Dreaming about a bright life & career, or at least, imagining it to be better than the present is perfectly human... and everyone deserves it. I genuinely believe that my dear student friends who have set their sights on Placements are the ones who deserve this even better. Surely enough, we have crossed the dreams or imagination part. What we need now is a lot of action , that is clean and clear thinking and practice. You have reached a stage of Life wherein YOU matter more than others... 

Not surprisingly, the following quote looks all the more relevant:

The best way to predict the future is to create it.” (Abraham Lincoln)

What YOU can do better, should not be left to others... And YOU are perfectly in the right time & right shape  to carve out a career ... 

As the recruitment season draws near, a lot of action sets in... and hence, a lot of communication is expected...

Now, we need to carry forward this shared responsibility and  get the best possible preparation that time and communication can give us.

And the best way to prepare is to open up the mind...Have less filters... free learning areas and methods from boundaries and comfort zones...strong likes and dislikes.... It's a open world and why should Learning be any different...

Last Saturday,workshop on Employability and Trends in Technology was well timed and well-intentioned. Hence,was a great learning experience for all of us. It gave us something new, novel and refreshingly different... More than that , it helped us to make sense of the Importance of a Job Interview ,especially the First one . There were many things we may have shared or experienced so far in our preparations , in classes or in other interactions... But they also have value in bringing about clarity and a sense of self belief. In that perspective, I happen to be the one to have benefited the most.I appreciate the sense of purpose, enthusiasm and inquisitiveness displayed by you all in the session.   We can easily guess that companies such as TCS  are so serious about getting the right employees..with the right skillset as well as mindset.Please find below some of my observations from the TCS workshop on Employability and Trends in Technology conducted yesterday in our institution.

Takeaways:

In the beginning, the resource person tried to spell out the true meaning and portent of Employability by making some practical observations/demonstrations by involving the participants. And luckily for all of us , saying to us that the problem is with un/underemployability , rather than unemployment.Then he went on to outline the Industry expectations in terms of skills, behaviors or attitude as given below:

• Technical skills

• Attitude

• Flexibility

• Adaptability

• Leadership/

• Professionalism

• Leadership

• Communication skills- Body Language, Vocabulary (rather Words) & Paralanguage

• Unique representation

• Dynamic re-prioritization

If I may elaborate a bit, in Technical skills, focus must be on a few basics of core subjects, Any Programming language (at least C) and a clear understanding of project work.
While answering any question, we must always draw the attention of the interviewer towards the important things that we do/have done, mostly focusing on the problem solving done.Always remember that an Interview is a game and one that could be tricky, challenging or enjoyable depending on our ability to self manage.The most important thing to remember is that our experience of an interview needs to a test and manifestation of our uniqueness. Remember, being different is the surest way to be recognized.
In this regard, one must use sound different and unique in Hobbies section, by displaying ones other than run-of-the-mill (Often repeated) options.However, individual discretion is required, as one must be thorough with one’s own Hobbies.Then, He elaborated the above parameters as follows:On Communication focused on improving active listening skills as well  as making effective use of body language. 

Next, advised all to inculcate active reading skills, mostly for developing a clear understanding of the contemporary technology trends and issues(like, Internet of things,internet.org, cloud , Robotics,green energy,Data analytics, Big Data etc...).On writing skills, the focus must be on clear, concise and effective writing skillsThen, the speaker asked all to be tactful while negotiating challenging/difficult questions and use polite and active enquiry techniques without completely giving up.gave out a few common questions to be expected in Interviews:

• Questions about yourself/ career goals/why any company?/ strengths/weaknesses

• If you were an interviewer, what would you expect in a candidate?

• Are you creative/team player/a leader

• What are your reading habits/about books and authors

• Why do you want to join X company?

• Ask the interviewer a question.

 Finally, the speaker highlighted the focus areas in Technology:

• Cloud computing

• Business analytics and optimization (Big data)

• Social commerce

• Personal devices in enterprises

 Next blog shall focus more on the practical aspects of Interview preparation.In the end, we need to understand that to be understood well by others, we need to understand ourselves first. Hence, be your own leader.
And most importantly, remain positive all the while during the interview process.

“It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.” (Carlton Fisk)

Expecting nothing less than the best from you allBYeeee