Job offers back with a bang at IIMs

Both the student community as well as India Inc, are closely following developments on the placements scene at various Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) this year as it is widely seen to reflect the health of the economy.

Each institute has 250-300 students for final placements this year with IIM Calcutta (IIM-C) being fairly typical with 280 students. The recruitment process at IIM-C started on 6 March and around 120 companies have so far confirmed their participation for final placements there.

IIM-C Chairman Praful Agnihotri expects finance to be the dominating sector for placements at the institute this year in line with the trend over the past years.

The mood on the campus is markedly optimistic following a good response to lateral placements which are meant for students with prior work experience. The institute saw salary levels rise 50-80 per cent this year for its lateral placements over the previous year.

Among the companies that made lateral offers were Cognizant Business Consulting, Deloitte, Hinduja Group, Aditya Birla Group, Accenture Business Consulting, Mahindra & Mahindra, Virtusa, Essar and Bristlecone. There has also been a greater variety of roles on offer this year as against last year across all categories ranging from consulting to general management.

At IIM Bangalore (IIM-B) the final placements process started on 4 March and has attracted traditional recruiters like investment banks and consultancies. According to reports recruiters have been offering 10-20 per cent higher salaries this year, depending on students' work profile and background.