It’s that time of the year again. Campus recruitment is on in full swing at business schools, and you are required to make the rounds of company presentations and workshops on writing CVs and mock interviews. Thanks to the economic boom India is witnessing, companies are lapping up B-school graduates like never before. There’s a huge demand for competent professionals and it is not really being met by the supply of graduates from the premier management institutes. In fact, experts say that almost 50 per cent of the companies looking for freshers are returning empty- handed.

There was a time when only the top 10 management institutes in the country could boast of a 100 per cent placement rate, sky-high salaries and international postings. But today, a new trend is emerging ? tier-II and tier-III B-schools are also being able to secure 100 per cent placement for their students through campus recruitment and lateral placements. “For the past three years, we’ve had a cent per cent recruitment rate,” says Professor Subir Verma, head of the placement cell, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. “Usually, 70-80 companies come for campus recruitment and approximately 10 per cent of our students get postings outside India. It is remarkable that everyone gets jobs within the first four-five hours of Day Zero.”

The rush for quality management graduates implies that a plethora of job opportunities is on offer. Students can now take their pick from a host of global players. “Most students get more than two to three offers and then they can pick and choose,” says Samta Lalan, a student of the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai. “Usually, more than 80 companies register for campus recruitment of which only about 40 are able to recruit. Last year, the average starting salary for JBIMS graduates was Rs 7.04 lakh per annum. The lowest was around Rs. 4.8 lakh.”

But how do you zero in on the most suitable offer? The primary task would be to get a clear idea about the job profile, the company’s reputation, the pay package and growth prospects. As Professor J.K. Mitra, head of placement cell, Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), New Delhi, puts it: “Students should check the reputation of the company, opportunities to learn, grow and diversify, the job profile and assignments on offer.” But he feels that salaries should not be the deciding factor. “The pay will improve with time and experience,” he says.

Most of the top B-schools invite international companies ? some of which may not even have operations in India ? to participate in campus recruitment. Foreign banks like HSBC and Citibank and fast moving consumer good companies like Gillette and Hindustan Lever are the top draw for students.

In the past couple of years, some of the major recruiters at FMS were JP Morgan, Amway, Pepsi, Infosys, American Express and Maruti Udyog. Says Professor Mitra, “The main qualities such recruiters look for in students are dependability, good analytical skills and the capacity to solve problems. Students need to have excellent interpersonal skills to form and maintain customer relations. They must also have a basic knowledge of IT.”

Santosh Jha, a final-year student at FMS who has been placed with Deloitte, feels that the focus during recruitment is not only on a student’s technical qualifications and aptitude but also on his or her attitude and adaptability, especially in the case of international placements. “I went through nine rounds of interviews over 45 days and only in one round did they ask technical or academic questions,” says Jha.

Most institutes help students to prepare for campus interviews by holding regular interactions with alumni, company representatives and industry mentors throughout the academic year. They also organise mock interviews. The selection and recruitment of students involves a combination of online tests, including psychometric ones, group discussions, group activities and interviews.

Global outlook

In this age of globalisation, experts say, it has become essential for B-School graduates to acquire a global outlook. As more and more transnational corporations are turning their attention to India to exploit its vast reserve of human capital, it has become imperative for management graduates to learn about the work ethics and relations abided by in global companies.

But in your pursuit of global hotshots, don’t neglect smaller companies that offer less attractive pay packages, warns Professor Mitra. “These companies may prove to be more beneficial in the long run, as they provide greater opportunities for growth and expansion,” he says.

In the final analysis, make the most of the spurt in job opportunities, keeping in mind the basic parameters for selecting a company and without losing focus on your long-term career goals.