Getting the right placement

Getting the right placement
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So what does it take to land the right job in your college placement? Experts share secrets on how they hire freshers Purnima Sriram The...

So what does it take to land the right job in your college placement? Experts share secrets on how they hire freshers

Purnima Sriram

sucess2The enthusiasm of educated youth finds its fullest expression when youngsters with divergent career dreams, differing aptitudes, varied courses of study, and individual attainments discuss placements. Placement is something that today's student thinks is the summum bonum (high point) of college life.

Of course, placements are important from the standpoint of the student as well as the college. If a student has an entrepreneurial streak or is the scion of a business magnate, it is Okay if he or she is not bothered about placement. For others, however, placement becomes a consuming passion so much so that they end up losing out on learning and realising this 'lesson' only when it is too late.

Whether the college persuades a company to enter the campus for placements or a company chooses to pick a college, a lot depends on the students themselves. We often find that students, in their misplaced enthusiasm for a job, miss out on the bigger picture - of a sound career - and for which their learning in college lays a strong foundation.

Speaking about recruitment trends during placements, P R Ramesh, Chairman of Delloitte, says: "About 100 million jobs have to be created in the next two years for the country to progress and develop. It's a huge challenge. There is a huge gap n making it happen. When hundreds of students are appearing for placements, we select only a few of them. In fact, they are chosen in single-digit numbers, which is not encouraging. Students should learn to distinguish between jobs and careers.

While recruiting, one common thing I have observed is that when we ask them on what are they here for, they answer is that they need a job. Sure enough, he/she gets rejected, because he has no perception about where he has to go and has no career path in mind. They lack clarity. This shows that he /she is the product of an institution which did not create awareness in the candidate on where he/she has to go and what they have to do," he says.

sucess3"When we look at a fresher, we look at three elements - how they think, behave and other elements such as confidence, communication skills and motivation. We don't expect them to be perfect, but we look at their thought processes. Those from IIMs and IITs are preferred because they have core native intelligence which every student should develop. The ability and willingness to learn, problem-solving skills and technical knowledge are part of the first element. In the second element, we look at the passion the candidate has for work. The energy, enthusiasm, responsibility, perseverance and, more importantly, focus he brings to the career," he adds.

The Chairman also voiced his feelings about dealing with the Gen Next, which is known to be self-willed, different and tech-savvy. "The Gen-Y believes in multi-tasking, social networking and is also fragile in many aspects. We need to re-visit our learning methodologies. To bridge the gaps, there are six things to be done - periodic revision of curriculum, strategic course in partnership with the industries, soft skills, internships, case-based teaching and learning, and industry orientations. These should be practiced for enhancing students' employability," he opines.

Ravi Kiran, Assistant Director, FICCI, says that today's students and college managements have two mindsets; either they want to create theory out of practice or practice out of theory. "The first lesson that should be taught to students is to learn and gain knowledge, but not focus on getting jobs. We are putting pressure on the students by talking to them about jobs which have a negative impact on their academics. They should follow the model called GIST (Government, industry, students and teachers).

sucess4The government should ensure that there is industry interaction with the students and the teachers. A fresher expects Rs 7 lakh per annum. His/her attitude towards life and things around too matters," he says. "Hyderabad is in the danger zone when it comes to placements and employability. There are four objectives to revive and re-align the system - Joint research, add-on courses in their curriculum, internships and then stands employability options," he suggests.

Prema Tata, who works with Career Analysis, a US-based job consultancy firm, says that there is a dire need to empower students. "Career management skills, soft skills matters a lot for students, apart from technical knowledge. They should know about how to present themselves, communicate and convey the right message to the recruiter. The college should not just impart theoretical and technical knowledge, but make them industry-ready by training them on the industry requirements," she says.

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