As part of his responsibilities, J.S. Chhabra, Training and Placement Officer in a college in Punjab had to go around the metro cities and knock the door of companies and persuade them to come over for campus recruitments. Though he spent a lot of time and money visiting companies, he was failing to pool in companies to his campus. His IITian nephew Harpreet Grover sensed the opportunity and called up his old IIT-Bombay roommate, Vibhore Goyal, Co-founder and CTO of CoCubes, who convinced him that technology was the solution to bring about a paradigm shift in the Indian campus recruitment scenario. They went on to build a platform to connect colleges and companies, thus helping colleges manage and increase placements and companies bring their entire campus process online.

Goyal recalls, “Ten years ago, when Harpreet and I joined IIT-Bombay, our hostel had three computers and we used to walk down to a STD booth to call home. When we graduated, it was difficult to find three rooms in the IIT without computers and everyone had a mobile. Now, by 2009, even students in tier–2 and tier-3 cities have a mobile and regular access to the Internet. We believe that during the last decade, while the target student population became different, campus hiring and engagement methodologies remained same and are now in a disconnect with the current crop of youth. And in the last few years of growth story one has not had the time to reflect and change. The current downturn has come as an opportunity in disguise to address this disconnect.”

The Current Scenario

Currently, campus recruitments work on an offline model. Companies don’t have the means to get their message directly to authenticated students and get response as well as stay in touch with offered candidates till they join. Colleges still use their notice boards and circulars to reach out to students and brochures to invite companies. What this finally results in is a lower opportunity for students and high cost for colleges and companies. “That’s where we want to crack down using technology to bring the process online,” says Grover.

Campus recruitments have slowed down significantly in the last one year. So, are companies still interested? “Well, campus is a strategic priority for most large and medium companies. It gives them a chance to interact with the graduating students through contests, blogs, and content for over a year, educating them about the sector in general and specifically about their company. Also, whenever they might want to stat hiring they can get going, as interested and evaluated students are ready and available,” says Grover.