Fresh Graduates Face Tough Job Market As Startups and E-Commerce Companies Tighten Hiring
Startups and e-commerce companies in India are anticipated to curtail their campus recruitment efforts for the Class of 2024. This shift is primarily attributed to the challenges posed by funding constraints and cost-saving measures. According to a survey conducted by Ciel HR Services, campus hiring by startups is expected to witness a 35% decrease in 2023. While certain sectors like direct-to-consumer, electric vehicles, logistics, and product-based companies will continue to hire from campuses, the focus will be on candidates with specialised skills from Tier-1 and Tier-2 colleges.
Prominent startups and e-commerce firms in India are likely to scale down their campus hiring initiatives for the Class of 2024 compared to the previous year. Factors contributing to this reduction include the prolonged funding crunch, layoffs, and a broader trend of belt-tightening among companies, as indicated by recruitment managers and investors.
The findings, based on a survey commissioned by ET and conducted by Ciel HR Services, suggest that campus hiring for the Class of 2024 will decline by nearly 35%. This survey incorporated responses from 75 startups and e-commerce companies employing over 360,000 individuals. Sectors like edtech, fintech, and SaaS do not currently have substantial hiring plans from business schools or engineering colleges in the coming year.
However, companies operating in sectors such as direct-to-consumer, electric vehicles, logistics, and product development will continue to recruit from campuses. Nevertheless, their focus will shift towards candidates with specialised skills from esteemed Tier-1 and Tier-2 educational institutions.
Aditya Narayan Mishra, Chief Executive of Ciel HR Services, highlighted the expected decline in hiring numbers at startups in light of the funding challenges, a sluggish economy, and investor pressure to cut costs. He noted that most startups are currently constrained in terms of time and resources for training freshers. Conversely, e-commerce companies continue to experience demand in areas such as sales, marketing, and supply chain operations.
E-commerce giant Flipkart intends to maintain similar hiring levels for freshers in 2023 compared to the previous year. According to Krishna Raghavan, Chief People Officer at Flipkart, the company remains committed to partnering with esteemed educational institutions for on-campus hiring and internship opportunities.
Anshuman Das, CEO of Longhouse Consulting, emphasised that due to the uncertain macroeconomic environment and funding challenges, startups are cautious about freshers” talent demand in 2023. The ongoing layoffs and reduced attrition rates are also contributing to startups” potential pullback from campus hiring this year. Consequently, startups are more likely to prioritize experienced talent over freshers who may require additional training and onboarding.
Pranav Pai, Managing Partner at 3one4 Capital, echoed this sentiment, stating that startups are currently inclined to prefer experienced professionals who can quickly contribute to their operations over fresh graduates.
