Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Founder & CEO, Naukri.com
The palpable exuberance that existed in the job market up until early last year has toned down considerably. The economic slowdown continues to impact businesses, thereby derailing job-seekers fromthier growth path. Entry-level professionals have been hit the hardest by the slowdown,concedes Sanjeev Bhikchandani. In an interview with Urmila Rao, the founder and CEO of Naukri.com talks about the track job-seekers should take like these.
Q: What does a job-seeker stand to gain by switching to job portals from more traditional avenues like recruiting agencies and campus recruitments?
A: Job portals have certain advantages over recruiting agencies. At Naukri.com we have a database of 16 million résumés, which are searched by over 30,000 recruiters, so the chance of a candidate getting a response is higher. Moreover, applicants can manage their résumés from anywhere, keep it live and current, and can apply from any location. The principal benefit is the reach.
Q: Has Naukri.com seen a decline in the flow of résumés, given the economic slowdown?
A: In a situation like this, people tend to become averse to risk. So, if you already hold a job, you want to hang on to it rather than take a risk, unless you work for a company which is likely to downsize. We have not seen a significant increase or decrease in the number of résumés. But there is definitely a problem at entry-level hiring, so students fresh out of campuses are finding it a lot harder to find jobs.
Q: It is an unprecedented situation for the entry-level workforce and they are quite disappointed...
A: Economic cycles are part of a competitive market. Yes, it's a bit of bad luck for the entry-level set, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The situation will take a year or two to recover. During this time, the IT industry will not hire the way it did in the past, especially at the entry-level. They will have to look at jobs in sectors other than IT.
Q: What would be your advice to first time job-seekers?
A: They should aim for higher studies now, or gain some work experience somewhere. This is not the time to fuss about salaries, postings or type of work. Just get some work experience.
Q: Which sectors are still strong on recruitments?
A: Education, healthcare, pharma, FMCG, telecom and insurance are strong on recruitments. Insurance, however, is a slightly different case. Here the sector is expanding because a lot of companies are entering this sector and therefore there is hiring. Nevertheless, these sectors are a bit more cautious than they were a year ago, because they are observing the environment around them and they don't want to get stuck with ill-fitting people like other companies. At the same time, there is a better availability of talent for these organisations. So they are able to pick and choose candidates and negotiate pay packages better.
Q: Have companies substantially cut down on salary levels?
A: Salary levels don't decline, they stay where they are. An individual company will not pay a person lower than what they paid someone last year. Let's say if a company is hiring a management trainee at Rs 50,000 a month, they will hire at the same amount, or they may not hire at all. The candidates who are only just graduating may then have to go to other companies which are paying Rs 30,000 a month. That's how average salaries come down. Companies don't lower the salaries people are being hired by different companies at a lower salary. Increments are much lower this year. There are a few companies where people have taken salary cuts, but there are not too many companies like that.
Q: How can one ensure that one's résumé gets noticed in a sea of résumés?
A: The best way to differentiate a CV is to make it more comprehensive. So, candidates should spend time and effort in preparing a detailed résumé. They shouldn't exaggerate or embellish their résumé. Be truthful. It is very important that the employer knows your key strengths and entrusts you with a role responsibility that you fit into well. You will be happy and the employer too feels satisfied that a false claim hasn't been made by you. Uploading a detailed résumé is also important because when a recruiter searches for a candidate, he does so with certain keywords it could be qualification, experience, location and/or the type of industry and the type of function. When he narrows down his search, he is able to centre upon CVs that match the work profile.
Q: Are there certain skill-sets which can give an employee an edge over others in these times?
A: Competency, commitment and right attitude. Companies are going through tough times. They may ask you to stretch a bit more in terms of taking on more responsibilities or not fussing over lower or nil salary increments. So, the right attitude matters. Hiring companies expect the same from recruits too.
Q: Is it a good move to negotiate on salary at this point?
A: Certainly not at the entry-level. At middle management level, however, the situation is different. A lot depends on the role that one is handling, the capabilities that one has, your current income and the competing offers that you would have. There are no hard and fast rules. 
Q: What would be your advice to professionals who have either been laid off or haven't been able to find a job yet?
A: Use all available methods to try and land the right job, whether it is through job sites or personal networking. Keep trying. At the same time, do a course for six months or a year. You can also shift sectors. A lot of academically-inclined managers are picking up jobs in management schools.
Q: What is the current mood of the job market?
A: The situation is definitely better than last October-December. As per our research, the overall job index has moved up by 5% from 738 in January to 774 in February on the base figure of 1,000. Cities like Chandigarh and Ahmedabad have shown a recent increase in hiring activity. Hiring has gone up in industries like oil and gas, auto and construction, apart from pharma and insurance. Now there is greater demand for sales and business development professionals and also for production personnel.
Q: Your forecast on the situation of the job market?
A: In another five-six months we should see the situation improving. Increments may not come in a hurry, but fresh hiring will go up. There will be some sackings, but the net impact will be positive in five to six months. The entry-level situation is unlikely to improve for another year or two. At Naukri.com we are taking an initiative to provide a ready platform to first-time job entrants through our new portal, firstnaukri.com. Now, apart from traditional avenues like campus recruitments and walk-in interviews, the fresh applicants can turn to e-recruitments too
