IIMs See a Surge in Offers as Startups, NGOs Join the Race

Recruiter interest remains strong at older IIMs—Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kozhikode

- Pratishtha Bagai

India's leading business schools are seeing a sharp rise in pre-placement offers this year despite a sluggish job market. Students across Indian Institutes of Management in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode who completed their summer internships in April-May are reporting strong hiring interest from recruiters.

A pre-placement offer (PPO) is a job offer extended by a firm to a student interning with it even before the formal campus placement process begins.

While consulting and finance firms continue to dominate pre-placement offers, recruiters from edtechs, renewable energy firms, political consultancy, think tanks and nonprofits are showing significant interest, according to placement teams at the older IIMs.

"Last year, we had 80-90 PPOs by this time. But this year, we have over a hundred PPOs, and more continue to come in as companies respond one by one," a placement coordinator from an IIM, said seeking anonymity.