Its that time of the year again. Starting March 2008, final placements kick off at the six Indian Institutes of Management at Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow. While leading Indian and international companies queue up at the different campuses for some aggressive head hunting, students gear up to take their pick of the gamut of jobs on offer.

So what will it be this year? Who will secure the highest salary? What sectors will find favour among students - will it be investment banking, strategic consulting, marketing or real estate? Will the prospect of going solo lure away some from the placement game like last year?

Going by the success stories reported during the lateral placements held earlier this year, students have good reason to cheer. “The outlook for final placements looks extremely positive,” says Jayant Harshvardhan, recruitment coordinator at IIM Kolkata. Harshvardhan adds that salary figures are expected to see a significant increase compared to the previous year and some of the biggest names from the investment banking, strategic consulting and marketing domains have already confirmed their participation in the final placement process.

During the lateral placement process, open to students with work experience, at IIM Kolkata, the domestic offers touched a maximum of Rs 21 lakh, while the foreign offers touched US $100,000 mark. Lebua Group, ICRA Management Consulting, Raheja Group, Caterpillar and Lime Group, consulting giants such as Deloitte, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and prominent banks such as Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered and Yes Bank were some of the big recruiters on campus.

At IIM Kozhikode’s lateral placements, Mckinsey & Co, Accenture, KPMG, Barclays, and Lehman Brothers have been the top recruiters. The highest salary offered was US $175,000. Says Revant Bhate, member, placement committee at IIM Kozhikode, “These figures are much above last year’s figures and are expected to be bettered in the upcoming final placements.” Adds Bhate, “Last year’s placements saw 33% of students take up offers in finance and 25% take up consulting. This year more students are choosing consulting roles. But finance companies are expected to retain the major portion of the placements pie once again.”

The mood at the IIM Ahmedabad campus is also upbeat. Explains Professor Piyush Sinha, placement chairperson and faculty member, IIM Ahmedabad, “We are in a fortunate position at this institute. We have the full support of current recruiters, many of whom have been coming to us year after year. At the same time, we are establishing relationships with newer companies.”

Given such optimism, backed by a track record of success, placements this year across the IIMs are likely to be a cakewalk. As usual.

Sources: The Times Of India