Mumbai: Fresh graduates at some of India's top colleges are enduring one of their toughest placement years yet, with intake by prominent recruiters falling by more than half, according to college sources and top company officials.
People said India Inc has turned cautious in fresher hiring due to lower workforce needs amid global geopolitical turmoil and macroeconomic headwinds, crimping business growth this year.
While many companies halted fresher onboarding even after making final offers, some delayed issuing offer letters despite shortlisting candidates. Many candidates are also awaiting their final interviews while some candidates have been kept in the limbo after several rounds of interviews, officials and student placement coordinators at nearly half a dozen undergraduate institutes told ET.
For thousands of final-year students across engineering, management, and other professional courses, a supposed exciting transition from campus to corporate life has transformed into a period of deep uncertainty.
Colleges such as St Xavier's College Mumbai, Jai Hind College, Fr Agnel, and St Francis Institute of Technology, among others, have seen placement percentages drop from last year.
At St Xavier's, among the country's leading UG colleges, placement numbers were lower this year compared to previous years though twice as many companies visited for campus interviews.
"About 89 companies came to campus this year versus 40-42 last year with many mid-sized firms and startups coming for the first time. However, the hiring numbers of big recruiters were 50-70% of last year," said Radhika Tendulkar, placement in-charge at St Xavier's College.
Top recruiters in the college included Accenture, DE Shaw, IDFC, Hindustan Unilever, EY, Bain, ICICI, HSBC, and Deloitte.
Companies, on their part, cite a mix of recessionary trends, AI-driven disruptions, and a perceived lack of preparedness among students. Many recruiters say they now prefer candidates with at least 2-3 years of experience, seeing fresh graduates as risky hires who might quickly leave for further studies.
Fr Agnel’s C.R. College of Engineering in Bandra acknowledged the shift. In an official email, they said, “This year’s placement trend has been more challenging. Profiles have shifted from wide-spectrum roles to narrow-spectrum ones. We are introducing laboratory-focused curricula, activity-based learning, and appointing professors of practice to bring industry expertise into classrooms."
Emails sent to Jai Hind College, HR College of Commerce and Economics, and St Francis College did not elicit any response.
Top company officials say the need for early career talent is at an all-time low – attributing it to the impact of AI as well as muted corporate growth over the last three years.
“If someone tells me to hire an analyst, I don’t see much of a value at the cost at which they come,” said a senior partner at a top MNC consulting firm. “Business has seen no growth over the last three years, and many undergrads hired a few years back still remain at the same level with no scope for promotion.”
“Are we getting sufficient value at Rs 6-9 lakhs? Most organisations perceive that freshers with non-differentiable skills are not really critical to hire and not really worth the money,” the executive noted.
Some colleges have placed 15-30% of the batch so far, while the figure is much worse in others at 5% or less, campus insiders said on condition of anonymity. Placement for the current batch began last August and runs through this June.
Consultancies, brokerages, IT companies, and manufacturing giants — once considered reliable recruiters — have either deferred joining dates to around November or cut fresher intake drastically. Top companies such as EY, Accenture, Deloitte, and PWC are hiring much fewer numbers, said campus sources.
In fact, some of the small and mid-sized firms are asking for mandatory service bonds of 1.5 to 3 years.
A student at a Mumbai college was asked to submit security cheques of up to ₹3 lakh — which was not disclosed upfront during the selection process.
Starting salaries, too, have taken a marginal hit. Mid-sized companies offered annual pay packages of ₹3.5 to ₹5 lakh, while larger companies offered an average of ₹7–10 lakh.
However, some like Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) attributed a marginal dip seen in placements this year to fewer students applying with many opting to study further.
“A large percentage of students are progressing into the fourth year, introduced for the first time under NEP (National Education Policy). As such, due to a smaller applicant pool, placements are slightly lower this year,” said Kanika Khandelwal Ahuja, acting principal at LSR. “The percentage of placements remains nearly the same”.
She said LSR graduates bagged pay packages of Rs 12.17 lakhs on average this year.
( Originally published on May 31, 2025 )
People said India Inc has turned cautious in fresher hiring due to lower workforce needs amid global geopolitical turmoil and macroeconomic headwinds, crimping business growth this year.
While many companies halted fresher onboarding even after making final offers, some delayed issuing offer letters despite shortlisting candidates. Many candidates are also awaiting their final interviews while some candidates have been kept in the limbo after several rounds of interviews, officials and student placement coordinators at nearly half a dozen undergraduate institutes told ET.
For thousands of final-year students across engineering, management, and other professional courses, a supposed exciting transition from campus to corporate life has transformed into a period of deep uncertainty.
Colleges such as St Xavier's College Mumbai, Jai Hind College, Fr Agnel, and St Francis Institute of Technology, among others, have seen placement percentages drop from last year.
At St Xavier's, among the country's leading UG colleges, placement numbers were lower this year compared to previous years though twice as many companies visited for campus interviews.
"About 89 companies came to campus this year versus 40-42 last year with many mid-sized firms and startups coming for the first time. However, the hiring numbers of big recruiters were 50-70% of last year," said Radhika Tendulkar, placement in-charge at St Xavier's College.
Top recruiters in the college included Accenture, DE Shaw, IDFC, Hindustan Unilever, EY, Bain, ICICI, HSBC, and Deloitte.
Companies, on their part, cite a mix of recessionary trends, AI-driven disruptions, and a perceived lack of preparedness among students. Many recruiters say they now prefer candidates with at least 2-3 years of experience, seeing fresh graduates as risky hires who might quickly leave for further studies.
Fr Agnel’s C.R. College of Engineering in Bandra acknowledged the shift. In an official email, they said, “This year’s placement trend has been more challenging. Profiles have shifted from wide-spectrum roles to narrow-spectrum ones. We are introducing laboratory-focused curricula, activity-based learning, and appointing professors of practice to bring industry expertise into classrooms."
Emails sent to Jai Hind College, HR College of Commerce and Economics, and St Francis College did not elicit any response.
Top company officials say the need for early career talent is at an all-time low – attributing it to the impact of AI as well as muted corporate growth over the last three years.
“If someone tells me to hire an analyst, I don’t see much of a value at the cost at which they come,” said a senior partner at a top MNC consulting firm. “Business has seen no growth over the last three years, and many undergrads hired a few years back still remain at the same level with no scope for promotion.”
“Are we getting sufficient value at Rs 6-9 lakhs? Most organisations perceive that freshers with non-differentiable skills are not really critical to hire and not really worth the money,” the executive noted.
Some colleges have placed 15-30% of the batch so far, while the figure is much worse in others at 5% or less, campus insiders said on condition of anonymity. Placement for the current batch began last August and runs through this June.
Consultancies, brokerages, IT companies, and manufacturing giants — once considered reliable recruiters — have either deferred joining dates to around November or cut fresher intake drastically. Top companies such as EY, Accenture, Deloitte, and PWC are hiring much fewer numbers, said campus sources.
In fact, some of the small and mid-sized firms are asking for mandatory service bonds of 1.5 to 3 years.
A student at a Mumbai college was asked to submit security cheques of up to ₹3 lakh — which was not disclosed upfront during the selection process.
Starting salaries, too, have taken a marginal hit. Mid-sized companies offered annual pay packages of ₹3.5 to ₹5 lakh, while larger companies offered an average of ₹7–10 lakh.
However, some like Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) attributed a marginal dip seen in placements this year to fewer students applying with many opting to study further.
“A large percentage of students are progressing into the fourth year, introduced for the first time under NEP (National Education Policy). As such, due to a smaller applicant pool, placements are slightly lower this year,” said Kanika Khandelwal Ahuja, acting principal at LSR. “The percentage of placements remains nearly the same”.
She said LSR graduates bagged pay packages of Rs 12.17 lakhs on average this year.
( Originally published on May 31, 2025 )
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