Campus Placement and Job Hoppers
’Man is selfish, brutish and nasty animal’ Thomas Hobbes said so long back. But civilized society don’t agree with his propositions although I do see these elements often prevailing in the behavior of people. Yet, I too coined a slogan ‘Be Selfish’ to push the thought into their mind that they should focus on their self-development, professional competency and care for their parent rather than wasting time on irrelevant issues.
Can we link ‘aspirations’ to ‘job hoppers? Why do people jump jobs – is it indicative of their unreliability or reflective of their negative personality? If so, why do companies welcome such people into their fold? The world is researching and talking about this now for decades. Let us restrict these discussions to the premature job hopping by freshly recruited MBAs/PGDM students. Some percentage of them leave their job in the first year itself. Many of them are reluctant to sign contract for a fixed three or four years.
Why should they leave the company even before completing their one year of service; how and why should a company give an experience certificate to such people? How can that be a part of their right? How can such people be welcomed by other company? Is this behaviour acceptable? What about the efforts, cost of training and investment made by the company on the individual? . So what to do? Few students spoil the image and perception about the institutes. And the relationship PAINFULLY built by the Institute is spoiled.
The campus placement process involves many productive steps: 1. Job Description sheet is notified to enable aspirants to understand the job profile. 2. Only those who are interested in the profile apply for the job and forward the CV. 3. Pre Placement Talks or thorough briefings takes place where the students get maximum opportunities to ask as many questions as possible to the company.4. Group Discussions take place and short listing comes up. 5. Then comes the one to one interview – some time with more than one panels. 6. Aptitude tests and other kind of process are also there. 7. Then the job offer is released and the individual sign it up. 8. After joining the company relative training is imparted. 9. Large number of companies are notified to the students to think and apply. Thus a PG student gets as much opportunity as he/she wants to think and then apply.
But, still, if the student wants to leave the company prematurely how should the Institutes deal with such a candidate? Can we say that an individual has a right to leave the company any time? What should the company say in the relieving letter? Why should a company revisit a campus where the students are incapable of taking matured decision? What are the tools in the hands of Institutes to ensure that they will be in the companies at least for a few years?
Therefore, behavioural training in the Management Institutes have to take eminent position. It is really a challenge. The conducive business environment do offer more opportunities. But the future belong to those who learn and work hard for long durations in the company. The MBA aspirants should come with a mindset of getting into the world of ‘loyalty, integrity and hard work ‘.
By Dr.(Col) A. Balasubramanian
Executive Director, BIMM
Dean, BITM, BIIB & BIMHRD
President, Sri Balaji Society