Few months back all you could here was the rumbling sound of falling economy all over the world which also affected the job market for many MBA aspirants. In fact, there was a 40% decline in MBA aspirants due to lack of lucrative career options during the placement.

However, the recent pre-placement trends at IIMs and other top B schools in India tell a different story. The rising number of lucrative pre-placement offers (PPO) and pre-placement interviews (PPI) the scenario hints at a better market conditions.

“So far, we have 60 pre-placement offers (PPOs) and 23 pre-placement interviews (PPIs). The corresponding figures for last year during the same time were 47 PPOs and 21 PPIs. So, relatively the trends are better,” says Rajiv Kumar, chairperson (placements), IIM Calcutta.

Talking about the chances of pre-placement offers being converted into final offers, Kumar says, “An increase in pre-placement offers is not only an indication of the improving job market but it is also a testament to the quality of students and the academic rigour of the institution. Further, more PPOs have been correlated with better final placements season in the past. Last year, the graduating batch of 2014 had 112 PPOs and 465 offers. The 2014 placement season also saw a more diverse set of roles and better paying jobs being offered on campus.”

At IIM Ahmedabad, 119 PPOs were offered, out of which 87 were accepted this year. The percentage increase in the number of PPOs made (from 2011 to 2014) was 23%. The institute also concluded its final placements recently. Consulting and BFSI sectors were among those that saw most of offers being made —118 and 62, respectively.

A recent release of the CRISIL-audited final placement report for 2014, as per the Indian Placement Reporting Standards, by IIM Ahmedabad revealed that over 125 companies participated in the placements for 2014. The top domestic pay package offered this year was Rs 41 lakh. The top recruiter was Accenture Strategy with 18 offers followed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which extended 15 offers. Other firms from the consulting sector included A T Kearney, McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, each making seven offers.

From the technology domain, Amazon was the top recruiter, extending 15 offers in business development as well as operations roles. HSBC topped among the global investment banks, making nine offers in investment banking, private banking and corporate banking. Among general management firms, RIL led with eight offers.

The number of students opting for entrepreneurial ventures seemed to be going up, too, as this year, 13 students opted out of the placement process to start their own ventures. As many as 362 students sought placements from the institute this year.

PPO numbers at IIM Bangalore have been very positive in the recent year. “Last year, we had a total of 117 PPOs which is nearly 30% of the batch. This year, the trend looks to be the same and we should reach a similar number. Our students have received 68 PPOs and 13 PPIs (totalling to 81 offers) so far. There is fair representation from management consulting firms, large business conglomerates, banks, IT companies and sales and marketing companies. Traditionally, management consulting firms make a large number of PPOs (often all our interns with these firms receive PPOs) and this time also it is the same. In the recent years, retail, healthcare and real estate were added to management consulting, finance, FMCG, conglomerates and IT as key hirers from campus. We have now seen e-commerce companies hiring significantly from campus and there are startups which hire for key positions,” says a spokesperson from the IIM Bangalore placements committee.

IIM Shillong had 11 candidates receiving PPO/PPI offers as on August 14, 2014. “Going by the trends we witnessed last year, this year we have seen an improvement in the number of PPO/PPIs offered to our candidates. The general feedback by the companies with respect to our candidates has been very good,” says Sanjoy Mukherjee, faculty in-charge (placements), IIM Shillong.

The highest annual stipend offered at the institute this year for internship was Rs 1.61 lakh (total stipend for two months) and Rs 22 lakh (domestic) and Rs 37 lakh (international) for final placements.

Source: Hindustantimes.com 

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