On-campus · Jun 2026
Software test engineer at Arista Networks
Hello, My name is Karan Nasa. Currently, I am in my 4th year at Thapar University, Patiala. My branch is Computer Engineering, and my current cgpa is 9.21. Over the last four years of my college, I have tried to explore web development and app development. Lately, I am very much driven to explore Deep Learning and AI.
- Outcome
- Selected
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Rounds
- 3
- Format
- Virtual
- Panel
- Technical panel
What was the procedure of the placement that took place? (Shortlisting criteria, coding or aptitude test, number of interviews)
At first the shortlisting criteria was having an above 8 cgpa. And after the OA, around 60 people were shortlisted for the GD (group discussion) round, The GD was conducted in the morning 9:30am and there were 7 people in one GD, and eventually at the end 25 people got selected for the interview round which was almost 2-3 people from each of the GD batches. After the GD round, on the same day itself in the afternoon, we had our interview. There was only one interview but the interview comprises both the technical and the HR round.
Tell us about the written/online test. (Aptitude, Coding, Test Platform, etc)
At Arista, we first had an online assessment which was basically a 1 hour quiz consisting of MCQs conducted on DoSelect. The topics covered were mostly Computer Networks, but there were other related subjects like DBMS, OOPS, and some programming consisting of output questions.
Tell us about the interview round 1 including the questions that were asked.
There was only an interview comprising both the technical and the HR round. For the technical round, they first asked me to explain one of my projects, and there was a little bit of cross questioning alongside. Then they got into Computer Networking for example they asked me about the difference between TCP and UDP and how the ARP works. Then they asked a basic question like what happens when we type www.google.com . There was one question in which I was provided with a range , and I needed to generate IP addresses within that range. Then I was also asked to give 5 test cases that will fail for a code, where I was able to give 4 test cases.
Tell us about the HR interviews, if any, specifying the number of rounds and questions asked.
For the HR round, the first question was what are my strengths and weaknesses. And also since computer networking is not a field in which most people are generally interested in, they asked me, “Why did I want to join them?” Because I had no projects that were actually indicating that I have my interest in computer networking. So, basically I had to convince them that I am interested in computer networking. Then they were actually giving much importance to what I understood about this role.
What would you like to advise juniors for cracking the technical round of this company?
First thing I’d say is you should have a good network because you can’t actually solve all the questions by yourself. Secondly, I’d say that you should have speed and accuracy which is the most important thing. Because You are asked to solve around 60 questions in 60 minutes, and some questions can take more time, so I’d say that one should have a practice of maintaining speed and accuracy.
According to you, what role do extracurricular activities as well as participation in societies play?
When you are engaged in extracurricular activities, you are exposed to various things and different kinds of people. It develops your communication skills because you interact with many people, plus it also boosts your confidence.
What message would you like to give to your juniors regarding the stress they go through during placement season?
One advice I’d like to give here is that don’t just focus on one particular company. Eventually, for example, if someone is not able to crack that company, they feel sad and underconfident. So I’d say to not focus on one company and always try to give your best and don’t think about the results. And honestly, just do whatever comes in your way, don’t think about the future beforehand and just keep working.
