English will speak for you in job market

College curriculum is designed with the ultimate goal of preparing students to face the challenges of the corporate world whose dynamics change every year. As a result students find themselves in the lurch in anticipating what a potential employer is looking for during the recruitment drives. DTNext takes a look at the core skills that students need to land in an ideal job.

According to Archana Ram, Director, Smart Training Resource, “Employability training must start from the first year of college. Today, many progressive colleges begin training students from day one on the skills needed to achieve employability.” “Recruiters ideally look for English language skills, aptitude, technical and soft skills. Many companies use English proficiency to eliminate students in round one,” adds Archana. Technical and aptitude skills also play an equally important role in obtaining a job. “Proficiency in English alone will not suffice. Companies follow the ELQ formula while organising recruitment drives: ‘E’ stands for English, ‘L’ for logic and ‘Q’ for quantitative reasoning. Students must pay equal importance to all three parameters,” advises Archana. 

Companies organise recruitment drives in such a way as to test a candidate’s credentials in all the above-mentioned skills. “Most companies will conduct an English aptitude test in round one. This will be followed by the group discussion which will test a student’s logical reasoning and problem solving skills. Students will then be required to take part in a technical test to assess the candidates’ knowledge in their respective subject matter. The last challenge will be the interview,” says Archana. One of the areas that students tend to overlook during their preparation is the soft skills.

“The corporate world is very different from what students encounter in their college life. Soft skills such as etiquette, interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, time management play an important role in the corporate arena. Soft skills play an important role in the interview session. Students must be well aware on how to draft a resume and the right way to answer questions during the interview,” adds Archana. Therefore, the training that they receive in colleges make all the difference in landing jobs.

According to Aravind B, a final year Mechanical Engineering student studying in Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering “Prior to the campus placement, the placement officer conducted a five-day training session. They brought in IAS and ITS staff to teach us short cuts and tricks to crack the interview.” In many instances students process the knowledge to crack the placement drives but lack the ability to apply what they learn. “As part of the training, we were made to revise simple subject content that we studied in our Class 10. We were taught to apply what we learnt in an efficient manner. We were also made to take part in mock interviews to get an idea of the questions that we may face in the interview,” adds Aravind. 

Apart from training that is provided in colleges, there are many apps and books to further aid the students in cracking the placement drive. “As part of my training, I made it a point to read books by RS Aggarwal, Dinesh Khattar. For logical reasoning I visited www.indiabix.com, which provides questions and answers with explanation for interview, competitive examination and entrance test. For the aptitude section I used the app aptitude tricks and solution which provides formulas and methods to solve solutions,” says Aravind.