Japanese firms woo students at IIT-Bombay’s first career fair

Two months before the start of the official placement season, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) held a career fair early last week at its Powai campus.

Two months before the start of the official placement season, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) held a career fair early last week at its Powai campus.

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Among recruiters who participated were companies from Japan that sought to woo students ahead of the official placement season. The institute did not disclose the names of companies that participated in the fair.

On September 29, the placement cell of IIT-B held a first-of-its-kind career fair.

The fair offered students a platform to interact with possible recruiters and was aimed at easing the pressure on students during the placement season, which will kick off on December 1 and continue till the end of the academic year.

“The placement cell conducted a networking event [also known as Career Fair] on September 29. Majorly, companies from Japan [and a few Indian companies] participated in fair where they were given a chance to interact with the students in an ‘information-booth’ setup for a period of two hours,” said Rohan Potdar, placement manager, IIT-B.

In the past, Japanese technology firms such as NEC Japan and Rakuten have been among the those offering prospective candidates the highest pay packages.

Moreover, the number of Japanese companies visiting IIT-B’s campus have also risen in the recent past. According to the placement cell, more than 15 Japanese firms visited campus for placements in 2017 and 2018, while only a handful did so in 2016.

“Students were able to get clarity on their apprehensions like working in a particular sector, life in Japan, growth in the firm, the job profiles etc,” said Potdar over email.

The institute decided to start career fairs in a bid to replace the pre-placement talks (PPT), which are time consuming. In a PPT, a possible recruiter holds talks with students, explains the job profiles and advantages of the jobs on offer.

“In the future, the career fair foresees a significant growth in size in terms of the number of participating companies and will save students time and pressure,” said Potdar.