CHENNAI: Despite e-tailer Flipkart indicating it will make its stance clear on its decision to defer the hiring of several candidates from premier educational institutions by several months on Monday, this has not deterred its rivals from approaching placement cells and extending formal offers to these students.
Several companies including leading e-tailers such as Amazon, Paytm and Shop101 have officially e-mailed expressing their wilingess to interview and hire the ‘affected’ students after these student were recruited on the first two days of the campus recruitment drive of last cycle.
Babu Vishwanathan, training and placement officer, IIT-Madras confirmed to Express that his office did receive mails from the leading companies. “I have forwarded the mails to the individual students.”
But this may not be as straightforward as it looks from outside.
“The rigid placement policy of the IITs that we have now does not permit this kind of arrangement. The All IITs Placement Committee (AIPC) meeting that is scheduled to be held soon will review and decide,” said Kaustubha Mohanty, convener of AIPC and head of Centre for Career Development at IIT Guwahati.
“Amazon, Paytm and Shop101 have approached other IITs as well,” Mohanty said, adding: “Students are being kept in the loop.”
Paytm spokesperson confirmed that the firm has initiated a process of recruiting ‘affected’ students from all IIMs. E-mails are being exchanged and interviews will begin soon.
Meanwhile, the IITs are waiting for the final word from Flipkart and other start-ups. Flipkart has reportedly informed AIPC that it will make its stance clear on Monday.
But those associated with placements in these premier institutions fear that Flipkart is unlikely to make any drastic changes in its decision to defer hiring of the five IIT-M students or raise the compensation initially offered, considering that the firm’s valuation has been downgraded to $9.3 billion from $15 billion at its peak almost a year ago.
Roadrunnr, the on-demand delivery service company that deferred the joining dates of three students, has said in an e-mail to the placement officials that they may take the students on board before December.
The placement policy of the IITs does not permit students to take an interview after being placed elsewhere. The All IITs Placement Committee meeting that is scheduled to be held soon will review and decide Kaustubha Mohanty, AIPC Convener