Landing the right job
COUNSEL
| The summer internship season has just begun in your management school. You have readied your resume and companies have started trickling in for the usual hiring rounds. How do you ensure that you land your dream internship? |
| Recalling those hiring days during his consulting stint in one of the big five firms, Ganesh Shermon advises: "We typically look at the quality of projects and other work that they have done at B-schools. Importantly, the students' participation in industry projects is given a lot of weightage and we try to understand their performance from the industry guides who were assigned for these projects." |
| So if you have done some short industry assignment before the internship, then be ready with some industry guides who can vouch for your performance. Adds Shermon: "We also look at their application oriented intellect. Any intellect or knowledge that cannot be applied has no value." |
| Rajan Saxena, Director, SP Jain Institute of Management Studies and Research, says: "Domain knowledge is one area where students goof up during the interviews. Many a times companies ask them questions on brand management and students are simply not aware of the current happenings. |
| Another goof up would be in the area of not being able to handle the problem that companies give them. Many times they are unable to demonstrate the abilitTTy to carry the team along while solving some of these problems given by the interviewer. These are areas where the campus can't do much. This has to come about through a lot of self-reading and finding ways to enhance self-learning." |
| The other more relevant attribute that companies judge during the internship interviews is the soft skills.Those who do not possess this could be a no-no for those "sought-after" consulting jobs. "Some individuals may be standalone contributors but they get confused while working collectively. If they are being hired for consulting assignments then their ability to build relationships and deep sensitivity to environment and diversity is also looked at," says Shermon. |
| Though number-crunching and reasoning ability is important this alone may not be enough. Confidence, communication skills, initiative-taking mindset and execution ability also determine one's s uccess. Says Ashok Pundir, Associate Dean, Placements, NITIE, "The first impression for the employer arrives from the confidence that a candidate exudes. If that does not click then everything else goes haywire." |
| Above all, integrity is a must. Lying should always be avoided and while describing a project students should never take a credit for somebody else's good job. "Project only what has been done. Don't overplay," he warns. The ability to carry on a conversation that is removed from the world of Drucker and Kotler, also helps in striking an initial rapport with the interviewers. |
| Prof Subir Verma, MDI Gurgaon calls it the "co-curricular activities" and advises students to read ke "Good To Great", "Built to Last", and "Can Elephants Dance?" |