Source: E-mail dt. 1.1.2012
Mr. Khagesh Agarwal
DE
Shaw & Co.,
This article is the third one in the
row, discussing a little on the placement process when you are nearing the
completion of your MBA course. Before I begin, let me warn the readers that I
am not a head-hunter who has been a part of the recruitment process for a firm,
but definitely have been on the other side (applicants), and as a matter of
fact, have seen the process very closely. This article would shed some light on
what the recruiters are actually looking for in a potential candidate.
Generally, any good corporate would
begin the recruitment process by shortlisting the
resumes of the applicants, followed by a written exam (not always, though),
followed by a GD and a PI. The written exam will typically test you for your
analytical skills, logical reasoning and verbal ability, pretty similar to the
patter followed by MBA entrance exams like CAT and it’s
like. However, a difference in the case of a recruitment process will be that
there will be questions from the field which you are applying for, say for
e.g., a marketing research co. may include a small caselet,
while an analytics based company will probably give you some data and access to
MS-Excel to analyze and interpret the data.
After the written exam, the next
step is generally a Group Discussion, where topics may range from current
affairs, an abstract topic (like ‘the
number 10’) or at times, any topic worthy of a debate. In any GD, we must
be very clear with the thumb rule that we are giving our opinion to lay ahead a
constructive discussion, and not a
debate. Essentially, we are not supposed to take a stand whatsoever. Recruiters
generally look for spontaneity of thought process, how well we are able to
contribute positively to the discussion (am
I a team-player), whether or not one is capable to lead the group to a
consensus (leadership abilities), and
not to mention, communication skills and soft skills.
After the GD comes a Personal
Interview. Now, that’s what I call a leveled playing field where an applicant
has the freedom to bring the ball to his court and get to speak on areas where
he is most comfortable. Generally, a PI will begin with your introduction,
typical HR questions like why do you want
to join our organization’,’ what are your strengths and weaknesses’ etc.
You are, almost every time, asked to walk through your resume, so mentioning
anything in the resume without having concrete knowledge may prove to be
detrimental. In most situations, we are asked something which we have no clue
of but at the same time, we are expected to know. In such situations, my
typical approach has always been “Sir, I
am not very sure on the answer but if I am allowed to make a guess out of my
level of understanding and intuition to some extent, then I believe that given
the recessionary trend re-emerging in the developed nations, and India’s
resiliency as proved during the sub-prime crisis, the effect would be minimal,
since our national growth has a greater dependence to the domestic demand when
compared to foreign demand…. and so on.” A real life example of my campus
recruitment process, where I was facing the interview panel who were from the
top-management of the organization, essentially a hedge-fund, and with me, the
other interviewees were people having diverse work-experience prior to joining
MBA, with additional degrees like CFA & FRM, I knew for sure that it’s
going to be a tough fight and I was happy that I was able to make it to the
interview. I used to be interested in the technical analysis of stocks and all,
so I was expecting at least one question on that front, but sadly it didn’t
happen the same way. However, I was asked that if I had a sum of 100 Million,
and I were to allocate among various investment avenues, what would be my
allocation, and there, I knew I can speak on and on till I was stopped. So I
began with the crude percentage allocation across stocks, term deposits, and
commodities like gold, silver and copper, and began explaining the
technicalities in the price movements and the interdependencies such that each
asset class would provide a hedge against the others in some way or the other.
I kept on speaking till I was asked to stop, hilarious. After joining this job
profile, and during a course of interaction with my interview panelist, who
happened to be the Associate Director heading my team, upon my inquisitiveness
to know the premise on which he selected me for the job and my performance, he
told me that generally, during the recruitment process, they look for
candidates who have the following qualities:
-
Have a strong and clear vision, why
are you applying for the job and whether this will lead you towards accomplishment
of your long term career aspirations
-
Strong knowledge of the basics of
what you are studying, as for e.g., for a finance profile, knowing basics like
accounting principles, journal entries, capital budgeting techniques,
definition and types of derivatives etc. would prove to be handy. From a
marketing interview, 4P’s of marketing must be known and Please, Please, Please & Please won’t be of any help. During
the induction process of any organization, the new recruits are generally
trained on the business processes, and the knowledge of the basic managerial
concepts would be the building blocks.
-
Seriousness about what you have been
doing since you’ve joined your course, as, if you are not serious about your
course, then you can’t be expected to be serious about the next step, the job
which I would be offering you.
Of course, a good academic record,
good projects and credible past employment history always comes in handy.
However, don’t ever attempt to answer something you are not aware of, as the
questions are asked to test your knowledge so it is a known fact that the
interviewer knows the answer to the questions he has asked.
Coming to the crux of the article
now, you may be thinking that these steps seem fairly easy to me. Success in an
interview depends on the above few factors I have tried to outline, and
reaching the interview is a function of the success in the GD, which will come
from keeping abreast with the general happenings around you and clarity of
thought, which comes from reading and interacting with your colleagues in
fruitful discussions. Reaching the GD is a function of your performance in the
written examination, which essentially tests you on your clarity of the subject
and your basic skill-set. Getting selected for the written exam, as a matter of
fact, depends on whether your resume meets the basic shortlisting
criteria, your academic record and past work experience (if applicable, generally during campus recruitment, it is not a
required factor but does carry a certain weightage). Good
academic record will only come with two things, one, seriousness
about what you are doing, and second, as my mentor always says, knowing or
working upon knowing one’s purpose of life.
Get
the first step right and you reach the solution to the problem, get the first
step incorrect and the entire problem gets way too complicated. The choice is
always yours, my friend!!!