Payal Goel, Mumbai: The placement season at the IIMs is still two months away but the Pre-Placement offers are already creating a buzz. This year IIM graduates have bagged work profiles that were until recently reserved for only the top international B-schools.

Meet 23-year-old Vineeta, she could not get luckier than this – not only will she be earning more than Rs 1 crore per year from next year, she will also be headed to London as an associate in Deutsche Bank, a profile that till recently went only to graduates with work experience and to the top international business schools.

Vineeta says, "I am very happy, it is the first time freshers are being offered this profile." Not only are the companies offering associate position to freshers for the first time, the number of these offers have also gone up this year.

Last year only Barclays Capital offered associate position to IIM graduates but this year Deutsche Bank and Lehman Brothers are also offering this profile. Deutsche Bank has so far offered associate positions to 10 students across IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta. The salaries being offered for the post is in the range of Rs 8 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

A number of investment banks recruit from IIMS every year. Colleges say that by offering higher positions and salaries these companies are trying to do better than their competitors. So where hiring IIM graduates is concerned, companies seem to be ready to give whatever it takes.

(With inputs from: Sunil Raghu in Ahmedabad)