Bonanza for MBA students

A massive recruiter turnout and rocketing salaries have marked this year's placement season at the country's premier management institutes.

Indian B-schools are on a roll. With students being lapped up by consultancies and investment banks, the placement season couldn't get any better, say placement officers. Recruitment at most campuses saw an increase of around 18-44 per cent in the salary offer figures over the last year.

For instance, at IIM-Indore, the highest domestic salary offer recorded this year was Rs 26 lakh as compared to Rs 18 lakh last year "" an increase of Rs 44 per cent. At IIFT Delhi, the highest domestic offer was made at Rs 25 lakh as against Rs 19.20 lakh in 2007 "" an increase of 30 per cent.

Final Placements
Though few placement officials admitted that they had qualms about the global recession taking its toll on the placements, consulting and banking and finance companies ensured the campuses record their best ever placements.

At IIM-Bangalore, consulting firms accounted for 37 per cent of total placements. McKinsey alone hired 15 students "" highest ever by a single consultancy firm. Others which recruited in good numbers include Boston Consulting Group (11), AT Kearny (6) and Oliver Wyman (4).

The younger IIMs too put up an impressive show. IIM Indore had over 95 companies registering for the placement process and 173 students got 367 offers. The average salary stood at Rs 13.07 lakh per annum.

Procter & Gamble and Edelweiss recruited during final placements from IIM Indore for the first time. The banking and financial sector dominated the placement scene with an average salary of Rs 14 lakh per annum. At IIM-Kozhikode, around 105 recruiters participated making 402 job offers for a batch of around 178 students.

At the Xavier's Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIM-B), 62 companies participated in the placement process and made a total of 248 offers to a batch of 118 students.

Finance proved to be the major draw this year with 35 per cent of the batch opting for jobs in the banking and financial sector.

The highest offer went up to Rs 16.5 lakh per annum, which was offered by JP Morgan Chase. Around 25 new companies visited the campus for the first time.

The Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur saw 298 offers being made for a batch of 180 students, with the highest domestic offer made at Rs 28 lakh. Also, 12 international offers were made with the highest at $ 1,00,000.

JM Financial, Barclays, Kotak, 8 Capital Hedge Fund, Centrum, Aptivaa et al visited the campus for the first time. Around 31 per cent of the offers were made in the finance domain.

Microsoft, HCL, Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, and others lead the technology sector that offered lateral roles for students with previous experience in handling Information Services.

At Mumbai-based Jamnalal Bajaj Institute for Management Studies (JBIMS), the highest domestic salary offered was Rs 29 lakh. The number of Investment banks visiting campus doubled this year with 17 per cent of the batch accepting offers from the same. Consulting remained an extremely sought after profile on the campus.

At IIM Lucknow, companies like McKinsey & Co, AT Kearney, Ernst & Young, Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, among others also recruited students. As part of its policy, the institute did not divulge the salary details.

Lateral placements
However, students with prior industry experience were much in demand and companies came in droves to pick them up during lateral placements. The average salaries during lateral placements saw an increase of over 13 per cent. Consulting and finance firms ruled the campuses.

Students also opted for non-conventional sectors like media and carbon trade consulting. At IIM-Ahmedabad, a total of 103 offers were made during lateral placements with average salary increasing from Rs 16.2 lakh last year to Rs 18.3 lakh this year.

Around 37 companies from consulting, private equity, real estate, finance, information technology, general management and marketing visited the campus to recruit students at IIM-A.

Similarly, at IIM-Lucknow, 45 companies visited the campus making a total of 146 offers, the highest IIM-Lucknow has ever seen. Prominent number of recruiters offered international locations.

At IIM Kozhikode, a number of firms from finance, consulting, marketing and general management participated in the placements.

Around 13 international offers were made to students with the highest international salary pegged at $ 175,000. At IIM Calcutta average annual package offered during lateral placements was Rs 14.15 lakh with the highest domestic offer of Rs 21 lakh.