Friday, January 27, 2012

How to Maximize your Chances of success in MFM NIFT Placement

If you are already in MFM of NIFT, it is imperative that you should start preparing for the big event and that is NIFT placement programme. Here are some of the tips that I believe will be helpful for you.

1. SGPA is Vital

SGPA decides if you are in or out, I mean if you are considered for further review or not. The reason for this is simple, every recruiter wants to hire the best of the lot. It is immaterial if a topper will be unsuccessful in the future career, chances are that the topper takes the best of the jobs. If you are not a topper, no need to feel disheartened. Try to be in the top five or top ten or top twenty. If everything else fail, try and maintain your SGPA more than 7.5. It helps a lot, believe me. 

2. Your Resume is the key to your Personality

Every thing that you write in your resume speaks volumes about you. The most obvious key to your personality are your career objective, hobbies and extra curricular activities. So put a lot of thoughts when writing about them. Put the best of your professional photographs in the resume. Only write if you know about it, thus if you have done a project on Kasuti embroidery, you should be able to explain the basics of that. 

3. Past Experience is Important

If you have worked previously, it will not help if you dedicate only one line of your resume regarding this. Give it due weight. Write about your achievement, your numbers. 

4. Present the best of yourself

This is repeated again and again. But the fact remains that still a lot of candidates come without proper thought to their dress. If you are a male, clean shave, mustaches and polished shoes are imperative. A tie, and a formal dress will add to your pitch. If you are a female, dress to the occasion. Watch the other professionals and emulate them. 


5. Don't Lose Track of Smaller Companies


In the NIFT placement, one is often enamored by big companies, but there are smaller companies also that visit and pay much better than the big names. Do not underestimate them. 

6. Negotiate

Negotiate if the job is finally offered to you, learn about the breakup of the salary, profile of the job and everything you want to know. The employers will be more than happy tell you. Often students do not negotiate once the job is offered. But it is always helpful to ask another few thousands, if they can be granted. 

7. You cannot NOT know the following

As an MFM student you are supposed to know the following: MS excel, analysis, brand and retail management, supply chain management and retail merchandising. Do not claim that you don't know these subjects. These subjects are your bread and butter. 

8. Your teachers/mentors are very important

Take help of your teachers when clarifying certain points about the company. They can also recommend to the companies about you. Believe me, recruiters put a great weight on teacher's recommendations.

9. Always check the offer companies have at the time of briefing

More often then not, companies revise their package upwards, or increase the offtake of the number of students at the last moment. It is advisable to listen to the briefing when they come instead of believing what is written on the noticeboard. Also do not believe the announcements from control room, often the announcements about the package etc are outdated. 

I am sure that by working on these points you can maximize your chances in the NIFT placement programme.