Making the right career move can be complicated when students, especially those in professional courses, reach their final year. There is a pressing need to provide them with assistance and guidance.
How do you make an informed decision; choosing the right job from the multiple opportunities is tricky. Certain elements or factors need to be weighed before zeroing in on the ‘right’ job offer.
Firstly, it’s important to decide which factors are important to you. For most budding professionals they are salary, location, job profile and career growth.
There are also some basic factors you must consider about the organisation you want to join. It will play a great role in building the foundation of your career.
First is the business structure of the organisation: business stability, financial performance, products and services, etc. The financial performance can be easily gauged if you follow news updates on quarterly results, stock price and annual performance. Awards won by the company and their ranking show their scale and stability. Regular revamp or introduction of new products is indicative of strong R&D and innovation. This shows their emphasis on constant improvement – a common factor among successful companies.
Next, you need to factor in the cultural elements: how well will you fit in? Will you be able to work well with others?
Take a close look at the organisation’s HR policies especially on flexibility options, employee engagement measures, rules on ethical practices and compliance framework. Top organisations are very focused on providing the best workplace environment for their employees and will have specific policies and rules aimed at ensuring a proper work-life balance. Companies having specific initiatives on diversity and complaint redressal mechanisms place a premium on ethical working and rank high on employee satisfaction as well.
And there should be clarity on the career progression path of the offered position and the average tenure. There should be a defined growth path for the role within the organisation. The opportunities for training and skills development, rewards and recognition, and internal job change will help strengthen your career as well as keep the learning and development going.
Students will have to be patient, and should evaluate their own capabilities – both technical and soft skills. They need to take feedback from mentors to enhance these required skill sets. It is very important to work on the following aspects which will play an important role in the final selection process for any corporate interview:
• Developing interaction skills
• Building an effective resume
• Writing a great cover letter
• Developing a job search strategy
• Using the job search tool
Last but not least, be updated with market knowledge to ensure a smooth campus-to-corporate transition.