Delhi University (DU) attracts students from around the country as it is considered one among the best institutions to pursue a traditional degree course. Ardra R Kumar, who hails from Karumadi, near Ambalapuzha in Alappuzha district of Kerala, was among the students who travelled to Delhi to study a degree course.
Currently a final-year student of BCom (Honours) course at Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), Ardra has received a placement offer from Amazon during a campus recruitment. Her annual pay offer is Rs 12.7 lakh. The offers for students at even leading professional colleges in India are lower than this amount. This is a major attraction of DU – students of even traditional degree courses receive job offers carrying big pay packets.
Ardra completed her Plus Two (Class 12) in Commerce from Government Model High School, Ambalapuzha, and decided to continue her studies in Kerala, for which she secured an admission for LLB at the Government Law College, Ernakulam.
However, at career guidance programme, Ardra heard about top institutions offering traditional degree courses and DU. She soon applied for BCom Honours at Lady Shri Ram, which is affiliated to DU, and was selected in the first cut-off itself in 2020.
This year, over 150 final-year students at LSR pursuing subjects such as English, Political Science and Economics have received placement offers. The biggest annual pay offered this year is a whopping Rs 40 lakh!
LSR advantage
Societies: There are around 33 societies at LSR and Ardra has been active in five among them over the last three years. The societies she is associated with include Prakrithi, an environmental society, and that on quiz. Even when online classes were conducted, the activities of the societies continued. The societies encourage co-curricular activities of students and help in personality development, leadership and problem-solving skills.
Unique academic style: Apart from textbooks, case studies and seminars are crucial parts of the academic programme at DU. Students have to conduct a seminar in front of at least 97 classmates and faculty, which boosts their self-confidence.
Exposure: Even though DU’s courses are on traditional subjects, students receive a large number of placement offers. The top 10-20 colleges regularly witness campus recruitment by even multinational firms.
How Ardra made it to Amazon
Ardra had applied for the manager’s post in Amazon and the selection process had four phases. Based on the detailed bio-data submitted, the first elimination took place. The next phase was an aptitude test and those who cleared it faced three rounds of interviews. Two of these interviews were elimination rounds. Each interview lasted around 20 minutes. Candidates were judged based on their knowledge of the company and whether their ideas were in sync with the company’s culture.
“Self-introduction is a very important part of an interview. You should not learn by rote and repeat it before the interviewers. That would only expose your lack of self-confidence. We should learn to present ourselves confidently at an interview,” says Ardra.
“Moreover, we should have a clear idea about the company for which we are applying,” she adds.
While Ardra has dreams of higher studies and a civil service career, she has decided to accept Amazon’s offer now. “Job experience will help me in higher studies as well as to realize my other goals,” she says.
Ardra is the daughter of V Rajendra Kumar, an officer with the Goods and Services Tax Department, and Ranjana.