Fact-1: Institutes often apportion blame on the Placement Officers for a poor show on placements, whereas an underlying cause could lie elsewhere. Let us humbly recognise the fact that building core competencies and sustained grooming of students lies squarely with the Deans, HODs and faculty.
Fact 2 Reputation of HEI is a critical factor to attract companies to campus. Rightly or wrongly, it is built around NAAC level, NIRF rank, types of companies clamouring for the Day-1 slot, median salary, faculty quality, students’ merit on admission, academic and physical infra, particularly labs. A number of repeat companies also consider how has been their experience with the students hired in the earlier batches.
Fact 3 Placements are economy and market-driven, and are specific to individual companies. Institutes must therefore continue to add as many new companies as possible to their placement portfolio.
Fact-4 Location of HEI matters to a significant degree. If institute is in the rural setting and away from industrial hub, it requires a very strong industry outreach eco-system.
Fact 5 Networking with the Head HR and top leadership of industry is extremely rewarding. It matters a great deal to reach out to alumni occupying higher positions in industry and research labs for internship and placements. This is so well leveraged by placement teams at FMS Delhi.
Fact 6 HEIs preparing students, well in advance for placements makes a big difference. It greatly helps to know in advance, job descriptions and skill-sets needed by the visiting company. Advance information on the types of tests students would be expected to face would facilitate focussed preparations.
Fact 7 It is a stark fact that companies look for candidates having well fortified knowledge of fundamentals in their core subjects and know how to apply the same in real-world situations. Students who demonstrate analytic and innovative thinking, problem solving and can demonstrate skills in the fields relevant to company, get past others who can’t. It is a fact that nearly every company likes student endowed with a superior communication skill. I know some of my students who having cleared IAS Main, succeeded in interviews by a sheer spell of convincing elequence. Quite a few companies look for multi-skilled and well-rounded personality. While a CEO of MNC during 2007-2008, I had urged Head HR to give due weight to such a choice. I had liked to hire students who had done well in professional societies, sports, hobby clubs and other extra curricular activities. I found them good employees who could learn faster and adapt to a change, easily.
Fact 8 It is a bare-bone fact that companies give preference to students having distinctive achievements in research endeavours, foreign immersion, projects and ideas developed to a stage of patent, prototype or product. These are digital times. Working skills in AI and data analytics matter. General and peripheral knowledge shall fall flat. It is a fact that students who might have CGPA of 7 or so but open to learning, innovating, challenging status quo, and passionate in leading a team get noticed far easier over those having CGPA of even 9 and above but without fire in their belly to apply knowledge and excel in the real world.
