Ms Sadhana Somasekhar, Joint Managing Director & Chief Marketing Officer at Future Focus Infotech Pvt. Ltd. – has been in the industry for 20 years. Specializing in Business Strategy and Communication, she has been the recipient of the “High Intensity Entrepreneur” certificate by the AllWorld Network @ Harvard University, USA. She was also declared as the “Leading Woman Entrepreneur in SME” during the Second Annual Women Leaders in India Awards 2010 @ New Delhi.

Read on to know more about her experience and to get useful tips for your career…

You are now Jt. Managing Director & CMO of Future Focus Infotech Pvt. Ltd., can you tell us a little about your journey, what significant things you did, what challenges you faced and what it takes to reach such levels?

It is believed that one of the drivers of the next economy will see the connection of Infotech and Biotech. My mother, who navigated my formative years, actually did foresee this, I must say.  I was inclined to science- Microbiology and Medical Pathology; I felt great peering through a microscope and remember getting excited like a child every time observing another universe through the lens. While I loved research at a tiniest sphere, I was more drawn towards the “human” level of my work and engagement.  To stay abreast of  the technological advancements in Microbiology and augment my understanding of  the IT side of  my work, my mother inspired me to get my post grad – an Honours in Systems Analysis.

This was one of those life changing decisions, although at that time, I was probably not aware of the same.  This decision has gone on to shape what I am and what I do today. The end of 2 and half years studying IT bought with it the paradigm shift from Microbiology to the commencement of what is today, 2 decades in IT addressing business in various flavours – networking solutions/products, hardware, software and most of all interacting and engaging with People.  I know that at the end of the day, life is at the core of everything.

In essence, looking back, perseverance against odds, courting fear and advancing against criticism have been the hallmark of my self-styled idealism-  as in refusing to accept failure, being challenged by it even. The understanding that we hold in our hands the power to change life, the mind, or a circumstance today – right now – is a powerful insight and motivator for me.

To be constantly persistent, everyone needs inspirations and role models. Who was your role model while at college? Your role model now?

To have a single role model is quite dangerous.  You know what happened to Eklavya. Probably as a child I had a role model or even several of them. The role model I have in my mind today is a construct of the books I have read, the experiences I have exposed myself to, the people I have met, etc. Collating them may not provide me a physical imagery; it’s more an embodiment of the have beens, has been and should/will be, of my life.

What resources (forums, websites, online tools etc) would you recommend students could use to prepare themselves to enter the corporate world?

Interacting online – particularly in forums – being active in social media or websites may be  good; yet one may end up boxing in the dark without the right skills sets to prioritize and process information.  Attention as a quality is a scarce commodity today; the excitement of the stuff that you get online does very little to build one’s attention skills. Students who have ‘reading’ as foundational strength will know how to use the resources online and offline intelligently and will end up with bag full of the  attention currency / wealth  which will be the ‘legal tender’ in the attention economy. The way knowledge is disseminated is & will continue changing with the onset of Edutainment- “entertain and educate” there by appealing to the larger, increasingly youth-audience/members; improving knowledge about educational issues, instigating interest, creating favorable attitudes, and changing overt behaviour.

Personally I would say students who are good with Attention skills have more chances of getting into the corporate world.

Social Media has created a world without boundaries – it is inspiring to witness the idealistic power of young people in action. The idealism of youth is a powerful force for leading change in the world. Often it is our youth who put into action values that we have instilled in them – but have failed to act on ourselves. The world, therefore, depends on the idealism of youth to lead the way. Thus, all the more important it is that they are as aware and circumspect of the dark side of social media and navigate carefully to harness the positives.  Just as real as the “human” world, the highly connected “digital” world too has its own social “policies”- who you are seen with and engage with, reflects directly on your profile and image. This may not be very relevant as a student but with the foray into the professional world, who you are, is also a sum total of your ‘contacts’ and ‘links”.

In the corporate world, Social Media impacts organizations who need to remain relevant to a new generation, and who find their own work and structures being changed by changing communication tools and patterns of communications.

Do you think internships add value to a students’ learning? How do you perceive internships?

Campus to Corporate journey is not seamless. Life is not as simple as applying what you study on to the work.  Even in a methodical engineering led process of work, the ability to work as a team is the key.  And to work as a team, communication is vital.  Working as a team has its own challenges.  It was Ariel Grunewald who said that handling issues is work and it is not the one that keeps us away from work.  Interns equipped with their academic knowledge tend to have a soda straw view of a typical work environment; Internships would actually help them with a much larger view, what I would like to call the ‘gorgon view’ & would help to understand that work has to be viewed from different perspectives.  This becomes all the more important as the demands on collaborative projects increases.  Interpersonal skills and ability to cooperate and work as a team and the ability to communicate ideas will hold out a premium over individual brilliance.

When faced with two equally-qualified candidates, what are the key parameters based which you will pick/hire one?

Language skills for sure; after all language is the window to the personality.  With all the preparatory training to develop soft skills, sometimes even attitude can be faked.   I look for non verbal cues, understanding body language, etc.   Also in a typical interview, I try out curve ball questions and red herring to assess the candidates “Ethics Quotient”.

Your take on the impact of social media on the recruitment and networking. What tips do you have for students here?

There is a perceptible shift happening on the recruitment from job portals to social media.  In the coming years organizations will have the option of reaching out the passive job seekers using social media tools.  I would say that every young professional must have a presence in the social media.

This, in a way, may mean that what you do at leisure would come under scrutiny.  There are instances, sporadic though, when fun statements made in a social network form has resulted in job threatening situations.  When the boundaries between organic and inorganic or between living and the non living are blurring, there should be no reason why such blur will not happen between social life and professional life, simply put- the blur between fun and work is happening.

Social life, hence, needs to be handled with care.  The quality of friends you have and the discussion types may have to be strictly governed by socially acceptable guidelines.

What is your advice to college students who want to take initiatives outside of academics?

Academic performance cannot stand alone when it comes to hiring. If you were to see how the future of work is going to be, the emphasis will be on creative and social endeavours.  College students must take to performing arts, music, dance and drama or any such creative endeavours earnestly. They must have their accomplishments manifested over there and on that basis will their academic performance or job suitability will be judged.

Entrepreneurial skills can add energy to any profile.  Entrepreneurial skills can range from teaching (tuitions) to social entrepreneurship.

FUTURE FOCUS INFOTECH PVT. LTD.

What is Future Focus Infotech’s strategy when it comes to recruiting freshers?

We do not have a specific strategy when it comes to recruiting freshers since the number of fresher openings is usually quite limited as we are primarily professional services provider to the IT industry which demands experience. We do recruit freshers for  in-house roles. Candidates are usually identified through referrals, job boards and through some industry-academia interaction.

What are the typical fresher roles at Future Focus Infotech?

Unlike various other fields, the Consulting service and recruitment vertical does not have the convenience or access to personnel formally certified or qualified in ‘recruitment” or “consulting”. This is a vertical that creates its own assets/supply chain. Freshers with alignment/aspirations in HR are considered for induction as trainees into the system- functioning as trainees along the various links in our business process- Delivery (recruitments), BCS (HR Customer support), BR (Marketing), etc.  The latter is more exceptional than the other roles as it is client facing and experience cannot be compromised.

Since we also have Software services, we have inducted freshers in QA and Testing, though this is a limited seat opportunity. In strategic customer relationships, when dealing with rare/less available technical skills, we have inducted freshers who are further trained and then assigned to the project.

Would you tell us briefly about the distinctive cultural characteristics of your company, and how young graduates can adjust to this environment?

We like to believe that when it comes to “corporate culture”, it is a reiteration and consolidation of various values that stem from the people who make FFI.  As a result it is not rigid as in un-evolving – we believe we have a culture that is change-adept, and agile enough to evolve & progress with the changing times and people-profiles. The nuances of our culture are reflected in our mission statement – sensitivity, awareness, individual pride and company spirit.

Very simply, the pursuit of excellence, knowledge of the business, forward thinking & planning,  effective communication, personal integrity and joy in & at work, are what we strive towards.

What prospects does Future Focus Infotech offer for freshers who join?

Once hired, the sky is the limit as the saying goes. It is dependent on the individual to explore and harness all that the organization has to offer even though the organization is strongly aligned towards team-development as its own deliverable.  FFI is one of the pioneers in IT HR Consulting services. Our profile and nature of customer engagement are uncommon in our vertical. The organization strongly believes in grooming from within and growing outwards. But this involves a long term commitment wrt staying power, strong sense of individuality and deep initiative & commitment (towards self and company) from the individual. The team we have today is testimony to the fact that this investment is definitely not without proven benefits.

What kind of selection process you follow at your company?

Most selection processes cannot accurately predict probability of performance or potential. In most cases, the process relies solely upon three basic elements, and each is a poor predictor of performance/ potential. For us, candidate identification commences with the search process which is based on the guidelines in the ‘job description’.

In the case of roles that require experienced professionals, relevant experience is one of the important details we look for in the resume for further short listing. When it comes to freshers, apart from the academic performance which in itself is a very basic indicator, we mostly short-list on the basis of their response to the role that we have to offer, the actual communication quality & attitude that comes across, before and during the interview.

Selection is the outcome from the 3 three elements in the screening and assessment process, viz.

1. Resume screening
2. Interviews
3. Reference checks

Would you like to give some tips that will help students in getting into your company?

• Know as much of the company as is relevant to the role that you are positioning yourself for – you should have checked out the website, read about the business and what your role is expected to be.
• If you are a fresher, offer or suggest a real-time “demo” period to show-case your capabilities. This is not a common approach. But more often than not, you will definitely land the job if you do deliver during the ‘demo’.  It becomes a more real assessment than a few hours of interviewing
• Do not answer questions where you do not know or have an answer. Be honest when dealing with the interview and consistent with your replies when there are more than one round
• Dress/groom yourself appropriately-you are your own ‘Brand Ambassador’
• Complete all documentation – it will demonstrate discipline and responsibility which are integral to professionalism.