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Where to apply

~5 min

In short

Apply through two kinds of places: a company's own careers page, and job boards. The company page is the primary source. It shows the real requirements and the real process. Job boards are good for finding roles, but a posting there can be old or copied, so check it against the company's own site before you spend time on it.

Company careers pages

Most large companies run their own careers site with search, filters for location and experience level, and an application form. When you open a role, read two sections closely.

  • Basic qualifications. This is the list you must meet. Read it line by line and note the exact words. "Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience" means something different from "B.Tech in Computer Science".
  • Preferred qualifications. These are useful but optional. Do not skip a role only because you lack one.

Company pages change often. A role listed under campus hiring may close before you read this, and campus and off-campus tracks are usually separate. Check the page on the day you apply, and save a copy of the posting in your log in case it disappears.

Amazon's hiring page describes four stages: an online application, assessments, a phone screen and an interview loop. It also says the process "differs from role to role" (https://www.amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire, 18 Oct 2026). Expect the stages to vary by team.

For Google, the careers site has separate pages on how it hires and on interview tips. Open them yourself before you rely on them, because the text was not checked for this page.

Campus drives

If you are a student, your placement cell usually announces which companies are visiting and which branches and years they accept. Read the eligibility notice before you register. Some notices list degree, minimum percentage, and backlog rules, and these can differ between companies and between years. The non-CS branch page in the paths section explains how to check them.

Job boards

Job boards collect postings from many companies. Use them to:

  • set alerts for the role titles and cities you want;
  • compare how the same role is described by different companies;
  • find smaller companies that do not appear on the big company pages.

Watch for reposts. A posting on a board may be a copy of an older one, and its apply link can send you to a form that is not the company's. Confirm the company name and the role on the company's own careers page before you apply.

Reading a posting in four lines

Before you apply, write down:

  1. The role title and level (fresher, experienced, or not stated).
  2. The must-have skills, in the order they are listed.
  3. The location and work mode.
  4. Any degree or experience rule, and whether it allows "or equivalent".

Google's experienced India software postings, as mirrored on job boards, often ask for a bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience, plus years of programming experience. Amazon's campus postings name computer science, computer engineering, or a related field. The wording changes from posting to posting, so read the exact text in front of you.

Matching your record

For each target role, make a one-page list of your evidence. Put each must-have next to a project, internship, or course you can actually show and explain. If a must-have has no evidence yet, that is your next task. It is not a reason to stop applying to that company. Keep applying to roles where you meet most of the list and be honest about the gaps in your cover note.

Do not apply to a role just because the title looks right. Do apply when you can say, in one sentence, why your work fits that team.

Try this

What to do this week: Choose ten companies you would be glad to work for. Open each careers page, pick one role you partly match, and copy its basic qualifications into a document. Mark each line as "I have this", "I am building this", or "I do not have this". Use that document as the base for your applications.

Sources

  • Amazon, how we hire: https://www.amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire (checked 18 Oct 2026)
  • Google careers, application and hiring pages: https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/how-we-hire/ (not checked for this page; open it yourself before relying on it)
  • Google India software engineer posting, mirrored on job boards: https://google.com/about/careers/applications/jobs/results/122710813273137862-software-engineer (snippet, 2026)
  • Amazon SDE I posting, search snippet: https://amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2928007/sde-1 (2026)