A year after being affected by the economic slowdown, the campus recruitment scene has picked up again, bringing the smile back to students’ faces.

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At the SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), pre-placement offers (PPOs) and pre-placement interviews (PPIs) are up by three times over 2009.

At the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), over 30% of the batch has got PPOs and PPIs, and salaries are up by 30% compared to 2009; final placements at the institute begin in February. At the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, where campus placements started from December 1, more companies are recruiting with salaries being 30-40% more.

And at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (Nitie), 96% of the batch has been placed since recruitment started in January.“More companies are making offers. The mood is quite positive,” said Abbasali Gabula, chairperson, external relations, SPJIMR. The final placements for the institute’s batch of 175 students will be held in the last week of February. Last year, 53 companies which came in 2008 did not recruit, while 89 were first-time recruiters.

“Expectations are up in terms of roles and packages. A 10-20% jump in salary is expected,” said student Bhairya Parikh. But student Jaideep Karamchandani said that while placements are better than 2009, they are not expected to be as good as 2008. “There has not been a major improvement in the job market. Certain profiles are not coming.”

There is a turnaround, said student Rochelle Dsouza, but packages will be lower and students understand that. “However, there will be no compromise on the job profile. And once you start working at a company, your pay will always be revised in the future.”

JBIMS student Neerav Makwana said: “The numbers may not be as great as 2008, but companies are coming with good profiles, an indication that the economy is improving.”     IIT student Sushil Shintre said: “The placements started off on a good note. While some students are looking at a particular profile, others have a broader perspective. Some are still weighing their options.”

About 525 of 1,000 students eligible for recruitment at the institute have been placed so far. “Students are getting jobs as per expectations. There’s a good increase in the number of tech, finance and consultancy companies. Also, the second phase of recruitments has started,” said student Rupal Jain.

Akshay Sehgal, who has been placed with the Boston Consulting Group, said though students in early 2009 were unsure about how much the market had recovered, “by September-October, we found many companies were responding positively. So we had expected placements to be better this year”.

Ashok Pundir, dean of placements, Nitie, said: “The response is good and regular consultancy and banking companies are back. Pay packages are seeing a 10-20% rise.”