Placement Readiness

Get Ready For The Placement Season

Recently I was invited to a college where I had to interact with students who will be sitting through the placement process very soon. These days, because of macroeconomic environment, job opportunities are limited and therefore students were naturally concerned and wanted to make the most of every opportunity that comes their way. Post my talk, lot of questions came up and, in this article, I am highlighting some important aspects that will help final year students ace the placement opportunities better:

You V/s Others: Every college will have good number of students and a limited number of companies coming to recruit. How does one ensure to get a chance to standout? Trust me, while your college name and the course you are doing will probably get you an opportunity to get an interview, your selection & future success depends on your own uniqueness which is a combination of your past academic record, prior work experience (if any), your strengths and weaknesses, your attitude and your overall personality. Work on each aspect that will make you a better individual and makes you standout.

Brand V/s Role – A lot of students play significant emphasis on the brand name of the company especially at the beginning of their career. This is also because sometimes the students don’t comprehend the job role clearly or the job description is not clearly articulated by the employer. At the beginning of one’s career, it is important to understand the role you start your career because that’s what will help you learn more, do more and achieve more. I am not saying big brands do not offer enough opportunities, however, if a choice has to be made between a brand v/s role, make a selection basis the role and opportunity offered and not basis the brand you choose to work with.

Near V/s Far – Many times students take decisions basis the job location. For example, a students from north India may prefer to work in Delhi – NCR vis-à-vis in Mumbai. This is because, students think, during holidays, they can go home easily and without doing much expenditure. While this is a practical way of looking at it, never compromise a career opportunity because of location reasons. You never know what's in store for you.

Salary V/s Overall Benefits – Lot of companies offer different kinds of compensation and benefit structures some of which may not be very clear to students when they are about to take up their first job. For example, CTC is the most common form of salary offered and refers to cost to the company, which a company incurs when they recruit a candidate. This is always on the higher side what a candidate gets in hand or “Salary In Hand” refers to what students get post statutory deductions, taxes etc. Don’t just select a company because the CTC offered is higher. Look at the overall benefit structure – like medical facilities, leave, joining bonus, service agreement etc. before taking a decision.

Now V/s Future – Many time students may have to take up a job just because that’s what is available, however, they don't have any interest in it. For example, you may be a student of finance and when a bank recruits you, you may be placed in sales or business development. Don’t feel bad because you are from finance and not marketing. Do whatever is offered to the best of your capacity and if you do the job given well enough, you will have ample opportunities to re-align your career path later.   

A brief, version of this article in Hindi appeared in #DainikJagran earlier this week. Do check it out below:

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