The Engineering Fresher

Journey till the End of the Final Year of Engineering. The Dilemma that hovers around in the space of happenings and imagination. The year that parts you from your friends and leads you to an unknown world to find the stability as known by the society.

If you like to prepare for joining MNC companies, you can click on the below link. You can continue reading, the link would open in a new window.

Click here- Preparation Material for Freshers

Keeping it to the point, let's have a quick have quick walkthrough of what is necessary and what's not. 

Topics covered below are:

1. Skills needed
2. Job Search/Entrepreneurship
3. Language Proficiency
4. Better Decisions
5. Tuition/Coaching
6. Resume/CV
7. Interview

Skills Needed:

Skills play a major role in getting you a job. There are lakhs of Engineers produced every year against limited opportunities in the work sector. To differentiate the candidates, the companies use a widely known filter the Tier. Tier 1 institutions comprise IITs, NITs, BITS, Institutes of National Importance. Tier 2 refers to the state-level government Engineering colleges, Deemed Universities, New IITs, and NITs. Tier3 are all the regional Engineering colleges.

Companies prefer students from Tier1 and Tier2 institutions the most as they are skilled in what they have learned. 

To know what you lack as a skill and learn it:

1. Check the resumes on the internet of graduates from reputed colleges 
2. If you don't get one, check on LinkedIn. You could easily know the skills of any person that you want. If you are lucky, you could see resumes attached to their profile (they would have attached for visibility)
3. If you read a journal or research paper, read just one but do it thoroughly enough that you stumble upon a few points. Note it down wherever you get doubts. I did this while I was in college. I asked a few questions through mail to a Ph.D. scholar from Canada when I read her research paper in the journal from our college library. This way you get more insight and confidence in doing stuff.
4. List down all the skills you need from point #1 and point #2. Everything is for free. Learn from youtube, NPTEL, visit a workshop or industry, etc.
5. If you do the above, you are skilled enough to stand the competition.

Job Search/Entrepreneurship:

Although I am new to Entrepreneurship, I can say a few points about it though.

However, let's start with how to search for a job opportunity as per my personal experience.

During the 4 years that you spend in college, do a ritual.

The ritual is about collecting contacts wherever you go.

Be connected to them on Fb/Whatsapp/Telegram/LinkedIn/Instagram any of those.

Register for exams like 

AMCAT, eLitmus

You could get a call letter based on your performance in the exam.

Online job portals:

Create a profile on job portals like 

naukri.com, monster.com

Important note: Be active on these portals and be up to date every day. This might help your profile get filtered in the priority list chosen by HRs.

There's a reason why candidates from Tier3 colleges get a salary below 15k/month as a fresher.

According to the Government of India, companies have to bear the responsibility of compensating the family or dependants of the employee if the employee's salary is above 15k/month. This comes under the EPF (Employment Provident Fund) of GoI. Hence the reason for a typical salary of below 15k.

Few companies offer a tender to contractors who employ engineers on behalf of the company. As the work depends on the contractor, the salary is given on a contract basis. That means you would receive no salary slip from the company for the period you are working on a contract basis.

Most companies consider monthly salary slips as proof of experience when one plans to switch from one company to another.

Entrepreneurship:

If you are well to do, you are good to start your own business. There are tons of resources for your help.

Many entrepreneurs have learned from the company they worked in and started successful businesses.

I would suggest starting small and growing large. If the idea is strong enough, you could approach Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Investors.

If you don't have the capital for investment, you could use your skill if you are good at painting, coding, animation, and being a freelancer. Few of the freelancing websites are freelancer.com, upwork.com, fiverr.com, etc

You could start a blog, vlog, or youtube channel and monetize it.

Investing in Mutual Funds and Stock Market is another best option. Presently, just 20 million people in India invest in the Share Market. You are good to go if you learn and invest.

Language Proficiency:

Communication is the key to success. 

Let's see how language changed the whole world.

It was the day when Russia (then USSR) sent the world's first satellite into space in the year1957.

As we know of the cold war between the US and the Soviet Union. The US was shocked by space supremacy after the Soviets launched the satellite into space. It took a quick step to change its Visa policy and invite all the global talent to the US. As English is a widely spoken language the US benefitted with strategy while Russia and its Russian language could not implement such a plan. Hence we now know what is called the USA- the superpower of the world.

Good English communication is a must. Since we haven't developed our regional languages with technical terminologies, we have to be clear that the only language of corporate communication is English.

How to improve English?

You could improve your English by not speaking but listening to it first. This is how you learned your mother tongue when you were a child. I will share my strategy with how I learned.

I used to watch a clip of Hollywood movies with subtitles and then try to listen to the same by repeating the clip without subtitles.

I also recommend you to watch 'Rachel's English' youtube channel. 3 months is more than sufficient if you just have one video per day.

Better Decision:

A better decision-maker plans his way considering threats and opportunities.

Many a student find it difficult in making the right decision.

It's usually seen that the government job aspirants spend a good time preparing for competitive exams after their engineering. Few grab the seat while others keep on learning. In this phase, they get emotionally drained and the confidence doesn't drive them as it used to in their initial days of preparation. This happens because of the family expectations, financial challenges, time gap. 

This is a situation where you do not actually do not know if to continue preparation or join a company as a fresher. The latter option doesn't impress you or the plan of studying further.

If you are from a middle-class family better go with your job. Join a company as a fresher, gain some experience. In free time learn about the exams, topper's strategy, preparing on weekends (also enjoy by going out and watching movies)

In research, it was found that while doing a challenge 15% of the credit goes to the hard work while 85% of the share goes to confidence in your success.

If you are already an experienced candidate, you can switch to a company after a short break from your exams. There is no do-or-die situation. You will be fully confident to crack the examination.

Tuition/Coaching classes:

There is a big reason to discuss this point at least from a personal point of view.

There is no need for any sort of tuition classes during your engineering at all. 

Have you seen American/British students going to tuition classes? Never!

Most of the schools do not give assignments for home. So the students keep their books in school and go with a book or two to school every day.

The reason why tuition classes are famous in India is:

The competition between parents across the street.

Harvard University research says that 95% of Indians do not have self-confidence in what they do.

This is the reason Indians do not win medals in Olympics, Olympiads, Oscars, etc.

Sharing my own story,

I have scored 1/25 marks in Mathematics while I was in Std 8th in school. In 10th Std, I turned it to 98/100 in the SSC Examination. Earlier I wasn't able to write a simple sentence in English correctly. But that's not the case now. I forgot the mugged-up speeches on the stage several times. Now I am on my own to deliver a speech. The only thing in my mind is to be self-reliable. Even the seminars, projects during Engineering are my own research topics and not copied from the Internet. I could proudly say that. I haven't gone to any tuition classes ever. I used to think if I understand what is written and had online resources then what's the need. The only problem could be English if I don't understand textbooks.

I would suggest you gift a book or gift an online course to a poor kid. If you are interested and love what you do, you do not need tuition. If you are not happy, doesn't matter what you earn all your life coz happiness is the wealth of mind.

Resume/CV:

To the point-

• Don't add more colors and unwanted designs to your resume. For you, it may belong period of hard work but to HR it's just another Resume so he has to understand your content easily.
• Do not write Resume on the Resume
• It is not necessary to mention certification if you are good at some skills. Please keep a copy if you have mentioned it just in case.
• Do not write your name in large fonts. It should not seem like you are claiming your property.
• The cover letter is good but optional.
• If you are attending an Interview in some metro city, mention your friend's or relative's address from Pune. HRs have a tendency to underestimate candidates from remote areas without evaluation.
• Experienced candidates usually prefer CVs. Freshers can also use it.
• Try to keep a sequence: academics, skills, projects, extracurricular. A good record in academics shows you have the ability, skills to show that you have enhanced your ability, projects show how you applied your enhanced abilities in a real-life scenario. Extracurricular gives a picture that you are enthusiastic and have confidence.

Interview:

DOs-

• Always keep resume printout handy. Do not rush for print just before the interview.
• Iron your clothes.
• Take some juice/ready-to-eat items with you. It takes longer than expected. Sometimes interviewers do it intentionally to test your patience.
• Be what you are.
• If the interviewer misses asking question-related about something you are good at, ask his permission and let him/her know that you have that added skill as well.
• If the interviewer asks you if you have any questions to ask, do ask.
• Be confident and communicate well. Most of the HRs have columns in their sheet for confidence and communication. Do not relate communication with fluency. Communication is if you are able to explain what you intended to express to the interviewer.

DONTs-

• There is no predefined way of introducing yourself. Do not mug up your introduction.
• Do not wear a blazer to an interview unless you are a business studies graduate.
• If it's raining heavily or you have a wound on your leg, do not wear shoes. Kindly inform the reason.
• Keep your mobile phone on silent mode or flight mode (not on vibrating mode) 
• Do not blindly believe the person who has been interviewed just before you.
• Do not mention the expected salary in the interview if you are fresher.

That's All Folks!

Have a great day

If you have any queries or suggestions, please write to me at

kiran.elkunchwar@engineer.com

Whatsapp: +917219620777

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