Getting a Job in 2026: Interview Calls and Career Strategy

About this episode

In this episode of The eCom Show, host Shan A Salam sits down with Irfan TT, founder of PlaceXL and a placement coach. Irfan shares his personal career journey, transitioning from an academic underperformer to working in finance roles at multinational corporations including Accenture, PepsiCo, and Johnson & Johnson. He explains how his own initial rejections during college placement drives forced him to analyse and master the hiring process, including preparing thoroughly for interviews, group discussions, and aptitude tests. Recognising that widespread unemployment often stems from poor job search strategy rather than lack of talent, Irfan launched PlaceXL to coach candidates. He details his 30-day placement challenge, which guides job seekers through resume optimisation, LinkedIn and Naukri profile enhancements, and interview confidence training. The conversation explores the effective use of AI tools for interview preparation while warning against over-relying on automated resume generation, concluding with plans for a dedicated ecommerce job-hunting cohort.

Key takeaways

1. 1Job hunting must be approached as a systematic, full-time commitment rather than a casual task.
2. 2A strong resume alone cannot generate interview calls unless LinkedIn and online job portal profiles are simultaneously optimised with the right keywords.
3. 3Sorting job board searches by posting date instead of relevance is crucial for discovering fresh job openings immediately.
4. 4AI is effective for interview practice and company research, but directly copy-pasting AI output into resumes harms candidate credibility.
5. 5Modern recruiters prioritise natural, situation-based storytelling and real-life experiences over scripted answers.
6. 6Experiential learning and hands-on activities provide far more career value than academic textbook memorisation.

Chapters

1. 00:00Highlights
2. 01:41Introduction
3. 03:50Placement struggles during MBA
4. 04:50LEAD College & Thomman Sir's mentorship
5. 07:19Campus drive, 400 candidates, only 20 selected
6. 09:39The moment he got his offer letter
7. 12:46School life and the journey to MBA
8. 21:05Career journey: Accenture, Pepsi, J&J
9. 25:50How Placexl started (the Instagram journey)
10. 31:30Resume + LinkedIn + Naukri optimization tips
11. 32:01How the 30-Day Placement Challenge works
12. 37:54Placement success rate & results
13. 42:46How job seekers should use AI
14. 45:08Outro & closing thoughts