Recently the head of Human Resources from a Hyderabad basedcompany flew into Goa to conduct interviews with four shortlisted candidates. Avideo link was uploaded for the Vice-President “Marketing to interact with thecandidates. The day of the interview dawned, the appointed time came and went.No one showed up. The excuses cited ranged from unscheduled meetings to familycommitments. Frustrated, the senior manager instructed the local branch of thenational headhunting firm to shortlist candidates from other states. That, thehead of HR felt, would ensure that such a miserable show was not repeated andhelp get candidates with the right attitude.
Shocking though it may seem, that episode is a commonexperience for headhunters operating in the state.
This however is just one side of the coin. With severalsmall businesses having emerged in the state, convincing them to hire an externalconsultant to shortlist candidates with suitable skills was a problem.Recruitment is still being done by word of mouth. That however was not the casewith the big family run businesses.
Shreya Shetti, Branch Manager, Randstad India Limited, felt thatmany of the businesses where the younger generation had a say in the businesswere very open to recruiting external consultants. This they felt helped themgain access to candidates with a national perspective.
The quality of candidates, consultants felt was a mixedbag. Industry experts like AnastasioColaco, Secretary of NIPM-Goa chapter felt that young men and women in thestate lacked the fire to go out and achieve their goals. Many of them he saidwere content to stay in the state and hope of snagging a job in the government.A government job was prized because of the perceived lack of pressure on thejob and job security for life.
This was exacerbated by the absence of acompetitive education system that prepared the young for competition that waspart and parcel of corporate life. Anastasio said this resulted in a candidatefrom Goa always losing to a candidate from either Mumbai or Delhi.
Suvidnya Tendulkar of Easy Reach Management Consultants,Mapusa said “The problem of candidates not turning up for interviews is notfaced by us because of the profile of our candidates. Middle and senior levelcandidates do not behave like personnel starting off in corporate life. Companies in the state would certainly liketo recruit local candidates who have the knowledge and skill set. Yes, I haveto admit, candidates in the state are reluctant to go out and work but that isalso a case with a lot of people around the country.”
For possibly the largest player in the local market, RMGPlus Pvt Ltd Mumbai the local market is a lot like other markets in thecountry. Merwyn Sequeira, Director at the company said,” It is a market, whereemployers want candidates who will tick all the boxes. The adage hire forattitude and train for skill is relevant even in Goa. We recruit inhospitality, pharma, FMCG, logistics for corporate in the state and forcandidates looking to move out”.
Despite all these constraints, the consultants felt thatthere was potential for growth in the near future and if the youth of the statewho had an advantage with regards to their communication skills vis-a-vis therest of the country could show initiative it would be a win-win situation forall.
