SIT UP, PAY ATTENTION AND LISTEN.
WHY AM I FOCUSING ON JOBS, AND NOT ON START-UPS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
To be frank not everyone has in her/him what it takes to be an entrepreneur! PERIOD! You need much more than technical skills to start a business and more importantly to sustain and grow it over time. Successful entrepreneurs have those special talents that most of the ordinary folks lack - perseverance, due diligence, knack for research, understanding for potential market, team building, motivation, and most important NEVER-BACK-DOWN attitude even when beaten down and smashed and buried!
We may have a few of these for whole life or all of these for some time; but that's not sufficient. The markets may remain ignoring you longer than you can even imagine to sustain your zeal and that of your team. You may have drive, but you may lack resources, or you may have some urgent commitments towards your family to cater to. The reasons can be as many as there are people out there.
SO NOW WHAT?
The only way you can be prepared to face the music, face the challenge, face the fear when you graduate, is to skill up as much as possible in the whatever time you have left in your college days.
Some of you might have passed out of colleges this year, many more will next and so on.
JACK OF ALL TRADES!
The only way to learn is to read, practice, improve and then again repeat the cycle. During your college time become a GENERALIST - become very good in core subjects:
- Quick Math - Quantitative Aptitude, Logical reasoning, Verbal and Non-verbal reasoning, Data Interpretation and Data sufficiency.
- Data Structures,
- Algorithms,
- C,
- C++,
- Java,
- DBMS,
- Operating Systems,
- Computer Networks, and
- Computer Architecture.
Students who are landing jobs, or who will land jobs in future, are the ones who have mastered these subjects by the time they are out of II year of graduation.
IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOE.
Additionally some subjects that will really broaden your perspectives and sharpen your logical and critical thinking are beyond your domain, but really helpful:
- Statistics - a big help if yo go for research and Big Data and Data Mining
- Economic Theory
- Book Keeping and basic Accountancy- A must if you want to understand how businesses run and manage their financial affairs. Most number of IT Professionals are employed for BFSI clients. That's Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance.
HEY, YOU RUDE JERK!
You would need to simultaneously hone your skills in various SOFT SKILLS that are very critical in making the difference when it does matter.
Do you recollect any instance from your school or college days, when you thought you deserved to be most worthy of a gift from parents, a reward from teacher, a captaincy from the coach, or the award of most likebale student in the class, but were denied the chance. Instead you were pushed in the corner in favour of a another one!
Or the girl/boy you wanted to take out and make friends with but in place of picking you as their mate they chose some complete jerk!
Yes, that was soft-skills in play and in complete action then and there in front of you.
So what are these soft skills and why are they HARD to come by? Essentially, these are what you mostly have gotten impressed with in the first place! Yes, they are so easy to recognize and still we miss them all the time. Let's reiterate over the list here once more:
- Communication Skills - ENGLISH. You are in IT, remember?
- Presentation Skills - Making and doing PPTs.
- Dressing sense - most of you either wear them pathetically or are too much addicted to the selfie mode! Get rid of the oiled and soiled shirt and get a decent pair of trousers for yourself. Girls either a plain top+long skirt or plain salwar-kameez would do, if you are uncomfortable in uniform or shirts+trousers.
- Smell - Yes. by the time you are done taking the test, waiting for the result, see the PPT of company executives and outside the interview room, you have already sweat a lot. You are smelling awful! Yuk. Get rid of it. Wipe your face. Put some deodorant (not too loud please).
- Have a spine - Walk, Stand and sit straight. Do not fiddle with your dupatta, pen, button, papers, or tap on the table. Show them you want the job but are NOT dying for it.
- Look into my eyes - That's what every interviewer is singing to you. make sufficient eye contact and please do not stare at that pretty female HR!
BUT, WHERE'S MY INTEREST?
Apart from these pick up two (at least 2) more fields of study that you want to specialize in. These can be from any domain relevant in future (I can come up with only this little list right now):
- Machine Learning & AI,
- Embedded Tech.,
- Cloud Computing,
- Big Data,
- Data Mining,
- Mechatronics,
- Robotics,
- Communications Tech.,
- OR WHATEVER YOU CAN THINK OF.
Study some decent and recent research papers on the topics you are interested in, The are not expecting you to be a wizard from the day one. They do not expect that you are a boy/girl wonder like Harry Potter or Hermione Granger. But they also don not want to hire a sloppy ogre.
CONCLUSION
You can crack it. Yes you can. There is no denying good grades help, but only so much that you become eligible to sit for more opportunities than others. Once you are on the test table, waiting for the the question paper those high marks & grades would not matter much. What would matter is how well have you prepared. How much time did you complete the mock tests in, and how much more accurate you can be than your competitor sitting next to you.
When you face in interview - the butterflies in your stomach will fly with same ferocity as that in the stomach of the topper of your class. The one who could tame them will make the final cut.
The luck factor cannot be ignored and many things are out of our control. But the luck will finally favour the one who is prepared. When the chance is thrown at you, will you be ready to take a leap and catch it?
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