An International Affair 

Students bagged a total of 23 international offers this year. The highest international offer was USD 120,000. Offers were made from firms in North America, Europe, South East Asia and other emerging markets. As always, students preferred the roles on offer over compensation or location. The ever increasing participation by International firms in the Final Placement process is indicative of the far reaching impact of IIMK’s brand and the global competitiveness of its graduates.

The Home Front 

The highest domestic offer stood at INR 24 lakhs made by an investment bank based out of Mumbai. Though this is a decrease from what was achieved last year, IIMK managed to minimize the impact on both the average salaries and the median package. Despite the global economic slowdown, IIMK students ended the placements with an average annual salary of INR 10.61 lakhs. 

The entire gamut of corporate profiles were on offer, ranging from Investment Banking, Capital Budgeting, Treasury and Private Equity in Finance to Brand Management, Marketing Strategy, Advertising, Product Development in Marketing. As always, students were spoilt for choice and had the option to take the role that best suited their interests. 

Impressed with the students, the corporates offered roles in key areas and senior positions. These included roles such as VP of Sales and Marketing, VP of Operations, Brand Manager India and in the case of an NGO General Manager India. This faith in IIMK students is the result of years of excellence that students displayed while on the job and this is why corporates keep coming back to recruit from IIMK year after year.

Sectoral Divide 

Despite a reduction in their international operations, significant participation was seen from the financial sector companies in both the private and public space. Offers were made by Deutsche Bank, Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, American Express, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Aranca, Barings Private Equity, Futures First, SEBI, ICRA, SBI Cap etc. Finance still remained the preferred destination for most of the students with as many as 37% final acceptances. The talk of recession was drowned down by the frenzy with which students were lapped up by the Banks.

In Marketing and Business Development, another favourite of IIMK graduates, students took up jobs in some of the biggest brands in the business. Firms like Coke, Pepsi, ITC, Reckitt Benckiser, Pfizer, JnJ Medical, Marico, Sony Entertainment, Britannia, Asian Paints, VIP, Titan, Idea Cellular, Godrej, etc participated in the process. The percentage of final acceptances in Marketing and Business Development roles stood at 28%

Sector-wise Breakup of Final Acceptances 

Top consulting firms such as McKinsey and Co., Arthur D little, Gallup Consulting, Deloitte, and PricewaterhouseCoopers also participated in the Placement process. 

Other important recruiters included Freudenberg, Maersk, Infosys, Cognizant, Dr. Reddy’s etc. 

Conglomerates such as Manipal Group, Tolaram Group and Essar were also on campus for placements. They offered diverse roles in almost all areas of their operation including General Management. A number of PSUs such as IOCL, SIDBI, Bank of Baroda, HAL, SAIL, PFC and HPCL also recruited from IIMK this year, some of them for the first time. The recruiters were impressed by the level of preparedness that the students demonstrated which reflected in the large number of final offers made.

Lateral Placements 

Given the diverse and extensive Work Experience of IIMK students it was little wonder that the Lateral Placement process was such a success. Firms recruited for senior level positions in Corporate Strategy and Corporate Branding. Other strategic roles on offer were Executive Assistant to CEO, Product Managers and Leads of entire Business Divisions.

The current batch also saw some students deciding to commence their careers in non-traditional sectors such as Non Profit Organizations and Media Companies, among others. “Getting an opportunity to begin my career with a production house is a dream come true for me. I have always seen myself as a person who will be happiest in the media sector and getting a job from campus into this sector is a matter of great joy” says Deepak Oram, a student of the outgoing batch of IIM Kozhikode.

Undivided Loyalties

 A great part of the success achieved in this placement season was attributable to the immense support that the Alumni continued to provide on a regular basis. They are the brand ambassadors of the institute and it is their success in their respective fields that translates into success for IIMK. 

A lot of existing recruiters maintained their relationship with IIMK. Even in these testing times, the allure of IIMK’s promise of quality students was enough to get them on campus and recruit.

 The land of Opportunity 

IIMK has always strived in creating entrepreneurs and this year saw two students deciding to avail of the placement holiday. They are planning to start ventures of their own. Rajat Kathpalia, a resident of Delhi, has decided to start his own venture in the field of green technology consulting. Rajveer Singh, on the other hand, has decided on making a career for himself in the field of microfinance and agriculture and is setting up his own business in this sector.