BENGALURU:
IT companies
are resuming their
campus recruitment
drives after a nearly year-long hiatus amid signs of revival in business. IT firms are tapping into these colleges for skilled programmers and digital specialists who command salaries in the range of Rs 6 to 9 lakh, rather than entry-level roles where salaries are much lower.
Companies such as IBM, Infosys, TCS, and LTIMindtree have visited campuses for an initial phase of placements, which began in July.
While TCS has said it will hire 40,000 freshers, Infosys has planned to recruit 15,000 to 20,000 fresh graduates from colleges and through off-campus drives. In FY24, Infosys had 11,900 campus recruits in the 2023-24 financial year, a 76% drop compared to the 50,000 freshers it hired in the year-ago period.
“After a break of one year, we will return to the campuses with which we have partnerships. Additionally, we will look at off-campus hiring to onboard the same number for next year as well,” Wipro HR head Saurabh Govil said.
Wipro said it’s returning to campuses after four quarters. It plans to hire 10,000 to 12,000 freshers in the current financial year. Govil said 3,000 freshers were onboarded in the June quarter, and it would finish the backlog of the previous years in the next few quarters.
The employment outlook for recent engineering graduates is showing signs of improvement. Beyond bulk hiring of engineers, IT firms are keen to onboard digital talent and domain specialists in the areas of cloud, analytics, data, and AI.
Additionally, the selection process has become more rigorous compared to previous years. Shailendra Vidhate, training and placement officer at the engineering college of the NMIMS group, said the cut-off to sit for the placement season has risen to 70% from 60% last year.
Ashok Mittal, chancellor of Lovely Professional University, said that there’s a uptick in the number of people recruited this time around – about 1,350 so far this year compared to 600 people during the same period last year. Companies are increasingly looking beyond traditional coding tests when evaluating potential hires. Instead, they are examining candidates’ social media profiles and considering certifications they have earned. This shift in hiring practices reflects a desire to gain a more comprehensive understanding of each applicant’s skills and background.
