Whither Recession? 40% Batch at IIM Calcutta Gets Placed in Finance!

Overview

The second phase of the final placement process of IIM Calcutta concluded on Saturday, March 7, 2009, with all students getting job offers. The process took ten days in total, at the end of which all 265 students held a job.

Phase I of the process included Slot 0 and Slot 1, lasting for four days (February 21-24). The process came to a halt for the rest of the week, and resumed with Phase-II on March 2. The second phase, which consisted of Slot 2, was a six-day process. The staggered placement process was a strategic move to ensure that students got roles in sectors they preferred. By not declaring the day when the process would terminate, there was a continuous flow of companies for students to choose from.

Sector-wise Information

IIM Calcutta went against all odds and reaffirmed its status as the most preferred campus in the nation for Finance. 40% of the students chose finance portfolios, both in India and abroad. Some of the major recruiters for finance during the final placement process were Jaypee Capital, ICICI Lombard and ICICI Prudential, Futures First, Allegro Financial Services and Edelweiss Capital. Jaypee Capital extended the maximum number of offers across India at IIM Calcutta with 16 offers. Wall Street Banks kept their date with the campus, with over 20 out of the 56 pre-placement offers being made by them. Some of the firms are Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Credit Suisse. The Laterals process saw Baring Private Equity Partners, a leading international PE Asset Management firm, make only one offer across India, to a student from IIM Calcutta. TVS Capital, one of India’s well known Private Equity firms, was also part of the process.

Consulting found many takers yet again. 21% of the students were offered consulting profiles across the world. The biggest recruiter this time was McKinsey & Co with 10 offers. IIM Calcutta played host to Frost & Sullivan, first-time recruiters in India, who made their highest number of offers to IIM-C. All profiles offered by them were international. Other big recruiters were The Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, A T Kearney, Opera Solutions, Accenture, Deloitte and Cognizant Business Consulting. Corporate Executive Board, an American Consulting Firm, exclusively recruited at IIM-C from amongst all the IIMs.

IIM Calcutta Placements 2009

Marketing profiles were offered by 27% of the companies that came to campus. Some of our regular recruiters here were Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble, ITC and Nokia. Public Sector Units such as IOCL, NTPC, Coal India and Andrew Yule also chose to recruit at IIMC.

A large number of international offers were made to the students, with locations all over the globe. Hong Kong, London, Singapore and New York were locations that were prominently offered by banking and consulting firms. Marketing profiles were offered in Singapore.

Pay Packages

As expected, this year’s pay packages saw a dip from last time, on an average. The domestic average this year has been Rs. 12.7 Lakhs, with the highest offer at Rs. 60 Lakhs per annum. The international scenario, though, threw in a surprise. The average international package, exclusive of bonus, came up to USD 86,785. With the bonus factored in, the package sizes exceed those of last year’s.

While it may be noted that the average salary fell by around 23% this time, it has to be emphasized that the firms that visited campus last year did not lower their packages this year. The intake per company had come down, resulting in the fall in package.

Comparison with Last Year

IIM Calcutta Placements 2009

The recession has affected placements in IIM-C, but the statistics exceeded expectations set before the process concluded. The international packages and profiles have grown more attractive. The move by the placement cell to extend the number of days for placement shifted bargaining power back to the students. The average domestic salary was way higher than what was expected and fell by only 23% in a market where jobs are now hard to come by, reaffirming the confidence recruiters have in the quality of students at IIM Calcutta. Finance, after all the speculations, has seen more takers this year than last time, both in terms of percentage and in terms of numbers. The highest domestic package has almost matched last time.

Conclusion

While it may be easy to get numbers during a market boom, it takes a lot to stand out during a crisis. The statistics show that IIM Calcutta has, yet again, proved to be India’s campus of choice for recruiters from around the world. The relationship this campus enjoys with the corporate world is exemplary, and strong enough to survive even the most severe crises.