In a significant shift within India's employment landscape, Global Capability Centres and innovative startups have emerged as vital lifelines for fresh graduates in Hyderabad, stepping in precisely when traditional mass recruiters are scaling back their campus engagement. This trend is not only reshaping hiring patterns but also injecting renewed optimism into engineering and technology institutes across the city.
GCCs Drive Placement Surge with Premium Packages
College placement cells across Hyderabad report a remarkable nearly 300% increase in GCC participation during the 2025-2026 academic year. These organizations are offering substantially higher compensation packages compared to conventional mass recruiters, with average annual salaries ranging between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 15 lakh. This stands in stark contrast to the typical Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh packages offered by traditional bulk hiring companies.
K Kishore, director of the training and placement cell at Vasavi College of Engineering, emphasized how GCCs have fundamentally altered the campus recruitment atmosphere. "In fact, it was GCCs that helped overturn the recessionary impact being felt on college campuses," he stated, noting that VCE has already hosted five to seven such companies in 2026 compared to none in previous years. The college witnessed at least 45 students securing positions with GCCs, with each company typically recruiting six to seven students at packages averaging around Rs 10 lakh per annum.
Hyderabad's Infrastructure and Talent Attract GCC Expansion
The rapid GCC expansion in Hyderabad has been nothing short of extraordinary, with 35 to 50 new GCC offices establishing operations in the city over the past twelve months. Both multinational corporations and mid-sized enterprises are capitalizing on Hyderabad's robust infrastructure, reliable power supply, and deep talent reservoir. This geographical concentration has created a virtuous cycle, with more companies arriving and subsequently intensifying their campus recruitment activities.
Prominent organizations actively recruiting from Hyderabad campuses include technology giants like Google and Oracle, financial powerhouses such as Bank of America, JP Morgan, Barclays, and HSBC, consulting firms including Deloitte and KPMG, and specialized companies like Evernorth Health Services, Optum Global, Align Technologies, and Honeywell.
Changing Recruitment Patterns and Student Experiences
Placement officers note that GCCs are employing diverse recruitment strategies—some conducting exclusive campus drives while others organizing pooled recruitment sessions for selected college groups. Despite these logistical variations, their core requirements remain consistent: candidates demonstrating strong problem-solving capabilities and interdisciplinary knowledge.
The transformation is particularly evident at institutions like Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, where GCC participation skyrocketed from just five companies in 2025 to approximately twenty in the current year. The campus has already witnessed extraordinary offers, including a record Rs 56 lakh annual package for a computer science engineering student.
Practical Skills Trump Academic Scores in New Hiring Paradigm
Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of this shift is how GCCs are evaluating candidates. Students report that these companies are placing greater emphasis on practical projects and problem-solving abilities rather than purely academic performance, creating opportunities even for those with modest GPAs.
K Sai Nayak, a final-year computer science student who secured a position with Bank of America, shared his experience: "I landed the job primarily because of my project. I created an app by integrating AI to help students with exam preparation. I was asked several questions on it to understand my problem-solving skills."
Similarly, Mohammad Ismaeel, who received an offer from Align Technology, described how interviewers probed his practical understanding: "They tested to see if I had in-depth knowledge about the topics I had mentioned in my resume. Having worked on multiple projects, I could answer the questions better because of practical exposure." His interview included technical questions about standard APIs, Python programming, and data engineering concepts.
Long-Term Hiring Confidence Through Internship Pathways
Placement officers observe another encouraging trend: many GCCs are initiating relationships with students through structured internship and apprenticeship programs that offer respectable stipends. These positions frequently convert into full-time roles, indicating these organizations are making strategic, long-term talent investments rather than pursuing short-term hiring needs.
This approach benefits both companies and graduates, allowing organizations to evaluate potential employees in real work environments while giving students valuable industry exposure before formal employment begins.
As Kishore from VCE summarized, "The rapid rise in GCCs, both in Hyderabad and elsewhere in the country, is aiding this uptick in placements." This transformation suggests a fundamental restructuring of campus recruitment dynamics, with specialized organizations increasingly supplanting traditional mass recruiters as primary employers for India's engineering and technology graduates.
