The placement season for the students of JBIMS has been a pleasant surprise. Initially, there were apprehensions about the finance and systems areas not doing too well, but the numbers tell a different story.

The highest Indian salary offered on campus was Rs.7.3 lakhs by a leading IT company, followed closely by the regular recruiters, Citibank, HLL and Coke. The lowest salary offered was Rs. 2.5 lakhs by a private sector bank. "Since last year's placements, students have been apprehensive about the salaries, however, most companies seem to have reworked their offers" says Prabhanjan Dhotre, Placement Cell, JBIMS. Companies like ICICI Bank and Bharat Shell have revised their offers upward this year from last. The campus also received a foreign offer from one of the leading pharmaceutical companies, the CTC offered for which was about USD 32,000 - 40,000.

In terms of sectors, JBIMS saw the resurgence of the technology sector, with HCL Technologies and TCS making 14 offers between them. JBIMS re-claimed its status as an FMCG campus with 10 FMCGs coming for placements. This includes HLL, Colgate- Palmolive, Cadbury's, Gillette and Coke. One major breakthrough was in terms of the financial services sector. After 9/11, the students had worried about the adverse impact on industries such as insurance, mutual funds, etc. However, financial services including banks made the highest offers on campus with 30 offers. This year management consultancies were, however, conspicuous by their absence.

Laterals saw a lot of action, with companies like Johnson & Johnson, Welspun and Boston Scientific picking up people. This year marked a shift in perception of JBIMS as a fresher's campus, with companies looking increasingly at work-experience as an advantage rather than otherwise. "I know I could not have done a trainee's job after 3 years in the industry, I am glad that they share that view" says Neeraj Raghuvanshi , a second year student.

This year also saw lot many companies conducting their processes through assessment centres. The key here is that now they are not only looking for high performers but also stressing on the right individual - organization fit. Taking into consideration the time frame required for conducting these processes, the shortlists have become shorter with many candidates missing an opportunity to sit before the panel. However, taking a long-term perspective, the selected candidate/s strike the right chord with work and organization culture.