What is a Placement Coordinator?

05 March 2024 - 4 mins read time
Tags: Campus Placement IIT

Roles and Responsibilities: A Guide for Aspiring Placement Coordinators

What is a Placement Coordinator?

Placement Coordinators are the face of the campus, representing the institute to potential employers. They are not limited to their branch or program; instead, they are responsible for pitching all relevant programs and departments for all possible roles within a company. Typically, a single coordinator is assigned to a particular company, where they are responsible for presenting the institute’s offerings and talent pool.

However, a Placement Coordinator’s responsibilities extend beyond just one company. Each coordinator is expected to oversee at least a dozen companies, ensuring seamless communication and coordination throughout the recruitment process.

DPR: Department Placement Representatives

Since Placement Coordinators pitch for all branches and programs, they may require additional support when further pitching for a particular discipline is necessary. In such cases, the assistance of Department Placement Representatives (DPRs) is invaluable. DPRs serve as the face of their respective batches or disciplines, providing support to the coordinators. They are also involved in tasks such as preparing department brochures and assisting with CV verification.

APCs: Associate Placement Coordinators

Associate Placement Coordinators (APCs) are trained to eventually take on the role of Placement Coordinators themselves. Initially, their responsibilities involve assisting with logistical needs and miscellaneous tasks that Placement Coordinators require support with. However, by the end of the first phase, APCs are allocated companies that they are expected to handle independently. This hands-on experience is designed to prepare them for potential selection as Placement Coordinators in the next tenure, leveraging the knowledge and skills acquired during their APC tenure.

HOC, CCD, and Overall Faculty Coordinators

All Placement Coordinators report to the Head of Center (HOC), Center for Career Development (CCD), and Overall Faculty Coordinators. These individuals hold the final authority for placement decisions and are likely answerable only to the Director of the college. Placement Coordinators, in turn, are accountable to the HOC, CCD, and Overall Faculty Coordinators.

Department Faculty Coordinators

Department Faculty Coordinators play a role analogous to that of DPRs, but from a faculty perspective. They support the placement process within their respective departments.

Administrative Staff

The CCD Office staff provides essential administrative support, handling permission-related tasks, collaborating with finance and academics sections, and offering logistical assistance as requested by the Placement Coordinators.

Selection Process for Placement Coordinators

To become a Placement Coordinator for a tenure, aspirants must go through a rigorous selection process. Firstly, they have to pass an aptitude round, followed by an interview round with the current Placement Coordinators, and finally, an interview round with the HOC and CCD.

The aptitude test evaluates various skills, including mental ability, knowledge of the work through guesstimate(s), and a subjective section that assesses the aspirants’ knowledge of other departments, as well as their basic negotiation and email writing skills. Additionally, statistics from the previous year may be asked during this section.

The interviews would be based on the agenda prepared by the students, overall knowledge of the placement process, statistics, situational questions and past achievements & motivations of the appearing candidates. The faculty intervews may also include academic questions.

Research and Preparation

Students interested in becoming Placement Coordinators are strongly encouraged to thoroughly research the Center for Career Development (CCD) website (iitg.ac.in/ccd) and familiarize themselves with the internship and placement portal. Demonstration videos available on YouTube can provide valuable insights into the processes and expectations.

Timeline

May

  1. Officially tenure begins.
  2. Company Listing and Deliberation on Policies.

June

  1. Collecting CPI and other relevant student data. Ideally, from academic section (to ensure reliability)
  2. Company Calling and Mailing at full swing

July

  1. CV submission and verification for internship
  2. Fee payment and other formalities
  3. Internship recruitment process begins

August

  1. Most of the companies visit for internships.
  2. Mostly work involves handling the logistics of the internship process.
  3. Preparing (company listing, policy deliberation etc.) for the placement season.
  4. Company Calling and Mailing for placements.

September

  1. CV submission and verification for placements
  2. Fee payment and other formalities
  3. Placement recruitment process begins (Coding Tests majorly)
  4. Infinite slot internship starts and continues hereafter.

October and November

  1. Most of the companies PrePlacement Talks and Tests happen.
  2. Extensive work on company calling and mailing as well as logistics on conducting the tests.

December

  1. Final interviews and offers for placements phase 1.

January

  1. CV submission and verification for placements phase 2
  2. Fee payment and other formalities
  3. Placement Phase 2 begins

February

  1. Placement Phase 2 continues

March

  1. Placement Phase 2 continues
  2. Selection of next tenure Placement Coordinators