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IT majors are hiring in large numbers from single campuses across the country. Careers360 finds
out how to make the cut

With the resurgence of the IT sector, engineering students have a reason to smile because
companies are hiring in large numbers from single campuses. From a company¶s perspective the
fight for talent acquisition is getting intense as they look to expand their operations.

Leading recruiter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently announced that it made 24,000
campus offers in the fiscal year 2010-11, and in the next fiscal year, it plans to hire 37,000
engineers from campuses.

Cognizant, between October 2009 and September 2010, saw a net addition of over 27,500
employees. ³On December 1, 2010, we crossed the 100,000 employee mark. We continue to hire
talent aggressively across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia,´ shares
Shankar Srinivasan, Chief People Officer. Cognizant recently made job offers to 1,643 students
of the 2011 batch of students at VIT University, Vellore. Accenture close behind made 1,309
offers to students at Amity University. (view table to see who else is recruiting).

What¶s on offer

Companies recruit engineering graduates for roles in application and development, programme
delivery, R&D, network support, security, testing. MBAs undertake a varied spectrum of roles
such as IT consulting, client relationship management, and business development. Designations
include Junior Engineer Trainee (JET), Junior Software Engineer and Trainee.

³We see continued demand for talent in business consulting and domain-intensive roles, apart
from niche and new technologies. Also, a sustained demand for offshoring services such as IT
Infrastructure Management and BPO functions,´ says Srinivasan. Generic IT companies
(competencies in J2EE, .NET, Mainframes, and so on), ITES, BPOs as well as areas such as
Data Warehousing & Business Intelligence, Analytics and Testing, need skilled professionals.

Largest single campus hiring in 2010

Company

According to Prof. Ajay Rana, Director Placements, Amity University ³the tech firms offers
similar packages in line with NASSCOM guidelines. The average is Rs. 3-3.2 lakhs per annum
for freshers´

Some companies may require you to sign a bond, an agreement that you will work for a
stipulated minimum time frame. If you leave company prematurely, you will have to pay pre-
determined monetary compensation which is actually the cost incurred on training the candidate
Prof. Rana elaborates. However, Cognizant for instance does not have this practice. The
phenomenon seems to be catching with companies like Wipro and HCL also doing way with it.
To counter this, IBM and Accenture have started offering better salaries states ET.

The leading recruiter, TCS on other hand has made eligiblity of minimum 60% in X, XII
examination making more students join against stringer norm of minimum 65% in X, XII and
68% in engineering semesters by Infosys states ET. Similarly, Accenture considers only
Graduation, shares Prof. Rana.

With companies on hiring spree and sharing the placement slots the number of common offers
also exists. Jadavpur University saw Cognizant made 309 offers while Wipro made 71 of which
68 were common ET elaborates. ³While some companies share the slots others like Infosys and
Cognizant did not come because they were not given the Day 1 slot´ said Prof. Ganapathy.
Amity follows a rotational policy with no company in common since last 10 years. This year
Accenture grabbed the day 1 slot said Prof. Rana.

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Although the selection process differs from one company to another, the process is largely
divided into three stages ie Written Test, Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

Written Test: In some cases it comprises two rounds ie aptitude and technical test. The aptitude
test assesses the numerical, quantitative and verbal aptitude of the candidate while the technical
interview assesses a candidate¶s knowledge of a specific domain or subject.

Personal Interview: It comprises technical and HR rounds. The technical round assesses a
candidate on the subject know-how and the HR round assesses whether a candidate has the
appetite to learn, the ability to work in teams, soft skills, cross-cultural adaptability, flexibility,
and open-mindedness. The final interview also helps the company assess whether a specific
candidate is the right cultural fit for the company. ³With companies like HCL & TCS, top
performing students in academics, have the privilege of skipping the written round and attending
group discussions/ interviews directly,´ adds Prof Ganapathy. HCL Technologies calls this
initiative µToppers-Shop¶.

The companies are keen on technical and communication skills rather than certifications in Java,
dot net, CISCO etc while hiring freshers. So it is advised that one must stick to fundamentals
rather than add ons says Prof Rana.




 

Prof Ganapathy discusses the ABC of skills required to make the cut. A stands for the right
attitude ie readiness to learn, grow, face challenges and aptitude which means technical know-
how, B - Basics, student¶s fundamentals, knowledge and C- Communication. Students must have
a sound technical knowledge apart from soft skills, he elaborates.
The combination of consistent academic scores, subject knowledge and good communication and
interpersonal skills can pave the path to a good placement and a rewarding IT career. SRM offers
mentoring and grooming for placement through the career guidance cell, which organises GD
and PI training and seminars by corporates from the first year onwards to help students get
placed, shares Prof. Ganapathy

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Engineering graduates who are set to join companies are making informed decisions unlike in
past by getting wooed by the Brand. ET quotes few parameters on which tech firms are assessed
by students before accepting the offer. These are financial performance, time taken for
appraisals/ promotions and Bond agreement.

³College offers the placement slots by taking in consideration the student interaction and number
of probable hires´ the dean shares.


   


The defining factor while choosing the campus is the quality of students, the exposure and
previous year¶s experience. ³Companies follow a practice of grading institutions as ABC before
visiting it for recruitment,´ says Prof Ganapathy.

Amity which has been visited by 35 companies placing 2,361 of 2011 batch believes that
companies go by college reputation and alumni response admits Prof. Rana.

³We have a graded point system to measure and rate a college based on various parameters.
Apart from student feedback, these include technical lab and computer lab infrastructure, the
quality of the teaching staff, student-to-teacher ratio, papers presented, performance of their
alumni in Cognizant, campus placement record, and so on, ³adds Srinivasan. From a student¶s
perspective, it¶s a good idea to also explore these parameters when taking admission to a campus
as it will stand you in good stead during recruitment time.