Strategy And Planning

Its no country for freshers as IT firms revisit campus hiring playbook

July 20, 2026
www.ETHRWorld.com
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< />Bengaluru: It” captionrendered=”1″ country=”” data-src=”https://etimg.etb2bimg.com/photo/132523864.cms” for=”” freshers.=”” height=”442″ loading=”eager” no=”” s=”” src=”https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/images/default.jpg” width=”590″></img><br /></br>Campus offers are being delayed, onboarding schedules are being pushed back, and in some cases, roles are quietly withdrawn. Joining dates are increasingly tied to shifting business demand, leaving thousands of engineering graduates waiting months—sometimes over a year—for jobs they once assumed were guaranteed. For decades, a campus offer from an IT company came with an unwritten promise: graduate, join training and begin work. That certainty is beginning to disappear.</p> <p>The language companies are using reflects this new reality.</p> <p>IBM recently wrote to candidates waiting for an offer: “While we are trying to get you an early joining, there needs to be appropriate available demand to map you to that project. Once we have an update on the tentative date, our team will get in touch with you and initiate the offer process.”</p> <p>At Accenture, after candidates applied for its Custom Software Engineer role, the company informed them: “Due to certain recent developments, we are no longer recruiting for this role.” It added that candidates would be contacted if suitable openings matching their profile became available.</p> <p>At Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), candidates say offer letters have been delayed.</p> <p>At Cognizant, some GenC recruits have received repeated emails stating their joining date would depend on business requirements, successful background verification and delays linked to the EPFO’s UAN portal.</p> <p>One email stated: “Please note that the EPFO portal is currently under maintenance and is expected to be resolved today. Based on the completion of your BGV formalities, the concerned team is working on revising your date of joining. We will keep you informed of any further updates.”</p> <p>Another read: “Due to downtime on the UAN website, there may be a delay in processing. Your Date of Joining (DOJ) will be finalized based on business requirements and is subject to the successful completion of the Background Verification (BGV) process. We will keep you informed of further updates. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”</p> <p>While administrative issues have contributed to some delays, the repeated references to “business requirements” illustrate how onboarding schedules have become increasingly fluid.</p> <p>The uncertainty has prompted freshers to create their own tracking tools. A 2025 Wipro recruit, frustrated by months of silence over onboarding, launched OnboardWatch, a crowdsourced website where candidates anonymously report whether their offers have been delayed, honoured or revoked.</p> <p>The anxiety comes amid a broader reset in the IT industry’s hiring model.</p> <p>India’s five largest IT services companies—TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech and Tech Mahindra—collectively reduced their workforce by 6,981 employees in FY26, reversing net additions of 12,718 in FY25. TCS accounted for the biggest reduction, trimming 23,460 employees, while Tech Mahindra cut 1,108.</p> <p>Even as hiring slows at large IT firms, the nature of demand is changing. Nasscom estimates the technology industry’s workforce grew by 1.35 lakh to 5.9 million in 2026, only marginally higher than the previous year’s addition. Much of the incremental hiring is now coming from global capability centres (GCCs).</p> <p>Companies also say freshers require longer training before they become billable as enterprise technology becomes more complex.</p> <p>Namratha Dharshan, chief business leader at ISG, said opportunities for freshers remain, but employer expectations have changed. “Employers are increasingly prioritising specialised and deep-tech skills, with growing demand for talent that can work effectively with AI and emerging technologies rather than broad-based, generalist capabilities,” she said.</p> <p>Phil Fersht, CEO of HFS Research, said the slowdown in campus onboarding reflects a structural shift in the industry’s talent model. “Over the next three to five years, the traditional pyramid hiring model that powered India’s IT services industry for decades will flatten considerably. Companies will recruit fewer people for generic delivery roles, but demand will increase for graduates with AI literacy, business domain knowledge, data engineering, cybersecurity and industry-specific expertise,” he said.</p> <p>Even companies that continue to hire insist recruitment remains demand-led. TCS, which added more than 9,000 employees in the June quarter, says it continues to hire both experienced professionals and fresh graduates.</p> <p>Emails sent to IBM, Accenture, Oracle and Wipro seeking comment did not elicit a response till press time. Cognizant, however, said it remains committed to honouring all offers.</p> <p>Getting the offer, it seems, is no longer the same as getting the job. </p> <div> <div aria-label=

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