India is currently one of the top countries in terms of producing world-class computer professionals across the sectors. May it be leading vital positions in world leaders as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and IBM to being one of the largest and most cost-effective outsourcing provider countries.
Periodic slowdowns and competitive market mean there is a huge demand for productive employees with the right technical skills in the current scenario. This means that IT employees not only need to be skilled but also need to have various additional qualities of soft skill, communication, adaptation to new technology and environment.
And this article summarizes a few key skills which I felt are necessary for IT professional of today's era to get an edge over the looming huge competition. This comes from my personal experience of working in Recruitment, following trends and being in touch with IT professionals. This may help the fresher's coming out of college and professionals well below 5 years of experience in the IT field looking for a job switch.
I have been associated with Engineering education in India for the last 15 years, and one of the most common scenarios bothering students and parents alike is toppers and academically bright students struggling to secure good job opportunities. Does this seems a familiar scenario for you too? Then let's break it down to understand it better.
Every IT degree holder or IT job aspirant looks to have an ideal job with very good package, perks, and a good environment to grow in. But very few understand that IT jobs compared to any other jobs are most demanding in nature. And the biggest reason toppers of the class and geniuses of the class struggle in interviews are due to lack of right preparation.
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Interviews are different compared to normal exams where most prepared lands up the job over the most intelligent. And this fact would've been seen by every IT aspirant where academic toppers may not always have the first or the best jobs. So lets see how to approach an IT interview in the right manner.
The Pre-Preparations
Most of the candidate lands or gets rejected for a job well before the interview starts. Getting an IT job from an ocean of competing candidates requires little pre-preparation. The first step of this is to have a very good resume. By very good I mean, one which is:
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No longer than 2-3 pages.
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Very well formatted
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Grammar errors are a big NO!
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Precise and perfect Contact details
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Customized version for different jobs and companies
A lot of students approach me to discuss what should be the right resume format. What you all need to understand is there is no one recipe that fits all. So I suggest you take up a simple format available online and customize it based on your needs. Make sure to avoid making it look like Matrimonial Biodata or a book on you. Most of the students lack this basic difference. Resumes should attract discussion in a positive manner in the interview. It should include details of your projects undertaken; technology transfers, internships, and training are always welcome. No lengthy self-boasting statements copied from online sources. Avoid grammatical errors, check online grammar checking tools to ensure errors. Grammatical errors lack the right intent in terms of preparation and create a negative impact on the interviewee.
Right Combination of Soft Skills and Presentation
Most IT jobs require teamwork and require leadership skills while selecting IT employees for their firm interviewee to look for such skills in the candidate. This also opens up the opportunity for you to impress one and all with prepared/rehearsed crisp answers and the right attitude.
Theories suggest words and vocab consist of only 15-20% communication rest being your body language, tone, and gestures. And to overcome this problem, you have to organize and prepare with the right sort of content. Talk to yourself, talk to people on topics, get the right feedback and reflect upon it.
The first step of the presentation is a resume, and the next step is your appearance. And they say the first impression is last. To stress on the fact, presentation/dressing plays a very important role in how you are treated in an interview ( By that I mean if you are taken seriously/prepared or someone who is not serious about the job). Avoid outright shabby dressing or flashy outfits. The biggest mistake students make is when they do not have right-sized formals for themselves and may end up in either too big or too tight clothes. Hence, creating a negative impression on an interviewee.
To summarize it:
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Do your homework (about company and job profile you have applied)
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Dress neat and clean
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Avoid flashy outfits or colors
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Arrive before time to avoid unnecessary hiccups
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Stay confident
And the biggest advice is the turn off your cell phone.
Basic Advice
Avoid lengthy discussions while in an interview. Certain topics to avoid having opinions on during interviews such as politics, religion, ethnicity and food habits. No discussions should be welcome on the above-mentioned topics as it may have serious repercussions and sentimental issues. Sharing information about the company’s history and past employees is good but avoids negative feedbacks or condemnation of past employers.
These steps would help you create a better impression in an interview and land up that big IT job. If you feel these steps benefitted you or if you feel there is specific advice you need, feel free to contact in comment sections and I will try my best to reply at the earliest. Another thing I want to share is that this article is a summary of common errors and mistakes to avoid in order to crack an IT job. More detailed and precise topics coming in future articles.
