'If the wind will not serve, take to the oar. We are not afraid of stormy seas, for we are meant to soar ’

The true mettle of an institute is tested in times of adversity and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies once again proved its ability to ride the tide in these choppy and turbulent waters with the successful conclusion of another exemplary placement season. 

 At a time when the economy is going through a severe downturn and jobs are few and far to come by, JBIMS went about business as usual comfortably achieving 100% placements; something that every other B-school has been dreaming of. The process saw the participation of 98 companies out of which 32 were first time recruiters at the institute. This year saw the institute stagger the recruitment process to counter the tough economic scenario. The season saw 135 offers being made for the batch of 112 students.

 With a 3000 plus alumni base coming forward all guns blazing to facilitate a smooth process, JBIMS reinforced its position as the best networked institute. “This season highlighted the invaluable role a legacy of more than 44 years and a strong alumni base at the forefront of every sector of corporate India plays. The sense of ownership and devotion that the alumni have shown for the institute has ensured that JBIMS delivers the goods as always.” commented Dr. C.R. Chavan, director of the institute.

 Traditional sectors like BFSI, FMCGs, Consulting & IT, Telecom and major conglomerates continued to show faith in the institute and the quality of its students. At the same time, with private companies adopting a cautious approach in their recruitment, the process was suitably cushioned by PSUs who sensed the opportunity to recruit the best and made the most of it. PSUs were majorly represented in sectors like Banking and Finance, Oil and Energy. The highest salary offered was upwards of Rs. 18 lacs and the average domestic stood at Rs 10.72 lacs.

 Keeping in mind the fact that aspirations are more important than placements, careers more important than jobs, JBIMS as an institute refrained from making the acceptance of PPOs compulsory even in these harsh times. Anuj Jain from the Placement Committee commented, “While the aim was to get 100% of the batch placed, we felt that it is important from both the student's and company's perspective, that the student picks up a PPO aligning with his/her long term aspirations and career goals. The choice of PPO acceptance was thus made the prerogative of the student and was left entirely on them.”  

 Also, new companies from diverse sectors such as Financial Information Sourcing, Retail and Telecom Infrastructure, such as Thomson Reuters, Tesco and Indus Towers recruited in numbers in such demanding times. As always, students chose the profile which best suited their interest and long term growth.

                  Here is a look at how the placement season 2009 at JBIMS panned out:

Banking & Financial Services

Top banks and financial services companies continued their strong relationship with JBIMS, highlighting the strong reputation that JBIMS has built up in this sector over the years. A plethora of profiles were offered to the students ranging from Treasury to Corporate Banking to Internal Financial Advisory. Financial majors like Deutsche Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, Reserve Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank strengthened their association with JBIMS by recruiting from the institute. Some of the other major recruiters from this sector  included Bank of Baroda, Calyon Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Saraswat Bank, SIDBI, IFCI, HDFC to name a few. Over 30% of the batch opted to work in this sector in spite of the current financial turmoil.

FMCGs & Consumer Durables

The FMCG sector which has remained relatively immune from the ongoing financial downturn was represented in full force and varied profiles were offered by  leading companies such as HUL, P&G, Nestle, Coca Cola, Britannia, Philips, Faber Castell, Heinz, Kansai Nerolac & Usha International. In addition to the conventional sales and marketing profiles, companies recruited students for their corporate finance division also. It merits a mention here that students from JBIMS have exhibited their marketing acumen by winning the national level HUL Predictions 1.0 contest this season competing against teams from top B-schools across the country

Pharma & Telecom

Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Ranbaxy, Strides Arcolab made offers at the institute in profiles ranging from strategy, corporate treasury to marketing and sales. This was further augmented by recruiters such as Vodafone, Virgin Mobile, Indus Towers and Tata Teleservices which also participated from the Telecom segment. Collectively, around 12% of the batch received offers from these two enterprising sectors of the Indian economy.

Consulting & IT

Consulting majors like McKinsey and Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers and Protiviti continued their relationship with the institute this year too. First time recruiters like Avista Advisory also made their presence felt at the institute. Other major recruiters from this segment included majors like Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and new entrants like Direct-I to name a few.

Capital Markets

Inspite of the meltdown in the capital markets seen this year, students at JBIMS have shown keen interest in careers in Capital Markets. Infact one of our students accepted an offer in capital markets sector before the highest paying recruiters came on campus showing that profiles matter more to students at JBIMS than pay packages.“ Having found my true calling in the profile offered to me by SBI Capital Markets I didn’t feel the need to venture further and accepted the offer” says Kirang Tanna. This year too, students opted to forge a career in firms like SBI Capital Markets, SEBI, India Infoline, Ohm Stock Broker, Nirmal Bang and Tata Capital. This was underscored by team JBIMS winning the Global Investment Research Challenge by CFA Institute, USA at the National Level and representing India at the global arena for the second year running.

Public Sector Undertakings

With a conservative recruiting policy followed by many private sector companies this year as a result of the ongoing global economic crisis, the Indian PSUs and government banks have identified this as a good opportunity to recruit some of the best talent available. As many as 18 PSUs participated in the placement process this year. Bank of Baroda, GAIL, ONGC, HPCL, SEBI, NISM and Union Bank of India were among the major PSU recruiters. About 17% of the batch preferred to work with PSUs, which highlights the growing importance of job stability among the management students.

Other Profiles

Corporate giants like Mahindra & Mahindra, Lintas Media, Orbit Corp and Bharti AXA recruited for profiles as diverse as automotive marketing, strategic planning & channel development, along with Maersk & Avaya Inc. which participated in the process for the first time. Some of the students also turned down some prestigious pre-placement offers (PPOs) for a career in a few of these niche fields.

International offers

International Profiles were offered by the likes of Tesco, Protiviti and Thomson Reuters in geographies ranging from the UK to Middle East to South East Asia.

Summing up the 2009 placement season, Dr. D’Silva, the placement co-ordinator and core faculty member said, “Challenging years like these just reinforce your confidence in not only the student quality at JBIMS but also the relationship shared by the institute with the corporate world. Just as the alumni of the institute continue to make us proud, I am sure the current batch will add on to the illustrious list”.