TALENT RUSH

Having a degree isn’t enough these days, recruiters are looking for soft skills, an analytical mind and a willingness to unlearn

Hiring in haste just leads to chaos and disorganisation, says Canadian businessman and Flickr co-founder Daniel Butterfield. Headhunters will agree— one wrong decision and an organisation might find itself being stuck with someone who is not the correct fit.

So, what do human resource (HR) professionals look for in freshers while hiring, and what are the new fields where job prospects are the brightest? Two experts weigh in on the subject.

RAJ NARAYAN, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER, TITAN GROUP

People should be themselves. If they put on an act, they will be found out. They must know their areas of expertise and think through how they will apply their knowledge in different situations.

TEAM SPIRIT: Freshers must have a positive, can-do attitude. Their views on life and career are important too. Working well in a group is key for us. In our organisation, the collective power of people trumps individual brilliance in most situations.

HIRING HUB: We hire freshers through the different campus programmes that we have—management trainees from leading B-schools, graduate engineer trainees from engineering colleges, design trainees from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and the three NIFTs, optometrist trainees, diploma engineer trainees and graduate trainees. Lateral recruitment is minimal. Analytics, design, customer relationship management, sales and marketing and technology are some new job areas.

SHIRIN SALIS, VICE-PRESIDENT, HR, TRANE TECHNOLOGIES INDIA

While there’s a strong focus on diversity and machine learning, attention will be given to attract talent with transferable skills, a flexible workforce, as well as building and sharing missions. Most in demand will be expertise in technical areas such as cyber security, data science, deep learning along with design, project management, entrepreneurship and client interactions.

SKILL SETS: In interviews, hiring teams are looking for talent that can complement the job profile and the company’s values. They need candidates with good communication skills so that they can express their ideas, are articulate and can resolve conflicts with confidence. Problem-solving skills, the ability to think neutrally and logically and a knack for coming up with quick, pragmatic solutions are pluses. Those who have high learning agility vis-a-vis new technologies and domain areas have an edge over others.

WHAT’S IN DEMAND: Amid rising costs and competition, businesses are looking at hiring a job-ready workforce that comes equipped with emerging technologies and is willing to upgrade their skills. Another focus area is a candidate’s ability to apply the right technology to solve given problems. ■