Around 5,000 job aspirants get offer letters at Karnataka’s Yuva Samriddhi Sammelana 2024

“The number of offer letters is expected to grow even more. Due to some technical issues at the venue, the data is still being collected and processed. Roughly 4,000-5,000 offer letters have been given till now,” said the official.

While several students walked away with job confirmations, many failed to find appropriate jobs matching their skill sets. A significant number of job aspirants were freshers or had been unemployed for the past three to six months.

While several students walked away with job confirmations, many failed to find appropriate jobs matching their skill sets. (Express Photo)

Some college graduates expressed disappointment at not finding an edge over experienced candidates and lamented that companies preferred the latter as their first choice. Meanwhile, companies also found it challenging to find appropriate candidates in sync with industrial demands.

Prashanth and Harsha, two Bachelor of Engineering graduates in computer science from Mysore who have been unemployed for the past six months, have applied for technical roles in six companies. However, they feel their chances are glimmering.

“We applied to six companies for the role of full-stack developer. However, all the companies told us that they will get back to us later. They preferred someone with experience. For a fresher, it is very challenging to find a job in this mela,” said Prashanth, who has also applied for the Yuvanidhi dole scheme for graduates.

The same concern was echoed by Rakesh, a computer science student from the Bengaluru Rural region. “As freshers we don’t stand a chance. We have been asked to take on-the-spot aptitude tests to prove our skills. Meanwhile, a candidate with experience has an edge over us. The companies want us to be industry-ready with all the skill sets, which I believe is very demanding,” he said.

Kruthika, who is unemployed but has over two and a half years of work experience, said, “While candidates with experience have an edge over freshers, we don’t have the leeway to ask for a better salary than our existing package. I have applied to over seven companies and I am hopeful of being shortlisted in at least one.”

Pramod, a Paytm sales executive who was selecting candidates, said, “The majority of applicants came from districts like Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and Raichur. Out of the 100 applications we received, nearly 70 are from other parts of Karnataka, while the rest are from Bengaluru. I believe candidates in Bengaluru have more platforms or options to seek job opportunities. We are also helping candidates from other districts by giving them sales executives jobs in their hometowns.”