IT companies keep away

Lateral placements (placements for those with work experience of around 2 years) have begun in B-schools across the country. However, information technology (IT) firms seem to be keeping away from campuses.

“This year, placements have not been as easy as last year. Lateral placements, which began last week, have been slow. While other sectors have been coming in, IT services companies have been virtually non-existent,” said ND Sharma, placement co-ordinator, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies. Of the 130 eligible students from the batch of 300 in his institute, around 95 students have been placed.

“Last year, TCS recruited around 10 students during lateral placements. This year, the company took only one student. Infosys is not even visiting the campus,” added Sharma.

Sourav Mukherji, chairperson (placements) at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, (IIM-B) said as a part of the cost cutting measures, IT companies are playing safe in case of recruitment. “Fewer IT companies are visiting our campus during lateral placements. Instead of recruiting an average of 10 students, they are recruiting around 6-7 students only this year,” he added.

At IIM Ahmedabad, which is tight-lipped about its placements this year, approximately 120 students are eligible for lateral placements. Last year, around 37 consulting, private equity, real estate, finance, information technology, general management and marketing companies made 103 offers to 112 students at IIM-A.

The institute, however, is moving away from conservative sectors like international banks and consultancy firms and looking at fresh sectors this year. “We are inviting many first-time recruiters to the campus. We are keen to look at new and challenging roles for students. Although firms like consulting firms are among our long-standing recruiting partners, we are looking at a diverse set of sectors and firms this year,” said Mihir Lal, student co-ordinator, placements, IIM-A.

At the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) University, Ahmedabad, around 120 offers from 33 recruiters have been received for 250 students. “We expect another 35-40 recruiters during the next couple of months. IT companies have shown a gradual decline over two years. This year, there is a definite downward trend. Banking has emerged as a prominent sector. The other sectors that seem promising are insurance, media, FMCG, analytics and pharma manufacturing,” said an ICFAI spokesperson.

“Post-recruitment training is getting more importance now. Unlike last year, when we were the beneficiaries of bulk recruitment, recruiters are very selective this year. Moreover, the expectations of companies are increasing and they require candidates who would be able to deliver on the job,” the spokesperson added.