9/14/2016

The Times of India

Title : WHAT ENGINEERING COMPANIES WANT
Author : Ankita Shreeram
Location :
Article Date : 09/14/2016
ENGINEERS AND ASPIRING ENGINEERS, IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO LISTEN UP. BECAUSE
THIS IS WHAT YOUR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR
Are you an engineer waiting to be hired?
Then you need to know exactly which competencies to play up during your interview. Till now, engineering
companies have hired candidates on the basis of their technical expertise only . However, today's marketplace
requires more rounded skill sets.
Companies are catering to a global clientele with a more fluid set of requirements based on emerging
technologies such as mobile computing and big data. This means that engineers will need to have a more
balanced amalgamation of technical aptitude and adeptness in softer skill sets, says Bijesh Amin, co-founder,
Indus Valley Partners. It is not that technical expertise doesn't matter; but in the absence of a great personality
and communication skills, it might not be enough for career growth.
Engineering is one field that is definitely not stagnant.If you graduated years ago, it might be time for a refresher
course. The focus is shifting towards interdisciplinary skills. The IOT (Internet of Things), robotics,
nanoelectromechanical and molecular electronics are some of the key emerging technology drivers. There is a
strong demand for holisticautomation, at much faster data-speeds to meet the everincreasing amount of complex
data. Thus the engineering jobs now require deep knowledge skills within the Digital Signal Processing, FPGA
and LTE-Wireless domains along with a good understanding of emerging Data Structures, algorithms and
analytics. Thus, every engineer of the future will need to have strong programming skills, regardless of the
engineering domain area, says Mombasawala Mohmedsaeed, general manager applications, Keysight
Technologies India.
It is important to know what methods companies use to scout for talent in order to land your dream job as an
engineer. Today , we see big data, machine learning, data sciences, high performance software engineering, real
time analytics as emerging skill sets.We assess the candidate's attitude, problem-solving ability , software
engineering skills and behaviour.Our tech panelists and HR representatives have conversations on the candidate's
background and learning capability .We also conduct Hackathons to find talented engineers with a flair for
building products and applications, reveals Jayakumar Kulakada, vice president and managing director,
WalmartLabs.
Organisations often have trouble filling engineering vacancies due to skill gaps caused by insufficient training and
education. The students, academia and industry should work hand-in-glove to resolve the pain points for the
benefit of all the stakeholders involved. The emerging skill sets that are in demand for these jobs vary according
to the sector requirement, suggests Ravishankar, executive vice president, HCL TalentCare. The science of
manufacturing is changing and hence, college curriculums need to be updated periodically . What is being taught
must be in tandem with the needs of the industry which entails better problem-solving skills and preparedness for
the real world.Hands-on experience to the students to bridge the skill gap and create excitement about solving
the real world problems through innovation is the need today , adds Priyanka Kohli, lead, people operations,
GreyOrange.
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In a nutshell, as Kohli says, it is not possible for an engineer to know everything, but the most important attribute
however, is an engineer's attitude to keep learning more.

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