Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Day 5

The venue for the interviews has been shifted from the main building (Academic centre) to the executive housing (from today onwards). This has two objectives -

1. The number of students who are still in the process has come down
2. If interviews are still being conducted in the main building, then it attracts a lot of attention and the students who are still in the race are unnecessarily pressurized

This is a very good move.

Coming to the companies which took part today... the biggies are DRL, DSP ML, Fortis, Genpact, Honeywell, Intel, Pfizer, Sony, Suzlon... and many others.

Many students who have already secured jobs have gone to their hometowns for cooling off. On the other hand it’s very disturbing to see some of your classmates still in the fray... This section can be split into two kinds...

1. People who know where they want to go. These are people who are at least focused and are confident that in case they are not able to secure a job here, they would chase their passion outside. I am very confident that these guys will surely secure a job in the next couple of days

2. People who have become so desperate that they would try their hand at any company... be it pharma, banking, PE, real estate, IT... anything. This is disturbing.

I met up with one such student yesterday who was waiting for his turn for attending one interview. I happened to pass by and wished him best of luck. He had no clue what the company is into, why he wanted to join them, what are the roles they are offering... nothing. I as a passive stock investor knew more about the company than him. This is totally unacceptable. If this is the level of preparedness, no doubt he will again miss this job.

If you are not clear about where you want to go… that is forgivable. But if you do not even do your basic homework before going for an interview, i am not sure what will ever motivate the recruiter to give you this job.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very informative indeed...u surely are acting like Sanjaya and keeping the tempo going...a lot of other isb bloggers have gone to sleep after getting offers..was following isb placements for the last couple of yrs.....such transparency is refreshing.. otherwise a lot is swept under the carpet..helps prespective applicants get a birds eye view of wat to expect..

keep going or posting shud i say!

Anonymous said...

I've been following your blog for a long time. It's objective and honest, attributes I deeply value.

I'm sure you'll get the job offer you desire, though I can only imagine the kind of pressure you must be going trough. A real test of conviction and character.

Do you feel the expected recession might be having an effect on corporations being tight fist with their compensation packages?

Rangarajan said...

Hi Anonymous 1,
Thanks for stopping by

Rangarajan said...

Hi Anonymous 2,
You are right. The subprime and the fear of US recession has clearly impacted the placements (at least a bit).

This is felt especially with the finance companies. Many of these companies had earlier registered and have failed to turn up for placements or have reduced the number of candidates they would take..

Thankfully, the indian companies are still not affected so much and thats helping us..

Yi Bhopal said...

Hi Ranga,

I am very curious now as to where you will go ...... Have a feeling you will join the PE bandwagon and be my competitor!! ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Ranga,

Thanks so much for all the effort you are putting. Ranga, I have got an admit (R2) for the class of 2009 and was banking on a good scholarship. Unfortunately, the schol offered is very less and I don't think that I have the resources to go all the way. Have been thinking really hard.....would also call the fin aid office and explore the options....any suggestions from your side would be welcome???

Rangarajan said...

Hi NK,
The cat should be out in a couple of days..

Rangarajan said...

Hi Anonymous 3,
We can chat up.. you can send me a mail at rangarajan.krishnan@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Ranga, it is me - Anonymous 3 - have just sent you an email...