New Delhi, Jul 1 (IANSlife): The pandemic has adversely affected the campus-hiring scenario across the nation. Amid the panic of unemployment and lay-offs, one-third of the students confirmed that they have a job offer at hand. Out of these students, close to 44 per cent reported that their joining dates have been delayed while another 9 per cent confirmed that their offers have been rolled back, says a survey.

Close to 33 per cent said that the employers are not responding to them on the status of their job offers. Now, a majority of students are fast switching 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, the survey adds.

Firstnaukri.com, an end-to-end campus hiring platform conducted the survey with students across campuses in India with aim to understand the pulse on placements and internships amidst the current crisis.

The companies are postponing campus drives and resorting to new age technology solutions, including virtual interviews and online assessments to recruit candidates from various campuses. It will be imperative for students to start preparing for remote interviews as the new way of being hired.

The Covid-19 jobseeker study was done to gauge the impact of ongoing pandemic on fresher placements in India. The survey was carried out with the college students of all batches (2020 to 2023) across several courses. The results are based on over 1,300+ responses out of which 80 percent are responses from students pursuing BE/B.Tech degree.

Commenting on the survey, Sharad Sindhwani, Business Head, Firstnaukri.com 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 their morale and going virtual for their learning as well as job interviews. In fact, most companies are also using new age technology solutions to hire remotely."

In these tough times, online courses and certifications are the first choices amongst freshers to bridge any skill/knowledge gap. Seventy per cent of college students have already subscribed to online courses.

Interestingly, the current pandemic has not impacted the higher education plans of 80 percent surveyed graduates. A large majority of students are also considering freelancing as a viable future career option.