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Business Line October 22, 2008
Cos going slow on lateral hires
The Times of India Monday October 20, 2008
Pink Slip Blues
The Economist Times Friday October 17, 2008
Recruitment shrinks, hirers in trouble
The Telegraph Thursday October 16, 2008
10 ways to ride the bad times
Business Line Monday 01, 2008
IT majors see red at the bottom
The Times of India Monday July 28, 2008
'Outplacing' employees to become leaner
Busniess Line Thursday July 08, 2008
Hefty salary hikes turn a thing of the past
Livemint.com (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) Tuesday June 10, 2008
Small outfits offer big opportunities
Busniess Line Thursday May 22, 2008
They are beginning to look beyond IT space
The Times of India Saturday March 15, 2008
More pink-slips for techies this year
The Economic Times Tuesday March 11, 2008
Hiring in IT industry slows down 40-50%
Corporate News Wednesday March 5, 2008
Microsoft, Infosys 'incubating talent' to beat attrition blues
The Times of India Monday January 14, 2008
Rookies rule the roost today.... Fresh Look
The Times of India Friday January 4, 2008
Bada title, chhota kaam from indian techies
The Economic Times Wednesday January 2, 2008
ENABLING COMFORT At Workplace
The Hindu Business Line Wednesday January 2, 2008
Hiring moves beyond realm of IT, ITeS

Recruiters headed for slow-growth phase

 

Business Line
  November 24, 2008
  Anjali Prayag

New Delhi/Chennai, Nov. 23 After years of cranking-out some heady growth numbers, the recruitment industry is facing slowdown headwinds. Though opinions on growth rates for this industry - which derives a sizeable chunk of its business from troubled sectors such as IT, ITES and financial services – vary from 10 per cent growth to 30 per cent growth, most industry captains agree things have slowed down.

Increments hit

According to Ms Nirupama V.G, Managing Director, Ad Astra Consultants, an HR consulting firm, the placement industry, used to over 50 per cent growth rates earlier, may see a slowdown to 30 per cent growth this fiscal. The generous hikes doled out to employees in the industry too are expected to shrink, mirroring the downturn in various sectors they recruit for. “Against salary increments of 15-20 per cent last year, the HR industry could well be looking at minimal (5-8 per cent) to nil increments this year," she said.

Mr E. Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants, said that the IT and BPO sectors, among the largest recruiters, are in a wait-and-watch mode. “Some clients continue to recruit with caution; others have become slow in making decisions, while some others have stopped recruiting.”

Compared with the year-ago period, he says the number of requests for recruitment from IT and BPO services has come down to “between 12 and 15 per cent.”

Management and recruitment consultancy firm ABC Consultants is also seeing a slowdown in IT services, packaged implementation and BPO, according to its CEO, Mr Shiv Agrawal. He too feels that growth would be in the 10-15 per cent range this year compared with the 30-50 per cent earlier .

“Many companies also prefer freshers and are going slow on lateral hiring,” he added.

Predictably, the number of resumes available for placement has risen. Mr Balaji said, “We see a 25-per cent hike in fresher resumes.”

“While we have seen a 40-per cent surge in the candidates looking for jobs, the recruitment enquiries (from companies) are down 20-25 per cent,”Ms Nirupama V.G., Managing Director, Ad Astra Consultants.

According to Mr Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO & Managing Director, The Head Hunters India, recruitment firms focused specifically on IT or having a single client portfolio have been hurt the most. “The recruitments in retail and financial services have almost frozen, and there are hardly any enquiries,” Mr Lakshmikanth said.



























































    
 
 
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