Entry-level recruitment in IT and BPO sectors would register a flat growth this year and hiring would be staggered, in line with the recession trends in the US market, according to HR consulting company CareerNet.
“There would be a major shakeout in hiring in the next three-four months,” company director Rishi Das said here on Friday.
Das said in 2009, graduates would constitute 30% of the total recruits’ pool for the large players, compared to a 15-20% share earlier.
Entry-level compensations rose 17.6% between fiscal 2006 and fiscal 2008, according to the company’s latest campus compensation and student perception survey 2008.
In 2008, IT services paid an average annual entry-level salary of Rs 2.74 lakh while in the products’ space, the pay was Rs 4.63 lakh. Salaries in product firms were 70% higher than those offered by service companies.
The study found captive companies paid an average 36% higher salary than profit centres and foreign companies offered 43% better pay than Indian counterparts.
CareerNet said career preferences among graduates moved in favour of IT services firms, with 19% opting for a career in services in 2008, compared to 10.6% in 2007. IT products’ space was preferred by 39% of the candidates.
Bangalore topped the list of preferred job locations for freshers followed by Delhi/ NCR.
In 2008, 15% of candidates received more than one job offer. Of the offers made, 59% were rejected by applicants on account of service bonds and low-end work, Das said.
The study involved 59 companies and 140 campuses including IITs and other premier institutes.