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"When you are inside the campus, you do not realise how big this community is. By being a part of LOUD, I got to interact with students from other institutes, and the environment was more of encouragement than being competition. The point here was an idea is not big or small, all you need is passion. More than anything I have a mentor who will guide me through my journey in getting the product to the market," said Amrit.
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Amrit's experience is a proof that companies are engaging more and more with students beyond the brick and mortar classrooms. And case competitions are coming in handy to bring out the innovative abilities of students and make them part of the organisation in distinct roles.
HR heads believe that on campus interviews which last for not more than 30 minutes conceal more than they reveal. Sumit Mitra, Head, Group Human Resources & Corporate Services, Godrej Group, says in a campus placement scenario, one cannot see a student in action in the 10-15 minute interviews. "Initiatives like LOUD, not only give students an opportunity to fulfil their dreams but also provide an option to be a part of Godrej Group," he said.
The competition began on September 1, and targets over 80 colleges across the country to discover young talents. Participants will be required to come up with out-of-the-box yet practical ideas for case studies based on real corporate challenges. Best and innovative solutions among the entries will be rewarded with iPad mini and a pre placement interview with the Bank. The competition will continue till mid October.
ING Vysya Bank is connecting with the youth in its own way. The bank has come up with a competition for their recent drive for engagement with students from B- schools; Hunt for the Lions - The ING Way.
Here, there would be a people's voting mechanism that would be open for the short-listing presentations. The final 15 participants would be selected through votes received and presentation quality, after which interviews with ING experts would be held.
"The key for us was to go beyond the academic credentials and give the students an opportunity to showcase their overall intellectual capability to the organisation via this program," said J M Prasad, chief, Human Resources, ING Vysya Bank.
These companies are also actively using social media to reach out to the right talent and engage with them, before making any recruitment decisions. Prasad said social media hiring continues to be a game changer, but candidates increasingly want to engage with the organisation before considering applying for a job.
"Constant engagement with the candidates will be critical this year, regular updates on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter enabling the candidate to get an insight into the organisation, will be crucial," he added.
Startups are also not far behind. Ramakrishna T L, Recruitment Head at TaxiForSure says hiring through social media gives them the advantage to evaluate candidate's personality and social skills, even before meeting them. Facebook posts and Tweets reveal their psychology and thought-process than a personal interview can possibly reveal.
At Jabong.com hiring for areas like marketing, analytics and other technology related areas is largely done through social media. Ashu Malhotra, HR head at Jabong.com explained that there is a higher reach when hiring is done through social media and they are able to hire talent for niche areas with detailed interactions.
