5 effective ways to prepare your students for campus placements in 2024

5 effective ways to prepare your students for campus placements in 2024

Introduction

“Placements are one of the major factors that students consider while taking admission to any college”

No wonder that colleges with better placement records are preferred by the students to this trend, the colleges also have started putting their efforts into bringing the companies for campus visits for job placements. This article describes the 5 actionable tips to improve college placements in 2024.

Are colleges taking any initiatives to improve the placements?

Yes, the majority of the colleges have set up their own training and placement cells to coordinate the job placement process. No doubt that the colleges are putting their best efforts into bringing the top companies to visit their campus, but the placement records of the majority of colleges are still inconsistent.

What are the factors that negatively impact college placements?

The placement records of the colleges are inconsistent because of a lack of training and practice, some colleges provide rigorous training by not exposing students to mock interviews and mock aptitude tests. As the students do not attempt the mock interviews and practice the aptitude tests, they are screened out of the campus hiring process.

What can colleges do to improve the placements and make placement records consistent?

There can be various approaches to making the placements better and consistent-

Tip 1: Improve college placements: Training students with the latest industry-oriented skills is the key!

train the students to improve the college placements

Rightly said in an Indian Movie, 3 Idiots- 

“Kamyabi Ke Peeche Mat Bhago, Kabil Bano,

Kamyabi Tumhare Peeche Ayegi!”

Employability brings employment, Institutes must focus on making the students employable, that’s an absolute win-win situation

The colleges need to match the changing demands of industry and train the students with the latest knowledge and technologies. They need to focus on understanding and nurturing the inherent skills of the candidates rather than putting all students in the same module of learning. Personalized, self-paced and industry skill-oriented training are key strategies to follow. An advanced Learning Management System can help you to train the students in a well-structured manner.

You can explore usage of Generative AI in this context

Generative AI, in simple terms, is like a smart assistant that can create new content. It’s not just about answering questions; it’s about generating new ones, simulating conversations, and more. According to a report by McKinsey, AI could potentially automate over 50% of current work activities by 2025. This statistic highlights the growing importance of AI literacy for students entering the workforce.

Tip 2: Help students to prepare a standard and professional CV

CV prepaparation for better placements

A professional CV talks a lot about the candidate.

If you can standardize the profile of the students by instructing them or by training them about how to effectively define the profile for the resume of the students, it will certainly help them to perform better performance during campus placement activity.

There is a latest trend that is related to the infographic resume which is also very useful infographic resume helps the applicant to get noticed in front of recruiters or organizations and an infographic CV also projects your strengths and weaknesses. Here are 4 basic steps to prepare CVs for campus placements

Tip 3: Conduct mock interviews and practice tests

The ultimate activities to improve college placements in 2022

Mock interviews

No matter how intelligent the student is, if the student doesn’t perform well in the interview, there is no chance of getting hired!. 

Mock interviews help the students in building confidence to face real interviews, understand how well they can face the interviews and improve their performance further. 

Communication is key in any job interview. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that 73% of employers prioritize strong communication skills. Generative AI can play a pivotal role here. It can simulate interviews, offering a safe space for students to practice and receive instant, constructive feedback. This method is not just effective but also aligns with the modern, tech-savvy learning styles of today’s students.

“Is it possible to conduct mock interviews for 100s of students? How much time and human resources do we need to conduct the mock interviews?”

Yes, with technology it is possible to conduct mock interviews for hundreds of students in one go. 

Yes, you read that right, 100s of mock interviews can be conducted simultaneously, and that too with the least human resources. This is possible with audio-based bulk interviews.

Audio based bulk interviews allow the universities and colleges to conduct even 1000s of mock interviews simultaneously. These audio interviews are then evaluated by the evaluator or can be sent to students back for peer to peer review.

AI-based interviews are becoming increasingly popular. These systems evaluate not just the content of the answers but also the delivery, confidence, and even body language. As Andrew Ng, a pioneer in AI, says, “AI is the new electricity.” This technology is electrifying the way we approach job interviews, offering a level of preparation that was previously unattainable.

Practice tests

Getting a job through placements is a challenge, Isn’t it? One must go through the aptitude test before appearing for the interview. Many students find cracking these aptitude tests difficult

But with a proper vision and effort, it is possible to prepare and crack these aptitude tests with flying colours. 

The aptitude tests are designed in such a way that the skills, knowledge and problem-solving ability of the candidate. Colleges can arrange practice tests for the candidates aspiring for job placements.

Here is an ultimate guide, on how to create an exam on an online exam platform

Coding tests

These tests are specifically for those candidates who are studying software engineering or appearing for job placements which require coding skills.

It is a trend that coding tests/ programming tests are being conducted as a part of the hiring process. These tests are the stepping stones for candidates to enter a job interview. College students either lack coding skills or are unaware of the coding test pattern that keeps them apart from getting their dream software engineer job. 

Colleges can consider conducting the mock/practice coding tests for students to make students familiar with these tests, and to increase their chances of getting selected in software development firms.

With technology, creating an online coding test for students is a matter of minutes, you can create the coding exam in a few easy steps

1000s of students can concurrently appear in these examinations via cloud-based software, here is how

Tip 4: Make the alumni network work

Utilize alumni network to improve the campus placements

The alumni of the college are the biggest brand ambassadors of the college, if your college is well established and old, there are high chance that the alumni of the college are well in position in corporations. The placement cell must collaborate effectively with the alumni network to increase the prospective job availability for the current students.

Alumni meets can serve as a great aid to introduce the current batches to the alumni, the alumni network shall not just be leveraged for jobs, but also to guide the students about interviews and aptitude tests. Furthermore, the connections with alumni can even help the students to get their jobs in hand off-campus.

Tip 5: Have a structured placement cell

Establish a placement cell

The placement cell is the team of people, with faculty and student representatives who work together to arrange the placement activities in the college. The role of placement coordinators becomes vital. Proper coordination between the faculty and students is key to making the placements better and consistent.

The placement cell shall reach out to the companies, and coordinate the interview and result process on behalf of the college. If your college has a website, you should consider having a dedicated section for placement cells on the website, furthermore, it is important to keep the section up to date with the latest updates.

No doubt that helping and making all students get their dream jobs is a tough task, but realistically, it is possible to help students reach their potential best version during the interviews and overall placement process, with technology; it is now easier than ever to reach out every student and help them in improving their employability, coding test is a great example of such a technology.

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