“What adds to the uncertainty is the fact that students have not sat for exams and are unsure whether they will be able to, even by July,” says Manoj Kumar, who works for the placement cell at UBS. (Representational)

“I have my joining letter, but there is uncertainty regarding when the company wants us to finally join. The company I have been placed with is based out of Noida, where the cases have been really high so I don’t blame them either. They are as helpless as I am. But I cannot deal with feeling so unproductive these days,” says a final year student from the University Business School (UBS) at Panjab University (PU). Though graduates from colleges such as UBS have held on to their job offers even during the lockdown, most of them remain unsure of when they will begin work and are anxious regarding their future.

“Of course, there is anxiety. As MBA students we are used to working hard all the time and there is a constant pressure of remaining productive, which is why I am feeling quite restless while I sit idle at home,” says Tamanna Arora, another final year student from UBS who has been placed as a research analyst with a firm in Noida. Though her job offer has not been retracted by the company, they have deferred her joining date till end of September. “But who knows what will happen after that, maybe they will defer it further!” says Arora.

“What adds to the uncertainty is the fact that students have not sat for exams and are unsure whether they will be able to, even by July,” says Manoj Kumar, who works for the placement cell at UBS.

Under ordinary circumstances, final examinations used to end by April and students would join their place of work by the end of May or early June. However, now, even companies which want employees to join their office early cannot give a joining date until these graduates finish their examinations. “Though the UGC has said examinations are to finish by July, our department has not officially communicated a date sheet yet,” adds Kumar, himself a final year student at UBS. Out of the 135 students graduating from UBS this year, 105 were successfully placed and have retained their job offers up till now.

At Panjab Engineering College , however, some students ended up losing their job offers due to the lockdown. United Airlines, who had hired six students from the college, retracted their job offer from these students in mid-May. “However, three of these students had other job offers they could rely on. Furthermore, the rest of our student body still have their offers in place, but of course there has been a delay in the joining,” says Professor J D Sharma, spokesperson for PEC.

Students seeking alternative jobs and internships

Many companies have deferred it to the end of this year or early next year, which leaves students with nine months of waiting. “Some of my classmates are beginning to look for alternative jobs and internships to add to their CV. There is a constant pressure to build your CV and there should be no gap period,” says Arora, highlighting the pressure faced by students to remain ‘productive’, lest they lose their value as a potential employee. Harmanjit Dhillon, another student who works for the placement cell at UBS, adds that most students are developing their skills by doing online courses while they wait.