Crackling start

From The Financial Express, 10 Jan 2005

B-schools that took the placement plunge early this year have seen heady rewards

The recruiter’s verdict is the litmus test for any B-school’s talent pool. And in some non-IIMs, where this year’s placement has already happened, the mood is gung-ho.

Ghaziabad-based Institute of Management Technology (IMT) has every reason to smile this year. All its 165 final year students were placed on day one and its first batch of Human Resources Management students had multiple options. About 47 companies participated in the campus placement and quite a few had to leave empty-handed since a student can take only one offer as per the placement rules.

“This year our emphasis was on the service sector as it is doing very well,” says Nilanjan Chattopadhyay, chairman, placements at IMT. The average salary this year at IMT was Rs 6.5 lakh as against Rs 5.92 lakh last year. The biggest recruiters were Citigroup, Satyam Computer Services, Idea Cellular and Wipro Technologies. Among the first timers were Cadburys, Reebok, Marico, Citigroup, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, CARE, Wipro Technologies and Birla Soft.

Similarly, at Bhubaneswar-based Xavier Institute of Management, all 113 graduating students were placed on Day 1 with 60 companies participating. In fact, each student had two to five offers and 14 companies, including two overseas ones, had to return empty-handed. Some companies like Wipro Consumer Care and ICICI Prudential could not find a place in student preference.

“We emphasised on quality this time unlike last year when we were worried about the quantity. But this year we had the problem of plenty,” says Professor Mukti Mishra, placement coordinator, XIM.

The highest lateral offer was for Rs 9 lakh from Wipro Technologies, followed by Rs 7.4 lakh by HSBC. The highest overseas offer was for $84,000 per annum by US-based Sierra Atlantic. The average salary was Rs 5.24 lakh per annum compared to last year’s Rs 4.65 lakh.

At SP Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai, there’s been a 50% rise in the number of participating companies. “This has been one of the best years for placement for the institute in the last five years,” says Abbasali Gabula, chairperson, external relations, SPJIMR.

The advantage was that many students had the opportunity to chose from five job offers each this year. The salary offered at campus interviews has also doubled this year compared to last year. The companies which approached the institute included IBM, Accenture, KPMG, Infosys, Cadburys and Citibank.

Similarly, in its first year of placements after becoming a deemed university, Mumbai-based Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) has witnessed 100% placements on day one itself.

Says NMIMS vice-chancellor, NM Kondap, “Last year, we had seen 100% placements in three days. Placements this year, show the acceptability by corporates to our deemed university status. Our 240 students that were placed this time, include 50 laterals and 25 plus pre-placement offers. We had to actually convey to some companies that all students have been already placed.”

NMIMS saw over 350 corporates, both Indian and MNCs, across sectors like IT and related industries, FMCG, consulting, financial services, media, auto and pharma, visiting its campus. The highest salary package offered was Rs eight lakh per annum, while the average package was Rs 5.5 lakh.

At XLRI Jamshedpur, though the final placement will take place on March 5, the campus is abuzz with news trickling in of big lateral offers. Though the placement committee is tight-lipped about the companies participating this year, the grapevine has it that quite a number of new consultancies, including the Boston Consulting Group, have shown interest in XLRI.

Marketing, telecom, banks and FMCG companies have in the past always shown interest in this B-School. The trend is likely to continue, with indications being that the IT sector is looking at large numbers this time.

“XLRI is looking forward to a successful placement season; the trend projected by the lateral placement process has been encouraging and is expected to continue in the final placement,” is the official line at this point of time.

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