What companies look while hiring freshers – a complete guide for placement

Campus placements are around the corner, and various universities have already started the placement drive. The students have been gearing up for their interview process with the placement season approaching in many colleges.

Many companies come to universities to hire fresh graduates through the campus placement process. But to ensure that the students can get through most of the interviews and manage to get an offer letter, they need to keep in mind a few simple things.

Here is what placement cell heads from various universities and colleges and human resource professionals suggest to fresher. 

Learn from the internships 

Various human resources officials and the faculties of the college/universities suggest that the students should keep in mind the feedback and learning they receive during their internships. Through internships, they get an understanding of the industry,    

“In two years, of course, students go for two industry internships, I think, that’s a lot of experience which gives them a strong foundation while appearing for a placement,” said Dr Ruchi Kher Jaggi, director, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.   

The other officials from the human resource department also second the thought. “If a candidate has done the course well, understands the bandwidth of the subject, and has done industry internships,” said Naurien Saifi, Recruitment Specialist at GI Group, a human resource agency. 

"Students get understanding exposure which is very clear to the recruitment team. Students should focus on internships and subject knowledge,” Saifi further added.

Guidance from the industry experts  

Colleges and universities that have dedicated placement cells suggest that to prepare the students for the placement process they arrange regular interaction of the students with the alumni who have been working in the industry for years.  

Dr. Ruchi Kher Jaggi said, "There are working professionals who interact with students regularly to make them understand the working scenario.”  

Many colleges even conduct a portfolio evaluation, and mock personal interaction with industry experts which covers not just a subject matter, but students also get first-hand experience for interviews.  

Going beyond academics  

Recruiters stressed the fact that these days they look more into the diversity of the candidates’ profiles than the mere academic background. While academic scores are equally important, students who have focused on additional profile building always get some advantage.  

“A candidate should be active enough to take part in online courses which are available for free on the internet, this gives the idea that the candidate is eager to learn. Even if they don't have experience in the field but they have the agility and the ability to learn,” added Saifi from GI Group.  

She clarified that if someone has to be hired for digital marketing then the companies look at how many online courses the person has opted for. Such things help the company in getting an understanding of the candidates who are interested in taking part in the project and have a decision-making ability apart from subject knowledge. 

Focus on soft skills  

Employers asserted that nowadays it is equally important for candidates to build on their soft skills while preparing for the jobs.  

Chirag Jain, Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, mentioned that apart from candidates' subject knowledge they go for soft skills. “As organizations’ do indeed require talent who are ready to work from day one, they must at the same time be prepared to handhold their recruits and carve out career paths for them to grow in the company."

He stated that even the companies hiring from elite institutions like IITs and IIMs, tend to check the soft skills of the candidates too.  

Their module of recruitment ensures that the candidate has hard skills and soft skills which they can use when they run into any challenging situations.  

“While hiring freshers, we look for what skills they have and how can they handle the pressure. There are three rounds of interviews in which we assess the candidate not just based on skills but also cultural behaviour. Later we trainee them accordingly,” added Jain.