B-schools navigate tough job market, keep salaries steady

the current strategy appears to be more targeted, emphasising acquisition of candidates for specific roles. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

India’s privately run business schools and the Indian Institutes of Management have kept compensation packages at a similar level as last year’s placement season even amid a global economic slowdown, but there is a dip in the number of recruiters.

In some cases, the average and highest packages offered have increased by over 20 percent, according to data shared with Moneycontrol by management institutes. However, bulk hiring remains muted.

Companies, with cost-cutting measures in place, are eyeing niche talent for certain projects. Besides, although institutes say the salary packages remain the same as last year, they are comparatively lower if inflation is taken into account.

The highest and average packages at management colleges such as Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Bengaluru, TA Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal, and Galgotias University, are rising, but there are fewer recruiters in the ongoing placement season. Also, several students remain unplaced so far.

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“Due to the slowdown there are old recruiters who have not yet finalised their hiring plans. However, we have managed to add around 30 percent new recruiters and expect that the old recruiters will add on to the numbers in the days to come with around 120 organisations in total for the season,” Santanil Dasgupta, senior director of career guidance and development at BML Munjal University in Gurugram district, told Moneycontrol.

At TAPMI, over 70 companies participated in the final placements.

“Several companies that visited last year chose not to participate this year,” said Gurudutt S Nayak, chairperson of placements and corporate engagement at TAPMI.

Average package may decline

The premier IIMs also secured substantial numbers in terms of average packages offered. First-year students of IIM Calcutta’s MBA programme received an average stipend of Rs 1.65 lakh per month for their summer internship. IIM Lucknow managed an average stipend of Rs 1.4 lakh per month, a slight increase from the last year.

However, staffing firms told Moneycontrol that though the salary trends look stable, they might decline when placements end, with fewer students availing jobs.

“This year's placement season is likely to be modest and average salaries across campuses could see a decline in the range of 5-10 percent compared to the figures witnessed in 2023. Several factors contribute to this anticipated dip, including the global economic slowdown, and a prevailing emphasis on cost-optimisation measures by companies,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, managing director of CIEL HR Services.

There is also a departure from bulk hiring, where companies recruit a large number of candidates across positions. Instead, the current strategy appears to be more targeted, emphasising acquisition of candidates for specific roles.

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This shift could be driven by a more precise understanding of the organisation's current needs, a desire for a more specialised workforce, or a response to changes in business priorities.

“The trend which we have seen so far is that if the companies find good talent, they are flexible with the number of hires. We have seen companies hire as many as eight students for a single role provided they find reasonable talent,” said Narayani Ramachandran, director of NMIMS Bengaluru.

Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University, said the focus isn't on bulk hiring. However, companies are seeking talent across skill levels, ranging from entry-level to moderate and niche expertise.

“The emphasis is on acquiring individuals with specific skill sets tailored to their requirements,” he said.

At Acharya Bangalore Business School, more than 80 companies including Ernst & Young, KPMG, FactSet Research Systems, PwC, Accenture (AI and Operations), Moody's, Capgemini, Genpact, ANZ, Nestle, ITC and Asian Paints visited the campus for recruitment this year.

“As the industry is bracing for a challenging placement season, the number of hirings may decrease in 2024,” said Bijoy Das, head of placements at ABBS.

BFSI and consulting

With information technology (IT) staying away from placements, the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is dominating the recruitment in B-schools.

The BFSI sector encompasses diverse opportunities, including roles in banking operations, investment banking, financial analysis, risk management, and insurance. This trend is followed even in institutions that are conducting their first placement drive.

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At NMIMS Chandigarh, hiring is prominent for roles in financial analysis, risk management, and cybersecurity within the fintech space. The average package offered ranges from Rs 2.5 lakh per annum to Rs 5 lakh per annum.

According to Ankit Aggarwal, founder of Unstop, a hiring platform for students and freshers, IT companies are hiring students for different management level roles. Due to the global slowdown in business, IT companies aren't going to campuses to hire students.

“Other than that, we've seen FMCG, conglomerates, healthcare & pharmaceutical, entertainment/agencies, and others hiring from different B-schools, not just directly but also through engagements like Reliance's The Ultimate Pitch 9.0, Tata Imagination Challenge,” he said, adding that management institutes have started increasing their headcount from 2022.

Now, many students are chasing fewer jobs.

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Still, S Pasupathi, chief operating officer at HR tech platform HirePro anticipates that some companies will continue to have openings running into three digits. However, mass hiring of such scale is usually across several job functions and specific roles, spread across the institutions, he said.