Goldman Sachs, Reliance, Flipkart, Aditya Birla Group and Mondelez International reveal the secrets of B-School placements

We have all been there - sitting in front of esteemed and highly efficient panellists with our power-suit on. You can sense a jittering version of yourself, with thousands of entangled thoughts bombarding your mind. But how satisfying would it be, if you know what the HRs or the hiring managers aka the fate controllers are exactly looking for? How cool would it be if you know what it takes to be a ‘perfect fit’ at your dream company? So dot your I's and cross your T's to what the HR leaders have to say on B-School placements.

With the new normal transforming, everything from offline to online mode, the job hunting market is also moving fast to fit in it. From tailoring resumes for each company to trying to weave an influential network on LinkedIn, the young guns are putting their noses to the grindstone. There is no dearth of resources on the internet on expanding and refining skills set, compiling an effective resume, preparing for interviews, and whatnot. But what if we say that we can get you first-hand information from the HRs of giant conglomerates directly?

Long story short, in today’s Dare2Compete IGNITE - Placements: HRs Session we had Kaustuv Bhattacharya, AVP, EA to CEO Birla Carbon, Head Young Talent Management at Aditya Birla Group, Ratan Manglani who is the VP, Human Capital Management division of Goldman Sachs, Sumit Premi, Head, Campus Recruitment at Flipkart, Kanika Gaur, Lead, Entry Talent, and Employer Branding, Mondelez India and Aarti Jhingon, Head, Employer Branding & Campus Resourcing, Corporate HR, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

By the end of this article, we will help you take cognizance of,

• HR functions - its characteristics, working with business teams, ownership, etc.
• Employer branding
• The changing aspects of General Management, Sales & Marketing, Product Management
• Key stints that any MT needs to go through
• Functioning of B-School hiring process
• How to choose the best profile?
• What skill sets do companies look for?
• Changes in summers and final placement process due to COVID-19
  
  

The sum and substance of HR

Calling HRs the people’s person does not define them anymore, they are not for making rangolis or celebrating Birthdays! In fact contrary to popular belief, they are the custodians of the culture of an organization. On zooming out, apart from recruiting, they play a humongous role in retaining, rewarding, and engaging the talent. Along with classical functions like maintaining employee relations and providing compensational benefits, there are some up and coming interesting fields of Human Resources. For instance diversity and inclusion, HR infrastructure, and merging engineering with Human Resources.

If you aspire to make a career as an HR professional, be prepared to fend off the same question through the length, breadth and depth of your career, "Why HR?". It is of utmost importance for an HR to be strategic and stay aligned with the business. Talking about the structure of its operations, the domain has vertical functions (for ex. Business partners, who work closely with business units that are aligned to them) and horizontal functions (it covers the recruitment, performance developments, rewards, learning & development, etc). On the whole, HR has a matrix of functions, you will hop into different roles and your learning will enhance beautifully.

Has COVID-19 framed out a new plot for the HRs? 

If the crippling Corona havoc is sabotaging your night’s sleep wondering about the changes in the HR world, then there is no need to worry! Because it is the best time to be an HR professional. But first, it is essential to acknowledge the fact that HR is the heart of an organization and this domain has evolved with time. It has transformed into a new age tech-enabled and a more analytical function which is helping the domain to cope with the COVID-19 trauma. It cannot be gainsaid that the HRs have adapted to the New Normal quite smoothly.

Not much has changed, however, there are some aspects of the HR function which have become more refined and apparent, like,

• Employee communication is now more transparent and periodic 
• Coming up with proactive ways to reach out to employees at high risk as a part of emergency response is in the limelight
• Learning is another aspect which has scaled up to adjust to the WFH scenario
• Physical and mental well-being has also emerged as a matter of substance 
  
  

Back to the basics of employer branding 

Employer branding can be considered as the best way for a company to state who they are and what they stand for. It is the source to build an emotional connection with students/future employees and convey them the facts, snippets, anecdotes that they may not necessarily get from public forums, batchmates, and seniors.

For companies, it is all about how early they can seed their brand in the student's mind. It might be a surprising fact for MBA aspirants but they target students from the first year itself. Do you know how? Well, it is via brand initiatives like internships, live projects, PPOs, competitions, etc which helps you figure out your interests, culture of the company, a mutual synergy.

TIP: Do NOT skip the leadership sessions. They encompass a wealth of knowledge where industry experts share valuable information!

In and outs of different profiles and MT training programs

Mondelez: A leading FMCG company, they have a well-designed MT program called iTASTE which is an acronym for  “I Take a Step Towards Excellence’. On the basis of different specializations that B-School students choose, Mondelez offers multiple profiles:

• Sales & Marketing 
• HR 
• Finance 
• Supply Chain

Information Business Services, which is an amalgamation of IT and the Business team

The MT program usually runs for 9-12 months. Also, the company focuses on picking talent directly from the institutes but there are other entry-level roles in the organization, which are open to all other potential employees as well.

Flipkart: One of the new age recruiters, the company runs a year-long MT program that has different parts like, Business, Supply Chain, and HR. Valuing the trainees as fungible resources, Flipkart focuses on preparing future leaders. Another angle to their MT program is a mandatory 3-week Immersion Program which is based on a flexible module with the authority of selecting the learnings, just like selecting electives. Some key points regarding their programs are:

• For Product Management roles they conduct lateral placements which can be from B-Schools as well. 
• They also provide programs for engineers, like Associate Product Manager and Associate Business Analyst, which are 2-year long
• These programs are open to all streams of engineering

Aditya Birla Group:  With an aim to groom exceptional individuals, their ABGLP (Aditya Birla Group Leadership Program) is segregated into three buckets: 

• Leadership Associate Program (LEAP)
• Finance Leadership Program (FLP)
• Human Resources Leadership Program (HRLP)

Among these 3 buckets, LEAP is for the General Management, FLP is for CA rankers and HRLP is for HR MBA students. The 12-month long journey of ABGLP is basically divided into 3 stints. It is an extremely diverse program, which is not even limited to prior experience of HR.

TIP: Keep an open mind, don't look at the location, SPU, business, or any of that. Look at the opportunity, if you are getting responsibility for dealing with people, managing financials, or delivering tangible targets, go for it.

Goldman Sachs: This investment bank and financial services company focuses on building a structured foundation in the allotted profile whether it is Investment Banking, Equity Research, or Investment Management. One is given intensive training to make them the master of the sector. A major reform that has been marked over the last 2 years is the emphasis on engineering and technology. Speaking of the company’s gravitation towards the engineering students, Apple and Goldman Sachs launched Apple Credit Cards 2019, and such innovations are making them seep into the engineering sector.

Reliance: To nurture the entry-level talent this Indian multinational conglomerate has the Reliance Emerging Leaders Program (RELP) across the entire kingdom of Reliance Industries. The program is structured into 4 tracks:

• General Management 
• Operations 
• Finance
• HR

The first year which focuses on providing exposure has 2 stints which are 6 months long each. During this phase, the trainee figures out their interests and likes. Post first year, the experience and growth kicks-in. Apart from these programs, they also have an experienced hiring program for specific roles.

B-School placements from the recruiter's lens

Whether it is Reliance, Mondelez, Aditya Birla Group, Goldman Sachs, or Flipkart, quality always has an upper hand over quantity. They would look forward to hiring someone who has a perfect mix of academia along with extra-curricular. Generally, companies focus on three pools for B-School placements, i.e. PPO conversion, Campus hiring, and Competitions. So to get into their radar, students should always grab the opportunities whenever possible to showcase their talent.

Here comes the most mind-boggling question - How the summers and final B-School placements will be affected due to COVID-19? To put your worries to rest, here is what the HR leaders have to say:

• There is no need to worry about the B-School placements at this time if the timelines are shifted because it is a talent pipeline that is built for next year.
• Even if the virtual mode continues in the future, they will figure out ways to carry out the process on screens if the campuses are ready with their guns blazing.
• One thing on which students can invest their efforts is online courses. Utilize them to equip yourself with skills aligned with your interests and curriculum. 
• The dynamics have changed. It’s now a symbiotic association between B-Schools and companies where a lot depends on the reaction and transparency of the placement teams, deans, campus recruiters, students, and the stakeholders.
• Start looking at how well you can be articulated in your written and verbal communication which can be helpful while taking classes and interacting with peers or professors.
• Networking is another aspect that can be considered to leverage the virtual model of interactions.
• If you want to know about a certain role, go to message boards, forums, listen to interviews, talk to alumni or people who have done an internship in that particular company and see what they talk about
• There is a lot of information that is very easy to get but what’s important is how you break away from that clutter and figure out what is relevant to you.
• Something for the place com community on the lines of B-School placements, think how you want to pitch the students because this will bring opportunities for those who don't even have opportunities!
• Talking about diversity during placements. They usually don't have a number but they are definitely conscious about it. And it is not just about gender diversity, but about focusing on specially-abled people, LGBTQ community, Armed forces background, etc

The crux of the matter is that HRs are still seeking the same set of competencies and skillsets, all they need is a more collaborative and open platform for conducting B-School placements this year!

Food for thought

This talk on B-School placements definitely deserves an insightful closure! So, here are some apprehensions from today’s D2C IGNITE session, which can endow you with a perfect blend of motivation and guidance.

“Be curious and ask, do NOT assume. Do not be blind and follow someone else’s success journey with a hope of cherishing the same growth trajectory.”

“Your career may not always go on a straight line, it may be a zig-zag or cross but you will be much richer for sure.”

“Without data, you are a person with an opinion.”

“Understand the spectrum and figure out what the worst workday looks like in that particular firm. If you can pull it off, it is your go-to place.”

IGNITE - The Spark to your Dreams, was realised through a series of 6 information-packed sessions which saw recruiters and leaders from Reliance, ABG, TAS, Flipkart, Mondelez International, BCG, McKinsey, Bain & Co. and more. In case you missed any session, here are links to catch up on them: