Test aspirants in football and kabaddi matches on leadership, discipline and ability to perform under stressful situations
Students playing a kabaddi match during the VES recruitment drive
What if you are told that your job recruitment will be based on how well you play football or kabaddi in a team?
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In a one-of-its-kind recruitment drive held at Vivekanand Education Society's (VES's) colleges, graduating students were asked to participate in a specially-crafted champion's trophy, on the promise that those selected would get to skip the initial test rounds held during hiring.
The candidates will be evaluated on leadership, decision-making and team-building skills, discipline, level of being socially active and the ability to perform under stressful situations.
The unconventional recruitment drive was held in association with Midas Pharma Care Company, which is recruiting candidates from 10 colleges for different entry-level positions.
Eye on on-field prowess
More than 60 teams comprising 500 students from institutes affiliated to VES, including K J Somaiya Institute of Engineering, SIWS College, A C Patil College Of Engineering, M H Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, Saraswati College of Engineering, J R college, Nagrik Shikshan Sanstha, and A R Kalsekar Polytechnic, participated in the drive that concluded yesterday.
Explaining the concept, director of Midas Pharma Care, Shivangi Gupta, said, "This was done to understand if candidates have the basic qualities needed for a successful career. Students who have the traits we are looking for will get to skip the aptitude test and group discussion rounds."
"We deliberated on what would be the correct way to get the right people for the company. This, we thought, was a great way, considering the industry-academia gap these days, due to which aptitude tests may vary depending on what is taught and what is in practice in industry," she added.
When asked how the company would be able to assess candidates in team sports, Gupta said, "We are not looking for winners. They need not have technical knowledge of the game to win it. We will be looking at leadership, taking lead in difficult situations and other such characteristics."
The company is recruiting for sales, marketing, quality assurance, maintenance, production, and engineering among other departments.
Showcasing their skills
Students were taken aback by such a recruitment plan initially. After it ended, most were all praise for the novel idea, which, they said, gave them an opportunity to show their talents that were beyond academics.
Ritesh Samant, who will complete his masters in management in finance from VES college, said, "It was a very unique initiative. Students did enjoy it, especially those good at sports. Now, we are all waiting for the results."
Another student, Jino Cyriac, who will complete his M-Tech from Saraswati Engineering College, had a similar view.
"It was a great experience, much different from regular pressure of aptitude tests. Most importantly, it's fair that they aren't giving any preference to professional players as selection does not depend on who wins the game," he said.
Dr Satish Modh, director of VES's management institute, which initiated the project, said, "This is the best way of recruitment. Just theoretical knowledge is not enough to make it big professionally. For companies too, it is important to judge a candidate's personality and character - whether s/he has the ability to lead, to resolve difficult situations, etc. And sports is the best way to gauge all this."
500
Number of students who participated in the drive
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