Resources

Negotiating your compensation/stipend is an art. As is usual, some people are superb at it and some are abysmal at negotiating. However, your compensation is an important component of your career. It matters because it is intricately linked with your happiness and self-worth. If you are doing the best work of your life and it is not valued properly, you will be disappointed.

While every fresher prepares to ace those interviews, the aspect of compensation negotiation is conveniently left behind. I agree that if you are a fresher, you do not have much of a bargaining point due to the lack of your experience. However, that doesn’t mean that you accept a job offer with a compensation/stipend which is underwhelming.

Here are 3 points that you should pay attention to while negotiating your first compensation

1. Know the industry standard

If you are a smart person, you will have already done this. Go ahead and find out the average compensations of freshers who work in the same function that you are applying for. There are many resources such as student portals, forums etc. where you can ask your queries. Compensations differ between industries and departments. Further differences crop up when you add different cities and countries to the mixture. The best thing would be to maintain a small excel sheet with this data. Have conversations with your employed friends and contacts and figure out the kind of compensation that you would want.

2. Let the company make the first offer

Now since you know the industry standard and your personal limit, you are in a better position to deal with compensation negotiations during or after an interview. Let them make you an offer. Do not put your expectations out there. Politely evade questions which ask you to put out your expectations. Counter this by saying that you are interested in the opportunities of working a world class organization and how you can add value. Once you get a compensation offer, you will know which step to take. If it is more than you expected, then that is great. You should go ahead and take that offer.

However, if it less that what you expected then make it known that the compensation offered is does not match your expectations. This is the scariest thing for freshers to say, because of the uncertainty over how an employer would react to this. The truth is that if an employer really wants you to work at their company, then he or she will make it a point to give you a higher compensation offer the second time. If they are adamant about the amount they are offering, take some time to decide. In most cases, you should let that opportunity go unless there is something really specific about the company that excites you. Never ever compromise on a fair compensation under any other circumstance.

3. Be calm and confident

It is not wrong to ask what you think you deserve. There are always differences in opinion and expectations but that does not mean that you have to accept anything just because someone says so. If you have done your research, then you will be completely confident during the negotiation. Also, be super patient because these things might take time. I know that those among you who are doing this for the first time will be restless but don’t let your body and mind get the better of you. Stay calm and talk intelligently. Make sure that everyone involved sees sense in the arguments you make for a higher offer.

When you are looking for career opportunities, your resume is the most important asset that you have. Your resume gives an employer a brief and precise look at your personal details, educational details and your objectives. When it comes to short listing candidates for an interview, this is the only real data point that an employer or interviewer has before they make a decision to select you.

We know that capturing all your ambitions, your ideas, your skills and your achievements on a single page can be difficult feat, even more so if you are going about creating your resume for the first time. To help you build a perfect first resume, we have collated a couple of tips for you.

1. Graphical or text based resume?

Just because a resume has been traditionally done as one page text document does not mean that you should go only with that. Different jobs and professional fields do give you the choice to have creative resumes with graphical elements. If you are a designer, art director or a fashion designer, it makes complete sense for you to create a graphical resume. This also does mean that text based resumes are a bad option. You can also go ahead and convey your information in best way possible via text. It is just a call that you must take before you begin creating your resume. This should depend on what you want to express and how you want to express it. Decide this and then you can move on to the next part.

2. Planning the layout

Once you have decided upon the type of resume that you want to go ahead with, then the first thing you should do is go ahead and make a layout for your resume. This means that you should make a framework and decided upon what titles and sub-titles you will be adding in your resume.

An optimal resume has the following progression,

1. Name and personal details (Address, phone number and email)
2. Objective
3. Educational background
4. Skills obtained (rated from proficient to average)
5. Education related activities undertaken
6. Extra curricular activities undertaken
7. Hobbies and interests

These points are generic ones. You can customize these fields to your liking. 

3. Filling up the details

Once you have finalized the layout, get to work on filling up the details in every section. Make use of tables and organize your data in a neat and clean way. Make sure that you are only adding to the point information. Do not go ahead and write a novel. Employers do not have time to read through everything. You should make sure that an employer reading your resume should be able to go through it in 1-2 minutes and obtain all the information that you need.

4. Be honest about your information

Be very honest about what you put out on your resume. Since the professional world is competitive, you will face a temptation to embellish your resume by adding stuff which might not be true. This is ethically wrong and can give you a wrong direction in the professional world. Employers can also catch this because they have tonnes of experience when it comes to reading resumes. Keep it simple and straightforward and we promise you that everything will end up well.

5. Make it beautiful

After you have added your details, go ahead and tweak your resume so that it look even more attractive. Add icons and graphics where they are needed. Use a nice and pleasing font. Go through the formatting options in your word processor and arrange your data in a minimal and aesthetic manner.

6. Share it with family and friends

After you have put finishing touches on your resume, go ahead and share it with your friends and family members. Ask them for their feedback and incorporate it into your resume if it makes sense to you. Nobody is perfect and resume building is an always on process. Whenever you get some relevant feedback about your resume, make sure that it reflects in your resume. It would also be great to share your resume with a professional in the same field. They could also give you some very good feedback based on their experiences.

7. Which formats do you use?

It is always good to use Microsoft Office or similar word processors to build your resume and to save them in a docx format. Also, keep a PDF version handy. You can easily create a PDF version of your resume by exporting it in Microsoft Word. You can also use Microsoft Powerpoint to make a resume and then export it as a PDF file. If you are creating a graphical resume then it makes sense to create it in a graphics program like Photoshop, GIMP etc. and to then export it to a PDF.

Here are a few examples of the types of resumes that can be created.

• Resume Sample for Freshers
• Resume Sample for MBA Marketing Freshers
• Resume Sample for M.Tech. Freshers

We hope you liked this tutorial on how to build your resume. If you have any suggestions please let us know.

As the internship season is nearing, there will be a neck plunging competition for upcoming winter and summer internships.

An important dimension of our work at Switch Idea is to raise the bar for NTAT-certified students and their achievement, which opens up to new internship opportunities, summer projects and industry knowledge at any stage during their under-graduation and post-graduation. With LinkedIn, we are now able to give students the opportunity to easily update their online professional profiles to acknowledge their accomplishment.

A student with NTAT certificate is naturally implied to have better professional skills and is preferred by employers over someone who does not have the certificate. Since the identity of every student appearing for NTAT examination is manually verified at the examination center, companies are assured of a NTAT certified candidate’s identity, college associations, degrees they are pursuing and their domain skills. That means a NTAT certified LinkedIn profile boasts of a verified and qualified student whom employers are more likely to hire.

Learn more on How to Add Your NTAT Certificate to LinkedIn and the Benefits That Come Along

There are thousands of websites, blogs, and guides written on how to land a good internship. Chances are, you’ve heard or you know about most of the advice these guides offer. The majority of these guides are focused on telling you how to get a gig, but none of the guide tells you how to land ‘the’ gig.

You are looking for the internships that not only pay you a substantial stipend but also take you up the elevator to the corporate penthouse. But how can you get THOSE internships? With every good internship positions receiving a huge volume of resumes, how will you make yourself stand out? What will you do to ensure that the employer picks your resume out of the pile?

Today's post will give you the answer. With our experience helping thousands of students get verified internships, our placement team has curated a list of important documents you should be having before starting your internship.

Permission Letter from HOD

Of course, you need permission to be away from college for the tenure of your internship. Therefore, NOC letter from college authority for an internship is a must-have document so that you can intern with the company without falling short on attendance. If you are selected for an internship, use the sample permission letter and get it signed by your Head Of Department (HOD), Training & Placement Officer (TPO) or the Principal. In addition to getting permission from college, the letter also acts as a paper record of the internship for the college.

Letter of Recommendation (LOR) For Internship

Having a recommendation letter signed and stamped by your Head of Department or College Principle works in favour of your internship candidature. This adds more weightage to your resume and gives you an edge over your competition. Check the sample recommendation letter for internship to understand how to craft a strong and precise recommendation letter without overdoing it.

Note: Recommendation Letter should be signed and stamped by your Head of Department or College Principal.

Statement of Purpose (SOP) for an Internship

Many employers or internships need you to write an essay on why you’re interested in interning for their company or the role you are applying. If a company hasn’t asked this, it is always beneficial that you provide a statement of your purpose anyway. It is the only document that you have free reign to write what you like and to persuade them to take you.

Check out this sample Statement of Purpose (SOP) letter for an Internship where the student Tulsi clearly specifies why she has a deep seated interest in the area of the internship.

Free Resource: Internship Hacks eBook

This exclusive internship hacks document comprises of easy-to-understand strategies which will help you to get an assured paid internship at any start-up in India. Unlike other guides that talk internship tips on a superficial level, this document walks you through each step of landing internship on a detail yet effective manner. From helping you draft a eye-catching resume to tips on getting connected with your employers, this 6 pages easy-to-read internship guide is sure is a must-read for every aspiring intern.

Know more about Internship Hacks eBook

A successful and worthwhile internship is a goal of all interns. However, even after you have met this goal, you need to give it a great finishing touch by ensuring that you have the right documents after your internship. After all, your internship may become your first stepping stone towards a rewarding career.

These documents are those that will help you showcase the experience and learning you gained during your internship. Whereas these documents might give a quick preview to your first full-time employer of your experience as a freshman, they also help you secure the required college credits for your further studies. In addition, if you are still a student, your institution might need you to submit copies of the evidence and the summary of the tasks you performed during your internship.

POs Document

PO (Program Outcomes) document summarises your knowledge, professional skills, and various personality attributes for an intern. We, at Switch Idea, facilitate the NBA defined POs for every NTAT certified student. The HR department of the organization where you completed your internship provides a filled, signed copy of the PO document to you. A copy of this document is submitted to the HOD or principal at your institution.After your internship, you need a concrete evidence of the knowledge and skills to enhance your employability after your graduation.

Intern Feedback Form

The Intern Feedback form presents a detailed account of his/her activities during the internship and includes a feedback and grading from the mentor in the company where the internship was performed. Essentially, this form indicates your performance as assessed by your mentor and requires you and your mentor, both to sign it. This form is also necessary to be created and obtained in order to meet the NBA requirements.

Certificate of Internship/Experience

This is a certificate by the company where you completed your internship and it certifies that you completed your internship during a specific duration on a specific subject/project/assignment. This certificate needs to be printed on the official stationery of the organization where you performed your internship and needs to be duly signed by the HR or a competent authority in that organization.

Pre-Placement Offer letter

In case the organization where you completed your internship is happy to offer you employment, they defer your joining until you complete your current education. In order to ensure that you get your due employment as per the offer made to you, you must obtain a copy of the pre-placement offer letter and retain it for producing when you’re available for being employed.

Know More about these documents here.