For the batch of 2007 graduating from the top management schools in the country, the placement season saw records tumble like nine pins.
Apart from the bulkier packages offered to students, the season witnessed emerging trends of students preferring domestic shores, more and more students getting placed on slot zero (day one), new recruiters on the campus like SEBI and some rejecting Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) salaries to opt for their own ventures.
Average domestic packages across all campuses saw a significant increase of around 35 per cent while international packages have grown even higher with around 43 per cent more than last year. At the IIMs, following the precedent set by IIM Bangalore,
IIM Lucknow decided not to declare details of the packages accepted by students. Both the IIMs therefore only released select details of the placement process. While IIM-Lucknow announced that average increase in salaries was around 35-40 per cent, IIM Bangalore chose not to talk of any figures that could lead to calculations.
The highest packages have been bagged by the top three IIMs and ISB this year. At IIM-A which for the first time decided to give out its highest range of acceptances rather than the highest figure, the top offers were in the bracket of Rs 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore for domestic placements and $225,000 to $300,000 for international acceptances.
There was a 40 per cent and 25 per cent average salary hike over last year in domestic and international acceptances respectively. It was the only institute to declare that its minimum domestic salary was Rs 8 lakh while the minimum international salary was $31,800.
For IIM Calcutta, the highest international acceptance touched $250,000 (Rs 1.1 crores) while highest domestic salary was Rs 40 lakh. This year also saw average domestic and international salaries grow by 43 and 64 per cent respectively. Although IIM-B did not disclose any figures, the salary bracket is reportedly along the lines of the other two IIMs.
ISB, the last to declare its final placements, has recorded the highest average international packages across all campuses in the country. While IIM-A had an average international package of $115,300, at ISB, the average was $135,000 (around Rs 59.5 lakhs) which was close to 12 per cent more than its average package last year of $120,700. A total of 584 offers had been made at ISB, of which 55 were from international companies. At NITIE and SIBM, the highest international offer was made by Olam International at $85,000.
Slot zero (day one) acceptances saw an increase this year 64 to 89 at IIM-C, up by 40 per cent at IIM-B, 94 as compared to 83 at IIM-A last year. Even pre-placement offers (PPOs) saw a hike from 30 to 65 at IIM Lucknow while IIM-A received 81 PPOs of which 11 were associate offers from investment banks and 12 associate offers from international consulting firms.
At other institutes, 172 students got placed on Day Zero at K J Somaiya Instutite of Management Studies and Research while the number of PPOs was higher by 25 per cent as compared to last year. At JBIMS, IIFM, SIBM and MICA, all the students were placed on Day zero itself.
The Positions Offered varied across the institutes but consulting, finance and investment banks ruled the roost yet again. Students received profiles ranging from associate to other senior management roles in Global Markets, Global Transaction Banking, Credit Risk Management, Capital markets, microfinance and other segments.
Apart from the usual recruiters at the campuses, a slew of international and domestic recruiters inlcuding Blackstone Real Estate, Fischer Jordan, ING (Netherlands), Trikona (Real Estate and Private Equity), CIC (Real Estate and Private Equity), Value Partners (Strategy Consulting) Optiver (Market Maker) and SEBI among others, The Road less travelled Showing an entrepreneurial streak, 11 students from IIM-A, two from IIM-B while one student from IIM-Kozhikode opted out of placements to start their own ventures inspite of receiving lucrative domestic and international offers.
Of the students who decided to opt out, a group of four, which include two of them who spurned Rs 1 crore salaries, will be starting a venture on lingerie.
A group of three has opted out of placements to get into the lighting business in Mumbai. One of them is planning to set up an art fund, a female student is planning to set up a school, one of them plans to start a venture in real estate while a group of four have decided to establish a cricket stock portal which is a virtual stock exchange dealing in stocks of cricket players and have other business plans in the pipeline.
