Two years ago when Khurram Khan stepped into the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, it was amid uncertainty and gloom. Some 20 graduates of the outgoing batch had their job offers cancelled. A few had been told to defer the joining date. The situation this year is very different. Within four days of the campus recruitment, all 85 FMS graduates landed jobs. Says Khan, who is heading for the US to work for Blue Star Infotech: "I have got my dream job."

LOOKING UP: Campuses saw a rise in job offers this year

The gloom has lifted on most business and engineering school campuses across the country. But that hasn't been replaced with a boom-not as yet. "The good news is that bad news has stopped making headlines," says Alok Pandey, chairman of Placement, IMT-Ghaziabad. That points to the first key trend India Today spotted in campus recruitments this year: the number of jobs has increased, but not the level of salaries.

After two years of a job drought caused by the economic slowdown, the dotcom bust and the global accounting and corporate scandals, companies across sectors are again head hunting in a big way. While premier institutes like the IIM-Ahmedabad saw a spurt in corporate visitors (70 companies came this year compared with 45 in 2002), even second-rung business schools have been more crowded this year. IMT-Ghaziabad had 72 companies against 65 in 2002. Besides traditional recruiters like consultancy firms, banks and FMCG companies, the it industry upped its intake substantially. Companies from the sunrise sectors of insurance and bio-sciences also hired more than they did in the previous year. Even engineering colleges saw a rise in recruiters: IIT-Roorkee hosted 85 companies against 70 last year.

But while jobs were aplenty, salary levels were same or even lower than last year. The average annual salary offered to an FMS graduate dipped from Rs 7.2 lakh last year to Rs 6.88 lakh this year, a drop of almost 5 per cent. IIM-Calcutta saw average dollar salaries slip from $92,000 last year to $76,000. Clearly, the global meltdown and the sluggish Indian economy caused a correction in salary levels.

Another defining trend on the campuses was the losing lustre of MNC jobs and rising charm of Indian companies. While multinationals like Nortel, Cisco and Accenture were star recruiters till a few years ago, Indian companies like Infosys, Wipro, Ranbaxy and ICICI Bank stole the limelight this year. ICICI Bank, which has grown at a furious pace in the past two years, was the biggest recruiter at IIM-Calcutta and IIM-Bangalore this year.

The past few years of global mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies have dislodged MNCs from their most-coveted-employer status. A merger or acquisition of companies abroad leads to uncertainties about the future of its employees in India. If a Sandoz and a Ciba-Geigy merge to form a Novartis, a Grindlays Bank merges with Standard Chartered Bank or a Compaq joins hands with Hewlett-Packard, there are jobs lost or devalued because of duplication of the workforce. "Even a small development overseas may affect your job prospects in India," says Khan. Also, the bankruptcies of the one-time high-profile employers like Enron and Daewoo are still fresh in the mind of many job seekers.

From the institutes' and the students' point of view, an emerging trend is that working people are taking mid-career breaks to enhance their professional qualifications. Till a few years ago, working people only took up part-time MBA programmes and only a handful joined a full-time course. But the incidence of executives joining a full-time MBA programme has gone up sharply. This year, more than half the graduates of FMS had worked before they did their MBA. And these mid-career switches have received an encouraging response from prospective employers. IIM-Calcutta saw 54 lateral placements (placements at higher than entry levels) this year.

THE SMILES ARE BACK
RAJ KAMAL, 32 BUREAUCRATS IN BUSINESS: Even civil servants are making mid-career switches. This IAS and an MBA from the Indian School of Business-Hyderabad will soon join McKinsey & Co.	KHURRAM KHAN, 25 SWADESHI CHARM: Despite having job offers from MNCs, this graduate of the Faculty of Management Studies-Delhi settled for an Indian company. He will be joining Blue Star Infotech in the US.

In fact, most B-schools have separate strategies for lateral placements. Last year, IIM-Bangalore began its lateral placements much before the rest of the batch. Says Anuraag Maini, general manager, hr, Gillette India Ltd: "An MBA degree boosts the prospects of a professional." The success of the Indian School of Business (Hyderabad)-which admits only working executives-can be credited with initiating the trend. Despite the precarious economic conditions last year, the highest overseas offer for an ISB graduate was $220,000 per annum and the highest rupee salary was Rs 28 lakh a year.

Part of the pick up in the number of jobs is also due to colleges reworking their courses and recruitment strategies to suit the current corporate realities. Most colleges fixed the number of job offers a student can have to no more than two. There was a time when students could pocket as many as five jobs and then choose the best. Some colleges have modified their course modules to suit the needs of companies. For instance, IIM-Calcutta is offering optional courses on marketing in practice and strategic brand management. Second-rung B-schools like IMT-Ghaziabad are trying harder. Last year, due to the IT meltdown, students with systems specialisations had a difficult time during placements. This year, the institute tweaked the course and broadened its content. It has set up a curriculum revision committee which consults industry executives to review the course structure every year. IIT-Roorkee has managed to get sponsorship for some students. Last year, GE had sponsored two undergraduates to hire them after they graduate. This year it sponsored five students.

On an average though, engineering colleges are yet to witness a job profusion. Though marginally better than last year, placements even at premier engineering colleges like IITs average 50-60 per cent. The erstwhile escape route-an overseas degree-has become difficult with US universities getting tight fisted. Desperate, IITians are taking up teaching or research assistantships. "The situation is disappointing," admits IIT-Mumbai placement officer Nandkishore Rathi.

A good number of IITians-up to 30 per cent-opt for further studies. And those who do take up a job, plan a mid-career break to enhance their professional skills. Often, this is an MBA degree. Clearly, the continued sluggishness of the manufacturing sector-even as services boom-is taking its toll on engineering jobs. Some engineering students are even questioning the relevance of their degree. "The degree has to evolve and make itself relevant to the times," says Saurabh Srivastava, an IIT-Kanpur alumni and chairman of the Infinity Technology Investments. Many IITs have already introduced MBA courses, while some have included modules on entrepreneurship and management in the regular curriculum.

A surprise trend is the entry of NGOs into B-school campuses. The Singapore-based National Kidney Foundation (NKF) hired an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate. The trend is likely to gain momentum considering the number of summer projects that are on offer this year. Greenpeace India offered a project to a student of IIM-Kozhikode. IIM-Calcutta leads with 11 summer placements from the NKF and cry. Says Sanjay Joshi, student representative, IIM-Calcutta: "It is more gratifying to work for an NGO as you can see instant results on the project you're working on."

The two-year churning in the job market has brought about some painful but positive changes on the campuses.

-with Stephen David, Arun Ram and bureau reports