EXCLUSIVE: Infosys Group HR Head explains what he is looking for in campus hires this year

• The coronavirus pandemic has already cast a shadow on business prospects and therefore the economy and employment all around the world.
  
• Digital skills offer college graduates a better chance of getting hired as well as better salaries.
  
• Infosys offers two assessment programmes — ‘power programmer’ and ‘InfyTQ’ — which evaluates freshers and allows them to compete for a higher starting salary.
  
• The ‘power programmers’ are hired at twice the slated salary but they go through a tougher test.

One of the biggest issues in Indian IT industry is that the starting salaries for engineers have not improved in over a decade— it has gone up from about ₹3.5 lakh per annum a decade ago to about ₹4.5 lakh now.

However, Krish Shankar, the Group HR Head of Infosys told Business Insider in an exclusive interview, what the tech major is looking for in campus hires this year — ‘power programmers’. “Some of the skills that I can either learn on Infosys campus with a ₹4.5 lakh salary or I can do something alongside an engineering degree and come on board. If you’re at the base without much of a skill, it is tough,” he said.


Get twice the starting salary for ‘digital skills’

The ‘power programmers’ are hired at twice the slated salary but they go through a tougher test. “They are hired at almost double the starting salary of other campus hires. If people can pass the test and come as a power programmer then I think that’s fine,” Shankar said.


This is similar to the National Qualifier Test organised by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for freshers and experienced employees to get higher pay packages. The Tata Group company said that the salary of freshers will be twice the slated entry level compensation, if they pass the test.

If you don’t have the time on campus…

InfyTQ is an elearning platform that brings in students, who are still in the third or final year of their course, to learn and give a test. Once they pass the test, they get an offer.

“The InfyTQ is a learning-cum-assessment platform. They learn and pass the test and we shorten the training program and fast track them. Our fast track program training takes place in Mysore. If in the first six months they come in the top 5% or 10%, we accelerate their growth within two years and they can really move on to the next level. So, if people learn fast and perform, then I think the opportunities are phenomenal,” Shankar explained.

The tech major shortlists these employees with internal coding tests and hackathons. “Even people who have already joined us, and can pass the test and hackathon, we tend to put them as power programmers,” Shankar added.

The programme was initially started for the employees within the company, and later expanded to students across India. The number of registrations went up to 300,000, soon after it was introduced. Of the total students who completed the programme, 1,800 were hired — including 400 in specialist roles, which are normally open to students from elite colleges like IIT.

Coronavirus is making the age of automation even tougher for job seekers

The spread of coronavirus is threatening to bring the global economy to a standstill. In India, it has cast a shadow on potential hiring and that means students will have to try harder to improve the odds of getting a well-paying job.

The software giant also has a ‘Digital Tag’ initiative, which focuses on incentivising employees who are proficient in any of the 36 skills identified by the company. The company offers special quarterly bonuses to 2,000 skilled employees.

See also:
TCS fresh hires can double their salary if they pass an internal test

Coronavirus has made Infosys cautious⁠⁠⁠— here's an exclusive chat with the management

A top TCS exec explains what companies are looking for from campus hires this year