Modern-day India is a fast-paced growing economy, which is constantly evolving to become one of the largest marketplace & strong society.
The educational ecosystem is growing at an unprecedented pace & continues to grow.
Educational scenario in India
As per the report by IBEF, India has more than 1.5 million schools registered which have more than 260 million students on their rolls.
Currently, India has 751 recognized universities & about 35,539 colleges.
Higher education
India is on its way to become leading education systems in the world.
In the year 2016-17, 35 million students pursued higher education in India. India still has countless educational growth opportunities to explore.
AICTE reported, in 2013, more than 4,599 vocational institutes exist in India.
These provide students with graduate degrees, diplomas, postgraduate diplomas in various fields such as hotel management, infrastructure, architecture, technology, engineering, services, tourism industry & many more.
A total of 17.4 lakh students were enrolled & if the overall capacity of these colleges is to be calculated, in 2012, it was believed to be able to accommodate more than 34 lakh students annually.
According to the University Grants Commission (UGC) total enrolment in Science, Medicine, Agriculture, and Engineering crossed 65 lakh in 2010. The number of women choosing engineering has more than doubled since 2001.
The education & training sector is expected to see a massive growth trend in years to come as India shall be the country with a maximum tertiary age population & one of the largest graduate hub by the end of 2020.
Currently, the education sector in India is at almost $100 billion, however, it is most likely predicted to grow to US$ 180 billion by the end of 2020.
Hence in this blog, we discuss the about campus placement & tips to crack a campus placement interview.
What is campus placement?
In 2016, almost 799 professional universities had sprung up, wherein 49 central universities were brought into existence, 402 state-run universities, 124 deemed universities & 334 private universities.
Under the state act, 5 institutions were established & 75 further national institutes including IITs, IIMs, and NITs.
Almost 40,000 government degree colleges & private degree colleges were brought into existence with 1800 exclusive women colleges were established.
All this data though seems impressive, but this also means job placements need to be at its prime to employ so many aspiring professionals.
Hence the concept of campus placement started making much sense.
Campus placement is a hiring process that aims at providing jobs to students by conducting interview sessions within the college campus. These students might be studying or be on the verge of completion of a course.
Every firm has its campus recruiting policy, which may or may not differ from the rest.
Objective of campus placement
One of the key objectives for campus recruitment is to identify & acquire the best talent at an early stage to train them to be a strong corporate workforce.
It provides a strong platform to students who toil to get desired jobs & also cuts down drastically the time taken to find the right candidate in the professional corridors of the corporate structure.
Recent trends show declining participation of students in various assignments & training provided to them in their student years, this usually happens due to lack of awareness about benefits o these training & assignments in the future.
However, it’s important to understand that assignments & relevant training add to the skill of a candidate & thus provides an added value to his Cv.
Jobs after graduation in India
According to the 2011 census, a total of 8.15% of the Indian population are graduates. Chandigarh & Delhi being on top of the list with 24.65% & 22.56% graduates.
In a decade, i.e from 2000-01 to 2019-11, nearly 20,000 colleges sprung up, imparting education to almost 8 million students.
Looking at the job market in India presently, it can be understood that the job market is somewhat low. According to data by Trading Economics, the unemployment rate in India has recently seen an upward trend & increased to 8.5% in the month of October compared to 7.20% in September 2019.
Looking at these numbers, one can assume finding a job after graduation in India can prove to be a hard nut to crack.
Thus, the role of campus placement proves to be quite effective to employ the youth.
Good education, a reputed job & a loving family, isn’t this what most of us desire in life?
Role of career counselling
Although we might manage a good education but getting the desired job can prove to be tricky especially in a globally expanding market.
Upon completion of a professional degree, the real struggle starts, wherein an individual needs to fit in within the structure of modern-day corporate India.
Therefore, a lot of universities & colleges provide effective career counseling to students to guide them better towards making an intelligent & conscious career choice.
Career counseling is a method of using various personality & aptitude tests to provide insights about the best-fit job role for an individual.
Recent surveys suggest that most students have no definite path insight while deciding a future for themselves.
Here the role of career counselors becomes all the more important. Career counseling majorly focusses on giving a clear picture to job seekers about companies & various pros & cons of the industry.
This helps aspirants to make a clear & informed decision while choosing a career in a specific industry. Career counseling helps an aspirant to boost his/her morale & be aware of the skills they possess.
Every individual is different and possesses a unique set of qualities that makes them fit in a frame of a specific industry if not every.
However, it is important to pinpoint the right industry according to the skills one possess to ensure a long & prosperous future professionally.
Things to remember before appearing for a campus placement interview
Here are some pointers to brighten your chances of campus placement interviews
Keep your resume brief
While interviewers mostly interview many candidates during a campus placement drive, they cannot read detailed Cv’s.
Make sure that your CV provides all the necessary information in a brief pattern & is short & crisp.
Research about the company
Before your interview is scheduled to happen, make sure you have researched the company well.
This research shall help you to have an edge to understand what exactly are the company's workplace policies, atmosphere & what are the desired candidates they are looking for.
Dress professionally & behave professionally
One of the key attributes which shall make you stand apart from the rest is how professional do you sound & look.
This is usually something many of us tend to overlook, however it has significant importance.
During a campus placement drive, companies look for budding professionals who possess the right attitude to excel professionally with them.
A professional look & right attitude showcases how seriously do you take that specific interview and how much willing are you to be a part of the ethos of the company.
Talk sense if not everything
Understandably, a college student, who is about to get his degree would not have professional expertise in his/her field yet, but whenever asked technical or situational questions, make sure your answers are relevant & to the point.
Knowledge about your domain is the key here. Answer to the best of your knowledge & not vague answers.
Be prepared for any outcome
An interview doesn’t guarantee a job. This is something you need to remember before appearing for an interview.
Give your best but don’t be discouraged about the outcome. Disheartening can prove to be a fatal attribute in the professional world.
HR interview questions & answers
Here are some commonly asked questions during a campus placement interview.
1) Tell us about yourself?
This is one of the most common interview questions, so make sure you are confident while answering this question.
Since the interviewer already has your CV, so it doesn’t make sense to start with your name, qualifications, etc.
The interviewer wants to know something which is not on your CV. This question provides a candidate with an opportunity to openly talk about him/herself.
Talk about your professional plans, give a brief about any observations you have made on the website, talk about your skillset & how can it be relevant to them & so on.
2) What are your strengths & weaknesses?
Many candidates won't have any clue regarding what skills or qualities make them perfect for a specific field, however by asking this question HR’s try to understand if certain strengths are relevant to the field in a positive manner & if some weaknesses can negatively affect an individual. Evaluate your answers before you speak them out.
3) Where do you see yourself in the future?
Answer this question by keeping field specifics in mind. Don’t be unrealistic. Understand the growth pattern in your industry & then answer the question inappropriate manner.
Make sure you positively highlight your ambitions & convince the HR towards believing in your professional goal.
Read More
55 HR Interview Questions & Answers
To find the right job it important you strive for it & as rightly put; To go far in life, you gotta start early. Campus placement is your first professional step towards a career ahead.
This is a giant leap towards a transition from student to professional. A window which ensures a bright future ahead, if taken with the right attitude & with the right skillset.
So make sure you are well prepared for it & have opted for the right workshops, trainings, skills & internships to get the desired campus placement.
All the best!
