This placement season is proving to be one of the most difficult ever for the top IIMs, such as Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, and Kozhikode, according to officials and students.While many individuals preferred to remain anonymous, they expressed concerns about the situation, according to an ET report.
Debashis Chatterjee, the director of IIM Kozhikode, stated that the downturn will affect everyone, but to varying degrees. He mentioned that companies tend to rely on established institutes during challenging times. Chatterjee added that while they are not concerned about placing everyone, but some individuals may not secure the jobs they desire.
Plan B-school: Why hiring sentiment is down
Ankur Sinha, the chairperson of placements at IIM Ahmedabad, acknowledged that this year is challenging for placements. He anticipates an average reduction of 10-15% in offers from leading multinational companies. Consulting firms, which are major recruiters at IIMs, have decreased the number of offers this year.
To mitigate the impact, the IIMs are leveraging their alumni networks and attracting new recruiters, including private equity and venture capital firms, as well as Indian conglomerates.
Sinha emphasized the importance of academic institutes maintaining long-term relationships with a wide range of recruiters. This ensures that any decrease in offers from one set of firms can be compensated by another set. He expressed confidence in their ability to diversify their portfolio as they engage with numerous firms.
Chatterjee of IIM-K suggested that this downturn could present opportunities for students to consider companies they may not have favored in a normal job scenario.
However, some companies that students reached out to for placements, including a retail company and a startup, were unable to provide hiring opportunities for MBA freshers.
As the market downturn continues, students at the top IIMs are employing the same approach they used during summer placements. They are actively seeking support from alumni members to help secure job placements during the final placement season. Despite their efforts, the sentiment remains low as they face tough challenges.
For certain IIMs, the final placement season may extend by at least a week. This is unusual as typically the entire batch receives job offers within the first couple of weeks.
Read From ET |IIM placements tough year
Some leading IIMs are anticipating a decrease in the number of offers, salary packages, or both. According to a student at another IIM campus, there are some companies offering jobs at lower salaries compared to last year.