Avail the PSU advantage

Akhand Swaroop Pandit

Securing a job in a Public Service Undertaking (PSU) is on the wishlist of a number of fresh graduates these days.  The lucrative starting pay packages accompanied by many other monetary benefits like free medical insurance, retirement benefits, performance-based incentives, etc. are the key factors behind this rising inclination towards the sector. 

However, the biggest advantage of working at a PSU is the job security that comes with it. Imagine having a stable job even during an unstable economic environment! So, how does one secure a job in this sector? 

PSUs generally emphasise on three ways to recruit candidates; conducting their own examinations, shortlisting candidates based on their GATE scores or by employing candidates from the premier institutes in the country such as IITs and the IIM. 

The beginning of 2020 has brought good news to all the aspirants as Coal India Limited has opened an online application for the intake of management trainees. A Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking under the Indian government's Ministry of Coal, Government of India, this year the organisation has invited applications for 1326 vacancies across various disciplines including mining, electrical, mechanical, Civil, coal preparation, systems, materials management, finance & accounts, personnel & HR, marketing & sales and community development.

Eligible candidates till the age of 30 can apply for various management trainee posts through online application mode on or before 19 January 2020 on their official website. The computer-based test is scheduled on  February 7 and 28, 2020. 

Exam pattern and selection process

The selection process of Coal India’s recruitment drive comprises two stages; online exam and interview. The online exam consists of two papers to be completed in 3 hours. While Paper 1 covers objective questions on General Awareness, Reasoning, Numerical Ability, and General English, Paper 2 emphasises on questions related to a candidate's professional knowledge. 

The candidates must qualify both the papers along with the medical examination for getting selected for the Management Trainee post of Coal India. 

The entire process aims to assess a candidate’s knowledge and evaluate different aspects of knowledge, skills, understanding, ability and physical fitness. Candidates must score a minimum of 40 marks (General category), 35 marks (OBC category) and 30 marks (SC/ST/PWD) in each paper to qualify the computer-based test. 

Those who qualify both the papers separately in the computer-based test and rank high on merit as decided by the Coal India will be eligible for the Interview.

Tips to crack the interview 

Understanding the nature of  job Before joining the organisation, a candidate must be aware of the exact nature of the job. They would be expected to have complete knowledge about Coal India as a PSU, about its commencement, current position nationally as well as globally, the duties and responsibilities of a management trainee, and finally, the role of CIL in India in the existing times.

Be thorough with your academic & professional background  This is a necessity for the interview. Candidates should be able to answer questions about their stream of education as well as the reasons behind choosing it. For professionals having relevant work experience, they should be able to answer questions about it.

Awareness about the ongoing events  Apart from the above basic information, candidates must also have thorough knowledge about the important events taking place across the country. For that, they must read newspapers or follow certain publications like Hindu or Indian express online

Take mock interviews Once you are done with the interview preparation, enrol yourself for a mock interview series or ask your family and friends to help you conduct a few. Having such kind of verbal confrontations can actually help you in facing the interview panel with ease on the main day. 

The employer

Coal India Limited is a reputed origination offering a dream job of Management Trainee not just to the engineering graduates in the country, but even those who belong to non-technical academic streams. Aspirants having a thorough knowledge about the employers have better chances of working with experienced professionals in Coal India or its subsidiary companies.

Important Dates

Computer Based Test Date - February 27 and 28

Management Trainee Vacancy Details

• Total Posts - 1326
• Mining - 288
• Electrical - 218
• Mechanical - 258
• Civil - 68
• Coal Preparation -28
• Systems - 46
• Materials Management -28
• Finance & Accounts - 254
• Personnel & HR - 89
• Marketing & Sales - 23
• Community Development - 26

Salary

Selected candidates will be placed as Management Trainee in E-2 Grade in the scale of pay of Rs50,000 - Rs1,60,000 at the initial Basic of Rs50,000 per month during the training period. On successful and satisfactory completion of 1-year training period and passing the test conducted for the purpose, regularisation will be in E-3 Grade in the scale of pay of Rs60,000 - 1,80,000 at the initial Basic of Rs60,000/- with probation for 1 year, if not extended

Exam Pattern

Exam questions will be direct objective type,Student have to practise as many direct objective questions they can ,also cutoff will be on higher side so during exam time management is very important. Student should try to attempt all the questions as negative marking is also not there. There will be two CBT papers i.e Paper-I & Paper-II which will carry 100 marks each which will be multiple choice questions (MCQ). Each question will carry 1 mark and there is no penalty for wrong answer.

Paper-I

• General Knowledge/Awareness
• Reasoning
• Numerical Ability
• General English

Paper-II

• Professional Knowledge (Discipline related)

Qualifying marks

The qualifying marks for the Computer Based Online Test will be as under:

• GENERAL (UR) / EWS Minimum 40 marks in each paper
• OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) Minimum 35 marks in each paper

— The writer is CEO & Founder, Catalyst Group Online learning Platform