Mr Hirendra Badhiye was in ISME Bangalore for a Guest Lecture on 7th April 2012. He is the Vice President, Employee Resources Northern Trust.
As it is high time for campus placement in ISME, there was a guest lecture on better preparation for placement. Before giving tips and suggestions for successfully performing in an interview, Mr. Badhiye talked about the current demand for MBA graduates in the industry today. He said “It is absolutely necessary for everyone to carve a distinct place for oneself in this highly competitive industry” The talent and skills should not be restricted only to the domain area knowledge but one should also be a multi-tasker and should be familiar with working in virtual teams.
An interview is the most crucial gateway to get into a desired organisation for a desired job profile. He stressed on three most important factors that an interviewer look for in the candidate, that are- competence, motivation and the right fit. Almost surprising to most of the freshers, he also mentioned that an interview is also about influencing the suitable candidates to accept the job. Hence, he proved that an interview is a two way communication channel and also an information sorting model.
Keeping things very objective and crisp, he mentioned all the competencies that companies look for in the interviewees. Intellectual horsepower, positive attitude, practical approach were some of the qualities, those were most highlighted. Passion for technology and negotiation & conflict management were also given equal preference.
While facing an interview, the candidates must have a thorough knowledge about the company they have applied to. Apart from that, the skill of answering the soft questions should also be developed. These questions should be answered without any conflict with any other part of the interview. While talking, one should be extremely conscious of the body language, posture, pitch of the voice and the facial expressions.
Mr. Hiren while giving the list of soft-questions advised the students to go prepared with the answers to usually asked questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “Why did you decide to interview with us” etc.
Group discussion and the importance of one, was discussed in the latter half of the lecture. He gave some tips on how to conduct yourself in a group discussion. Being assertive and never losing your cool in a GD works best, he pointed out.
The interaction with the students led to further discussions on the subject. It was a very crucial session for the students because of the coming up campus placements.
By: Neeti Thakur
President, Literary Club.
ISME, Bangalore