Mood is upbeat

Updated on: Monday, January 30, 2012

Come February, weekends will gain a whole new meaning for students of the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B). Instead of relaxing or cramming for their final examinations, they will spend the last few weekends of their college life waiting for interviews, appearing before tough panels, sifting through job offers and making ‘life-altering' decisions about job profiles and careers.

In a brand new format, the IIM-B placements are as much about nerves as much as about the knowledge the students gained on campus. Students that The Hindu spoke with said that while the new pattern could be a positive thing, there's a lot of apprehension about how the placements will actually pan out.

So, as they gear up for the crucial weekend (February 18 and 19), students seem to be a cool and collected lot. Apparently embracing the new pattern, most of them agreed that the weekend idea is a good one as it makes the entire high-pressure affair a more relaxed process. Mansi Baranwal, a second-year student who has been a witness to last year's procedure as a volunteer, said that among the regular upgrading measures implemented, the introduction of a new pattern is a “big improvement.”

“The placement procedure at IIM-B has always been good, as we get the best placements. But this time, it is more streamlined as each weekend is going to have a category of jobs. As it is spread out, it is good for both the students and companies. While the companies will have more time to go through the resumes and don't have to rush through procedures, the students will have time to work out their preferences. Plus, we can relax a bit as we don't have to rush through a non-stop five-day schedule,” she said.
Stress is gone

Another second year student, Deepak Nanwani, echoed the fact that it is beneficial for the students as it relieves them of a lot of stress. “Weekend placements are definitely going to be less stressful. We can calmly think about things and make more informed choices with regard to the companies,” he said. Meanwhile, the first-year students too are excited about the new development. Souvik Mukherjee said that the new pattern will help logistically, as well as make the process less hectic as it is being done in batches over the weekends.

What's new about the way placements are going to be held this year? Apart from shifting placements to the weekend, effectively stretching it out over weeks, other modalities that the institute has worked out include doing away with the system of ‘Slot Zero.' This was something the IIM-B toyed with last year, making it official that there will not be a certain set of recruiters who will be put in one slot.

However, it is not that the institute has migrated to a cohort-based process like its counterpart in IIM-A. “We will continue to make clusters spread out over the weekends depending on students' preferences. Of course, the institute policy on matters such as inviting public sector units and so on will also play an important role in making the final decision,” said Prof. PD Jose, who handles placements at IIM-B. He explained that placements will go on, from the February 18-19 weekend, barring a week or two in March, when the final examinations will be conducted. The placement season will thus go on into April, or till the entire lot is placed.

Unlike previous years, the placement process will be introduced in a brand new format, making that week-long hullabaloo – both in campus and outside campus – over pay packets and job profiles a thing of the past. In this new avatar, the placements will be conducted over the weekends only, and will be spread out over a few months. The basic intent is to de-stress. This is not the first time that the IIMs have brought in fresh thought to the way placements are held. Many institutes have stopped disclosing pay packets, spread out placement weeks and even held placements in a staggered way over many months.

At MBA colleges across the country, the tier-II ones that is, there is ample speculation and even anxiety about placements. It has also been reported that the newer IIMs are foreseeing trouble. For instance, IIM-Indore has reportedly hired an external agency to handle its placements (typically, faculty and junior batches at the IIMs are the ones that organise the placement programme).

So, is there anxiety about the IIM-Bians? Prof. Jose says that he is “very optimistic,” and so are the students. “The pre-placement offers are comparable to last year's record, and given summer placements were good, there does not seem to be much reason to worry,” he said. Summer placements, seen as an indicator of how companies are likely to hire during the final placements, have been “reasonably good.” “We are inviting more companies, and are hoping placements will be fine,” he said. However, he added that given the general economic climate, there could be an impact on recruitments by financial firms and private equity firms. Other profiles such as consulting are unlikely to be affected, he added, emphasising that the mood is indeed “optimistic.”

Mood is upbeat

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