When Mansi Gupta,former regional manager of HDFC Bank saw around 95 per cent of the candidates being rejected during interviews at the bank year after year ,due to problems in communication and personality projection, she decided to set up a grooming school.The school focuses on arming students with confidence , communication skills and business etiquette.
“It was heartbreaking to see candidates being rejected because they could not impress the interviewers,”said Gupta adding, “It was then that the need for a training institute struck me . A place where students would be taught how to face an interview .”
To day , her school trains people not only on how to conduct themselves but also on how to carry themselves in their day-to-day lives. She is not alone in her endeavour .
Says Pria Warrick , “Most people assume that anyone with a degree in IT or law can make it. But statistics reveal that you require 15 percent technical skills and 85 percent of a mix of social , business and dining etiquette to advance in your career or personal life .”
So what do these grooming institutes teach a student and why are interviewees rejected ? According to Nishant Saxena there are several reasons why an interview can be rejected .”The first could be their inability to listen properly because instead of concentrating on the question till the end, they start thinking of the answer and end up giving an inappropriate response .Then, there may be a problem in their attitude , inability to handle the interview.”
Therefore teaching conversational English is a prime focus area. Students also get a hands-on experience in the corporate world . Says priyanka Batra, a young student who took a grooming course , “It s just a short programme (six months) but it has changed my life and my persona.”
