There is a significant drop in the final placements being made at the newer Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) this year while a slight downward effect has been seen across the premier business schools where even summer internships have been impacted, as recruiters, ‘freeze”, “delay” hiring till early next year, amid predictions of a global economic slowdown.
While faculty members across almost all the B-schools including the top-ranking ones agreed that this is a tough year, it is the third-generation IIMs that have been hit the hardest. “It is the tech companies, basically, the information technology (IT) and IT-es (technology-enabled services), which are the largest lot of recruiters each year, which have put a “freeze” on hiring for now. Many of the usual recruiters haven’t come down yet,” said a senior faculty member at one of the new IIMs, requesting anonymity.
“As compared to last year, there is a drop of at least 20%-30% both in the final placements as well as for summer internships among the new IIMs. The pay packages being offered have also seen a slight drop. Last year, by this time most of the students across batches had an offer in hand,” the faculty member added.
The third-generation IIMs include those established after 2015 — Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Amritsar, Jammu, Nagpur, Bodh Gaya, and Visakhapatnam. Those located at Raipur, Ranchi, Trichy, Rohtak, Kashipur, and Udaipur, respectively, are considered among the second-generation IIMs. The ‘older’ IIMs, which are the top-ranking b-schools in the country are those set up between the 1960s and 1990s including — Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, Lucknow, Indore, and Kozhikode. There are 21 IIMs across India.
Among some of the older IIMs, during the final placement interviews, which were held in the second week of November, a number of students at IIM-Bangalore could not secure a summer internship offer, which according to the IIMs faculty is a “rare” occurrence in many years, as the batches here have a record of 100% or near-100% placement success. Even during the pandemic years, when economies slowed down across the globe, the institute managed to get good placements for all its batches.
A summer internship is a mandatory component for the first-year students of a two-year MBA programme, which is also the basis for their promotion to the second year. “Given the fact that summer internships are crucial for pursuing the programme and that in case of over 80% of students, the pre-placement offers (PPOs) turn into final offers, not getting an internship can be worrisome. But, more rounds of interviews are likely to be held and there is still time for the remaining students to bag an offer,” said an IIM-B student, not wishing to be named.
For students of a first generation IIM not being able to bag an internship is not usual. News18 wrote to the institute to know the reasons behind the same. Queries have been raised with other IIMs as well.
Kavitha Kumar, head of communication at IIM-Bangalore, responding to the e-mail, said that this was a tough year and they are hopeful of placing all students soon. “Summer placements are an integral part of the MBA program in terms of learning exposure. Our summer placements are in process, and we are happy with the fact that the largest batch of students is being placed in marquee companies with high-quality internships even in what is considered a tough year. Keeping the academic calendar in mind, which is our priority focus, the process will be completed soon,” said Kumar.
This year, within the designated week, over 80% of the batch got summer internship offers. “Due to some factors outside our control (tight job market, proximity to Diwali, etc.), we had to extend the summer selection process beyond the designated week. Also, must take note of the fact that our student intake went up by 75 students this year,” Kumar added.
This year, she said, during the designated summer placement week, we had over 160 companies that recruited 490 students. We have over 98 companies currently engaging in interviews with 110 students, many of whom have already been placed. “Keeping the academic schedule in mind, which is our priority focus, we are confident that the summer placement activity will be over by the first week of December,” said Kumar.
At most old and second-generation IIMs, the placement season officially starts around November and goes on till January-end while the third-generation IIMs begin early around mid-September, and go on till February-end.
Faculty members at Raipur, Sambalpur, Kashipur, and Sirmaur said that it’s not just the international companies, but even the domestic companies and start-ups in the IT sector that are not showing up. “Most of the giant tech firms based in the US are not hiring at the moment or investing in long-term projects in India and may just end up in the last leg of the placement season. Those back here are also being cautious and not making as many offers,” said a senior faculty at IIM Sambalpur.
According to placement cell members across several new IIMs, this year definitely has started on a “slow” note, but several companies are delaying hiring and have promised to come down towards the end, as they are in a “wait and watch mode”. “This is a different year certainly, as even summer internships are badly affected. Even though companies in other sectors such as manufacturing, design, finance, and insurance are coming over, those in the IT sector are delaying hiring till early next year to test the scenario, so all hopes are now on the last phase of the season,” said a student placement representative at one of the new IIMs.
Queries have been sent to IIMs. This story will be updated when and if a response is received by the institutes.
Comments
0 comment