A total of 53 companies gave 153 offers to the batch of 53 students. The offers per student stood at 3 approximately. The average domestic salary was Rs. 13.96 Lakhs this year, an increase of 44% from the previous year's figure of Rs. 9.71 Lakhs. The median salary registered a rise from Rs. 9.5 Lakhs to Rs. 14.50 Lakhs, an indicator that most of the batch got salaries in the upper band. The highest domestic offer was Rs. 21.0 Lakhs whereas the lowest salary was of Rs 7.75 Lakhs. The highest international offer was US $ 85,000 by Olam International (Singapore).
Pre-Placement Offers were made to 40% of the batch before the start of the placement process. The list of companies included Citibank, Standard Chartered, L'Oreal, Cadbury, Spencer's Retail, Feedback Ventures, TPG, and Wipro.
The significant thing about the final placements this year was the exciting profiles that were on offer. The companies offered profiles in General Management, Private Equity, Investment Banking, Wholesale Banking, Management and IT Consulting, Strategy & Execution, Sales & Marketing, amongst others. Senior positions like Associate Vice President and fast-track Leadership roles were the most-coveted profiles. A heartening thing was that corporates offered specific roles to suit the interests of students to attract them. HCL, for example, offered a unique international role in Business Development for the middle east region, which is one of the most sought after positions in services industry.
The strength of this year's placements could be gauged from the large number of first-time recruiters. Microsoft, SUN Microsystems, P&G, ITC, Glenmark, E&Y (Business Advisory Services), Universal Consulting, Global eProcure, Barclays Bank, ICICI Securities, Yes Bank were some of the new recruiters. Niche profiles in oil and gas sector were offered by companies like Cairn Energy and GE Oil & Gas. Companies like HSBC, Bank of America LLC, and Feedback Ventures expanded their existing relationship with the school by offering positions in Finance and Infrastructure advisory respectively.
International Offers
This year, SJMSOM made a significant foray into the international frontiers. Nearly 17% of the batch was offered international profiles, a considerable increase over last year. The school saw a surge of multinational companies recruiting graduating students for their international positions with the highest salary of US $ 85,000. Companies like ICICI Bank, Swiss Re, HCL, Olam International (Singapore), and Glenmark were some of the companies offering positions abroad.
Consulting
The consulting domain saw an impressive array of profiles being offered to the students. Some of the companies which visited the campus, among others, include Ernst & Young (Business Advisory Services), Feedback Ventures, Universal Consulting, Tholons, Avalon Consulting, Inductis, Deloitte, Capgemini, TPG, and Global E-Procure. Business Consulting, Infrastructure Advisory, Government Advisory, Operations and SCM Consulting were some of the profiles offered. Almost 18% of the batch opted for the exciting profiles offered by these consulting firms.
Leadership Profiles
Indicating the growing recognition of leadership acumen of students at SJMSOM, companies such as GE, Tech Mahindra, Cadbury, Cummins, and HCL offered the much coveted Leadership profiles to approximately 14% of the batch.
Banking & Finance
Positions in Banking & Finance were offered to 23% of the graduating batch. Exciting profiles such as Private Equity, Investment Banking, Credit Risk, Consumer & Wholesale (Corporate) Banking, Research & Analysis, and Corporate Finance were offered by companies such as HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America LLC, Barclays Bank, JPMC, Standard Chartered Bank, ICICI Securities, Yes Bank, Citibank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Bank. The number of offers in the area of Finance has been increasing over the years.
Sales & Marketing
Diverse profiles in Sales & Marketing were offered by reputed companies such as Castrol, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, RPG Group, and Idea Cellular to 13% of the batch. This year's placement also witnessed the enthusiastic participation of FMCG companies. Companies like ITC, Marico and Wipro Consumer Goods offered exciting roles in Sales & Marketing.
Systems & IT
This area was represented by global IT majors such as Microsoft, Oracle, Intel, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Accenture, CTS, and HCL. Offers in this area constituted about 30% of all the offers made at SOM.
Operations
The Operations domain also saw participation from reputed firms such as Glenmark, Cummins, Olam, Global E Procure, TPG, and others, which offered exciting roles. Leading FMCG firms like P&G, ITC, Marico and Cadbury also offered challenging roles in this domain.
The excellent placement at SJMSOM in the face of difficult situation arising from subprime losses, global slowdown, recession, and rupee appreciation highlights the position of strength the school occupies in the industry.
N. Ramesh, a student who preferred job profile to the salary being offered, said, "With 5 offers from leading companies, SJMSOM made me spoilt for choice. Giving more importance to profile than to salary, I accepted an offer from a global conglomerate for their coveted leadership program."
Moiz Saif, the Student Placement Coordinator, said, "Overall, the 2008 placement is the best so far for SJMSOM. There was a significant increase in number of blue chip companies and the students were spoilt for choices both in the terms of profiles and salary packages. The best thing is that every student managed to get the profile of his/her choice."
The team from Deloitte had this to say at the end of a satisfying experience on the placement day - "The whole (placement) process was organized very well with great hospitality and coordination." The recruiters from a leading global semiconductor firm felt - "A great experience coming to this campus."
"Continuous effort - not just strength and intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential." Quoting these famous words by Sir Winston Churchill, Prof. S. V. D. Nageswara Rao, the Faculty Placement Coordinator, aptly summarized the greatest placement season ever in SJMSOM. "SJMSOM strives to produce world class leaders of tomorrow and believes in imparting the latest and best education to its students. Continuous improvement is the key and this placement season is the precursor for even greater achievements to come." |