The impact of Covid-19 on placements -By Ninad Kulkarni from SIBM Nagpur

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This pandemic and the lockdown has brought us a whole set of new challenges in every possible realm. Every individual in some or other way has been affected and still struggling to nullify the impacts it has caused. Many businesses had to adapt to these tough times, the MSMEs have hit a restart point, sectors like manufacturing and service sectors had to undergo a huge turnaround, and a considerable number of job losses were reported across different organizations in the country. 

There are definitely certain things which are now not the same as they were before, often referring to as the new normal, one of them is the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the college placements. This season, placements indeed are taking setbacks. This is not just because of the direct reason we see in form of lockdown and new norms but more because of other after-effects that followed it.

According to the Deccan Chronicles, almost every third professional has lost his/her job since the onset of the pandemic. This again brings in millions of workforce in the competition in the market among each other as well as with the campus graduates. The placement season is not only seeing a highly competitive surge but also a delay in the regular schedule of the placement process. In most companies, the scenario is more or less the same as already hired professionals till the month of March 2019 are yet to be onboarded and few others had to face cancellations of already ruled-out placement offers. The reason behind this was quite justified as it was required that companies/businesses needed to focus on having a sustainable model in order to survive the tough times. 

While surviving this especially when revenues are down, operational costs cannot be avoided and uncertainty seems to rule everywhere. In this case, looking for new hires rather than focusing on the available human resources does not seem to be of priority. But with time, a lot of improvement is seen across sectors. Recruiters have now started responding to the Placement teams and a new era of placements is initiated with totally transforming the experience via a virtual world. Google meets, online-based teachings, back-to-back discussions, reformed policies, and online interviews, group discussions, and assessment tests are now the new normal where everyone is ready to co-operate in devising new ways of campus hiring.

Way ahead

The future definitely seems to be positive and the economy is also expected to grow back. Companies are getting back on track which not only is a positive sign for campus placements but also for talented individuals with strong capabilities. Remember, in the end, what matters is your attitude and how you carry it out throughout in good and bad times. Being a fresher or having less experience is not the primary factor to be judged but focus on what you can offer on the table and your confidence in taking up a challenging role. Finally, as said, diamonds cannot be lost out of sight for too long even when tons of stones are around it, similarly with keen observation and the readiness to grab any opportunity you can go places. Let the performance speak about the rest!