Subhashini Sriram
HR Manager, Telelogic
Software solutions provider
Headcount: 200 employees

What I like:
Make your expectations clear before you take a chair in front of an interview board. It’s the expectation that drive people places, but it should have a strong backup of homework. Once I met a candidate who had applied for the post of Software Design Engineer. He wanted to change, as there was a mismatch between his expectations and the technology he was working in the previous company. He said his expectation is to work with the latest technology. And he substantiated his points with the research he did about the company, technology and the product line. Right now he holds the post of a Product Consultant in our company.

What I don't like:
Never criticize anyone till you think that you can prove yourself in the same situation. Few days ago when I was interviewing, a candidate said want to change as his technology manager had poor knowledge. And when I asked him about the technology that we are working on, he failed to reply. Candidates should know where they are getting into and what will be their contribution to the company.


Philip K. Mammen
Group Head-HR
Mindteck India Limited
IT solutions provider
Headcount: 600 employees

What I like:
Understanding the requirements of a firm is very important for candidates and that will help them choose the right decision for their career. I believe your decision is an indication of your ability and a good or bad choice would reflect on you. Candidates should have the ability to define what did they learnt in their previous jobs. This helps them to build a positive image and the interviewer gets the message that candidate is well prepared.

What I don't like:
I agree that one needs a job to earn money for a living, but the more important point is one should have a clear-cut idea about how to shape up his or her career. People want to scale up in career ladder, but I have noticed that they themselves don’t know how. Once we were recruiting people for a leadership position. A candidate who came for the interview was technically strong, but he was not aware how to execute the rest of the work as a leader. One should fix a goal for them before venturing into a field.

Vinod Mankala
HR Manager
Cisco Systems (India)
Networking equipment provider
Headcount: 1500 employees

What I like:
Stability and continuity of a candidate in a particular domain and company is very important. For these two skills we are ready to compromise on a few technical skills if we find certain personal traits like good attitude, reliability, good listening & articulating skills, flexibility and commitment. A few years ago, I helped a hiring manager - we had a candidate with eight plus years of experience in a single company, he didn’t have all the necessary skills to perform the role, we had to train him on a few skills. He impressed us with his skills of stability, flexibility and adaptability. Even we didn’t hesitate to hire this candidate and today he has been extremely successful in his role.

What I don't like:
Most of the candidates whom I have met have worked in a particular company for not more than one and a half years. Many times, candidates do not think about their long-term plans before accepting the offer. A few months into their new job, they start losing interest or realize that their current job is not in line with their long-term plans. I had a colleague of mine who resigned from a corporate and joined a start-up since they offered twice the salary. Few weeks at work, he realized that this role was not his cup of tea; he resigned and joined back to the corporate!