The placement data should guide you in your decision whether to take admission in the particular B school by calculating the Return on Investment after completing your MBA/PGDM programme but the reality is otherwise. If the source is not trustworthy or conceals or inflates the facts, it’s difficult to ascertain the truth behind it as despite not achieving 100% placement, many B schools conveniently inflate their placement statistics like highest, average and median salary. They create hype on recruiters, misrepresent sectoral and functional placement data and hide the period of placement. On the top of it without getting good international placement offers in real terms, also highlight that some international placement offers have also been grabbed by the students.
Placement statistics: Full of lies
Before choosing the right B-school, please remember the words of Benjamin Disraeli who found out that Statistics is the worst of three lies- lies, damn lies and statistics. This is the reason an audit is needed for statistical presentation by an organization or institution of repute for its placement every year. B schools publish placement data year after year and a few of the top rated ones like IIMA, B, C, L publish it only after getting it duly audited. You do not find placement data of top IIMs in public domain before August/September although placement in these top IIMs is over in the month of February.
No transparent picture
It is supposed that the MBA placement data by the B schools will give the correct picture of placement trends in the MBA market and will guide the students in right direction. But does it really happen? Probably not!
In reality you do not get the transparent information and many facts are concealed or misrepresented in the placement data published by number of B-schools. What can drive and attract you towards the B-school is published for you with all the goodies that you wish to read.
Adverse features not shared
What could put you on your guard and make you think twice after reading the other side of the story is never served before you. Accordingly, the stage comes when recurring lies take the shape of truth. Despite concealment of facts whatever is shared, we prefer to believe it without verifying it since it is coming right out of B-school placement cell. Even the top B schools try to avoid publishing adverse scenario in their placement season.
Verify 5 key facts
Before believing the MBA placement reports of B schools, experts suggest to cross check the following 5 key facts on which B-school could be lying.
Placement year
Many B schools have published ‘highlights of placement’ but have not shared whether it is for placement 2015 or 2016 nor they have shared how long it took to complete the placement process. Apart from not sharing how many students have been placed, they wouldn’t share when they started and when the placement process got over at the B school.
Those who complete it in a record time like XLRI, IIMs, SPJIMR proudly announce that they completed the process in 3-4 days (No doubt they can do it) but other highly ranked institutes who started the placement process as early as in October 2015 have shied away from publishing this information.
If the placement season at a B school continues for 8-9 months, how credible it would be to shape my future could be the next question shot up on the relevance of learning experience in the B school by an MBA aspirant.
The deliberate concealment of any information on placement by B school may put a canny MBA aspirant on guard regarding the antecedents of the institute. While the B schools may not publish the gloomy or negative side of placement process, the students should make sure from all the available sources like social and education sites on internet, published material and if possible alumni of the B school to ascertain the facts before opting to finalize the admission.
Reality of 100% placements
Top B schools like FMS, IIM A,B,C; XLRI, SPJIMR may sure get 100% placement year after year and number of their candidates also opt out of the placement process to explore entrepreneurship or family business opportunities but it may not be true to other B schools.
Although they may not claim 100% placement but the placement reports of B schools smartly avoid publishing the percentage of candidates placed. The confirmation of 100% placement to the participating students is yet to be received for placement season 2016 from number of B schools.
If you have got the admission offer from any B school, don’t think that your luck has smiled and you are getting into it. The struggle is yet to begin as you have to emerge a winner which could be possible if you are among top 10% students of the flagship MBA programme as this could only assure you a good placement.
Inflated Salary data
Highest, median and average salary data published by the B-school in their placement reports may not be true. The simple methodology to calculate the average domestic salary in total placement is to divide the total pay package by total number of participating students. But the strategy to arrive at this figure adopted by many of the B-schools could surprise you.
B schools ( including highly ranked) can inflate this average by clubbing domestic and foreign placement. If the average domestic placement is Rs 5 lacs and foreign placement is Dhs (UAE currency) 1 lac (Rs.16.5= Dhs 1), the average will increase to Rs.16.5 + Rs.5= Rs.21.5 lacs which is supposed to be a great USP of the institute.
These are the ways and means to project a rosy placement picture. Interestingly these international pay packages are offered to almost negligible or very few students and sometimes off campus placement data is included for calculation of average.
Another striking feature is that Indian Rupee has lost by more than 15% during last 1 year and the placement even at the same package will substantially increase the average in case international pay packets are also included.
The positive impact made among the admission seekers on the basis of such inflated average may prove to be deceiving unless verified. It will be better to verify the domestic and international salaries offered in the placement separately.
Top Recruiters: Game in names and numbers
B schools publish names of top brand recruiters to create Aura and hype among the aspirants. Surprisingly many of these recruiters, despite getting contacted by the B-schools never turned up at the campus but as a courtesy took care to send thankful acknowledgement. B-schools included all of them to gain more publicity on their names and to inflate the numbers so as to attract more candidates.
These recruiters could be private top recruiters, government or public sector companies who go through their well defined process, if they visit for campus recruitment. Some of these companies have their associates, subsidiaries, sister concerns with similar sounding names. B schools make a smart move by contracting or expanding their names to create buzz among the prospective students. On the top of it, their names are highlighted even if they are neither the top recruiter nor offered any substantial pay package.
Examples could be cited for such organizations like HCL; TCS; TATA; Reliance; SBI among others who have number of subsidiaries and BPOs. Candidates selected for BPO or some subsidiary is mentioned without sharing the full name of the company.
Sometimes the registered recruiters are more in number but actually those who visit the campus for placement are fewer. While the published number could be for former category and the latter category may not be shared.
Please do remember not to believe everything regarding the names and number of recruiters. You should verify the truth before proceeding to act on such information.
Sectoral placement not true
It is difficult to verify and cross check that companies made more placement in BFSI or Marketing sector; Sales & marketing, IT or Operation function, except to believe the graphical and statistical presentation published by the B school. The idea is to drive more students in that specialized MBA/PGDM programme where more seats could be lying vacant. Students who fall prey to the trap may not get another chance to switch over to other MBA functional domain.
Sometimes a new programme is launched with certain MBA specialization. More focus on functional placement is given by the B school even before the programme is launched, citing recruiters who recruited for the particular role from the B school.
It is advisable therefore that instead of going by the B school publications, make sure about the profile of the recruiters who visit for placement, how many of them belong to the published sectors and what is the number in actual and not percentage of students who have been placed in the related company at the campus placement.
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