Day 3 — How to Use AI to Prepare 10x Faster
This is the last free day of the course. Tomorrow we go deeper.
Today is practical. No theory. Just exact prompts and workflows that save you hours every week during placement prep.
The rule before we start: AI is a sparring partner, not a ghostwriter. Use it to practice and understand faster. Do not use it to avoid understanding. The interview has no AI. You do.
The Problem With How Most Students Use AI
Most students use ChatGPT like this:
"Explain binary search"
ChatGPT gives a long explanation. Student reads it. Feels like they learned something. Closes the tab. Forgets it in two hours.
This is passive learning with extra steps. It does not work for interviews.
What works is active recall — being forced to retrieve information from your own memory. AI can create that experience if you use it correctly.
For Aptitude Preparation
Wrong way:
"Give me aptitude questions on time and work"
You get questions. You attempt them. You check answers. You move on. No real learning happens because you have no stakes.
Right way — The Examiner Prompt:
You are a strict placement examiner.
Give me ONE time and work problem at the difficulty level of TCS NQT.
After I answer, tell me if I am correct and show the solution step by step.
Then give me another problem that tests the same concept differently.
Do NOT give me the answer before I attempt it.
Start now.
This forces you to actually attempt each problem before seeing the answer. The AI acts as an examiner, not a solution book.
Do 20 minutes of this daily. It is more effective than solving 50 questions from a book with answers visible.
For DSA
Wrong way:
"Explain how to solve two sum problem"
You read the explanation. You think you understand it. You go to LeetCode and cannot solve it. This happens to every student.
Right way — The Socratic Prompt:
I want to understand the Two Sum problem deeply.
Do NOT give me the solution. Instead:
1. Ask me what approach I would use first
2. After I answer, ask why that approach works or does not work
3. Guide me with questions until I arrive at the optimal solution myself
4. Then ask me to explain the time and space complexity
5. Then give me a variation of the problem
Start by asking me my initial approach.
This is how the best coding teachers teach. The AI becomes a tutor who pulls answers out of you rather than pouring them in.
For Technical Interview Prep
The Mock Interviewer Prompt:
You are a senior engineer at Infosys conducting a technical interview
for a fresher position. The candidate has listed Python, SQL, and Java as skills.
Conduct a 10-question technical interview.
Ask one question at a time.
After each answer, give brief feedback (correct/partially correct/incorrect)
and then ask the next question.
Vary between conceptual questions and practical questions.
At the end, give an overall assessment.
Start with the first question now.
Do this once a week. Treat it as a real interview — no googling mid-answer. Type your answers as if you are speaking them.
For HR Interview Prep
The STAR Method Trainer:
I am preparing for HR interviews at service companies.
Give me one common HR question.
After I answer, analyse my response for:
- Whether I used the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
- Whether the answer sounds genuine or generic
- Specific improvements I can make
Then give me the next question.
Start with the first HR question.
The key word here is "genuine or generic." Generic answers — "I am a team player who loves challenges" — get you rejected. The AI can tell you when your answer sounds like everyone else's.
For Understanding Concepts Quickly
When you encounter a topic you do not understand, use this:
Explain [concept] to me as if I am a fresher who has heard of it but never truly understood it.
Use a real-world analogy first.
Then explain how it works technically in simple terms.
Then show me one concrete example with actual numbers or code.
Then ask me to explain it back to you in my own words to check if I understood.
This four-step pattern — analogy, technical, example, explain back — is the fastest way to go from "heard of it" to "can explain it in an interview."
For Resume and Portfolio
The Recruiter Eyes Prompt:
I am going to paste my portfolio project description.
Imagine you are a recruiter at TCS who has read 200 resumes today.
You have 8 seconds per resume.
Tell me:
1. What you noticed first
2. What was unclear
3. What impressed you (if anything)
4. One specific change that would make you spend more time reading
Here is my project description:
[paste your text]
This gives you genuine feedback from a simulated recruiter perspective rather than "looks good" from a friend.
What Counts as Cheating
Be clear about this boundary. It matters for your development and for ethics.
Fine to use AI for:
- Explaining concepts you genuinely do not understand
- Practising problems with immediate feedback
- Generating mock interview questions
- Getting feedback on your answers
- Understanding why your code is wrong
Not fine to use AI for:
- Solving assignment or assessment questions during actual tests
- Writing your resume bullet points without understanding them
- Submitting AI-generated code as your own project in interviews
- Having AI answer interview questions you relay to it
The reason is simple. If you use AI to avoid learning, you will fail live. Interviews test you without AI. The preparation must match the test.
The 3 Tools Worth Actually Using
Claude (claude.ai) Best for: Extended conversations, nuanced feedback, explaining complex concepts, mock interviews. The memory in projects means it remembers your background.
ChatGPT (chatgpt.com) Best for: Aptitude practice, quick explanations, code debugging. Widely available, reliable, good at structured tasks.
Perplexity (perplexity.ai) Best for: Research with sources. "What are TCS's actual hiring criteria for 2025?" gives you cited, current information rather than trained knowledge.
Do not use all three for everything. Pick one and get good at prompting it well.
Your Action Item
Pick one area where you are weakest — aptitude, DSA, technical interview, or HR. Use the exact prompt from that section above. Do 20 minutes today.
Do not switch areas until you feel genuinely stronger in the first one. Depth beats breadth in placement prep.
What Comes Next
Day 4 is where the practical advice gets specific to your situation as a 2025 fresher in the AI era.
We cover: Why your portfolio matters more now than it did two years ago. What to put in it. What to leave out. The exact structure that gets recruiters to spend more than 8 seconds.
This is where the course goes from general to personal.
Day 3 of 15 — AI Survival Kit for Engineers
Days 1-3 are free. Days 4-15 are part of the full course — ₹50 one-time.