A good year for B-Schools

An increase in the number of recruiters visiting the B-School campuses this season has given placements a positive tone. Prachi Rege gives a low down on the hiring process, salaries offered, and new jobs opportunities .

It is that time of the year, when a management graduate is finally ready to enter the powerful corridors of the corporate world for starting a career. There are approximately 3000 functioning MBA schools in the country that push thousands of management graduates into the employment zone.

Last year, the recruitment scene at most B-Schools was quite discouraging, no thanks to many social and political reasons. This year, however, the placements season seems promising, say many B-School authorities.

Along with IT, finance and FMCG companies which pick up talent from the campus every year, this time around even Media and E-commerce companies are making their presence felt. There has also been a decent rise in the number of companies visiting the campus and percentage of students getting employed. “.

We are just half way into the placement season and already 90 per cent of the students have been hired as against only 60 per cent last year,” explains Abhijith Mukund, convenor, placement cell, K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR).

Similarly, Xavier School of management – XLRI, Jamshedpur, has been successful in placing 100 per cent of its students. “The final recruitment process saw participation from 108 recruiters. The number includes 45 new recruiters. What is more interesting is that our batch of 300 students has received 321 job offers over a period of just 3.5 days,” states Rajiv Mishra, chairperson, Placement, XLRI.

At the NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai, there has been a 20 per cent rise in placement as compared to the last season.

“While the finance and FMCG sectors hired 40 per cent of our students, the banking and marketing areas gave jobs to another 30 to 35 per cent,” says Chandra Mauli Dwivedi, director, NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research. And over 3300 companied descended on the campus of the ITM Business School. “Some prominent recruiters were from the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and Retail and FMCG sectors,” mentions Ganesh Raja, Group Director – PGDM, ITM Business School.

So what are these companies looking for in their new employees? Academicians suggest that this year, most recruiters are looking to hire graduates with solid business orientation, strong domain knowledge and a proactive personality.

They are laying emphasis on soft skills like leadership, smartness, passion for work, aptitude and attitude toward professional life, and good communication skills. “Sincerity and accountability to the job role seems to be the buzz word.

Also in focus is the ability to think out-of-the-box and execute these ideas. Clearly individuals with a potential to add value to a company’s business are being sought after,” explains Dwivedi.

While at SIMSR, graduates are tested on communication and presentation skills, and also domain knowledge, at NL Dalmia the placement process is a rigorous one; companies shortlist candidates on the basis of psychometric tests, group discussion and finally a personal interview.

This year, NL Dalmia has several first-time recruiters on the campus, prominent among them being Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Wipro, Crisil and Edelwise. At SIMSR E-Commerce companies have taken the forefront in hiring the students. At ITM Business School 110 of students got hired in the BSFI sector.

This year, the recruiters didn’t just stick to offering traditional job roles like sales and marketing. Instead, it was a season of niche and domain specific professionals like business, market and finance analysts.

There is also great money this season. Graduates of SIMSR and NL Dalmia witnessed a 15 to 20 per cent jump in their Cost to Company (CTC) this year. “Our average per annum pay package is in the range of Rs 8 to 9 lakhs,” mentions Dwivedi.

While the average CTC offered to an ITM Business school graduate was Rs 586000/- per annum, the highest they bagged this year was Rs 1056000/- per annum. At XLRI the median salary offered to the batch is Rs 17 lakh per annum while the minimum is Rs 12 lakh per annum.

"I advise students not to get driven by money (salary) alone. Early in your career, you need to look for a job that offers challenges, and helps you to evolve as a successful professional. Sincerity toward your job always pays off. Good monetary benefits definitely follow over a period of time,"

Chandra Mauli Dwivedi, director, NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research