HOW YOU THINK MATTERS FAR MORE THAN WHAT YOU KNOW

Sunil Chemmankotil country manager, Adecco India

- BY ABHINAV SINGH

A Fortune Global 500 company headquartered in Zurich, Adecco is one of the world’s major HR solutions, talent advisory and temporary staffing firms, operating in more than 60 countries.

Sunil Chemmankotil brings close to three decades of experience across the staffing and recruitment ecosystem. A former executive board member of the Indian Staffing Federation, he speaks to THE WEEK about how fresh graduates can do well in interviews and what recruiters are really looking for. Excerpts:

How can you differentiate between a candidate who comes from an institution that taught him to think and one from an institute that taught him to reproduce?

The difference becomes clear quickly. Candidates trained to think ask better questions, apply concepts to unfamiliar situations and are comfortable with ambiguity. Those who rely on rote learning give textbook answers but struggle when context changes. Today, how you think matters far more than what you know.

What skill or disposition do you most value in a fresh graduate, and do you think colleges can teach it?