Engineering students across the City are preparing to face the placement season.
With companies looking at aspects besides subject knowledge, it’s important for students to equip themselves to crack the interviews. Metrolife interacts with experts, who dole out helpful tips.
Every college has a placement record and students must be cognisant of companies which frequent their colleges.
Along with this, just as they put in hours of hard work for the exams, it’s important to dedicate four hours a day to preparing for interviews a month in advance.
“Practising for the aptitude test, particularly for the numerical ability and the analytical reasoning, will give students an edge over others,” says Ameen-e-Mudassar, a career counsellor.
While many students tend to take the first year lightly, they might get startled by basic questions during the interviews.
“Making a good first impression during the HR round is extremely important. And half the battle can be won with a good CV.
While some students tend to overload their CVs, others hardly put in any information. A right balance has to be struck because the CV acts like the identity of a person,”explains Ameen, adding that being clear about their role in the final-year project is also important.
While many students have technical skills, they sometimes lack soft skills. “First and foremost, students have to learn to express themselves during interviews.
For this, a lot of prior preparation is required. Unless they work hard on polishing their skills, they will not get the job,” explains KR Venugopal, principal of University Visveswaraya College of Engineering (UVCE).
He adds that many times, the problem lies with colleges themselves since they do not guide students.
“Students tend to be low on confidence, which proves to be a hindrance in grabbing jobs,” he adds.
Encouraging them to improve their soft skills, Venugopal also suggests students seek the advice of their seniors.
“Talking to seniors will give them an idea of what should be kept in mind during an interview. They can also find out the pattern of questions in the aptitude test,” he says.
With some colleges having begun the placement season recently, authorities say that even mass recruiters are picking only those students who are able to bring in value addition.
“We have had six companies who have come in the last two weeks and we have noticed that the mass recruiters in particular are being choosy and cutting down on the number they are hiring. Hence, there is a lot of emphasis on quality,” explains Varun Melanta, director of MVJ College of Engineering.
Many a time, students fake their resumes, which lands them in a mess. It's more likely that those who are projecting themselves just the way they are will walk away with the job.
Roshan, who recently completed engineering from MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, says, “Placement officers are well-trained to detect any discrepancy.”
He also adds that many students have multiple job offers and it is important to choose the right job wisely.
“Students must be focussed on what kind of job profile they are looking for and what their long-term goals are before zeroing in on the job,” he explains.
