PLACEMENT SPECIAL.... Importance of Being Prepared

Importance of Being Prepared

Best way to brace yourself for the placement season on campus or off it—is by preparing thoroughly. A combination of knowledge, confidence, soft skills and leadership qualities will get you a dream job, writes

Placement season is one of the most crucial times for a student, who is expected to put the best foot forward to land the first job of choice. Most campuses take pride in narrating the success stories and leave no stone unturned to prepare the new lot. It’s important to know the legacies created by its alumni in the corporate space, and have a clear focus and an individuality to stand out in the crowd.

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis helps to identify strengths and opportunities while introspecting weaknesses and threats. One must begin by reflecting each aspect of one’s personality on the parameter of SWOT. Right from the hobbies to volunteering efforts, to the level of diligence or any flawed personality trait — everything about a candidate’s persona is evaluated closely by recruiters. Try taking a few career assessment tests to get more clarity about your own personality and skills.

After getting a good grasp on strengths, achievements, and interests, candidates must also explore other alternatives.

BUILDING THE RESUME

Resume encapsulates expertise and skillsets, which are basically a summary of one’s strengths on professional front. Therefore, building an excellent resume is the most critical step. Understand what the recruiters are looking for and make those keywords a highlight of your resume. Look for some interesting and cleverly-presented resume formats, layouts, fonts, keywords on the internet, to avoid making common mistakes. A well-structured, clean, clear, and precise introduction about a candidate is an indispensable tool. Always remember to update your resume regularly based on feedback and reviews received from faculty members, mentors, and colleagues.

HAVING THE RIGHT APTITUDE

One of the biggest hurdles for a first-timer is aptitude skills. It is important to brush up one’s aptitude to get through. These are tests quite like the competitive entrance exams consisting of questions about — quantitative and analytical skills, logical reasoning, data interpretation, and subject knowledge. Group Discussions enables a candidate to display the willingness to take initiatives. It shows one’s knowledge, ideas, expression and ability to exchange thought, leadership skills, coordination and listening abilities. It is essential to keep oneself up-to-date.

PREPARING FOR PERSONAL INTERVIEW

Be ready for personal interviews (PI) by creating and collating a list of commonly asked interview questions. Generally, it is the technical round aimed at evaluating the depth of subject knowledge. Many B-schools prepare students for this round, by conducting mock interviews. Next step is to conduct a proper research on the industry and companies one has applied for. Understanding the Job Description (JD) adds credibility to the interviewee thereby giving an impression of a productive resource in the long run.

Balakrishna Grandhi

educationtimes.com

TOI 22OCT18