Placement season: Who’s hiring and at what salaries at B-schools?

The placement season in leading Indian B-schools is getting a robust response from consulting and financial firms, among others, with the average annual salary crossing ₹20 lakh. Though the final picture will emerge over the next few weeks, here are the underlying trends.

how are the iiMs performing?

Of the 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), a few, including IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Lucknow and IIM-Kozhikode, completed the placement process within three days.

IIM-Calcutta saw 123 firms offering 501 jobs to 441 final semester students.

At IIM-Ahmedabad, the first cluster of final placements is over with top consulting firms and global banks making attractive offers. IIM-Lucknow and IIMKozhikode have placed 460 and 400 students, respectively, while IIM-Bangalore has reported good numbers.

The new IIMs, too, are reporting encouraging numbers though the process is still on.

What about other top B-schools?

Top B-schools, including Xavier’s Labour Research Institute (XLRI), S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Great Lakes, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, have finished placements with firms making attractive offers.

Birla Institute of Management and Technology (BIMTECH) and Indian School of Business said a majority of their students have been placed, with the average salary rising 16% compared to last year.

“The bigger message the industry is giving is that if your students are good, we are ready to hire. It also indicates companies are willing to hire more this year,” said K.K. Krishnan, professor and head of placement, BIMTECH.

What’s the average salary this year?

The average salary across top Bschools was over ₹20 lakh p.a, up 5-16% from last year. While average annual salary for IIM-Calcutta was ₹25.36 lakh, XLRI’s was ₹22.35 lakh.

Which sectors were top recruiters from?

Consulting, financials, Information Technology (IT), and consumer durable companies hired the bulk of the management graduates, while sales and marketing roles were a top draw.

Though the final numbers are yet to come in, some institutes said e-commerce firms have shown renewed interest this year.

At IIM-Calcutta, 29% of the students accepted consulting jobs, while 21% chose financials. Around 32% of IIM-Lucknow students took up consulting roles, 16% chose sales and marketing jobs, while 15% will join the e-commerce workforce.

What do placements at top B-schools say about the job market?

While top institutes are reporting good hiring, hundreds of B-schools from smaller cities are facing a tough time in placing their students.

According to data for 2015-16, 250,000 students had joined nonIIM B-schools, but only 99,000 had secured jobs through campus placements in their final year.

“Students from smaller cities and towns are without adequate jobs,” said T. Muralidharan, chairman and managing director (CMD) at TMI Group, a human resource consultancy.