Problems and Issues in the - Student Placements

[ganeshbala]

Problems and Issues in the  - Student Placements

The task of filling up vacant positions in an organization is extremely important and must be done right in order to get the best people to work for you and take the Company forward with their skills and dedication.

Companies have been using a variety of methods to employ and select personnel to work for them and Campus Recruitment is one of the newest methods used by most Companies today.

What is Campus Recruitment?

Campus Recruitment or Campus Placement has become a popular and commonly used method for selecting personnel in an organisation. In Campus Recruitment, Companies / Corporate visit some of the most important Technical and Professional Institutes in an attempt to hire young intelligent and smart students at source.

The most significant fact about Campus Recruitment is that instead of the job seekers approaching employers, the employers come to the most suitable prospective candidate with a job offer. It is common practice for Institutes today to hire a Placement Officer who coordinates with small, medium and large sized Companies and helps in streamlining the entire Campus Recruitment procedure.

The term Campus Recruitment refers to the system where various organizations visit to the college (campuses) to recruit bright youngsters to work for them. Students, who are keen on beginning their professional career as soon as they finish studies, find the opportunity knocking at their doors. They can thus get the training and acquire professional skills immediately after college. This is good opportunity to enter the job market as entry otherwise becomes difficult.

NEED FOR CAMPUS RECRUITMENT

Campus Recruitment provides a platform for the organizations to meet the aspirants and pick up intelligent, committed youth who have the requisite enthusiasm and zeal to prove themselves. In order to find the right candidates, organizations employ various selection procedures. With the growth in IT/ITES industries, the need for talented and self-motivated young people who can work tirelessly has grown. So organizations do not confine themselves to only the select institutes but spread their net far and wide.

Campus recruitment has also spread from professional colleges (like engineering) to colleges offering general degrees like B.Com, B.Sc, etc. Organizations seek to pickup the cream from different colleges. Hence, students from most good colleges now have a favourable chance to join a reputed organization without having to scrutinize diligently the 'wanted' columns.

Now one also needs to understand why it is that corporate are beginning to lay a lot of emphasis on campus recruitment. In today's world it is a war out there. A war to hire the right kind of talent. Capable and hardworking manpower is the best asset that any company can have. And the company that manages to hire and retain the right kind of talent can hope to best its rivals in the market place. Hence the importance of Campus Recruitment.

It is easy for companies to reach a particular college and conduct recruitments there rather than reach out to a whole lot of individuals via newspapers etc. Now this trend is here to stay. It therefore makes a lot of sense to be thoroughly prepared for the Campus Recruitment by the companies.

Need for preparation: In order to find the best possible placement, students, good or mediocre, need to put up their best. While more companies are now recruiting one must realize that the competition has become stiffer. It must also be borne in mind that organizations do not want to compromise on quality, as the salary offered is good. So, even good students need to polish their speed and accuracy, through regular practice and thus give a credible performance.

Benefits of Campus Recruitment:

To Colleges

* Attract more employers.
* Increase in placement percentage.
* Quicker placements.
* Higher compensation packages.
* Enhanced college brand image.
* Reduced burden on placement office.
* Reduced cost of placement initiatives.
* Attract more students.
* Greater student satisfaction.

To Students

* Quicker placements after graduation.
* Better remuneration packages.
* Improve self-marketing skills.
* Enhance career planning knowledge.
* 24x7 access to career counselors.
* Large choice of job opportunities.
* Build career in area of prominent skills, interests.

To Employers

* Improve hiring speed and efficiency.
* Reduce administrative costs of hiring.
* Attract greater response to vacancies.
* 24x7 access to college.
* Overcome geographical barriers to recruitment.

Problems in Connection with Placements:

* Except a few most of the colleges do not have placement cells.
* So many colleges have not appointed qualified and experienced Placement officers so far.
* Students with rural background do not posses communication skills . So they are not being selected.
* Companies are focusing only on Metros and City colleges and they are not coming to remote colleges for campus selections.
* Corporates are depending on recruitment (placement) agencies for hiring fresh people. The expectations of some of these agencies are not feasible to colleges.
* Some of the reqcruitment agencies are resorting to unhealthy practices by taking money from the colleges and students.
* Severe Competition among colleges

Measures Required:

* College managements should have tie-up with industries while starting their courses
* Colleges may earmark some amounts in their annual budges for the placement activity.
* Colleges should form alumni associations and annual alumni meetings need to be arranged to support placement activity.
* Career portal services can be utilized by the colleges to improve their placements
* Universities may conduct Job Fests by inviting various companies to one place to help the students of the affiliated colleges.
* Universities also maintain the data base of the students of affiliated colleges and disseminate the same to prospective employers.
* Colleges should create placement cells and appoint placement officers exclusively to look after placement activity.