‘Recruitment has picked up pace across various verticals’

Uday Sodhi, CEO, HeadHonchos.com, dispels employment myths and highlights the scope for job opportunities in 2011.

Do you feel job opportunities would increase in 2011?
The Indian economy is on a high growth trajectory and the job market has opened up. As a result, India is expected to see a huge talent gap in 2011. The key stakeholders in the recruitment process - both employers and candidates - are upbeat and confidence levels are running high in contrast to a couple of years ago.

This positive sentiment is an important development after a couple of challenging years for the world economy. Recruitment has picked up pace across various verticals since 2010. However, companies and candidates will be more discerning and will focus on identifying high quality candidates and sourcing quality jobs respectively.

Where do you see job opportunities opening up in future?
Trends indicate hiring across every level in the organization, through the entire employment pyramid. Senior hiring will be one of the largest gainers as high CTC senior roles were put on hold during the slowdown. This will be hiring that is rooted in real economic growth and at the same time tempered by sound business sense. As a result of a more pragmatic approach to recruitment, each segment will see growth, balanced by consolidation cycles. This balanced growth is the need of the hour and the route to sustainable employment in the long term.

What are the key qualities and skill sets that you look for?
Fresh perspectives and diverse skills will rule at senior levels. It is increasingly important for senior professionals to examine new business opportunities as well as support new projects. Senior candidates should be able to manage risk, control costs and find new ways to expand into new emerging markets. In an environment where quantum leaps are a way of life, ‘marginalists’ will be ignored in favour of those who can drive significant value. For mid-level candidates, their expertise in the required domain will continue to be a key parameter. However, a person with the ability to grasp new things quickly will be preferred. While taking a hiring call employers will also look at stability or the tenure of a person in a company.

What should be avoided?
Candidates tend to underestimate practical considerations that impact the applications of almost every qualified candidate at some time or another. Sometimes the budget for the role may not allow the recruiter to consider a resume; sometimes an employer is unsure about whether the jobseeker will be open to relocation and will prefer a less qualified candidate based in the same city.
In addition, recruiters assess personality and work style, emotional competence and mental aptitude in addition to knowledge and experience. This is analysed from the perspective of job fit rather than against any absolute parameters, or ‘rights & wrongs'.

Candidates need to take the declined message in stride and to persevere without being overly aggressive. At any cost, avoid spamming the recruiter through emails or by applying randomly to jobs posted online. This is the sure-shot formula for failure!

What are the ‘trigger points’? The top three trigger points for most recruiters is whether there are any (unexplained) gaps in the resume; obvious errors, typos or outdated information; and not enough facts and specifics to back the profile.

How do applications stand out?
Recruiters are flooded with resumes - often a 100 or more every day. Applications that make the Shortlist are usually the ones that:
l    Are complete and carefully checked
l    Have a high readability quotient (recruiters believe that the format is meant to make the recruiter’s job easier, rather than to express creativity)
l    Give the recruiters exactly what they are looking for, rather than anything and everything relating to the candidate’s professional (or even personal) life

How about the interview?
It is important that you take every stage of the recruitment process seriously. ‘Getting shortlisted’ does not mean ‘selection’ so the most important rule is to treat each stage with the seriousness and to actively demonstrate the seriousness. Prepare well for the first round, work with the employer to understand job fit for your profile if shortlisted, and ensure that all your concerns are addressed before you sign on the dotted line.

Do you have any advice for job aspirants?
Create an elevator pitch that reflects your experience, aspirations and abilities. Consider having your resume re-written by a professional - the resume you used years ago may not be applicable in the present scenario or benchmarked to industry best practices. Before you start the process, gear up for a long haul. Keep an eye on the job market for the right opportunities and then stay on course even if the first few options do not work out. Typically it takes 3-6 months to find the right job and make that career move, particularly for mid- to senior management roles.

Are there any myths you could dispel?
There are no shortcuts to a successful career transition at the senior level. Just keep going!

How has the role of HR  changed in recent years? 
The HR department has grown in importance in across industrial sectors and is now represented on the board of large corporate majors. The growing challenges in terms of acquiring, managing and retaining the right talent and the human resource base have only enhanced the role of HR in corporations. HR plays a key role in ensuring that company-employee relation grows from strength to strength.

HR has been supported well by the internet and social
media in terms of talent acquisition and employee engagement, driving the evolution of a tech-savvy HR professional who works effectively with people and new age technologies.