Connect4Career, Helping Small Town Students Fulfill Their Big Dreams
The employment scenario in India is getting grimmer every year. The number of students graduating from college does not match the job opportunities available. And despite a good degree in hand, they are rendered helpless to get the right job. Jeet Sharma of Connect4Career identified this problem and has devised schemes to improve this condition among Indian colleges.
Connect4Career is venture dedicated to campus recruitment drives. The startup provides an opportunity to students in colleges from Tier 2-3 cities to get connected to corporates who need manpower. Connect4Career wants to redefine what it takes to connect tomorrow’s employment to meet today’s talent. They act as a medium between the colleges and the corporate who wishes to hire new talent. The startup also offers soft skill training to college students before they go for the selection procedure. Apart from this, Connect4Career also imparts skills based on the demands from corporates. The select colleges based on recommendations from corporates or in the absence of any criteria, selects a college at random in the region. During these campus drives the recruitment team of Connect4Career often accompanies the corporate HR department. At times they are even conduct recruitment drives on behalf of clients as well.
Born and brought up in a small town of Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) Jeet had witnessed the hardships faced by students to get a good career opportunity. Driven by the desire to do make a difference, he came up with Connect4Career in May 2012. He shares “I decided to break the ice and come out with a concept that will work wonders for the youth and there is nothing better than education and employment for doing so.” Before startingup Jeet had worked for Citi Bank and Zee News.
The startup has a team of seven people including Jeet and utilizes most of the money generated from their campus drives to fund themselves. However they are looking for some valuable aid from the venture capitalist in the near future. Connect4Career does not have dedicated marketing strategy for promotion but they do publicize themselves through different social networking channels. They also actively participate in various youth centric programs such as entrepreneurship programs. Since their services are more focused to tier 2& 3 cities, word of mouth acts as a best promotion technique. Connect4Career has partnerships with Letsintern (India's no 1 Internship Portal ) & with Mettl (India's no 1 Test Portal) to improve their services.
Till date Connect4Career has conducted campus drives across India covering towns/cities in Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi/NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal and Karnataka. On an average they conduct close to 15 drives a month and have helped make the careers for 800 graduates since inception. The success rate for students tends to vary per college. But out of 12-14 students screened per drive, around 7-8 students make through with a job offer. However the respective colleges are free to conduct placement programs on their own to employ the students. Building on their model the startup has also started their services to provide internships for the deserving students.
Connect4Career faces tough competition with the local consultants but Jeet feels they have an edge above the others when it comes to cost and time effectiveness. “We charge a very minimal amount as commercials in comparison to what our competitors charge and our turnaround time is also much shorter,” adds Jeet. Their services are very customer centric, as they work according to the wishes of both colleges and corporates. In addition to these, lack of business etiquettes among the students in the market in which they operate tend to add to their challenges. Jeet concludes that despite all the confrontations in the market he and his team are positive about the future.
