Anirudh Ravindar is presently working with Biocon as Senior Manager Program Management & Analytics in Supply Chain Management function. He had Previous stints at Natco Pharma, Godrej, Jacobs & Dr Reddys Ltd. He has completed MBA from ISB Hyderabad in 2014. As an IITian graduating in a Pandemic / Recession the first learning is that nothing is guaranteed on a platter. All our notions of entitlement should vanish at the outset. This will liberate us to act in agile fashion. The next thing is to be able to take up any assignment on the table even if it runs contrary to our expectation of a good job. Focus of 2020 is to survive, not thrive. One cannot afford to get too choosy now - in terms of salary or company name. That being said be wary of exploiters & crooks. The labour markets are bound to improve post pandemic , hopefully sometime in early 2021.
There are certain sectors witnessing growth in this pandemic which I believe can utilise services of Chemical Engineers: Pharmaceutical , Healthcare & Allied industries. Given the geopolitical tension between China & India, many companies ( especially in Fine Chemicals space) are looking to shift their manufacturing base or source to India. Biggest opportunities for employment arises when somebody is setting up a new plant or factory or line of business. So try to identify those companies looking to expand either indirectly - by going through market research or by talking to investors or company heads themselves. After which one can target certain functions which have better probability of hiring chemical engineers - primarily in production, project management, engineering & maintenance. There are certain stances which will increase your probability of getting hired - like giving the option to companies to hire you on contract basis.
In these challenging times one might have to go through many more & harder rounds of job hunting cycle - market research, network, cold call, interview (repeat) but I do hope the graduating class comes through it unscathed.
Wish you all the very best.
Best regards,