Dear Aspirant,

Thanks for writing to www.careerguide.com! You question is very broad. Is your question related to placement during study or job placement after completion of the study. It would have been better if you had provided information about your education, placement you are talking about and sector in which you are interested to get job. I will try to answer you based on my two assumptions:

(1) Paper or power point presentation for placement opportunities

Placement opportunity depends on academic institution, its policy and relationship of institution with other placement organizations, agencies or corporates. Not all academic institution expect student to make paper or power point presentation. However, student is expected to share his/her knowledge, competencies,  skills and learning objectives. Important is how you place yourself to the placement committee. If you are clear about what you have to offer and what you have to learn, I believe paper presentation or power presentation is not needed.

There is equal chance getting placement or losing placement if paper presentation or power point presentation.

(2) Qualities that recruiters look in students

Recruiters requirement differ as per their need. However in general, recruiters seek subjective knowledge, domain expertise and soft skills (communication, presentation skills, ability to work in challenging environment, commitment,  positive attitude etc.).

Every recruiter has a clear purpose for hiring an employee.  They have had a certain amount of experience with both good and bad employees. In general, recruiters look for following traits, competencies and skills:

Employers seek out following qualities in employees:

Consistent academic performance: Usually recruiters expect consistency in academic performance. Throughout first class is general  requirement. However, good performance in last academic session is always considered for hiring. After significant work experience, employers focus more on your competencies, skills, knowledge and performance.

Knowledge : Knowledge in your domain of expertise is important. Employers look at knowledge and your ability to utilize knowledge in every day job.

Confidence: Confidence increase chances of getting hired. If you are confident, you can adapt to the job requirement easily. Confidence is demonstrated through your belief in your abilities, skills & knowledge, clarity in expressing your thoughts  and decision, and  belief about your performance.

Competency: Be good at what you do. Competence determines your success in career. Key competencies include, integrity, transperancy, accountability, honesty, team spirit, confident communication, leadership, domain expertise, etc. You must be continually working to maintain and upgrade your levels of competence through personal study all your working life.

Skills: Skills can help you survive the job. It helps you accomplish tasks related to your job. For a first job, recruiters look for a skills such as subject specific skills (like accountancy, project planning & monitoring, etc.), communication, documentation, presentation skills, negotiation or persuasion skills. After significant work experience, analytic skills, critical thinking, decision-making, leadership skills are emphasized.

I request you to elaborate your question so that your query can be answered in detail.

Hope this is helpful.

With Best Wishes,

Apurva Kumar Pandya, PhD