By Matters India Reporter

Patna: Communication experts have assured media students entering job market this year to not be disheartened by negative news of Covid times.

“Don’t worry, the market is not so bad, and internships are taking place,” Margaret Da Costa, Advertising and Corporate Communications expert, told an April 8 webinar organised by the Mass Communication Department of Patna’s St. Xavier’s College of Management and Technology.

Around 90 mass communication students of Patna’s Jesuit-managed college attended the webinar on “Digital Trends and Careers in Media 2021 and Beyond.”

Da Costa, associated with St. Paul’s Institute of Communication Education (SPICE), a premier communication institute of Mumbai, said although media house had cancelled internship and campus recruitment in the early phase of the pandemic, “the good news is that industries have realized that you can’t let things come to a standstill.”

Carol Andrade, a journalism expert and dean of SPICE, sharing her experiences and tips, emphasized the importance of thinking of oneself as a brand and practicing written communication and interviewing skills right now. “Strategize to increase your job prospects before you graduate,” Andrade, a former student of St Joseph’s Convent High School and Patna Women’s College.

Sean Andrade, media marketing lead at Ayelabs and digital marketing manager, urged the students to become social media literate and learn to adapt to the fast-evolving digital landscape which “is hungry for content.”

Social media platforms are no longer about likes and shares anymore, but about engagement. “Learn to create content on audio, video and text and know the purpose of the platform,” he said. “Storytelling is a part of the environment of digital marketing,” Sean Andrade added.

Priya Manish Kumar, a professor in the Jesuit college and a public relations expert, stressed the importance of students gaining fluency in one or more Indian languages as well as English.

“You need to engage with a whole new audience that is there in the smaller towns and cities, a population that makes up the majority of your audience,” she told the participants.

Frank Krishner, acting coordinator of the Jesuit college’s Mass Communication Department, said their students benefited from “the enlightening range of the discussion, and gained answers to their queries, which ranged from career prospects, to dealing with trolls, search engine optimization, and so on.”