Becoming a Student Placement Coordinator
My journey to and experience as a Student Placement Coordinator at IIT Kharagpur
The year is 2021. IIT Kharagpur has just had its best-ever placement season with the largest-ever batch size. Some highlights of the year -
Fastest ever IIT to reach 1000 -crossing 1100 by just Day 3
Highest ever (1650+) number of students placed in Phase I
2 offers exceeding 2 cr
20+ offers exceeding 1 cr
35+ international offers
I was a part of the 16-member Student Placement team and was instrumental in the grand success of the season. In this article, I will talk about the entire process, from the selections to the work and the overall experience as a Placecom at IIT Kharagpur.
Who Are Student Placement Coordinators?
The Student Placement Coordinator is an official position of responsibility (PoR) with the Career Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur. Every year, any number ranging from 10–20 students are chosen after a multi-round selection process to work for the welfare of students on campus by ensuring excellent opportunities available to each and every student at par with industry standards. All information regarding the hierarchy of the CDC, the professors and students involved, their job duties and objectives, and other important information on events can be found at the official CDC website here.
Applications And Selections
Applications for the PoR are circulated through Technology Students’ Gymkhana yearly sometime in mid-April in the form of a simple Google form. Interested students are required to input personal information, basic details, and some questions such as prior PoRs, experience in management/teamwork, and provide their resumes. On an average, around 250–300 students apply in this initial stage. This is the stage with the maximum elimination. Around 150 students are selected for the written test round based on the initial applications.
The written test can be literally anything, from maths and logical reasoning to essay type questions. In our year, it was a set of essay type questions with strict word limits. The questions asked were around these topics -
Why do you want to become a Student Placement Coordinator?
How would you convince a recruiter to hire from IIT Kharagpur?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
How do you think placements at IIT Kharagpur can be improved for students?
What are the necessary steps involved in getting a company to hire from IIT KGP?
and some other questions on conflict resolution, negotiation and previous years’ placement statistics.
Around 50 odd students are shortlisted post the written tests for the final interviews taken sometime in May. The final interviews are usually taken by a panel of around 5–10 deans, including the current Chairman, CDC, the Vice Chairs, and the ex-chair holders, along with some other professors involved. The interview revolves around your interest in the PoR, your potential contributions, ideas for institution level improvements, situational/behavioural questions and evaluates your communication skills, willingness, outlook and attitude. It usually lasts from 15–30 minutes, and explanations can be asked for answers from your initial application or your resume or the written test answers as well.
The final results are announced post the interviews sometime in June. All selected students are required to sign a contract entailing the terms of their candidature. Then the real work begins :)
What Does A Student Placement Coordinator Do?
The work of a student placement coordinator begins from the moment he/she is selected and goes on until the next batch is selected at the same pace and fervour. The responsibilities include but are not limited to-
- Answering any and every query that a student might have -As the first point of contact between any student and the administration, it is our responsibility to ensure all questions get answered in a minimal amount of time since time is usually of the essence.
- Being the voice of the student community -As the only student representatives in the system, we have to ensure that the concerns, problems and requirements of the student body are heard and kept as a priority. We also have a huge potential to bring about actual change in the system and bring about a positive impact on the student community which will magnify with each consecutive year.
- Staying updated on the latest trends in the industry, knowing which companies/sectors are aggressively hiring, which companies have a great reputation and work culture, which companies have hired from other premium colleges, and making sure IIT Kharagpur is at par or above industry standards in terms of compensation trends and profile quality.
- Inviting companies to IIT Kharagpur via mail, call, and convincing them to hire students by showcasing our USP, extraordinary strengths and achievements. This is the most time-consuming aspect of being a Placecom, since its a continuous iterative process that you cannot stop doing until the hiring season is over.
- Onboarding interested companies, negotiating with them on hiring numbers, compensation, eligibility criteria and profiles to ensure the best and maximum amount of opportunities are provided to students.
- Providing all recruiters with a smooth and seamless recruiting experience at IIT Kharagpur to ensure a long-lasting relationship is established for students in the coming years.
- Being the point of contact between the administration and various other stakeholders in the process such as ERP, NPTEL, CIC, etc. to ensure smooth running of all the required platforms in the placement season.
among various other roles and responsibilities.
As such, the time commitment required of a Student Placement Coordinator is considerable (read A LOT) and non-negotiable. On an average, around 4 -5 hours per day minimum are required from July to December. Post the Phase I placement season, which usually ends by mid-December, the time commitment required is lesser, which continues into Phase II beginning in January the next year.
Benefits And Learning
The past semester was an excellent learning experience for me. Being a Placecom really pushes you out of your comfort zone, and makes you go all out, along with a team sharing the same goals with the same razor-sharp focus.
- Exposure -Interacting with the entire student community, the administration, companies and various executives including sometimes Founders and CEOs expands your horizons. You get to learn so much more about what’s out there, the sort of opportunities available, and a glimpse into the world through the peephole that is college education.
- Networking -Apart from being a great conversation starter in related circles, it also gives you a huge network of students, alumni, and executives to fall back on. You never know when they might come in handy.
- Relevancy -Keeping constantly updated on the market, industry trends, statistics of other colleges and the value of certain profiles helps you stay relevant and on top of trends throughout.
- Teamwork -Nothing teaches you teamwork and collaboration like a high-stakes environment and the opportunity to shape 2500+ careers on your hands. You learn to navigate various types of situations, personalities and come together to achieve a common goal. You also have an opportunity to meet some wonderful people and make great friends among your teammates.
- Perks -There are always the perks of being able to wear a custom hoodie and tee, have your own office to work in, and the stipend doesn’t hurt either.
I hope this information helps everyone interested in applying to be a Placecom now or in the future, and gives any curious student an idea about what it is we do exactly. Feel free to reach out on to me via LinkedIn for any further queries!
PS : Advice To The Student Community
Based on my experience, these are the things I would want to convey to students sitting for internships or placements and KGPians in general -
- The best and easiest way to convince more companies and niche profiles to visit campus is to put IIT Kharagpur in their radar by showcasing the calibre and excellence of the students. Increased participation in hackathons, world-wide competitions, challenges, etc., and securing podium finishes is an excellent argument in itself that shows rather than tells recruiters, and I would encourage students to participate in as many such events as possible.
- There is no dearth of opportunities. Especially considering today’s market, the demand is higher than ever. The only roadblock here is the level of preparation and industry-readiness that students have. So I would urge students to remember this and keep in mind that the better their prep, the better their chances, and that opportunities are abundant.
