If you don’t know that this is happening, it may sound absolutely insane. Fresh graduates from engineering colleges all over are actually refusing placement offers with mass recruiters like TCS, Infosys, Accenture, etc. Earlier on, placements with a big brand name company were all a young graduate would want. But things are changing.
Is there a rhyme for the madness? Well, maybe it isn’t madness at all. That is because there are rational reasons even for something as out of the ordinary as this.
Here are 7 common reasons why students are saying ‘NO’ to mass recruiters:
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Roles offered
This is the most common issue with most companies which fall into the category of mass recruiters. It has been the experience of many that it doesn’t matter what field of study you are from, you are allocated projects or roles on a random basis. Moreover, the job roles often do not require exceptional skill or ability. Basic aptitude is enough for them.
Almost 70% of the roles offered in Indian companies is that of testing or support roles. In these roles, employees have to follow a set process day in day out and not much else, other than that. There are very few good and innovative projects but the probability of getting into those projects is very low.
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Low Pay
In a big city like Delhi or Bangalore, a take-home pay of less than ₹30,000/- is hardly enough. It is difficult for graduates who have spent time and money getting engineering degrees to reconcile with their salaries. A salary that is less or equal to that of a call center employee with no qualification whatsoever.
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Quality of work
Many employees of these companies leave after 2 or 3 years feeling like they haven’t learned much. While the workload is often low, these employees are at a disadvantage when they try to move on to another job. Young and enthusiastic graduates don’t look for low-quality jobs.
They want high roles where they will grow and develop their skills and character.
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Growth and margins
Margins on projects have reduced drastically over the past few years because of cut-throat competition. And so, employees cannot avail project benefits.
The per hour billing has not increased in any of the mass recruiters in the past few years. As even companies that outsource have come to understand the kind of margin that the Indian IT firms make. Therefore, companies have started looking for ways to cut costs. This is a major disadvantage for any employee, especially a new one.
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Work culture
There is a feeling that these companies have a lot of internal politics. This acts as a big demotivating factor for fresh graduates. Considering the parties or get-togethers, there is bound to be pressure for newer employees. Though necessarily leading to a pathetic work environment, graduates that refuse placements do consider work culture.
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Job Stability
Knowing that most jobs are perfectly suitable for fresh graduates, there is a certain fear about stability in these companies. Mass recruiters recruit in abundance because the jobs they offer are basic and freshers are more willing to do more for less. Therefore, to stay in such a company would mean the risk of losing your own job to a fresh graduate who can do the job as well as you can!
Moreover, most project management roles, suitable for people with high experience, have also reduced with new project management tools and measures to cut costs.
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The Start-Up Trend
With the proliferation of startup jobs even India, graduates are ever more attracted to their casual values. Values regarding office, dress and marketing approach. This is especially in comparison to the traditional ‘boring’ corporation. Job hunters are more drawn to startup job perks like flexible work hours, an awesome company culture and an invaluable learning experience. Read Prepare for Startup Jobs – Read 10 tried and tested Steps
Conclusion
In the end, these are observations based on the experiences of a few people in the industry. It differs from person to person, project to project, destiny to destiny. But one thing you should keep in mind in that your first job is not your pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. You still have a long way to go.
Instead, consider your first job as a second learning phase where you will actually learn how your knowledge is useful in the real world.
Choose a company that will let you learn, develop and grow. Mass Recruiters are also famous for ‘Mass-Layoffs’.