Campus hiring rebounds in FY25 with a 3.91 percent salary hike, 15 percent budget growth, 300 basis points drop in attrition and rapid AI adoption in talent management

• About a 3.91 percent rise in campus salaries in FY25, marking a rebound after last year’s slowdown.
• Nearly 15 percent growth in hiring budgets and a 24 percent jump in PPOs, reflecting renewed employer confidence.
• About 87 percent of engineers are upskilling in AI/ML and data science, earning pay premiums of 15 to 20 percent.
• Approximately 38 percent surge expected in GenAI use across resume screening, assessments and evaluations.
• Campus attrition down by 300 bps, with each stream reporting better retention in FY25.

National, 05 June 2025: With campus hiring returning in FY25, India Inc. is undergoing a new wave of AI-driven transformation in redefining how it attracts, assesses and retains early talent. Deloitte’s Campus Workforce Trends: Placement cycle 2025 reveals rising confidence in future-ready talent, marked by a 3.91 percent hike in campus salaries, a 15 percent increase in hiring budgets and a 38 percent uptick in GenAI adoption across the recruitment. Employers are doubling down on skill-first strategies fuelled by technology and purpose, from smarter screening to stronger retention. As a result, campus attrition has dropped by 300 basis points in FY25, reflecting more substantial alignment between talent potential and business needs.

Organisations are recalibrating how they engage and retain young talent in a tech-forward world to minimise the campus to corporate acclimatisation period. Internships are being reimagined through behavioural assessments, learning agility, technical assessments, cultural alignment and digital DNA as pivots to early-career development. These shifts deliver measurable outcomes as Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) conversions have surged by 24 percent in FY25, reflecting a more deliberate, skill-aligned and future-focused approach to nurturing next-gen talent.

In response to the widening gap between academic output and industry needs, the report reveals a strategic shift in early-career hiring, favouring a skills-first, AI-enhanced and outcome-centric approach over conventional credentials. A compelling 87 percent of engineers surveyed are actively pursuing upskilling opportunities to stay competitive in an evolving tech landscape. Cybersecurity and robotics are the top-paying tech skills in campus placements, offering 10–20 percent pay premiums. In management, social selling and agile skills command similar pay advantages. Even with this emphasis, 1 in 3 organisations believe their employees have a limited understanding of the skills required for career growth.

But this is no longer about technical proficiency alone. Engineers are increasingly blending tech know-how with management thinking—an intentional shift that reflects a desire to move from execution to strategy, from coders to future leaders.

The delicate interplay between organisational requirements and students’ expectations is evident, with Bangalore emerging as the most preferred work location for the fifth consecutive year by campus graduates, followed by Hyderabad, which replaces Delhi (NCR) in 2025. The technology sector remains the top choice among students, followed by Financial Services (FS). Consumer products and manufacturing are preferred towards the end. Among the top two career choices, MBA graduates opt for management consultants and product managers, while fresh tech graduates prefer software development engineer and data scientist roles.

India’s campus hiring landscape is at a turning point, as Deloitte’s 2025 survey signals a major shift. The takeaway is clear: skill-first hiring is no longer a trend but a necessity. Organisations that invest in future-ready capabilities, embrace AI-led hiring with human-centric intent and create learning pathways beyond the classroom will lead the next wave of talent transformation. The challenge ahead is not just to fill roles—it is to shape a generation ready to lead with resilience, innovate with intent and grow with purpose in an AI-powered world.

About the survey:

Deloitte India’s Human Capital team presents the Campus Workforce Trends 2025 report, its flagship study offering deep insights into early-career hiring. Drawing insights from over 200 organisations and data across 500+ campuses, the report provides a comprehensive view of India’s evolving campus talent landscape. From hiring strategies and compensation benchmarks to skilling needs and retention trends, the study equips employers with data-driven guidance to navigate a tech-driven, skill-first hiring environment and better engage the next generation of talent.