Flipkart to Lose ‘Day 1’ Slot At IIT Campus Hiring; Paytm Rescues Stranded IIM-A Graduates

Flipkart’s decision to postpone joining dates of IIM-A graduates have triggered a chain of events, which can have long term effects on the overall recruitment and hiring industry, pan-India.

Interestingly, as soon as media picked up the story of IIM-A graduates, and the paltry Rs 1.5 lakh compensation by Flipkart for 6 months delay, rival ecommerce companies Paytm and Shopclues have assured to help those ‘deserted’ IIM-A graduates by offering them ‘immediate’ placement assistance.

IIMs All Set To Make Recruitment Norms Tougher

As per reports coming in, IIMs will create tougher rules and norms for companies which are looking forward to hiring their graduates. And leading this change is IIM-A, whose students have been deserted by Flipkart.

Asha Kaul who is the Chairperson, Placement Committee at IIM-A, said, “For the first time, such a long deferment of joining date has happened. We are planning to review our policies for the recruiters and make suitable additions”, adding, “The placement committee will meet after the internships of the students are over. We will consult with the faculty and students and firm up recruitment norms to be shared with future recruiters.”

IIM-A has already written a harsh letter to Flipkart, stating their displeasure over the delay in joining of their 18 graduates.

In their public reply, Flipkart had justified their move via blog, citing restructuring of their business, and search for ‘right balance among key levers such as innovation, strategic execution, and operational excellence’.

Flipkart May Lose ‘Day 1’ Slot

When it comes to campus hiring, then Day 1 is the most lucrative slot for companies, as they get to interview the best among the batch of graduating students. But after the debacle over IIM-A graduates, it seems that Flipkart will soon lose the privilege of ‘Day 1’ hiring.

Heads of All-IITs Placement Committee (AIPC) from various IITs will meet soon, and decide on this matter.

It seems that the ripple effect caused by Flipkart’s delay may cost them dearly in the long term.

Paytm, Shopclues Will ‘Rescue’ IIM-A Graduates

Rivals of Flipkart on the digital platform: Paytm and Shopclues have said that they can help those 18 graduates from IIM-A.

Reportedly, IIM-A had sent resumes of those graduates to Paytm and Shopclues, and they have received positive vibes from them.

Amit Sinha, vice-president, Paytm said, “We have received mails from the placement cell of IIM-A and we will look at hiring these graduates, but only after interviews,”

Note here, that Paytm has already hired 50 graduates from IIM and other premier business institutions this year.

Meanwhile, Radhika Agarwal, co-founder of ShopClues said, “IIM graduates who have been hired by Flipkart have reached out to us. I have had two emails so far,”

Around 10% of IIM-A graduates are hired by ecommerce companies every year, from the past 3-4 years. But this year’s debacle is changing a lot of things there.

K Sanjay Koushik, media secretary, students’ affairs council at IIM-A said, “We will get more clarity on the placement next week, probably by Tuesday, after which we will decide the plan of action,”

Do you think IIMs and IITs are over-reacting on a delay of 6 months, something which is a norm at IT companies? Or Flipkart should be punished over their inconsistency? Do share your views by commenting right here!