Satyam drops the bomb: Go look for a job

After making them wait for a whole year, tech firm sends 6,000 freshers a brilliantly-worded letter that tells them to "explore alternate opportunities"

Satyam's letter sent out to nearly 6,000 freshers on Monday telling them that their joining date has been deferred sounds more like a "polite regret letter".

In January, these freshers had gathered outside the Satyam office in Hyderabad asking not to be left in the lurch given the recession.

But the engineers, who have spent almost a year waiting to join the company, received a letter from Satyam human resources head S V Krishnan, saying the company had "decided to defer joining dates for campus hires until further intimidation".

As the letter progresses, there's a cloaked suggestion that the engineers should start job hunting.

A polite regret letter

It says: "We felt it necessary to inform you the precise status of your candidature with Satyam, in order for you to explore alternate opportunities that may be available to you."

Srinivas, one of the students from a Bangalore college left with a meaningless offer letter, says: "The Satyam people have worded the letter so brilliantly. They are neither telling us to wait nor move on."

He's started studying for other exams, though most of his friends have joined BPOs. "I think out of the 6,000 freshers, nearly 3,000 have joined BPOs."

Lost all hope

Amit Kumar, a fresher hired by Satyam, calls it a "polite regret letter". "I have lost hope.u00a0 We expected this letter in February after we met the authorities in Hyderabad in January. They have mailed us now and it doesn't say anything concrete. It is politely asking us to look out for other jobs," he told MiD DAY.

Amit is now preparing for competitive examinations to get into the government sector. "There are no jobs available. No one is hiring. After a few months, we will lose the fresher tag also. So, I am giving exams for government jobs this year. It is difficult to get through here unlike in campus recruitment where you compete only with your batchmates," he said.

Moving on

Mohammed K has also moved on, having joined a BPO. But he still hopes that things will get better and he can join Satyam. "No other company is hiring and I have already spent one year waiting to join Satyam," he said.