66% of fresh graduates have no job offer, survey claims

The economic gloom following the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have shattered the dreams of fresh graduates as a survey claiming that two-third of them have no job offer at hand.

Out of those who have received a job offer, 44 per cent have said that their joining dates have been delayed, while another 9 per cent have their offer rolled back.

According to the survey, the pandemic has led to a major impact on the jobs market and affected the campus hiring scenario in 2020-21.

The survey claimed students anticipate major changes in the education system with half of the students agreeing that virtual classes are the future of pedagogy and the majority of colleges have already started conducting virtual classes. A majority of students are also considering freelancing as a viable future career option.

With unemployment and layoffs increasing during the period, the survey of around 1,300 students showed that a majority have switched to online job portals to hunt for a job while another 17 per cent are taking the referral route and connecting with their college alumni.

"Around 66 per cent of the campus graduates confirmed that they do not have an offer at hand," the survey by 'Firstnaukri', an end-to-end campus hiring platform of online recruiter naukri.com, said.

"Almost half of the students confirmed that companies have postponed their visit to campuses. In these times of social distancing, the companies are resorting to new age technology solutions for hiring and are conducting video interviews and online assessments to recruit candidates from various campuses. It will be imperative for students to start preparing for remote interviews as a new way of getting hired," it said.

The reliance on online courses and certifications to bridge skill gap is increasing with the survey showing that 70 per cent of students have already subscribed to online courses, followed by half of them reading news regularly to stay abreast of developments in their fields.

"Interestingly, the current pandemic has not impacted the higher education plan of 80 per cent surveyed graduates," the survey said.

Firstnaukri Chief Business Officer Sharad Sindhwani said the pandemic has hit placement prospects of the 2020 batch across 82 per cent colleges.

"It has further impacted internship offers of 74 per cent pre-final year students. However, students are not losing morale and going virtual for their learning as well as job interviews. In fact, most companies are also using new-age technology to hire remotely," he added.