The Hindu Business Line : Students need better `finish' to succeed in corporate world

SUCCESS STORY: Mr N. Raghuraman, Vice-President - Corporate Development, Slash Support India Pvt Ltd, during a BL Club meeting at the Madha Engineering College.

Chennai , Nov. 13

There is a huge `fitment' gap with a large section of potential candidates for corporate employability. The gap between the selected and the rejected is very big. A lot of native talent goes untapped for want of "finish" in terms of confidence, communication, orientation and hunger for knowledge, said Mr N. Raghuraman, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Slash Support India Pvt Ltd.

Addressing MCA students of Madha Engineering College, as part of the Business Line Club lecture, on the topic `Getting geared for the Corporate World', Mr Raghuraman asked the students: "Are you a `pain avoider' or `pleasure seeker?' If you are a pain avoider, then you can never grow. On the contrary, if you are a pleasure seeker, you will grow."

In the academic world, students learnt `subjects' and passed by writing answers for two-marks, six-marks and 20-marks questions. Many students, he said, are bookish and not application-oriented.

A large percentage of students coming to the knowledge industry lack confidence and since they are habituated to reading by rote or being "examination" oriented, they find it difficult to understand. Many students see graduation/post graduation as a process of growing up or as a mere criteria for getting good jobs.

In the corporate world, one needs to have real ability to handle the task being undertaken: The ability to understand new issues while exuding a confident personality and developing as a team player.

While the aspiration to grow is there, very few are willing to invest in building skills and capabilities, he added. "Introspect, be brutal with yourself and bring in an `attitude' shift if required, else set high standards. Orient yourself for the corporate world through simple steps such as revisiting your projects, getting yourself a mentor and scrutinising your company. India has more than 2,000 technology companies: Do you know them, what technological fields they are in, what are the opportunities in these companies?" he asked.

Others present on the occasion were Mr A. Prakash, Director, Madha Group of Academic Institutions, Dr R. Venkatasamy, Principal, Madha Engineering College, and Prof T.R. Joseph Callistus, Head of Department, MCA.

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