May marks the end of academic life for many in the city. The next step is to look for a place where they can begin their professional life. But the thought of facing a panel for a job interview brings jitters to job aspirants.
Sharing his experience, Arvind Shah, who recently completed his Masters in Computer Science says, “I scored good marks through my Masters. I imagined myself placed in a decent MNC at a good post. But after trying for a few months, I gave up.”
Arvind decided to approach his lecturer who helped him find out where he was lacking. “My lecturer asked me to hone my soft skills so that I can present my answers properly during the interview. I am left with one more month of training,” shares Arvind, who feels much more confident now.
It is not only Arvind who feels so. “There are many students who can’t express themselves well during a job interview,” opines Zeeshaan Mehdi, from Glorious Mindmine, who has been training job aspirants for thirteen years now.
“There is no lack of jobs, but a lack of employability among the aspirants,” Zeeshaan stresses adding that in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, only five per cent of passed out students manage to get a job in the field they want to work in.
“Even the pay package that companies offer has gone down due to the same reason. Colleges play a major role in making students industry-ready. But they realised that need for a soft skills trainer only recently. They have a long way to go,” points Zeeshaan.
Mansi Malpani from First Impressions says that being able to market oneself is as important as having technical skills. “One should be able to put their thoughts across correctly to be able to impress the panel. For this they have to use right words. It has to be simple and clear,” she says.
Mansi also tells us that it is not only freshers that come to get trained. On an average, at least 20 working professionals approach her every month. “While one feels he is unable to communicate with his counterparts, another says his promotion has been stalled because the company thinks he won’t be able to manage a team as that too requires strong communication skills,” she says.
Agreeing with Mansi is Vijay Bidlan, who feels that though he possesses good managerial skills, he needs much more than that to be successful in his career.
“We have top-notch companies as our clients. I am currently working as a supervisor. I do manage to handle them with my limited skills, but my promotion has been pending for a few months as I am not fluent in expressing my thoughts,” shares Vijay who has now joined a soft skills training institute to improve his communication skills.
Nitya Nivali, an HR director at Progress, an IT software product company says while technical skills are priority while recruiting, communication skills are also equally important. “While recruiting a candidate, we make sure that communication skills are good enough; that he or she is able to put his idea across to his colleagues, subordinates and also when they have represent companies outside. Out of the candidates who come for recruitment, 75 per cent present themselves well,” she observes.
Apart from communication and technical skills, they should also show willingness to learn new things and should have positive attitude, Nitya adds while applauding the students who make an effort to go for internships while studying as it helps them be industry-ready.
Zeeshaan’s tips to improve communication skills