‘Millennial workers are collaborative and prefer open-plan offices’

Avsar is a next-generation recruitment service provider in India that provides end-to-end solutions to its customers. They intend to help build a new socio-economic environment, by bridging the gap between the new generation of employable individuals and available opportunities. Over the few years of inception, they have been thoroughly appreciated by clients for our streamlined execution, highly efficient service and exceptional talent management.

In this interview for The Plunge Daily, Avsar’s founder, Mr Navneet Singh, talked about the hiring trends and what can help you get noticed by prospective employers.

How did the idea of Avsar come about? What were the challenges in you taking it forward?

Avsar was incepted with the goal of creating long-lasting and sustainable employment channels to create a successful socio-economic narrative. The discrepancy between the exceptional talent pool and market opportunities was the underlying problem that needed to be addressed. The idea that we decided to work upon was easy yet challenging – to add talents to companies. This fundamental principle offered a wide range of opportunities that catered to the demands of both companies and job seekers in terms of talent acquisition. 

With an economy that is clearly thriving, prosperous business settings, and soaring infrastructure, as well as India’s exponential growth trajectory, it is clear that the country needs a larger workforce that is employable. And what better approach to promote this coverage than to act as the point of convergence between the existing supply of available labour and the rising demand for labour?

AVSAR’s journey so far has been fulfilling. Having said this, we did face one major challenge when we were starting- entering the new market without any prior industry experience. However, we were able to overcome this roadblock with our hard work and support of our clients. We are grateful to them for valuing us and showing their faith in us. They left no stone unturned to praise and promote our services by giving references and recommendations not just within India but overseas as well. 

What are the differences in hiring trends for the GenZ as compared to the roles for millennials?

Professional development and networking sites are more popular with millennials searching for work opportunities. Moreover, they grew up in a period of economic prosperity which made millennials idealistic at work. Furthermore, they want to be a part of fields that add value and want to work in jobs that are meaningful. In fact, millennials are collaborative and prefer open-plan offices.  

Whereas, Generation Z is less likely to distinguish between personal and professional social media use, and spends more time on video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Individuals of this generation were born in the time of the great recession which resulted in making them more pragmatic in their approach. When it comes to building a career, they prioritize job security and good payscale over other requirements. Additionally, Gen Z prefers a private, personal office in a shared workspace and they become all the more competitive if compared to their old counterparts. 

To conclude, millennials are the digital pioneers, they easily grasp new technology tools and implement them to resolve problems. While Gen Z are the digital natives due to which they are easily able to access the internet from any device either mobiles or computer desktops.

Since both sections of the population come with their distinct characteristics, viewpoints and preferences, the hiring trends are bound to be different. 

What can help a student get the best job through college placements?

There are various tips and tricks which students should adopt before the campus placement takes place. The first and most important is for them to be clear about their preferences for the kind of fields they are interested in building their careers and the jobs they are comfortable with. Secondly, they need to be perfectly trained with the skills for the job roles they are planning to move forward with. Furthermore, proper research is to be performed to know about the background of the companies that would be a part of the placement cell, their work culture and other details that would help the students make the right decision. Additionally, students should build their CV that is not only appealing at the first glance but also suitable for the job role and organization. Lastly, one should always practice mock interviews and group discussion sessions to be well-prepared for the D-day. 

How has hiring for women changed in the last few years? What are the major trends?

Over the course of time, women are empowering themselves with the help of education and are growing in each field of life. This evolution has boomed in the past few years but underwent disruptions due to Covid-19 outbreak. The pandemic negatively affected the employment of India and more so for the female workforce. However, as everything is getting back to normal now, the employment rate is also improving. Not only urban females but women employees from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are getting opportunities to build their careers and be independent. 

What are some of the technologies that Avsar uses to help companies select the best talent?

Our sole vision at AVSAR is to provide the best talent to our client companies. We prioritize their requirements and work as per their demands. All in all, our vision and mission are to maintain the quality of candidates throughout. Our recruitment team leverages various job portals for talent hunting and providing top-notch candidates. Furthermore, our Application Tracking System (ATS) also helps us to track and seamlessly manage the entire recruitment process. All of these technologies play an important role in the recruitment process. 

How is Avsar different from other hiring agencies?

When we established AVSAR, we knew it was the right time to move beyond the ‘one-size-fits-all approach’. Hence, we focused on quality over quantity. Even today, our motive is to provide the best talent that is reliable, loyal, trustworthy and committed towards work. Our organisation’s mission and vision is to provide customer satisfaction. With clear focus on our work, we try to meet our clients’ demands with our exceptional, new-age services. 

In order to build successful long-term partnerships with our clients, we consider criterias such as talent fit and organisational culture fit, in addition to candidate’s aspirations. The amalgamation of these elements ensures high first touch conversions, resulting in high returns for both clients and candidates. 

We also have our own in-house recruitment team that is fully-trained and equipped in recruiting the best talent available in the market. Moreover, we also have our own ATS system which helps us efficiently track the complete assessment process. It is due to our disruptive approach and customer-first ideology along with tech-enabled services that help us enjoy a competitive edge over other industry players. 

If the job-seekers had to choose between actively pursuing hiring managers and patiently waiting and watching for the HRs to come back, what should they go for? Are there scenarios where the strategy should be reversed?

We all are aware about the eagerness of a candidate to secure a job opportunity. But this eagerness should never overpower professional decorum. Every job-seeker should be calm and poised and follow the code of ethics. If the interview has been conducted, the candidate should ideally patiently wait for the hiring manager to revert. However, if 2-3 days pass and there is no update, then, candidates should subtly yet professionally seek clarity and inquire about the result. The way a candidate behaves throughout the recruitment speaks a lot about his/her nature and traits. This is why patience, professionalism and effective communication right from HR round to the outcome day are required from the job seekers’ end. 

What are some of the most important skills youngsters from small towns and villages should learn to help them compete with the talent from metropolitans?

With evolving times, youngsters are relocating to urban areas from Tier-2 and 3 cities in search of jobs. They face certain challenges when it comes to settling down and finding employment. Often, they lack in areas such as communication, behavioural skills, interaction skills, leadership and personality traits. It is these areas that they have to work upon and polish themselves. 

Communication is a vital part of one’s personality and is a necessary skill for seeking job opportunities in cities. Irrespective of their educational background, behavioural and leadership skills along with personality development are the other key areas youngsters from small towns need to focus on and improve. It is these traits that will boost their confidence and make them a perfect fit for corporates and organizations. 

What are some of the streams for which it is better to look for jobs inside India, rather than aiming for employment abroad?

To be honest, every country is equally good in its own way. Each country comes with its pros and cons and we can never really compare two destinations especially when it comes to building careers. This choice is solely dependent on the job seekers and their preferences. But speaking from a generic and industry point of view, various new-age fields such as Data Science and blockchain and age-old domains of Digital marketing, Product Management, and Software Engineering are gaining popularity in India.