IIMs struggle over summer placements, only 20% succeeds in 2 months, stipends down

The report noted that even during the pandemic almost every IIM managed to achieve 100 percent placements with an increase in the median and highest stipend offered. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Some of the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which were used to reaching 100 percent placements in just two days, are struggling for the last two months to close summer hirings, according to a report by campus recruitment and placements platform HirePro, shared exclusively with Moneycontrol.

Only 20 percent of 21 IIMs could complete the summer placements so far, while 80 percent are continuing placements in a rolling process. The institutes are assuring students all support to get placed, said the report.

Only three of the six premier IIMs and one out of 15 new IIMs have completed summer placements. According to the report, Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Lucknow have completed 100 percent placements whereas Bangalore, Indore and Kozhikode are continuing with the process. Out of the new IIMs, only IIM Mumbai has completed the placement process.

“It is rare and historic in more than a decade that premier IIMs have struggled this long to get all students placed. In the past, where the placement process was a matter of a few days, it's now two months since it started and is continuing and about to overlap with the upcoming lateral/ final placement of the outgoing batch which is to graduate in 2024,” the report said, based on a combination of information received from IIM students, connects, and placement reports.

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Summer placements commence in September for the third-generation IIMs and in October or November for the second and first-generation IIMs.

Tougher than pandemic times

The report noted that even during the pandemic almost every IIM managed to achieve 100 percent placements with an increase in the median and highest stipend offered. Consulting continued to be the most preferred sector in premier institutes, whereas for others, BFSI, sales and marketing continued to extend the maximum offers.

Summer internships are significant and mandatory in many of the institutes as part of the academic requirements. It is more crucial as 50-70 percent of students have a chance of securing pre-placement offers (PPOs), which potentially are the final offers for the students.

Not securing an internship at all or a compromised internship of these eight weeks may lead to either losing a chance of getting a PPO or not getting the right job-fit PPO, leading to a decline in the PPO acceptance number.

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Also, a lower number of internships may lead to a reduced number of PPOs, which will eventually increase the need for more offers during the upcoming session of final placements.

Lower stipend, offers

At premier IIMs, the median stipend has ranged from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2.7 lakh per month in the past two years which is now at Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 1.7 lakh. For the second and third-generation IIMs, the median range was Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh in the past few years and is trying to at least maintain the same for this season.

Even with the pandemic, in the past few years, the highest stipend saw an increase of about 30-40 percent compared to the preceding years, but the current year has been difficult. Overall, the institutes did not see any notable difference in the highest stipend and have managed to maintain it at the same level as the previous years.

At the premier institutes, the highest stipend was more than 6.5 lakh the previous year. This year, it is roughly around 4 lakh.

“The IIMs that successfully completed the placements had a slight increase of approximately 10 percent compared to the previous year. For those who partially completed the placements, currently, the median is matching with last year but as many are continuing the process the final median stipend still looks questionable,” the report said.

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Besides, dream applications were limited this time, hence, the number of offers made is almost equivalent to the number of students placed.

According to the report, the dream offer option was not aggressively applied during this year as the main objective was to get all students placed. In a dream application, a student can explore the sector or function of their choice, even after having an offer on hand, which reduces opportunities for students who have not managed to get any offer.

Though a few premier IIMs continued providing the option of dream applications so that students have flexibility to choose careers of their preference, it was not followed intensely by the majority of IIMs to ensure that all students get an opportunity to secure at least one offer.

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