catch a ₹The Rs 1.4 crore annual package may have made headlines, but for a final year B.Tech Computer Science student at Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra, the LinkedIn offer was the result of years of disciplined preparation, continuous learning and an unwavering focus on building real-world engineering skills.
Kushagra Sahay, a B.Tech student from BIT Mesra, secured an internship with the company in October 2024. He converted it to a full-time Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) in September 2025 – an achievement that places him among the top most campus recruiters this placement season.
In an exclusive conversation with HT Digital, Kushagra talks about the journey that started with reaching out to seniors and alumni in his first semester and evolved into a carefully planned roadmap of coding exercises, strong computer science fundamentals, impactful projects and resilience through failures. He also shared what LinkedIn interviewers looked for beyond coding skills, why students should stop chasing DSA ratings, how AI is reshaping software engineering careers, and five lessons every aspiring tech professional should remember when preparing for campus placements.
read below.
1. What was your first reaction when you received the offer and who was the first person you shared the news with?
When the confirmation came, my parents were the first to know because I was at home. The internship offer came on October 29, 2024, and the PPO was confirmed in the first week of September 2025. When I saw the offer, it took a while to jump on board. It wasn’t just the joy of getting into LinkedIn; Years of preparation were finally leading somewhere. My parents hugged me and were happy. Once things calmed down, he said something to me that I still carry with me: This is an opportunity, not a destination, and what matters is what value I create through my career. It kept me steady even on my happiest days.
2. Looking back at your four years at BIT Mesra, what were the major milestones or decisions that played the biggest role in you achieving this placement?
The major milestones and decisions were:-
One. Networking with relevant alumni, seniors, and faculty on LinkedIn right from the first semester, and reaching out to them with your set of questions without hesitation, is important to build meaningful relationships if you are choosing this career path.
B. Don’t focus on DSA competition ratings etc., keep practicing and improving, don’t chase ratings, focus on patterns and concepts, this was an important advice I got from my seniors.
C. Create unique projects or contribute to open-source projects that are impressive to some people around you, think from the angle of solving the existing problem and try to deliver a solution that scales well, think from all design perspectives and provide the final solution, this will make your resume extraordinary.
D. Pay attention to your CGPA, keep it high enough, as it is a filter factor in on campus placements.
E. To be consistent throughout the preparation with a good plan and strategy.
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3. Can you tell us about your placement preparation strategy? How did you balance academics, coding practice, projects, internships, and interview preparation?
My preparation depended on consistency, not marathon study sessions. Each day I divided time into four areas: DSA practice, computer science fundamentals, project work, and interview preparation. Problem-solving took the largest share. Along the way, I kept revising operating systems, DBMS, computer networks, and object-oriented programming as the interviewers examined them in depth. I also kept refining my projects because those conversations often go deeper than the coding rounds. And I practiced explaining my thinking out loud; The correct code matters little if you can’t walk someone through it. Balancing all this with exams and deadlines was sometimes difficult. What saved me was planning my week in advance and making friends with similar goals. We solved problems together, took mock interviews, reviewed each other’s resumes, and kept each other accountable. That shared discipline made the burden feel lighter than before.
4. How was the recruiting process at LinkedIn? Can you share your interview experience, what types of questions you were asked, and what you think helped you stand out from other candidates?
The process had three phases: an online coding assessment, a data structures and algorithms interview, and a managerial round that included projects, key topics, and behavioral discussions. The managerial phase was the most difficult as it required constant switching between technical depth and clear communication. What surprised me was how far the interviewers went into my projects. They wanted to know why I designed the system a particular way, how the components interacted, how the database was structured, and how it would scale. At one point, an interviewer opened my deployed project on his phone and asked questions while actually using it. Since I personally designed and built those systems, I can defend every decision. I believe this is what sets me apart. Anyone can list projects in the resume; It’s one thing to be able to explain each engineering choice behind them.
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5. Which technical skill, programming language, project or internship do you think had the greatest impact on your selection? Are there any resources or platforms you would recommend to students?
Three things hold the most weight. Problem-solving through DSA got me into the coding phase. During the technical discussion, fundamentals in operating systems, DBMS and computer networks were discussed. And communication, the ability to explain decisions and trade-offs, matters in every round. My internship at LinkedIn was important in itself; This gave me direct exposure to their engineering culture before the final proposal. Grade 6 was my entry point into Java programming, and that early grounding shaped how I still approach code. On projects, I would say make things that people actually use. Running software in production with real users teaches you about deployment, scalability, and maintenance in ways that tutorials can’t. As far as specific platforms and resources are concerned, for data structures and algorithms, I used Abdul Bari and Striver TUF videos on YouTube for conceptual preparation, and Leetcode, InterviewBit platforms to practice questions and give competition. For fundamental topics like Operating Systems, DBMS, Computer Networks etc., when they were taught during the semester, I kept preparing notes and gradually layered them from multiple sources like YouTube videos, GFG, Interviewbit and standard books prescribed in our semester courses. To learn skills like web development, agentic orchestration, etc., I watched YouTube videos of Hitesh Chaudhary, Piyush Garg, FreeCodeCamp and standard udemy courses, and also did practical work with them, which helped me learn a lot.
6. Every success story also brings with it some failures. Did you face any rejection, failure or moments of self-doubt during your preparation? How did you overcome them?
Yes, and I think it’s important to be open about that. During internship season, the hiring market was challenging. I made it to the final round in Google but was unable to convert, which was disappointing and made me question myself. Instead of stopping there, I changed my approach: stayed open to more opportunities, kept preparing, and eventually secured another internship offer, which took the pressure off. Then the LinkedIn opportunity came. Those rejections taught me resilience. Sometimes time is not on your side, and preparation alone does not guarantee results on a given day. What you can control is being ready when the next door opens. I will also give credit to my friends here; When self-doubt set in, having people around me who shared the same struggle and refused to give up on each other made all the difference.
7. The tech industry is evolving rapidly with the rise of AI and automation. What skills do you think engineering students should focus on today to remain competitive for top global roles?
AI has changed the way we learn more than we need to know. Students today can understand concepts faster, debug more efficiently and explore new technologies far faster than earlier batches. But AI must remain a partner in learning, not a substitute for thinking. Companies still test whether you can solve problems independently, whether your fundamentals are sound, and whether your engineering judgment is sound. None of this has been automated. Students should actively build AI capabilities into their skill sets, he said: agentic systems, agent orchestration, rapid engineering, AI evaluation and multistep AI workflows. Learn tools like Cloud Code and Copilot and use them to add AI-based features to your projects. Engineers who combine strong fundamentals with the ability to use AI well will have a real advantage over those who only have one or the other.
8. Many students dream of landing high-paying jobs at leading technology companies, but often don’t know where to start. Based on your experience, what would be the top five pieces of advice you would give to aspiring software engineers preparing for campus placements?
First, build your foundation before pursuing every new technology. The fundamentals and core topics of programming come first; Width can wait. Second, get guidance early. Guidance from seniors and professors saved me months of trial and error, and it’s available for free if you ask. Third, choose your peer group carefully. Surround yourself with people who are curious and hardworking; Growing together beats competition. Fourth, don’t overinvest in one dimension of preparation. Students often put everything in one area and ignore the rest. Know what matters most when, and make some room for hobbies and friendships, as this balance will sustain you during the long preparation cycle. Fifth, pursue excellence, not packages. This offer makes headlines; The desire to keep learning is what defines a career. Work honestly and leave the results to God.
