College placements definitely entice students as it takes you directly to recruiters without much effort. However, college placement is not the only option to score a lucrative job. Off-campus placements can also open the world of opportunities for you and allows you to choose the job of your desire.
Most students have a misconception that only those who are unable to land a job during their campus placements look for a job off-campus. Let’s take a look at the benefits of off-campus placements for you.
Benefits of Off-Campus Placements
Here are some benefits that make off-campus placements an important way to land a job in case you missed out at your campus placements due to any reason.
- Find a world of different opportunities: Off-campus placements give access to more and a diverse set of job opportunities for freshers. Unlike on-campus placements where you are restricted to companies who have a tie-up with the college, off-campus placements allow you to even reach out to companies that do not visit your campus.
Also Read: How to write a formal email for your job application
- Sense of accomplishment: You will feel a greater sense of accomplishment for successfully securing a job on your own in today’s world of stiff competition. During on-campus placements, you compete with other students of your college only. However, in off-campus placements, your competition is with a much larger number of candidates that may even include some experienced professionals. Beating such a large pool of candidates and securing a spot at a company is a surreal feeling.
- Greater exposure: Finding a job on your own, as a fresher will give a lot more exposure to the job market than any of your friends who are solely relying on campus placements. You not only do more research about companies, study salary trends and prepare for mock interviews, but during this time, you also keep yourself updated with the industry trends, which in turn gives you a greater exposure and knowledge.
Useful Tips for Your Off-Campus Placement Preparation
“Good things come to those who wait. Better things come to those who try”.
With this positive note, let’s start understanding how to make your off-campus placement a success with these tips. To attempt an off-campus placement you will need to do your proper research, approach several companies, and pass through the preliminary screenings. Every step in your off-campus job search needs careful planning.
Tip #1: Prepare an impressive resume:
The first step towards finding a job off-campus is writing an impeccable fresher resume. Take the help of Firstnaukri resume maker tool that helps you create a high quality resume for freshers for free.
Also Read: Online Resume Maker For Freshers: How it Helps?
Tip #2: Take several aptitude tests:
You are most likely to give a written test during an off-campus drive. So, prepare for the same by taking as many aptitude tests as possible. After all, practice makes one perfect.
Also Read: Aptitude Test Sample Questions & Answers for Engineering Students
Tip #3: Do proper research:
Gather as much information as possible about the companies you are going to appear for during the off-campus drives. Look for industry / domain-specific knowledge as well; it will help you answer more confidently during the campus placement interviews.
Tip #4: Prepare for interviews and group discussions:
Be prepared for group discussions on topics related to current affairs, socio-economic matter, political issues or any random topic. Also, it is always recommended to prepare some common interview questions to give it your best shot in the final interview.
Also Read: Common Interview Questions & Answers for Freshers
Tip #5: Keep an eye on your favorites:
Make a list of all the companies you wish to work with and research to shortlist the ones who look for fresh talent off-campus. Once you have narrowed down the list, frequently visit the individual career portals of the companies and apply to entry-level jobs posted by them. Read Interview Experiences for these companies to understand what you can expect in your interview.
Tip #6: Stay connected to people in your network:
Always stay in touch with your friends, relatives, and seniors from college to open the doors of more career opportunities. Building a network helps you to keep updated about the various opportunities at their workplaces and even they can refer you for some relevant ones.
Tip #7: Register yourself on job portals for freshers:
An easy way to get the news about job vacancies for freshers and latest off-campus drives is to get yourself registered on FirstNaukri.com. It’s simple and doesn’t take much of your time. All you need to do is create a profile, upload resume, mention key skills and you are good to go.
Tip #8: Keep your documents ready: While hiring freshers, companies are very particular about checking the academic background of their candidates. You should have your documents ready and neatly filed in one place. Make sure you have all your mark sheets and documents with you. If anything is missing, apply for a duplicate copy to avoid any last minute hassles.
Last, but not the least, consistently make efforts until you succeed in your fresher job search.
All the best!