Students’ Speak: Crisp resume is the best way to impress your recruiter

Few tips & tricks that can help leave an impression on recruiters during placement drive.

Placement drives have already started across all the top management colleges in the country. Placements also require a student to be prepared in advance. Here are a few tips and tricks that can help you prepare for the placement:

Research about companies: Do your research about the companies visiting your campus, about their history, their vision and mission, the services provided by them and follow them on LinkedIn to get the latest updates about the activities done by them.

Recruitment procedures and intake: Every company has its own recruitment procedures and processes, get to know the procedures from their official website. If you are unable to find them, make sure to contact their recruitment team in the contact information provided on their website or through LinkedIn. And about the intake, it is always better if you can check with someone from the placement cell or from the alumni working in that company if they are aware of these activities as you would be conscious of the likely competition to be faced.

Prepare for Aptitude: This is going to be the first obstacle to land your dream job. Give enough time to prepare for the aptitude test, starting at least a couple of months before your actual tests.  A lot of people fear the aptitude tests, where you have to deal with quantitative, verbal and logical reasoning, but it is very easy to crack. Practice a lot leading up to the actual test and you should be perfectly fine.

Get your basics right (Technical): A lot of people have a tendency to ignore this but this the important selection process of all. Everything goes for a toss if we tend to lack the basic knowledge of the subjects that we have studied during the yesteryears. Make sure to dust off a bit about your basics before the technical tests.

Make a crisp resume: A crisp resume is always the best way to impress your recruiter. Statistics say that recruiters hardly have less than a minute to go through your resume, during the selection process. Always go for a one-page resume and make sure to highlight your achievements and your skills.

Groom yourself and be presentable: Appear confident and have a positive attitude. You will be tested for not just what you know about your area of expertise but also for how you carry yourself. Always wear a formal dress for the interview. Act matured and always carry a smile on your face. Don’t be modest and Stubborn.

Frequently-asked Interview questions: Prepare for commonly asked questions in the interview such as introduce yourself, what is your strengths and weakness, your long term and short term goals, questions to the interviewer (always prepare a question or two to discuss with the interviewer). Prepare for the beginning (first three minutes) and the end (last three minutes).

Sharpen your communication skills: Communication skills are the second most important thing after education. Indian job market demands people who can speak and write correct English. A lot of people get unnecessarily rejected just because they are not able to express themselves. Reading a book /newspaper, watching Hollywood movies are a few easy ways to improve one's language. Rehearse what you want to communicate in front of a mirror and then note down your mistake and correct it the next time.

Prepare a portfolio: Prepare a portfolio that can showcase all the projects handled by you, to help the interviewer identify and understand your technical skills. Be creative in preparing your portfolio as it is one way of showing your recruiters how creative you are.

Handle your stress levels: It is always good to have some stress before the interview day as it sometimes brings the best out of a lot of people. But anyways take a long deep breath and keep yourself composed and do not show your emotions on your face (be like Dhoni).

Placement cell and its activities: Yes, Thiagarajar School of Management (TSM) does have a placement cell under the guidance of the chairperson K. Vignesh. TSM’s Career Development team enhances and equips the students with the knowledge and skill to compete in the corporate world and ensures that every student of TSM is corporate ready.

Here are the few activities which are provided to the students of TSM

• Mock GDPI: Here at TSM, students are given rigorous training before their campus placements to enhance their interpersonal skills and confidence at the time of interviews and group discussions.
• Managerial communication: TSM students are trained from the time they set foot in the institution to communicate professionally both written and oral.
• Awareness programmes on Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT): To measure the required skillset for a career in finance BAT is used. Students of TSM are given awareness and tips on cracking BAT for those who aspire to be someone in the field of F
• Discussions on contemporary issues: TSM ensures students are up to date with current affairs, politics, and business through group discussions, case studies, etc.
• Awareness about Diploma in Banking and Finance (DBF): For students who aspire to have a career in banking and finance, students are made aware of this course and interested candidates are asked to take up the course to develop their skills and competence in the advanced areas of finance and banking.
• Hands-on practice with statistical software: With the wave moving towards business analytics, students of TSM are equipped with the latest statistical tools used in the corporate world.
• Industrial visits and interactions: Academics set aside, TSM provides students with industrial knowledge through industrial visits and interactions with eminent personalities from that field.
• Interactions with alumni on placement and summer internships: Networking is the key to climb the ladder of success. TSM’s alumni relations provide the students to see the real world through the eyes of the people who have crossed the same path as them.

About the Author:

Kabila is an Engineering graduate, now pursuing his MBA at Thiagarajar School of Management. She has work experience of two years.