WHAT NEXT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PLACEMENT OR CARREER ?
PATHI. P . V., LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, BELLARY ENGINEERING COLLEGE, BELLARY - 583104 Email : pv.pathi@yahoo.com
At the end of the 3rdsemester all Management students will fasten their seat belts and get set for their careers to take off. They will find that they do not have much time to celebrate the completion of their 3rd semester examinations. With campus placements round the corner, every student’s eyes will be on the placement cell and the profile of companies coming in.
Campus placements assume a greater importance and criticality for all the years. With an unstable job market in the face of global recession and constant rumours about job cuts and downsizing students will find themselves in a tight spot. Placement agencies say that for fresher’s who do not get through placements and land up in he inexperienced category, the job market will be rather dim. Several companies are reportedly looking at cutting costs and they may try to reduce training costs by focusing on hiring experienced candidates. Some experts say that the stakes for students going through campus placements just got higher.
SUITABILITY In my view, students in the final year must try their best to get through in the campus rounds because they will later find it very difficult to get a job. Once out of college they will compete with experienced candidates and with the job market in a slump it will be extremely difficult for them to make it. Further, several placement agencies confirmed this trend and advised students to give the campus rounds their best shot. Placement officers from top colleges also voice the same concern and though the number of companies which have promised to visit their campuses in July has not declined, they fear that the numbers they recruit may be on the lower side. The campus placement rounds usually involve following: >aptitude test > a group discussion > a personal interview.
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Some companies may avoid the Group Discussions, but the personal interview which may feature technical as well as HR questions is mandatory. Companies, based on their profile and requirement, will look for different sets of features. While product development based job profiles will look for aptitude and soft skills, the service-based job profile may emphasize on sound technical knowledge. With several companies working in line with a global market, especially in product development, companies look for good communication skills and efficient writing and presentation skills.
FIND A WAY Initially find how good your soft skills are; the aptitude test is without doubt your first and most important hurdle. Though several institutes offer aptitude training, experts say that the best thing would be to solve as many papers as possible. Some experts say that students can also study from books that help train for CAT and solve puzzles. According to top executives of many companies, the skills required are quite similar: Analytics, Reasoning, Data Interpretation and so on. Students must practice as many papers as possible. Puzzle books by authors such as George Summers and other eminent authors will give you an idea of what to expect. Several websites provide question papers (with answer keys) of various company entrances for free download. By the by seniors are the best database in this matter. Talking to them gives you an idea of exactly what each company expects and what can be done to tackle those tests. Even with interviews, each company sticks to a certain pattern. If you do your homework you will be able to face these interviews with confidence. However, several of these websites are unprofessional and may provide wrong answers and guidance. CONTACTS HELP Students can also put up their resumes on job portals well in advance. HR persons say that students are often irresponsible and do not even bother to write a covering letter which puts off the recruiter. Talking to your teachers and networking with students from other colleges will help you a lot. Students must try making their brochures and taking things into their own hands instead of waiting for their college. It will be easy for them to network with other colleges and set the ball rolling. Internationally, students run placement procedures on their own and do not depend on the colleges. Colleges in Karnataka in general do very well in terms of placement. Expert placement officers feel that students must concentrate on clearing the aptitude test. Academic records matter first and personality and communication skills are equally important. STRONG WILL 2
Today on Academic side, which is important - a rank or the percentage? Compete with yourself to better your scores each time. Always aim should be, to be good at your work. Hard work makes one better than everyone else. There could be several reasons for someone not being selected for a job. One may be that he is not suitable for the job he applied for. If he is not being called for the interview itself, it could be that his CV has not been written effectively. Then, contact a person who helps in CV writing. On the other hand if he is being called for the interview but failing to get through, here are a few tips one could keep in mind: >Prepare him by having at least one practice interview that anticipates the obvious questions.
>Improve spoken/written English >Research the organization and the job. This will give more confidence to face the interview. >Wear appropriate clothes, which make one look smart. >An interview is a social occasion – handle it in such a way that one should make the interviewers feel comfortable. Basically one needs to enjoy the interview. >Do not give long winded answers, which could bore the interviewers into losing patience. >It is better not to negotiate salary and working conditions at the interview (unless specifically asked). This could be done after you have actually been offered the job. >Make sure that one has appropriate skills set. For e.g. many want to get a job in a call centre but fail to do so as their communication skills are very poor. Marks, percentage, the college you have graduated from are not the only criteria for being selected. Please look at the overall picture.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WISH YOU ALL THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Finally I thank Dr. T.Thomas, Director, Department of Management Studies, Bellary Engineering College, BELLARY – 583104for inspiring me to publish this paper.
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