K. Ramesh Kumar is six months into his first job at a software company in Coimbatore. He made it to the company in the recruitment drive it conducted last year.
The computer graduate got offers from a few other companies as well but he chose the company to gain experience and have fun. “I am getting to learn outside my domain as well – something that will be difficult if I join big, well-established companies. For instance, I joined in the software testing division but I’ve already played my part in development and deployment.”
A. Divyakannika, a student of Kumaraguru College of Technology, too has chosen to join a young company. “The small team, career growth along with company’s growth, and opportunities to work in various divisions with the company are the pluses that made her prefer the company to well-established names.”
The choice of the two reflect the growing trend among students to prefer start-up companies for experience and learning, even if they have to make small compromises on salary, say placement officers in colleges.
Mr. Kumar says that he did not mind preferring the job that offered 20 per cent less than what other companies for two reasons – one the learning and career opportunities and, two, the company is in his hometown and thereby the 20 per cent reduction does not make a difference.
“I will be spending more on food and accommodation if I chose companies that are away from Coimbatore and this negates the difference.”
The placement officers say that this trend is only growing but the majority of students’ choice is only big companies.
“The students’ go by parents’ wishes, they are not ready to take risks and want the big companies’ identity as they soon enter the marriage-able,” says K. Senthamarai Kannan, placement officer, Kumaraguru College of Technology.
Ms. Divyakannika, however, says that she did not mind such things as this is the time she can take risks with jobs and employers.
But then the students preferring start-up is limited to those from the computer science engineering and information technology as there are not many non-IT start-up companies visiting campuses for recruitment, says M.S. Irfan Ahmed, Dean, Placement and Training, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology.
While this trend is growing, the start-up companies have a problem in that they face competition for human resource from big-ticket IT firms, who come with deep pockets and also get preferential treatment in campuses.
Raj Krishna, Director, Atom Systems Private Limited, says that start-up companies not paying on a par with big companies may not apply to all as there have been instances of a few companies offering fresh recruits as much as Rs. 6 – 8 lakh per annum.
He adds that this trend will go in the near future as small and medium IT firms in the country have grown at 14.1 per cent in the past year.
