Slowdown effect: IT firms defer joining dates, tech grads worried
Despite the global slowdown, campus placement season in city
engineering colleges had seemed upbeat last academic year. Several
students from top colleges bagged more than one offer on an average, but
these attractive offers are yet to turn into reality.
Most IT firms and IT consulting companies have deferred their joining
dates by more than six months, and several students, who were to start
work from the first week of August, have now been asked to join from
January.
This is not all. A company, which had offered an annual package of
around Rs 4.5 lakh during presentation, brought the figure down to Rs
3.95 lakh along with the joining bonus when the actual offer was made.
Students were offered anywhere between Rs 3.5 lakh and 7 lakh a year.
Another IT firm, which had hired students from the city for its Mumbai
office, is now placing them in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Placement season in most engineering colleges starts from July, at the
beginning of the final year session, and continues till November.
Students who get offers are given joining dates for July or August in
the next year, after they graduate.
Rahul Mantri, an engineering graduate from a suburban college, who got
an offer from a consultancy firm in November 2012, was to get his
joining date this month. "When I got the offer, I was told that I would
be joining by the first week of July.
Now, the firm has informed our placement office about the delay. I have
joined my family business for now. Around 10 students from my college,
who were hired by this software MNC, are waiting for their joining date
to come by," he said.
A leading consultancy and audit firm had hired around hundreds of
candidates from across the country this year. While others have started
work, the joining dates for city students have been deferred to January
2014. The firm had hired 36 students from a college in the western
suburbs, and 20 more from another top college.
"Our joining dates have been deferred.
While I have taken up an internship in a start-up firm, most of my
friends are sitting at home. We cannot even join a certificate programme
to enhance our job skills as we are not sure in which process we will
be placed after joining," said Rakesh Mehra, a student.
A few firms have not even intimated the placement offices of colleges, adding to students' anxiety.
Prachi Gharpure, principal of Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, said
120 of the 200 students from the current batch are awaiting their
joining dates. "Firms, which had taken limited recruits, have given
joining dates, but those, which had carried out bulk hirings, have
delayed the process. They might be trying to adjust all the candidates
in different batches," said Gharpure.
G T Thampi, principal of Thadomal Shahani College of Engineering, said
most firms are affected by the slowdown. "The depreciating value of
rupee is adding to their troubles."
Principal J M Nair of Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of
Technology said a few firms in core engineering branches have also have
postponed the joining dates.
"Most organisations are adjusting the onboarding process to match the
tepid growth of the industry. I am sure , as has always been the case,
all offers will be honoured in due course," said Hari T, chief marketing
officer and global head (business consulting), Tech Mahindra.
(Students' names changed; inputs by Samidha Sharma)
Source : TOI
