Pointing to the “optimism” in the job market in India, Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO of TeamLease EdTech feels that the upcoming placement season in India’s top B-schools is expected to fetch salary packages that are 15-20 per cent higher than the average salaries the previous year.

“Because of the global situation and political uncertainty, the IT sector which was one of the largest employers, was not hiring for the last six quarters. But our research says that in a quarter or two the industry is going to return to the job market scouting for fresh talent. Like the IT sector, most sectors are growing and willing to hire. Our research also says that we are expecting a hike of 15-20 percent in average salaries that were pocketed by B-school graduates the previous year. Offers from IT, Consulting. E-commerce and Startups will be among the biggest employers for B-school graduates,” says Rooj during an interaction with businessline 

• Read:Robust final placements at top B-schools allay fears of slowdown in hiring

According to him, the average salary packages in the top IIMs in the country range between ₹30-35 lakhs. “In the newer IIMs like IIM-Ranchi, IIM-Raipur, IIM-Bodh Gaya or IIM-Udaipur, the average salaries stand far lower at ₹15-20 lakhs. The good quality management colleges like IMT Ghaziabad or FMS Delhi or XLRI Jamshedpur or MDI in Gurgaon attract a good number of employers offering good pay packages. For instance FMS Delhi this highest package was Rs one crore-plus and their average around is ₹40 lakhs.” he added. The current job market shows high demand for roles in digital marketing, product management, business analytics, and consulting. Positions such as Data Analysts, product managers, digital marketing specialists and management consultants are sought after. 

Earlier this month, Professor Vishwanath Pingali, Chairperson (Placements), IIMA, had told businessline that the institute was “cautiously optimistic” about the upcoming placement season as some of the recruiters at IIMA were reassessing their workforce requirements, which were lower than what the firms had predicted at the beginning of the year.

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Rooj from TeamLease EduTech felt that some sectors, like FMCG, have slowed down. “In the FMCG sector, the urban consumption story has slowed down. However, since the last few quarters there has been talks about rural consumption going up and this will drive a lot of growth in the FMCG sector. This growth will in turn drive hiring for fresh talent from B-schools,” he said, adding that the third-quarter results of Indian companies will usher in “bullishness” in the Indian job market.