Future of campus placements post Covid-19

The present work environment is dynamic and constantly evolving due to rapid growth, technological disruption, and industrialization. In this constant state of flux, increased competition, and innovation the workforce needs to them themselves relevant. With the Pandemic coming to play, the market has changed significantly with remote working and team collaboration being the top priority. 

But the question is how to keep yourself ahead of the game and thrive in this new reality? Skill Development, Training and Career Development is the answer. Find the right job fitment and develop the required hard and soft skills by updating yourself with the newest trends in the field. Soft Skills have taken the center stage now and their significance is constantly growing over time.   

According to the World Economic Forum, the top ten skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution have shifted in the last several years, prioritizing complex problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity as the top three skills and adding emotional intelligence to the list.  

According to a Forbes Article (2021) Soft skills — such as empathy, emotional intelligence, kindness, mindfulness, adaptability, integrity, optimism, self-motivation, grit, and resilience — have become crucial success factors.  

In 2017, Deloitte also reported that "soft skill-intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030".   

Soft Skills like empathy, creativity, emotional intelligence, and Technology Skills remain common in various reports and research exploring the skills important for the future of workplace. Soft Skills cannot be essentially replaced by automation, a machine cannot replace your ability to be cognizant of other’s emotions and understand your own emotions well while dealing with a difficult situation.   

Being self-aware, understanding your own personality, interests, and motivation is the key to being emotionally intelligent. This leads to better communication skills, active listening, and more empathy.  

Another significant skill is creativity. Creativity is the ability to overcome the mundane ways of doing or thinking about things and coming up with innovative yet practical solutions to a problem. It requires divergent thinking i.e., thinking about multiple solutions to a problem. The future demands new ways of thinking and innovation at the workplace. With technology disruption, lean management, and limited manpower coming into play, creativity plays a key role in embracing new perspectives towards working and stand out from the competitors.   

Demand for Critical Thinking Skills has been on the rise. Critical Thinking skills involves evaluation of arguments or information presented, then recognizing the assumptions and how these assumptions are influencing the arguments stated. Evaluating the entire scenario and then concluding by taking a rational decision based on the information presented. Critical Thinking Skills is imperative to solve complex problems using reason and logic.   

With the dynamic change and global dynamics coming to play, no issue exists in isolation with the increased interconnectedness. Understanding Human emotions, problems, and psychology of how to deal and manage with people is of prime importance. “Every business is actually in the business of changing human behavior. How can we expect ourselves to do a good job at marketing or advertising our product when we fundamentally don't understand how human behavior works?” Kunal Shah, founder of CRED, told LinkedIn News India in an interview.