It is anticipated that there will be enhanced recruitment of freshers by mid-2021 in the Job market. So, the big question to campuses across the country is - Are you ready with your talent pool?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has tremendously impacted people across the globe. One among the biggest learning has been that we cannot take things for granted irrespective of who we are. And the other point worth pondering is that, at times, coiling back helps us to unwind, introspect, and bounce back with renewed vigour and purpose. Let us hope that the events of 2020 coach us to rise a lot stronger than what we would have been, minus the swotting of such a hell of a year!

By the end of 2020, the elections in the US would have concluded. The ongoing war-like situation or even a probable (mini) war between India vs China-Pakistan would have most likely ended as well. The growth rate of most of the countries would have further deteriorated into a negative. Many people would be restarting their Career / Business from zero or even worse, below zero. The race for vaccines would have ensured that the one which is best and the strongest makes its place in the market. And, all said and done, all of us vaccinated mortals would be eagerly craving for an opportunity to bounce back into form, to the good old normalcy!

Anticipations in the new normal

Irrespective of whether the pandemic was natural or a deliberate and unpardonable manmade mischief or an irresponsible and an extremely costly accident; there has been worldwide damage. The extent to which the entire world has been pushed to has created a huge imbalance in the overall business ecosystem. However, a ray of hope is that people would henceforth be more healthconscious, hygienic and caring about themselves and their surroundings.

The new normal is by no means an acceptable and viable for the majority of the people in our country, as most of them are employed in the unorganised sector that does not provide the cushion of working from home. Talking about MSMEs, reports suggest that most of them have hit rock-bottom and the only way forward is to double-up one’s efforts in taking the surge.

However, we will be required to be cautious as we move ahead. With the arrival of the winter in India, and the Government easing up the restrictions imposed during the lockdown across the country for the festive season, people need to be more careful in the next 2-3 months. As health care experts say, viruses, in general, are more active in cold weather.

An improved job market

Moving on, analysts say that by mid2021, the Job market will be a lot better and there will be a noticeable demand for recruitments, especially for the entry level talent. A point to note here is that companies have been heavily focusing on employing fresh talent through Internships, more so post-COVID, owing to reduced budgets. So, most of the companies would be very actively looking towards Campus Recruitments to fill up their entry level openings.

Let us observe a few interesting snippets with regard to Campus Placements in India.

♦ Campus Placement is among the top 3 channels of Recruitment

♦ As per recent reports, 85% of students are unable to make an informed Career choice by the end of their Graduation. As you can see, though Campus Recruitment is a suitable option for companies to meet their bulk-hiring requirements to fill the entry level vacancies, only a handful of Campuses are able to provide quality talent

♦ As per the QS World Graduate Employability Rankings 2020, only 10 Indian Institutes feature among the top 500 Universities Globally w.r.t Employability

♦ Tier 2 & 3 Institutes are facing tough competition from Online Education platforms which have tie-ups with Tier 1 Institutes, and in fact, they are also providing better Job Placements to the candidates

Let us discuss the Recruitment preference of companies.

♦ Recruiting companies prefer a well assessed, mapped and segmented Talent Pool up for grabs from the Campuses. Unfortunately, very few Institutes are able to provide such a Talent base

♦ Companies are increasingly focusing on Talent acquisition through Internship, as it is a win-win situation for the candidate and also the Institute

♦ Workforce Diversity continues to be one of the major points with regard to Talent acquisition across various levels

♦ Companies value affiliation with premier Institutes. However, it is observed that many recruiters are increasingly moving away from Tier 1 to some promising Tier 2 Institutes, due to a better joining ratio of the candidates and also, almost similar quality talent would be available for a lot lesser cost-tocompany

♦ As most of the attrition and training wastage happens due to lack of some very critical Soft Skills, companies prefer campuses which gives a learning ecosystem wherein candidates are able to develop a holistic personality

The impact of the pandemic

The Impact of the pandemic on Campus Placements in Tier 1 Institutes (as compared to last year) is as follows:

♦ The mode of engagement, of course, has been virtual Campus Recruitmen

♦ The number of Companies participating for Campus Placement has dipped by up to 40%

♦ Number of selections has dipped by around 50%

♦ Drastic dip in Non-IT Placements. Majority of the companies recruiting are from IT sector

♦ The Focus of companies is a lot more towards hiring through Internships

It is anticipated that there will be enhanced recruitment of freshers by mid-2021 in the Job market. So, the big question to the Campuses across the country is - Are you ready with your talent pool?