Being a marketer by background, I believe in the golden rule of ‘Customer First’. The campus recruiter role is no different. The talent here is brimming with enthusiasm, ideas and energy to make a difference. My role presents me with the opportunity to offer the right launchpad to make that happen. This means putting in tremendous thought and action in shaping their careers, and ensuring internal stakeholders’ alignment towards this objective. That’s how I achieve a balanced combination of the role, mentor, process, exposure and opportunities.
Q. Tell us an innovation you have introduced in the campus recruitment space that you are very proud of.
The campus recruitment engagement space has become quite cluttered over the years. A different approach my team initiated was to engage with, and empower, the right group of talent consistently throughout the year.
A structured mentorship was introduced with our senior-most leaders who helped the mentees identify their strengths and counsel them to achieve their career goals. This was in addition to live projects and learning programs undertaken to make them ‘future-ready’ for their corporate stint.
Q. What do you look for in a student when you hire from campus?
Apart from the functional skills and academic performance, I believe there is tremendous merit in considering how a candidate handles failures along with achievements. To me, that demonstrates courage, initiative and the drive to achieve. A lot of focus is on the candidate’s clarity of purpose–their ‘WHY’. Flexibility and problem solving are a must in the current context. I also seek diversity in background and therefore, applied transferable skill sets.
Q. What is your favourite question to ask a candidate during an interview?
Campus interviews are great learning for me. In line with my previous answer, I ask about a time in their lives where they worked really hard for something, and failed. What were their learnings from that and how would they do it differently?
Q. Tell us a memorable/funny/inspiring anecdote from your campus recruiting experience.
Our campus recruits present their ‘EdX Talk’ as part of the Edelweiss RISE Campus Program wherein they share their life learning and success stories with the others. In these sessions, I have come across several incredible stories of success of recruits overcoming obstacles related to finances, health, failed startups, heartbreaks, difficult childhoods, battling societal stigma, etc. I consider it our version of the Chicken Soup for The Soul series.
Q. Who makes an ideal campus recruiter?
An ideal campus recruiter:
- Is a master collaborator with internal business stakeholders, campuses and students.
- Is a champion ambassador of the organization’s culture and vision.
- Is curious, and updated with latest trends in the campus space and what the campus talent really wants.
- Is creative, and is able to conceptualize differentiated programs that attract, engage and retain talent.
Q. What do you see as some of the emerging trends in the campus recruiting space?
The COVID scenario has been deeply concerning for all of us. However, it has brought an opportunity for out of the box thinking. From virtual onboarding, induction, to training and meetings, technology has become a critical catalyst. The collaboration mode is shifting from meeting rooms to mobile phones. Predictive analytics & AI based hiring along with diversity hiring are some other upcoming themes that I foresee in the campus recruitment space.
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