Amidst palpable apprehensions among first year students, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) beat its own record, placing all 350 students with summer internships of their choice, in just four days. An especially significant development in the backdrop of economic slowdown.
The number of companies that visited the campus too increased from 120 to 150 this year, as did the diversity of company profiles or sectors that made offers.
At 19 per cent, investment banking remained the most preferred profile with Goldman Sachs being the single largest recruiter making 13 offers (compared to seven last year). No less than 70 fresh recruiters visited the campus, reflecting a diversification in profiles preferred and interest of students. Investment banking was followed by finance (16 per cent), consulting (15 per cent), general management (12 per cent) and Information Technology (nine per cent).
Students proudly declared that over 50 per cent of them were placed in ‘slot zero’, the first phase of recruitment, which is reserved for the top companies. Further, IIM-B outdid the other IIMs on two counts: offers made in slot zero (180 in all) and number of students set to intern abroad (at least 64), students claimed.
Fears allayed
The results, and trends recorded, have somewhat assuaged fears of a possible lull in recruitment for management graduates at the elite B-school. A summer placement, which is B-school parlance for allotment of summer holiday internships for first year students, may not be the ‘real deal’, but is considered an indicator for the imminent final year placement sessions, particularly post-recession years. Hence, second-year students and placement officials watch these trends closely. “It is certainly an affirmation. Given the general state of the economy, we did extremely well, and we had a wide variety of profiles to choose from,” said Tejas Dave, who chose consulting and looks forward to gaining exposure in diverse sectors during his internship.
Work experience
Although IIM-B was last to commence placements, students did well for themselves. That the average work experience of the batch is an all-time-high of 32 months too worked in their favour.
Weary of comparisons, in keeping with its policy of not revealing salary/stipend details, placement official P.D. Jose said: “It isn’t about numbers. Our success is a reflection of the students’ efforts and the faith the industry has places in us, even in tough times.”
