It was certainly not a usual ‘Day Zero’ at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), with some of the toppers among the graduates not being signed up by corporates.
‘Day Zero’ was traditionally the first day of campus interviews at the IIMs, where corporates used to line up for the best talent till last year. On ‘Day Zero’ last year, 130 graduates were hired, with the entire process of recruiting 256 — among them, 51 women — being completed in just three days.
“It looks like the process will stretch into the second week because the demand is not high this year. The reasons are obvious. Most multinational corporations and global banks have been impacted by global economic meltdown,” said a member of the faculty, who did not wish to be named.
A student, who also requested anonymity, said he did not see many companies from the non-traditional sectors on ‘Day Zero’. He said, “We were looking forward to seeing them. but it seems they will show up much later. We have to wait and watch even as we hope that we make it close to our seniors (in terms of pay cheques).”
According to Sourav Mukherji, chairperson of the placement cell at the IIM-B, placements on ‘Day Zero’ was average. He, however, did not disclose the details of the number of graduates hired or the names of companies that signed them up.
{{/usCountry}}According to Sourav Mukherji, chairperson of the placement cell at the IIM-B, placements on ‘Day Zero’ was average. He, however, did not disclose the details of the number of graduates hired or the names of companies that signed them up.
{{/usCountry}}He said, “Our expectations were not high, given the global economic slowdown. Overall, we expect 80-90 firms to come over this time, and almost half of them will be first timers.”