Your most enviable educational qualification will become even more useful if you tailor your profile to industry requirements. Consider the advertisement where the mother is afraid of the caterpillar but the little son strategically places it in a jar. He modifies the jar into an adapted shelter and tames his unique pet ‘pintoo.’ So know the real world and chalk your strategy accordingly.
[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Tip # 1: Upgrade yourself and stay ahead of the crowd”]
Apart from gaining technical knowledge, which varies little from one engineering college to
another, students must strive to educate themselves on those skill sets which we believe are critical differentiators for success in today’s dynamic environment: Effective communication, inter-personal skills, multicultural literacy, global awareness, creativity, self direction, problem solving, decision making abilities as well as time management.
The challenge lies in keeping oneself abreast of the latest trends and mastering the ability to adapt to changes in order to stay ahead of the crowd. This is only possible if an individual’s thirst for excellence is strong enough and there is a genuine readiness to learn.
—Kamini Prasad, senior vice president, Consumer Business
Group, Centum Learning
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[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Tip # 2: First impression is the lasting impression!”]
Achieving success in the workplace is closely associated with the ability to communicate. Being a subject matter expert alone does not suffice. A number of work challenges and constraints arise due to improper communication. More often than not, none of the young people gives much thought to this important aspect. They aspire to become successful professionals through their superior technical skills, often not realising that their sub-par communications skills can pull them way down the rung.
Thus, to bridge the gap between being qualified academically and being market worthy (employable), each individual needs to take stock as to how much he is able to communicate freely while expressing oneself anywhere and anytime
—Vasanthi Samuel, manager-communication training, C3i Support Services
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[stextbox id=”info” caption=”Tip # 3: Keep an eye on the projects that directly impact the business on the ground”]
Good education and a large young workforce are what set India aside from the rest of the
world today. Both of these advantages need to be channelised well to help us sustain this edge. When these two meet, what you get is ‘employability.’ Employability is fast becoming the most-desired edge in the education sector today. There have been several studies conducted to ascertain the positive influence that the institute, state, industry and individual can create to develop better employable students. Each of these entities plays an important role in achieving this goal.
The focus on curriculum is to gradually align it to the projects that directly impact the business on-the-ground
—Gautam Awasthi, general manager-marketing, Electronic Measurement Group, Agilent Technologies India
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Simple technical skills are no longer effective. Hard skills alone won’t take you anywhere. Soft skills like interpersonal skills, e-mailing capabilities and presentation skills are assuming greater importance with each passing day. The factors that make a candidate attractive are his ability to drive results not only through his technical abilities but also through his sensitivity towards people and understanding of the larger market dynamics. So brush up your soft skills to catch the market.
Remember the quote “effective communication is less of what you know and more of how you feel about what you know” by Dale Carnegie. Add to it efficient time utilisation factor. We normally judge people professionally by the way they speak and carry themselves—that is, the way they communicate with their surroundings. Stands to reason therefore that when you are looking at honing your skills for a possible employment opportunity, these are the things which you should pay attention to.
