IITs make strong a pitch for core firms in placements

Traditional recruiters such as core engineering firms are being given preference in placements at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) this year as opposed to start-ups that may offer higher compensation packages.

 Tom Mathew, Professor-In-Charge (Placement) at IIT-Bombay, said, “We have moved beyond compensation-based slotting and have promoted core engineering firms to better slots. There are about 50 per cent core firms in the first four days of placements.”

 Ankur Agarwal, Student Placement Coordinator at IIT-Khargpur, said the institute is evaluating the ‘career value’ the company can offer rather than just compensation packages, while offering placement slots. 

This comes in the background of a big jump in start-ups flush with funds offering high compensation packages and asking for better slots at placements. Out of the 400 companies that have registered for placements, 70 start-ups have registered for placements at IIT-Bombay this year as against 15 last year. IIT-Kharagpur has also seen a big jump in start-up registrations this year. 

Mass firing at various start-ups has made the IITs cautious. 

“A core engineering firm gets much more preference than a start-up as we are focusing on providing a career trajectory. So, unless it is a very established start-up, we are not giving as much weightage to them,” said Agarwal from IIT-Kharagpur.

According to placement officials, compensation packages offered by e-commerce companies, which include Esops, are in the range of ₹8 lakh to ₹25 lakh. 

Harish Bohara, Overall Coordinator of Placements at IIT-Guwhati, said the institute was devoting considerable time to check out the backgrounds of start-ups before allocating slots.  

The overall number of students joining start-ups is expected to be significantly higher this year. 

A student placement coordinator at IIT-Bombay said, “Students who typically join start-ups are attracted to the flat hierarchal structure which provides a huge opportunity for quick growth. However, most students understand the downside and have a higher risk appetite.”

The IITs will launch the first phase of placements on December 1.