experiences, assessing not just coding skills but confidence, clarity, decision-making, and self-awareness.

If you strengthen fundamentals and stay genuine in communication, you’ll stand out naturally.