Interest to work with start-ups dip among students, reveals Unstop survey

Unstop, the talent discovery, engagement and hiring platform for students and graduates, has released its annual Unstop Talent Report 2024. The report shares insights and trends about the hiring and talent scenario in India. The findings are based on responses gathered from an extensive survey involving over 11,000 students, university partners, and human resource practitioners across the country. Additional insights were also gathered through conversations with HR leaders which divulged their views on employee desires, the role of mentorship, competition, and more. 

An annual report released by Unstop, a talent discovery, engagement and hiring platform for students and graduates, revealed a declining interest among college and university students in working for start-ups.

The annual Unstop Talent Report 2024, based on responses from over 11,000 students, university partners, and human resources practitioners across the country, showed a drop from the previous year to 10% of students interested in working for start-ups.

With active layoffs happening in the job sector, three out of five students prioritised job security over pay hikes, a stark shift in mindset. For most of them, in-hand salary remained the most valuable salary component, followed by perks and benefits.

Around 45% of B-school students preferred working at established and legacy firms, while 52% of engineering students expressed openness to working with any company.

As per the report, in engineering colleges, most men and women received the same average offer, but there was a stark difference among Arts and Science students. If most of the men received an offer of INR 6-10 LPA, most women received an offer of INR 2-5 LPA - half of the offer bagged by male students. 

In B-School, 55% of men received an offer of over INR 16 LPA, but only 45% of women received an offer above INR 16 LPA. 

The report which shared insights and trends about the hiring and talent scenario in India also showed that marketing was the top preferred domain for B-school students, while Finance and Analytics topped the list for Arts and Science students.