Build your Profile for Success

                                 

Those students who have considered study abroad options or have tried admissions to top league private institutions in Bharat, certainly know that all these institutes irrespective of the country seek a proper profile document of the student along with a impressive Statement of Purpose ( SOP) and Letters of recommendation ( LORs). The reason is simple, The Institutes want best of the best people to come to their fold. 

The students graduating from these institutions are the brand ambassadors of these institutions, and their performance in society is directly linked to the training received at these institutions. Hence these institutions want the best talent to come and study at their campus. Thethere in the society naturally bring repute to their educational institute. 

The trend has started catching up in India in many educational institutes and with NEP 2020 getting implemented we will see almost all higher education institutes will admit only well developed student with reasonably fair clarity of his line of career and life 

Considering the limited number of seats and immense competition for almost all educational courses in Bharat, the institutes or universities have already started looking beyond the JEE, NEET, or CET , CUET  scores. They want the best students from the available lot and hence they have started implementing a holistic selection process along the lines of foreign universities. Many institutions seek profile doc, and statement of purpose and also make the student go through selection process like Group Discussion ( GD)  and Personal interview.  

Another important pointer is the extremely low employability amongst the graduate and post graduate students who have been trained traditionally in the technical and theoretical aspects of their graduation subject. Earlier very minimal or no attention was paid  to practical skills development  or appropriate lifeskills development in the students. 

Important skills like problem-solving skills, attention to details, decision-making skills,  adaptability, teamwork, ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn to keep pace with the rapidly changing work environments were not considered worthy of any formal or informal training in the educational institutions. Critical life skills like communication skills including public speaking skills, writing skills or  listening skills and confidence were considered only for the sake of extracurricular activities to be pursued by the chosen few. 

This approach made the common students naturally ignore these important skills and were awarded their graduation degrees minus the readiness and confidence to enter the Job market. It took many years to millions of young graduates to cope with the expectations of the industry. 

Since the advent of the Internet and all knowledge now being available to everyone irrespective of his educational, social/economic status, its time and opportunity now for the students and their parents to focus on building a concrete effective profile of the student along with completing the formal academic coursework. 

While your extracurricular activities may have helped in building your personality to an extent , you need to objectively evaluate and understand if they are leading to your aspired dream/goal. Understand what you need to do more?  Where do you need to dive deeper to make relevant sense? 

For better success in getting selected in a college of your dreams, for for a better job , you need to create a trail of your consistent efforts directed in a particular field of interest which makes you seek admission to the desired course in the college or to take up a particular role in the industry. 

I have come across many students from technical  educational fields as well who have certain rigid preference about their job role and hence they are not open and flexible to slightly different  job roles. This isn't a problem if the student is well prepared- knowledge-skills wise as well as personality wise to take up the role . However in reality, many are not. In fact many students are not even aware if they have fully / adequately prepared throughout their education for the practical requirements of their aspired job role in the industry. Hence after initial rigidness not yielding any fruits,  they compromise and take up whatever role they are offered ( in their desperation to get a job). 

It is hence important for you to train yourself to meet the requirements of the industry that will be employing you. Students should note that industry is not fancy of your MBA or any other degree. What they are looking for in reality, is an employee who will serve their purpose with respect to the role being recruited. and while scouting for such employees they will choose the best of the lot made available to them. ( So if they get them from a pool of MBAs they find it better ) 

However you may agree that traditional wisdom has placed more focus on practical experience and practical approach to problem solving. So quite often a lesser educated but one with more practical wisdom is preferred over a more educated person. And this explains the widescale unemployability of Bhartiya graduates and post-graduates. There is no reason for any change in this approach in coming times. 

The question however is how should students build their profile. What should they do and when should they begin? What is the measurable outcome? 

Having a focussed approach since grade 8 will be of great help. Usually, students stop their ( Parents make them stop )  extracurricular activities as they approach their grade 10 board exams or preparation. 

This can be avoided. Choosing one or two extracurricular activities of your most interest and love should be continued. One should dive deeper into those activities by attempting to achieve more excellence related to skills and creating more awareness, and knowhow about how it can  fuel your career aspiration and further how it can create a larger societal impact.

 There are various options available to dive deeper . 

1. Going to higher level in the chosen activity - like attempting next levels, playing or particpating at district, state, national international levels - be it music, dance, sports or literature 

2. Be part of  social communities in your preferred domain 

3. Do  short internships in vacations.

4. Pursue online courses to gather more knowledge and understand the global trends. 

5. Do social internships, volunteer with social org , participate in local events and festivals.

6. Explore more avenues 

Make sure your profile development journey is aligned with your passion / interest . Its likely to lead you to your career - ( Rather it is one of the major objectives) 

Make sure you document all your actions in a proper format. 

This approach not only will help you build a strong profile but will also keep you light and stressfree in an otherwise highly stressful competitive environment and time the students are faced with, in the age of 14 to 22 

In case you need support to start your profile development activity you may avail of the unique profile development consultancy service from BOLDNET where you get assistance from trained expert and experienced coaches. You  get state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence-based profile evaluation and recommendations engine on BOLDNET portal to help you develop your profile. The Service also has a versatile and wide-ranging list of activities along with training links to build your profile.. all from the comfort of your home. 

In case you have liked the article do express your appreciation. 

Avinaash Deshmukh 

Certified Career and Youth Coach 

Connect with BOLDNET India @9657600076

you may also write to care@brainsmaart.com