Avkash Shah wanted to gain experience as a graphic designer and was keen on an internship at CRED, a fintech firm. Earlier this year, he had completed his bachelor’s degree in mass media and communication from Usha Pravin Gandhi College, Mumbai. He came up with an innovative way to apply for the role. Avkash created a 3D video of his designs and incorporated one of their taglines, “Not everyone gets it”. He shared the video on LinkedIn and tagged senior members of the CRED team. “I modelled my video on previous work done by CRED’s design team. I felt this would emphasise that I’d been tracking the company closely and demonstrate the skill set I possess as well. Creative applications should serve as a proof of concept rather than just an ordinary resume,” says Avkash.

Harish Sivaramakrishnan, head of design at CRED, responded on LinkedIn in the comments section of the video, offering him a position and welcoming him to the team. Not only did Avkash get his dream internship, but his video application went viral on social media and got more than 85,000 likes and comments. LinkedIn shared the post on its home page and lauded him too.

There are many ways students can get ready for the job market. Apart from subject matter expertise, employers look for good communication skills, teamwork, problem-solving skills, critical thinking ability, adaptability and flexibility.

Communication

“Sometimes students do not communicate effectively in the group discussion (GD) or interview rounds; some of them don’t speak up at all. They get eliminated from the process although they might have been academically bright students. So it is imperative that students who are weak in this area work on improving their communication skills,” says Gokul Santhanam, senior vice-president – HR at Mphasis and author of the book A Job Before Graduation.

Students can improve their speaking and cognitive skills by taking online courses at Coursera, Udemy, through British Council and so on. Learning through YouTube videos or following Ted Talks is another way.

Getting real

Students should take part in college fests, cultural events and competitions as much as possible. “I got involved in theatre as I wanted to speak out more, meet new people and get rid of my stage fright. I enjoyed it, and it also helped with my interviews as I had had practice speaking in front of an audience,” says Priya Shetty, who has done her BBA from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.

When students are involved in organising these events, they may be responsible for getting sponsorships or reaching out to celebrities, too. So, it would entail planning and organising skills, all of which are valuable real-world skills that one should develop.

Internships and volunteering add a great deal to a student’s profile. Many start-up firms are open to taking on college students as interns. There are also many sites such as Internshala, Forage, Talerang, through which students can get internships. “India graduates millions of students each year. Yet, our research shows that less than 10 per cent of them feel ready to take on their careers. Job-readiness programmes, internships and mentorships are essential to help students develop relevant skills for the job market,” says Shveta Raina, founder and CEO of Talerang.

Resume building

A resume should be easy to read and convey your qualifications accurately. It must have an overview of relevant skills, educational background, accomplishments and internship or work experience, if any. “It is important for a student to prepare his or her resume in the first year of college itself. This way, they will know where the gaps are and what they need to add to their profile over the next couple of years,” says Santhanam of Mphasis. There are many resume building templates available online.

Leverage social media

It is essential to have a presence on social media sites and job boards such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Naukri.com, Monster.com. A LinkedIn account allows you to showcase academic credentials, courses completed, projects, work experience, achievements and interact with industry experts and potential employers. It’s an excellent platform for networking. And companies often post their internship and fresher job vacancies on these sites.

You can get ample information about companies through sites such as Google, Quora, Glassdoor and Indeed.com — about what they do, their vision, major clients, work culture. You can also gain insight on how past and present employees feel about the organisation.