Vying for the best talent, recruiters at top B-schools are compensating graduates with hefty joining bonuses in a year of moderate hikes. The top students from the class of 2012 at premier B-schools like Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade ( IIFT), XLRI and Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, have received bonuses ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh this year. This is in contrast to the joining bonus for the class of 2011 which ranged between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 and on rare occasions, a lakh or so.

Companies want to be absolutely sure that they break into the top 90 percentile and rope in the best and it is herein that the joining bonus component helps attract the best of talent. For instance, consumer goods and hospitality major ITC Ltd has for the first time has offered a joining bonus of Rs 3 lakh to campus recruits. The company picked up 70 students from management institutes, including the IIMs and FMS Delhi.

Source: The Economic Times