Suggested meta description: What to expect from PGDM placements in India: job roles by specialization, realistic starting salary bands, and the MABS placement statistics.
For most students, placements are the biggest factor in choosing a PGDM. Here is a realistic view of the market and how to read placement reports, followed by the MABS record.
The placement landscape
PGDM placement outcomes vary widely by institute tier, specialization, internships and the student’s own preparation. Campuses typically run placement in phases, with summer internships often converting into pre-placement offers. Employers across consulting, banking and financial services, FMCG, technology, e-commerce, edtech, real estate, pharma and manufacturing hire from management schools.
Common job roles by specialization
- Marketing: brand or product executive, digital marketing manager, sales and business development manager, market research analyst, category manager.
- Finance: financial analyst, equity or credit analyst, investment banking analyst, risk and compliance analyst, audit and advisory associate, corporate finance executive.
- Human Resources: talent acquisition specialist, HR business partner, learning and development executive, compensation and benefits analyst, HR analytics roles.
- Operations and Supply Chain: supply chain analyst, operations manager trainee, procurement and logistics executive, process improvement analyst.
- Business Analytics: business analyst, data analyst, product analyst, consulting analyst, MIS and reporting roles.
Starting salary bands: what is realistic?
A single national average is misleading, so it helps to think in tiers. The figures below are indicative industry ranges for fresh PGDM graduates, expressed as annual cost to company (CTC) in lakhs per annum (LPA). Actual numbers change every year.
Institute tier | Typical average package | Notes |
Premier national institutes | Roughly ₹15-25 LPA and above | Highest packages can be much higher, especially in consulting and finance |
Established mid-tier institutes | Roughly ₹8-14 LPA | Strong dependence on specialization and recruiter mix |
Emerging and regional institutes | Roughly ₹5-9 LPA | Median is often more informative than the highest package |
Roles in consulting, investment banking, analytics and product management usually sit at the upper end, while sales, operations and HR generalist roles typically start lower but offer fast growth.
How to read a placement report
- Placement rate: check how it is calculated. Placed students divided by those eligible and seeking placement is a common method.
- Median package: shows what the typical student earned, unlike the highest package, which reflects one or a few offers.
- Average vs highest: look at the gap. A smaller gap suggests wider success across the batch.
- Recruiter list and roles: are the roles aligned with your career aims?
- Internships: do they lead to pre-placement offers?
MABS PGDM placements
MABS’s Corporate Resource Centre (CRC) reports the following for the latest batch:
- Batch size: 107 students
- Students eligible and seeking placement: 84
- Students placed: 76
- Placement rate: 90.4% (placed divided by eligible and seeking placement)
- Highest package: ₹13.96 LPA
- Average package: ₹8.05 LPA
- Median package: ₹7.1 LPA
Recruiters who visited the campus include Grant Thornton, Oxane Partners, S&P Global, Cushman & Wakefield, Xceedance, Dabur, Berger, Protiviti, PwC, SS&C Globe Financial Services, EY, Infrastructure Advisors (P) Ltd., Jaro Education, Digitally Next, University Living, Hike Education, AML RightSource, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts, WINGS Pharmaceutical, Home First Finance Company, RGF, RSH Global and KMK Ventures.
Internship partners include Grant Thornton, Imvelo, Jovees Herbal, Louis Stitch, Agile Capital Services, Berger, Palmonas, Protiviti, Bajaj Allianz, Paytm, BIBA and IndiaMart.
The mix of recruiters, spanning professional services, financial services, FMCG, real estate, education and pharma, shows breadth across functions.
How MABS prepares students for placement
- A placement preparatory program covering communication, aptitude, interview preparation and career readiness, included in the program fee.
- A two-month summer internship after the first year, which gives hands-on exposure and a chance to impress recruiters.
- Live projects, corporate mentorship, speaker series and industry conclaves that build industry awareness.
- Certifications and training with partners such as Grant Thornton Bharat, EC-Council, IIDE, Paytm and Deloitte, which build skills that recruiters look for.
- A dedicated Corporate Resource Centre (CRC) that manages recruiter engagement.
For recruiter enquiries, write to crchead@mabs.ac.in. For admissions, visit https://mabs.ac.in/placements/.
Placement figures are as reported by the MABS CRC for the latest batch and may change for future batches.
Author of the Blog:
Prof. Arun Kumar Bashambu
Associate Professor, MABS
