A rigorous assessment of applicants is must- Westmarty Infotech

Rameshwar, co-founder and advisor at Westmarty Infotech, regularly hires interns to involve them in projects related to Petroleum and Mechanical Engineering.  On asking about mistakes made during hiring interns, he says (rather sternly), “Companies should not just rely on what an applicant is saying…a rigorous assessment is important..” Below are the excerpts of our talk with Rameshwar.

Q. What is your philosophy of having an internship programme at Westmarty Infotech?

Ans: Internship is an excellent approach for checking capability and passion of students; and if interns perform well, they can even be considered for full time job. Internship allows us to assess a student NOT only by interviewing them but also by assessing her work ability, technical skills, passion, and many other skills during the period. Internship also allows us to get some of our technical works done in a cost effective manner.

Therefore, our philosophy of having an internship program at Wesmarty Infotech is to involve good candidate, check their capability in working environment (NOT only by interviewing them) and be connected with good candidates for future engagement (job)- basically creating a talent pipeline.

Q. Have you ever done any important project in which interns played a critical role? Please elaborate.

Ans: Yes, interns have played critical roles in some our projects, but they have been a few. We had some good interns and their contribution to our projects was excellent. However, we could not get the whole work done due to shortage of time. Therefore, I’d say if we can find good interns, then we can expect to get substantial progress in project work.

Q. While hiring interns, what are the skills/attributes that you look for in a candidate?

Ans: We look for interns who have good technical skills, and are enthusiastic about learning and improving their skills. We look for candidate who is serious and disciplined towards his/her work. We enjoy intern who joins us to learn and contribute to our projects rather than adding number of months of training in his/her CV. We prefer interns who understand and value our project milestones.

Q. Have you ever made mistakes while hiring and ended up hiring totally wrong candidate(s)? What were those mistakes? And in your opinion, what are the common pain points of intern hiring?

Ans: Yes, this mostly happens in start-up phase of a company. Due to lack of experience of intern hiring, we believed everything students said during the interview, but later on we realised that they promised much more than they could deliver. Many times, we have come across students who were either not good enough to contribute to our project and some not even enthusiastic to learn.

Q. A message that would you like give to the companies/start-ups running internship programmes?

Ans: I will suggest that start-ups should not just rely on the word and promises of an applicant, but rather invite them for an  interview and assess their technical skills properly. I will suggest not to hire a student who is NOT even enthusiastic to learn. I will also suggest that try finding candidates who you, as a company, can connect for future collaboration. Our experience is, we have always got students from IIT/NIT level institutes. For sure there are many good students in private colleges, but they are rare to find.

Q.  What is your message to students who are looking for internships?

Ans: I will suggest students to join a company which can provide you maximum opportunity to learn new technologies and improve your skills. And don’t join a company which only aims to earn out of your work.

I urge you to not to make fake promises. Try to make yourself a better professional, and more accountable towards your responsibilities. Be honest during an interview- say no if you don’t have the required skills.  Remember, if you score high on ‘will’ and you have right attitude, you will land your dream internship/job.

If you’re an employer and want to share your experience of running an internship programme, or want to hire interns for your own organization, drop a line at shadab@internshala.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Are you an employer looking for interns? Hire interns through Internshala; it’s free and hassle-free.