Campus Placements : Ensure You Don't Remain Unplaced

E

M

I

did not get the brand management role in FMCG sector with a

CTC of at least

`

25 lakh in Mumbai…..” and the list is endless.

This is what we are most likely to hear from a majority of unplaced

students at the end of a placement cycle if we ask this simple ques-

tion, “The company was willing to make an oer, but you declined!

What role were you looking for?”

Don’t be surprised with this discovery because, unfortunately,

these cases surface during every placement cycle when students are

left unplaced due to their failure to distinguish and identify the impor-

tant and the not-so-important attributes of their ideal job. You need to

keep in mind that you are one out of nearly two lakh CAT aspirants,

and not everyone will walk away with the exact dream role that they

have in mind. You should be mentally prepared to compromise on one

or more of the components of the dream role that you have set for

yourself. However, this does not mean that you should stop aspiring

to get your dream company, role, industry, package, or preferences.

While it is good to be ambitious, it is equally important to have real-

istic expectations that are in sync with your capabilities, experience,

educational background etc. There are a number of tools like psycho-

metric tests and other analytical processes to gauge your interest and

competence and map them to find out the suitable job profiles based

on your areas of interest and expertise. You can make use of these

tools to understand your areas of strengths, weaknesses, liking, dislik-

ing etc. and accordingly leverage on your strengths. While utilizing

these strengths, you need to identify a career path, but, remember,

don’t remain rigid about a specific role and look at an array of oppor-

tunities aligned to your job profile.

“

1

M01_Campus Placements_C01.indd 2 8/29/2016 5:42:01 PM

Expectation Management 3

The following example will elucidate the points discussed so far.

If you are famished and dying to eat something, you have two

choices. The first option is that you look for your favorite non-

vegetarian Panzanella pan pizza with thin crust and your choice of

topping. Given the fact that you are famished and are in dire need to eat

anything to survive, being that specific would be foolish. The second

option could be that you are open to exploring various menu options

of your interest, for example, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Continental

etc. You may further like to zero down on one or two broad cuisines

and then select from the dishes being oered on the menu.

The above example lays emphasis on the fact that while looking

for career opportunities, you need to be pragmatic and keep your

choices as open as possible. This is because a broad array of choices

oers unlimited opportunities to choose from. In contrast, narrowing

down your choices to a specific role may restrict you from consid-

ering various career options coming your way and, thus, limit your

growth opportunities. There is a thin line of demarcation between

being focussed and being rigid. The next real-life case situation will

help you better understand this dierence.

INDUSTRY BYTE

Make a career choice which is in sync with your

dreams of doing and contributing, and you’ll

never regret it in your life. Choosing a career

according to your personality and dreams would

keep you motivated throughout your working

life and make you give the absolute best you

possibly could.

–Prabbal Frank,

Psychologist, Career Coach

2

}

2

Prabbal Frank, “Choose a right-fit career for yourself ”, Education Times, The Times of India, Febru-

ary 8, 2016 (http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/index.aspx?EID=31808&dt=20160208).

M01_Campus Placements_C01.indd 3 8/29/2016 5:42:01 PM