US slowdown takes toll on IT campus hiring

The economic slowdown in the US is having a reverberation on campus recruitment in engineering colleges here as well. The entry-level salaries offered during the campus recruitment season for 2009-10, beginning in regional engineering colleges across the country in the past week, have hardly seen any upward revision. Most of the IT companies that visited campuses have offered the same pay package as last year and also reduced the intake of students. IT firms account for more than 80% of the recruitment in engineering colleges.

The salaries for 2008-09 graduates had seen a hike of at least 10% across leading software companies compared with that of 2007-08 graduates. This year, salaries have stayed unchanged and companies do not see why they should increase their pay package. “We do not foresee any reason for a hike as we can hire people for the same package as last year,” said a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spokesperson. TCS and Cognizant Technology Solutions had increased entry-level salaries by 9% last year.

“Due to the near-recession in the US, margins are now under pressure and high costs are increasingly becoming a drag. Companies are trying to keep costs under control and higher salaries add to their expenses. Especially since the freshers are not trained in relevant industry skills and the company has to pool in resources to teach them relevant skills,” said a senior HR professional.

The colleges are not in a position to refuse any of the IT firms because it is their duty to ensure 100% placements. There’s not much the colleges can do because this is the case with all the companies, said dean (placements) of a reputed Chennai-based engineering college.