Effects of economic slowdown visible on IIT/IIMs

The effect of economic slowdown could be seen on campus hiring this year. Many multinational companies had delayed campus hiring. The effect was also seen on IIT/IIM hiring. This year the hiring of IIT/IIM graduates by multinational corporations had slowed down. But this has not been the case with Indian private sector companies, on the other hand the hiring by these companies have increased.

As per written reply given by Kapil Sibal in the Rajya Sabha in 2008, MNCs hired 3,031 IITians through campus selection whereas Indian private sector companies had employed only 1,621 students.

However in 2009 hiring by MNCs had declined considerably to 1,606, though it was a marginal increase in the hiring Indian private sector companies hired 1,718 students.

The same tendency can be seen in six IIMs. In 2008 MNCs had hired 920 students while Indian private sector companies had hired 493 through campus hiring. But this year a substantial decline can be seen in hiring by MNCs which stand at 497 on the other hand Indian companies have hired 658 students.

While all the seven IITs suffered loss in case of hiring by MNCs. In 2008, MNCs through campus hiring selected around 643 students of IIT Kharagpur. This year it has declined to 44. The similar trend was seen at IIT, Delhi, there has been decline from 633 in 2008 to 390 in 2009.

Even the IIT, Madras has suffered a major loss from 458 in 2008 to 282 in 2009. But this year IIT, Kharagpur was able to make up from 334 in 2008 to 586 in 2009, as Indian private sector companies have hired the students from here. Leaving IIT, Kharagpur the decline in hiring by Indian private companies can be seen in other IITs.

In case of IIMs, the Calcutta IIM has suffered a big loss this year the campus recruitment from MNCs has declined from 240 in 2008 to 121 in 2009.

Even the IIM, Ahmedabad, has seen the decline in hiring by MNCs which has come down from 155 in 2008 to 92 in 2009. While hiring of students of IIM, Bangalore has come down to 119 in 2009 from 203 in 2008.

IIM, Lucknow has suffered a loss of nearly 50% from 169 in 2008 to 82 in 2009. Regarding the measures being taken for hiring talent in public services, Sibal said transparency is maintained in the recruitment process and all the pertinent aspects of the applicants including their intellectual abilities are assessed to certain that the selected candidates are best suited for the job and can efficiently handle the assigned task.

Other field companies make for campus hiring

This year the IT companies have not turned for campus hiring at engineering colleges which has given chance to companies from other fields such as manufacturing and automobiles to select the best students which were usually taken up by the IT companies.

Therefore the first day, first slot was reserved for core engineering companies across tier-1, tier-2 engineering universities. This has also shown up the importance of ‘day zero’ placements reserved only for IT companies.

According to University placement officers across the country the global slowdown is the main reason for firms to delay their recruitment plans. Some of the companies like HCC, Tata Consulting Engineers, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, Indian Oil Corporation , Tamil Nadu Petrochemical Limited and others will be visiting most tier-I and tier- II universities by the end of July.

These companies usually select students of core engineering streams like mechanical, civil engineering, production and electronics, whereas the IT companies do recruitments across fields. The pay packages offered by these companies stand around the Rs 3 lakh range which is on the same level with industry standards.

The major auto manufacturing company Ashok Leyland will be visiting for campus hiring between July and September. Last year the company had hired around 100 students. Ashok Leyland HR executive director Shekhar Arora stated, “We are privileged to be Day Zero recruiters in most of the reputed engineering colleges of the country and hope to recruit over 100 students this year”.

The companies hiring students in the following months will be joining the companies in 2010 after their graduation. ET spoke to some major engineering colleges, they informed that their placements will start in July and they have received confirmation from most engineering and manufacturing companies. Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) will begin its placement process this week while Tata Consulting Engineers on July 24 followed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Ashok Leyland in August.

MIT associate director, placements, KJ Kamath informed, “We will be starting the placements in July and will go on till November. While most engineering companies have confirmed, Larsen &Turbo has said that they will be delayed in coming for recruitment. The recession has affected them marginally, since the projects are getting delayed”. When contacted L&T was contacted regarding recruitment policy it refused to comment on this.

HCC another infrastructure major had recruited over 150 graduates last year; this year also it will be visiting campuses during the September-December period. But the company declined to reveal its hiring numbers. A spokesperson for the company informed, “It would be worked out closer to the recruitment period”.

Online testing to replace written exams to help ‘exam-phobic’ people

Now in most of the universities online testing is being preferred than the written exams. Recently a senior education figure revealed that written exams will be replaced by persistent online testing to help people with 'exam phobia',

Simon Lebus, chief executive of Cambridge Assessment said traditional GCSE and A-level exams will be discontinued within 10 to 15 years, and instead of writing three-hour exams people will undertake computer assessment.

Lebus added the new age of online testing is not 'science fiction' as exam boards are investing millions of pounds into developing the new technology.

In an interview he told The Guardian, 'The likelihood is that in the next 10 to 15 years it will change almost out of recognition in that by the end of that period of time you'll be able to do exams more or less on demand, on screen'.

'You can make the learning more valid and the technology can enhance the way people engage in the subject. It's very expensive, complex stuff to do. But it is achievable. It's not a vision based on a sort of science-fiction type fantasy.'

Ever since 2002, Lebus, a former investment banker, has been head of the Cambridge Assessment - a department of Cambridge University and the umbrella organization for international exam boards including OCR.

According to him the new system will be helpful for the people who are exam-phobic, but accepted that traditional written exams will be available for those who preferred them.

He added, 'There are some people obviously who get very frightened by exams or couldn't for other reasons do them well'.

'They would be well suited to an environment where there were no exams.'

The computerized world envisaged by Lebus will allow people to take tests at any point during their course, rather than after completing the course. The screening of the progress will be done through completed tasks and tracked online.

Lebus pointed out the new system can include 'adaptive' testing based on each individual’s ability. The computer program will generate tough questions when people answered correctly and easier questions when they got things wrong. Adaptive test is considered to give a more accurate assessment of a student's ability.

OCR has headed a fully e-assessed GCSE in environmental and land-based science since 2007. This summer around 1,800 candidates at 80 schools and colleges will be sitting for the new course.

The plan has been designed on the similar basis of the US education system which favors multiple choice exams and computer marking. South Korea is also on a fast track of developing new e-assessment models, while Denmark is heading the use of the internet during essay-based exams, seen as the equivalent of allowing calculators in maths exams.

But some of the academics have criticized the move towards computerized testing as creating an unfair system.

lan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, said: 'Making judgments about performance isn't easy. The best way of doing it is dispassionate assessment of students tackling the same tasks under the same conditions.'

Dylan Wiliam, a leading exam expert at the Institute of Education, University of London, stated that rather than relieving pressure of exam-phobic students, with the introduction of the new system people will be under constant stress.

'There is no doubt that you could have a completely wired-up classroom where every keystroke will count towards an assessment,' he said.

'But that is too horrible to contemplate - the idea that students are under pressure all the time. We need a culture where kids can make mistakes without being penalized.'

But John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, pointed out, 'Too many people believe that the only legitimate examinations are the ones they took at school many years earlier. The world moves on and assessment should move on too.'

Good news for job seekers in India new hiring opportunities are coming up

Steadily the Indian economy is showing signs of recovery. There is increase in car sales, steel shipments is going good, cement send off is showing some signs of firming demand. Now a steady rise can be seen in the hiring across sectors. There has been rise of 10% in employment in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

According to the job search portal Monster.com there is slow but steady rise in hiring across most sectors of about 10% increase in hiring from April to June this year as compared to Dec which saw a 30% fall in hiring.

According to Sanjay Modi, MD, Monster.com India, "There was a few percentage increases in Jan in job opportunities but from April onwards we are seeing a steady increase and we expect it to rise significantly by the end of this year or beginning next year."

On seeing steady pace in hiring across sectors like IT, manufacturing and telecom many of them are lining up to tap this business potential. Direct-to-home operator Dish TV has launched a service on TV more and more job seekers can access with convenience.

Salil Kapoor, COO, Dishtv, pointed out, "This is a good time because people are anxious and this adds to the credibility. Also freshers are very uncertain about their future so we have something special for them too."

Moreover there has been increase in the job opportunities from 30,000 per month online to 50000 per month as compared to December last year.

According to analysts with the pick up in the economy in the coming months the job market will also grow. It appears it will be sometime before sectors like export, textiles and gems and jewelry have basis to cheer.

Fewer employers to visit Texas Law Schools this year for campus hiring

At seven of Texas' nine American Bar Association-accredited law schools career services officials believe that only few employers will be visiting Texas law schools this year for campus hiring.

According to Reginald Green, assistant dean of career services usually more than 70 employers visit for the on-campus interview (OCI) program at South Texas College of Law in Houston. He informed by July 1, normally around 60 employers visit school to conduct interviews. But last week, Green pointed out the number was less than 50. Green said more employers will be signing on before interviews begin on Aug 24, but he added, "I think we will fall short of where we've been in the past."

The number of employers participating in OCI is indicator of the job market position. Green says, thus fewer employers mean few job opportunities. Although employers can sign up for campus hiring through the month of August, many small and mid-sized firms sign up in late August to conduct September interviews but school officials pointed out they get an idea of the number of interested employers by early July.

The interviews in bulk will be conducted for second-year students looking for 2010 summer jobs therefore it seems only few interviews will be conducted on campus for second-year students and for third-year students looking for full-time employment after graduating in 2010, while more students are submitting resumes to each employer signing up for the process.

Green says, "We have seen a trend, because the market has tightened up, of students dropping résumés for 30 employers versus just 15 employers". The resumes are reviewed by employers and students are selected for the 15-, 20- or 30-minute on-campus interviews.

But it is expected the prospects might be even tougher this year for third-year students. Green informed that usually around one-third of the interview slots offered by more than 70 employers in the school's OCI program are for third-year students. He adds till now those slots correspond to only about one-fourth of those available.

Arturo Errisuriz, assistant dean for career services pointed out at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, the career services staff have started inviting employers who had participated in OCI in the past but have not yet signed up for the interviews that will begin from Aug. 25. He said the school would not be having data of the employers involved in the OCI program until early August. Earlier, employers automatically used to return to participate each year in OCI. This year, Errisuriz stated he and his staff is working hard to get employers to return.

He informed some mid-sized firms and government agencies have given indications that they will be interviewing, but have not yet signed up for the OCI program. "We know it is going to be tough," he says. "I'm not panicking just yet."

The school is also having talks with employers about externship programs for students, in which the students earn academic credit rather than money while working during the school year. "Instead of getting paid they get law school credit," he says. "It provides practical legal experience that makes them more marketable and gives them an opportunity to network."

He stated his office helps students in arranging search plans for summer and after-graduation employment, but this time it is warning students that employment may not be immediate. "This is a generation that is used to getting results quickly," he says. "We have to teach our students to be a little patient."

Errisuriz stated that out of the 75,000-plus lawyers working in Texas, only about 7,000 get jobs in big firms. "There are a ton of other lawyers and firms out there that might be looking" for new hires, he said.

Around 90 employers, 15 less than in previous years, have signed up for OCI this year at the University of Houston Law Center, informed Rhonda Beassie, assistant clinical professor and assistant dean of career development. Beassie stated that this year also most of the employers are coming to hire second-year students for the summer of 2010, and 27 employers indicated an interest in interviewing third-year students.

She pointed out normally only about one-third of the school's students are able to find jobs through OCI, while rest of the jobs are obtained through contacting employers directly, working part time during the school year in a job that becomes full time at graduation, or through networking. But this year she said about 80 percent to 85 percent of the school's students will be obtaining the jobs using methods other than OCI.

Beassie informed although large firms represent the majority of the employers involved in OCI, most lawyers in Texas work for small or medium-sized firms. As per the data compiled by the State Bar of Texas in "State Bar Members: Attorney Statistical Profile (2008-2009)," as of December 1, 2008 there were 75,087 licensed lawyers practicing in Texas. Out of those licensed lawyers, 46,279 were in private practice; of the licensed lawyers in private practice, 30,143 worked at firms with 10 or fewer lawyers.

"We're really working very hard with small firms now," Beassie says. "That's where more of our students are going to be working."

According to the Above Law report, third-year students at the University of Texas School of Law recently received a message from the career services office signifying that the number of employer-reserved interview rooms for third-year OCI has reduced to 45 percent as compared to last year.

David Montoya, assistant dean for career services at UT law school in Austin, puts in an e-mail that there fewer employers have signed up for OCI at UT. "Historically, the majority of participating employers are seeking 2L summer clerks," he writes. "A much smaller number of employers who participate come to interview 3Ls for post-graduate associate work. As expected, the number of employers participating is down generally at this point, but in particular, there's a greater drop in employers seeking 3Ls. The number of employers seeking 2Ls, while down from last year at this point, is nonetheless encouraging."

Montoya writes that the school organizes two fall OCI programs, the first in mid-August. Employer registration for the second session in October is opened till September.

Inquired about the Above the Law report, Montoya writes, "The numbers are a snapshot in time and already different as employers add, drop and change room reservations."

Heather Creed, working as assistant dean of professional development and student relations at Baylor University School of Law in Waco, stated 30 percent of fewer employers have signed up for her school's upcoming OCI program. "We usually have several of our employers who register rather late and so some of these we have not yet heard from," Creed says.

According to her the gap between the number of employers registering for OCI and those who had registered last year will decrease later in August. "We don't believe that it will be that big of a difference, but for right now it's about 30 to 35 percent less," she says. "The interview sign-ups for OCI are available to students now so they can see who has signed up. They know, as of today, who is planning on coming on campus."

Julie Doss, assistant dean for career services said it is difficult to forecast the number of employers that will be signing up for OCI at Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock. "So many come in at the last minute because they are smaller firms," she says. Doss refuses to release the number of firms that usually recruit on campus. She informed the number of employers signed up to interview third-year students is less than it was at this time last year – around one-fourth to half of the usual number of employers signing up to interview third-year students. "We are still going to have a lot of firms register later, the small to medium-sized firms," she says.

At St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Faye Bracey, assistant dean for career services, stated it will be too early to be certain about the number of employers participating in the school's OCI program, but she anticipate the number of employers visiting campus will come down as compared to past years. She refused to tell how many employers normally participate in the school's OCI program.

Bracey says she is executing a fall recruiting plan to bring students in front of potential employers. She is keeping in touch with potential employers and offering to collect and screen résumés of students who fit the employers' selection criteria and then fixing appointments for those students at employers' places of business. "In this market we really do have to be creative," she says.

Karen Sargent, assistant dean and director of career services for Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas informed this is the first year that Texas schools have organized OCI programs in August rather than September. She says that most of the schools have begun the earlier interviewing process and Texas schools are joining that group this year to stay in competition with schools in other parts of the country.

Sargent refused to divulge how many employers had participated in OCI at SMU. "The Dallas firms are very good to us," she says. "Everyone who has come in the past is coming back." She stated the large firms will be conducting interviews in August and the small and mid-sized firms will be interviewing students in September. She says. "They are still signing up, through August, for September."

However Donna David-Gregory, assistant dean of career services at Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, did not called back seeking comment before press time on July 2.

Dallas-based Gardere Wynne Sewell normally schedules second-year interviews during the OCI program at several Texas law schools including UT, Texas Tech, UH, SMU and Baylor, managing partner Stephen D. Good informed. The firm has not yet decided how many summer associates it will require for 2010 and is also not sure whether it will schedule interviews at all of the Texas schools it has gone to in past years.

"We will be interviewing students for the summer of 2010, to start [as full-time associates] in the fall of 2011," he says.

Gardere is one of several large Texas firms but early this year lawyers were laid off for economic reasons, as did Baker Botts, Winstead and Andrews Kurth. Winstead also canceled its 2009 summer associate program. And Fulbright & Jaworski and Vinson & Elkins has delayed some new associates' whose start dates has been changed from the fall of 2009 until January 2010.

Thomas H. Yang, the recruiting partner at Dallas' Haynes and Boone, stated the firm has reduced the number of schools from 36 to 20 it will be visiting for campus hiring. The schools which had been cut include some Texas schools, which he refused to name. He says Haynes and Boone might hire students from schools the firm generally do not visit, as it is still accepting résumés from those schools' students.

Houston-based V&E aims to hire a 2010 summer associate class of about 95 to 100 students, pointed out John C. Wander, a partner in Dallas and a member of the firm's hiring committee. He stated the firm is planning to visit the schools it usually visits including UT and other Texas schools in cities where the firm has an office.

"We're shooting for roughly the same size group," he says. "We think our acceptance rate [from 2009 summer associates] will be higher this year and that may impact what we do when we're on campus."