Stir hits IT recruitments in colleges

Students in the city’s engineering colleges have started feeling the heat of the Cauvery agitation, with several IT companies postponing their recruitment drives.

According to sources, the schedule for the campus recruitments was fixed more than a month ago. With the agitation gaining momentum over the past one week, more than 12 companies - both IT and core - have rescheduled their visits to the colleges.

Prasanna, the placement officer of the National Institute of Engineering told Deccan Herald that more than four companies had rescheduled the interviews in his college. He said the firms plan to resume the interview process next week. If the agitations intensify in the coming days, the IT firms may choose to conduct the tests online. The shortlisted candidates are likely to be asked to come to Bangalore for the interviews.

Prasanna said the IT companies would definitely visit the colleges at a later date. The postponement of the recruitment may disturb the students without the ‘secure’ feeling, he said.

Another placement officer, who preferred anonymity, said the months between September and December were key to ensure that a majority of the students got jobs.
He said eight companies had postponed their arrival in the city. Indicating that it was a disturbing trend, he said, “A large number of these companies select only a handful. If their requirements are met by recruiting students from colleges in Bangalore, the students here will lose a golden opportunity.”

He said, “The companies that have rescheduled their visits are those which offer anywhere between Rs 5.5 lakh and Rs 9 lakh per annum.” Missing these interviews would be a “big blow” for the students, he said. Chiranthana, the placement officer at the Maharaja Institute of Technology, said one of the IT firms had asked 52 students to visit Bangalore next week for the interviews. He was confident that the recruitments would not be hit.

“Everything will be okay by the end of the year,” he said.