How a Problem-Solving Mindset Can Make Job Hunting Successful

The next few months are critical for final-year college students. It entails deciding on a career path, going through placement processes and interviews, and generally preparing for the remainder of their lives. The approach can generate more questions than answers. This article seeks to make it easier to navigate the world beyond campus by discussing industries with job chances, how to use internet platforms, and how to prepare resumes, among other things.

Here is the relationship between campus competitions and fresher hiring. A new trend on campuses today: firms connect with students through hackathons and competitions. This strategy serves both parties. With a well-designed challenge, businesses may assist new employees in acquiring a real sense of the type of work in the company. The competition also highlights the abilities required by the organisations. For students, this becomes a fun, attractive, and practical method to demonstrate their talents, learn from peers, and gain access to internships or jobs, not to mention the competition rewards.

Sustainability focus

Since sustainability is becoming increasingly important in business, L'Oréal has been running the L'Oréal Sustainability Challenge for 6-7 years. This year's registrations included 14,000 MBA students. The event welcomes applications from all colleges and sectors. This tendency might continue shortly. While it benefits both recruiters and students, recruiters must ensure that the programme's objectives and achievements are clearly defined, particularly the link to employment. What is critical for students is to determine which of these platforms is best suited to showcasing their skills and has a better possibility of securing an internship or offer; otherwise, they will waste time and resources by competing in the incorrect competitions.

Engineering placement opportunities through case competitions

According to Unstop, a talent upskilling platform, companies from various industries use university competitions to evaluate engineering ability. For example, Flipkart hosts GRiD 5.0, a competition for engineering college students. The winners can attend pre-placement interviews (PPIs) and receive pre-placement offers (PPOs). According to Unstop data, the internship stipend for the event increased by 100% between 2021 and 2023, while the pay paid increased by 20%. Corporations such as Mondelez, Bajaj Finserv, ContentStack, Dr. Reddy, and Johnson & Johnson hold competitions for engineering students, many offering PPIs or PPOs.

Competitions beyond technology

Companies also host activities for non-engineering students. The Tata Group recently introduced the Tata Imagination Challenge 2023 for students of all disciplines. It recorded 2.6 lakh registrations. The Tata Crucible Campus Quiz 2023, which had over 1.3 lakh registrations, is also a potential internship opportunity within the business.

HCCB (Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages) hosted the Coca-Cola Disrupt Season 3, which drew 92,000 registrants. The best teams had the opportunity to obtain PPIs and PPOs.

Flipkart launched a challenge called Flipkart WiRed, which drew 60,000 registrations. PPIs were distributed to selected students.

EY recently hosted Techathon 4.0, which allowed students from all domains to rethink possibilities using generative AI. The opportunity sparked widespread interest, with 1,25,000 students from all over the country registering for it. Winners received internship chances and gifts of Rs 5,00,000.

HUL, HDFC Bank, and others held competitions to hire students from MBA, arts, and scientific programmes for finance and sales positions. Amazon, Air India, Pidilite, Asian Paints, AB InBev, and Wipro have also set challenges for MBA students. These were primarily concerned with strategy and operations.