IT major says all students hired in 2011 ‘on-boarded’
The slowdown in the IT sector is taking a toll on campus recruitments. HCL Technologies, for instance, is yet to assign jobs to several graduates interviewed in September 2011 and even given offers of employment.
Some of the affected students told Business Line that though the ‘Letter of Intent’ (or provisional offer letter) was given to them in May 2012, the company has not yet specified a joining date.
The students are from various technical institutions and universities in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. While they are still awaiting the joining date, they say they cannot apply to any other firm in the meantime because of the bond they signed when they were given the letters of intent.
“I was placed in HCL Tech in 2011 but for the last seven months, despite having a service agreement and Letter of Intent (LoI), I am sitting at home, waiting to hear about the joining date. When I ask HCL people about joining information they don’t give any reply,” said one of the students, requesting anonymity.
According to the student, around 5,000 graduates are waiting to hear from HCL Tech after they were given placement letters. This number could not be independently verified.
Another candidate, also selected in September 2011, said HCL Tech had initially indicated that joining dates would be given by June 2012, though there is still no word from the company.
“The company sent us a letter saying ‘you will get the joining date in June 2012’, but has not got in touch since then. In August 2012, the company again sent us a letter saying we have to appear for their ‘Front Runner Programme (FRP)’ test on September 30,” said another student.
HCL Tech had also scheduled a second FRP test in January 2013 for those who didn’t clear the first one but this was later cancelled. The test is the basis on which the company fixes the sequence of joining and initial training.
When contacted, the $6-billion global technology and IT enterprise said: “All 2011 freshers batch that were given offers by HCL have been on-boarded.” However, Business Line has seen the letters given to some engineering students in May 2012 that said the joining date would be intimated in “due course of time”. The students are yet to be formally appointed.
The company however confirmed that it has cancelled the FRP test, which was fixed for January 1. “We have called off that and no test will happen now,” a company spokesperson told Business Line.
ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in
Keywords: slowdown in IT sector, toll on campus recruitments, HCL Technologies, yet to assign jobs, offers of employment
Comments:
I am one among these recruited by HCL Technologies.We were recruited
in Sep,2011.We are informed that,we will get offer letter in Jan,2012
& Location preferences in March,2012 & Joining in June,2012.But they
haven't given yet.They have given joining to Computer Science Students
in July & August 2012.We thought then the other branches will get.But
they informed us to appear for an exam called Front Runner
Programme(FRP) & results will be anounced in a week.They conducted the
exam on 30th Sep,2012.But they took a whole month to give results for
an Online Exam.Being a Leading IT firm can't they give results in a
week.That too,only 1300 of 5500 students are qualified in the
test.Then on 6th Nov,2012 they informed us that the students who
successfully cleared the FRP test will be given joining in a couple of
weeks but they haven't given yet as its Feb,2013.If they can't give
joining why should they hired us.If not them we will get into another
companies which came to our college after them
When Apple messed up by removing google maps, it came to a stage where
the CEO had to apologise...across the Indian IT companies the head of HR
atleast to come out in the open and apologise. Just statements that the
environment has changed is not enough, they have to own it up and
apologise. This way the respect will only go up and next time eveyone
will double check before making offers.
FRP test which was fixed for Jan 6 2013, not Jan 1 2013.
what this HCL is commenting is a irresponsible thing each and every word
of the article is correct. for example i am 2012 passed out (post
graduation) and my recruitment date is sep 5 2011 till now i didnt
receive my on boarding date. you HCL this is how your attitude is "Long
Long there was a king but we dont know the name of the king but he is
very close and a good friend to me".
Dear HCL, very bad on your part for telling a LIE without any
hesitation. The big LIE being 'recruits of 2011 and 2012 are
onboarded'. Do you remember the 2012 passouts who were placed in
sep2011. Only some were called and the rest around 5000+ are still
waiting after going through your superb tactics of delaying JOINING by
conducting FRP, saying one of the all time best quotes of HCL 'we will
intimate you within a COUPLE OF WEEKS' which is going on from october,
the meaning of couple of weeks is being rewritten by HCL. Oh man when
around 5000+ are waiting to be onboard some being toppers, some
financially poor people, some with education loans, how can you LIE
that ALL ARE ONBOARD. So unprofessional. All the other IT compainies
have given joining. Because you recruited us we were not allowed to
appear for other compainies. Now when your true face is out , how come
you are saying LIE that all are onboarded. Everything written here is
a fact which you cant deny. Dont be heartless. Do not think you are
making money and doing well. Your are playing with lives of 5000+
here. God is always there above us. Those HR and anyone in HCL is
behind all these games, remember God is there, you will suffer,
because of your sins your family will suffer.
The company is misleading everyone by saying that it has onboarded
students. This is a blatant lie and HCL Tech should come out clean and
clarify the actual position. There are hundreds of students like me who
were given offers but we are yet to get the job in hand. Shame on you
HCL
Tech for blaming the media for supporting the students.
Whatever published here is 100% true...nothing false in that....i am a
friend of a hcl recruited candidate who has cleared frp but still has
not got his joining ....... really HCL has played with his career as he
has already waited for 6-7 months ......
My friend got campus placement in Nov 2011 and received offer letter in
April 2012 but still awaiting to be on board. The last communication he
received on 1st January 2013 informing that FRP test stands cancelled
and he would be contacted shortly which he still awaits. He is now left
with no option but to continue to wait anxiously to receive positive
news from HCL Tech. Many thanks to Mr. Ronendra Singh to highlight this
issue once again which hopefully prompt HCL to do the needful urgently
to have at least 2011 hired students on board first.
I hereby confirm that all the details given above are 100% correct. I am
one of those people who gave all these information and anchored in
getting the news published. I am being duped by HCL for the last one and
a half years. At least now i wish for an answer by the irresponsible HCL
management.
HCL Tech. has been cheating us since the past 8 months by not giving us DOJ. Now by a new way, telling lies that they have joined. Also at the quarter results it showed lot of profits (even greater than infosys). But still they deny giving DOJ. Also they cheated us by conducting FRP and saying that cleared ones can opt for early DOJ. But not even after 4 months of successfully clearing the FRP we are not even given a word on our date of joining till now.
No one of the HR's, Smart service desks queries answer our questions. They silmply want to enjoy their profits by starving all the fresh recruits and spoiling their careers. Its really shame on getting selected for such a falsified company.
I am also one of the victim who unfortunately got placed in HCL tech through campus.whatever mentioned in this article is true.Higher officials of HCL tech are kindly requested to make a notice of this issue and provide joining for us.Getting profit by cost cutting the freshers salary is not the real success.First stop blowing your own trumpet and spend time to schedule joining for 2012 freshers.
Dear Admin,
Please moderate the comments as soon as you receive notifications. I
know and assure that there are at least 100 people who are commenting
on this issue as there is a group of 5000+ people suffering in this
issue. Please understand our problem and moderate the comment.
We are not offending, we are just putting our words in form of
comments here. I've commented twice and there are no
irrelevant/abusive word in my comment. still its not here.
Please understand the seriousness of the issue. Its our career and
life at stake. Please behave responsibly.
Thanks and Regards
Neha Kumari (HCLite)
This is a serious issue. I am one among those 5000+. We have been idle for an year. Please take actions on this issue. We just need DOJ, nothing else. We didnt get proper reply from them. They said DOJ will be intimated in couple of weeks. But it has been 3 months since. We need to support our family. Even I have cleared the so called FRP test. Buy still waiting for the DOJ. Kindly do something on this issue. Thanks in advance.
Priya(HCLite)
I wonder whats wrong with today's youth, you waited 7 months, you wasted seven precious month waiting for someone to honor their word?.
How much good it would have done to your carrier, family and country if you had done something in the mean time, did you think about higher studies? did you think of starting a company to help your neighborhood stores? did you atleast think of enhancing your skills so that you can start being productive from Day 1?
I wonder how long these people will wait, may be another few months? or may be a year or may be an eternity.
Sad to see youth not utilizing their potential.
Gowthaman, Its good to see people like you giving time to read and
comment on articles like this. I'm not amazed to see your words, and I
can guess you must be manager or so in some company. With each day
passing, the company promised to give zenith. these are the best
brains in market and already did their job by taking the pain to get
placed in #4 company of India. They were not supposed to be treated
like crap. The HRs gave false promises and youngsters were not aware
of these double standard people.
Moreover, Your words can be taken as positives, as it shows concern
about them. But I expect people to be neutral and give a comment by
examining both the sides and the sufferings of the freshers. Don't
look at this problem from the company's point of view. I know HCL must
be thinking the same way you are doing. They must be willing these
people would have joined somewhere else. But why they are not thinking
what they did to these young minds.
HCL must communicate about the matter.
Gowthaman, sorry your views are not realistic.
It seems you also want to play with the helplessness and misfortunes
of the suffering students.
In a developing country where majority of the students can not afford
further studies, should not they have accepted the offer letters from
no. 4 IT company especially when there was no mention of any such
pre-condition that the joining would be subject to the availability of
positions? If there was any such pre-condition, students could have
taken the right decision at that time. Now it is too late for the
2011 placed students to go for any alternative.
Moreover why they went on hiring in 2012 when the students hired in
2011 were not accommodated.
What is the logic behind this?? What is the students' fault here??
KS, New Delhi
Reading the comments on this story makes one feel how much of all this is true? Can a
reputed company like HCL actually do something like this? Are rival IT firms trying to create
a bad name for HCL? I hope @vineetnayar is aware of what's going on here. He does twitter
a lot of encouraging and proemployee stuff on twitter.
Why you people are so connected with a company(like HCLite). Love your career not your company. Just a suggestion for freshers waiting for DOJ. Stop looking out for HCL response and start searching a new job. You might end up having a better offer.
Mr.Ronendra Singh I would you like to thank you very much for raising this issue.Ofcourse i am one of the survivers any how i don't want to leave this issue right now here.Somebody said that why these people are wasting their time..! i wanna ask one question to those guys i.e how can we leave my oppertunity in leading MNC company...every one is trying for get a job in MNC.Then how can we neglect my oppertunity...?and the HCL people also told like "in a couple of weeks you will get DOJ" and one more thing i prepared very well about FRP2 then why the HCL people cancelled the test....everybody consider this type of things...
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