Write to the college’s Training and Placement Officer (TPO) at the email address on the college’s own website. Send one short message with the role, eligible degrees, pay, location, selection steps and preferred dates, and attach the job description. Ask which recruiter form to complete and which dates are available. Follow up once by email after about a week, then once by phone. Keep every agreed term in writing.
Updated 31 October 2026. College rules and contact details quoted here were checked on each college’s own pages on that date, and platform statements on each platform’s own pages.
Who should I write to at a college?
Write to the recruiter contact listed on the college’s official placement page, whether that is the TPO or a shared placement-office inbox. Look for the contact responsible for recruiter enquiries; colleges use different titles. The institutional example below was checked on its official page as of 31 October 2026.
| Who | What they cover | Write to them when |
|---|---|---|
| Training and Placement Officer (TPO) or placement officer | Recruiter registration, forms, dates and the college’s placement rules | You send the first email and every written confirmation |
| Placement cell, career development centre or career services office | The office that circulates your job and registers students | The college lists a shared placement inbox or the TPO directs you there |
| Faculty placement coordinator and student placement committee | Day-to-day coordination under faculty supervision, as IIT Bombay’s management school describes it | The college has accepted your drive and you need logistics |
As of 31 October 2026, IIT Madras calls its office the Placement and Internship Office, IIT (BHU) Varanasi the Training and Placement Cell, and IIT Indore the Career Advancement and Mentoring Centre.
Where do I find a college’s placement cell email and phone number?
Look on the college’s own website under Placements, Training and Placement, Career Development, Recruiters, Contact or the staff directory. If a page shows only a general address, check the placement section’s Contact page too, then phone the office and ask for the placement officer’s direct email.
- Check that the institution is real and recognised. As of 31 October 2026, UGC lists central, state, deemed and state private universities, and its fake-university list is labelled ‘As of February 2026’. For an affiliated college, check the affiliating university as well.
- Open the placement page and copy the officer’s name, email, phone number, recruiter form or portal link, and any calendar or policy file. Write to the placement address, not a faculty member’s personal inbox.
- If only a general address is shown anywhere, call the college office and ask who handles recruiters, for their direct email and for the recruiter form’s name.
As of 31 October 2026, Adi Shankara publishes placement@adishankara.ac.in on its placement contact page. To decide which colleges to approach, read how to hire from tier 2 and tier 3 colleges.
What do colleges’ own recruiter pages say?
Every college sets its own process. In the six examples below, four ask for a job announcement form, one asks for a company profile on its recruiter page and states a fee, and one starts with a discussion about an individual or pooled drive. Statements in the table are as of 31 October 2026, based on the linked official pages.
| Institution | What its page states | Source |
|---|---|---|
| IIT Indore | Companies fill a Job Announcement Form for each profile. The page lists placementofficer@iiti.ac.in and apo@iiti.ac.in for expressing interest. | Recruiter process |
| IIT (BHU) Varanasi | Send the filled form to tpo@iitbhu.ac.in. The FAQ says there is no fee for registration or the placement process. A company may hold its pre-placement talk only after filling the form. | Policy page and FAQ |
| IIT Madras | New companies create a company profile with an email address. The page states a placement fee of ₹10,000 including GST. It prohibits direct contact with individual students before interview day unless the Placement and Internship Office expressly permits communication with shortlisted candidates. | Recruiters page |
| Marathwada Mitra Mandal Institute of Technology (MMIT), Pune | Interested companies email tpo@mmit.edu.in and send a duly filled Job Announcement Form. Interview dates are allotted from the form. | Placement procedure |
| IITRAM, Ahmedabad | The page says its CDC invites employers and sends a Job or Internship Announcement Form; employers may also approach the CDC cell directly. Its menu lists CDC Office and Training and Placement Officer pages. | How to recruit |
| Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kalady | The college first discusses hosting an individual or pooled drive, then sends a formal invitation. The company confirms by email and a date is fixed. A dedicated placement contact is published separately. | Placement process |
The examples use different registration methods, fees and contact rules. Ask the placement office which requirements apply to your drive. Some cells write first, as IITRAM and Adi Shankara describe. Answer an invitation with the details in the first email below.
How should a company email the TPO or placement cell?
Lead with the role, eligibility, pay, location and proposed dates. Attach the job description, describe selection, and ask about registration, fees and contact rules. Before you write, read the college’s latest published placement report and recruiter policy, where it has them, and check that your responsibilities, pay and joining date fit its students.
Subject: [Role] openings for [year] graduates | [Company], [city] Dear [Name or Placement Officer], I am [your name], [designation] at [Company], which [what the company does] with a team of [size] in [city]. We are hiring [number] [role title] from [courses and branches], batch of [year]. Required skills: [skills] Academic eligibility: [marks/CGPA and backlog policy, or none] Full-time pay, if applicable: [₹ fixed annual pay] plus [variable amount or none] First-year CTC: [₹ amount and component breakdown] Service agreement: [none or stated terms] Internship, if applicable: [duration], [₹ stipend per month] Work arrangement: [on site / hybrid / remote] City: [city if applicable] Joining: [month, year] Selection: [number] rounds, about [minutes] per student Attached: job description and one-page company profile Website: [link] Before we fix dates, could you tell me: 1. Which form or portal new recruiters use 2. Which dates you can offer, on campus or online 3. Whether there is a fee, and what it covers 4. Your rules on contacting students and releasing offers [Name], [designation] [work email] | [phone]
EXAMPLE: a fictional company, to show the level of detail Subject: Accounts operations trainees, BCom 2027 | Kothrud Business Services, Pune Dear Placement Officer, I am Meera Joshi, operations manager at Kothrud Business Services, a 15-person accounts-processing firm in Pune. We would like to hire 3 accounts operations trainees from your BCom 2027 batch. Fixed pay is [₹ fixed per year], with no variable pay. The work is on site in Pune, and joining is in [month, 2027]. Selection has two rounds on one day: a 30-minute spreadsheet task, then a 20-minute interview. We propose a virtual drive on [date]. The job description and company profile are attached. Please share your recruiter form, available dates, any fee, and your rules on student contact and offers. Meera Joshi, Operations Manager [work email] | [phone]
Attach the job description (how to write a job description) and a one-page company profile, plus proof of the company if the college asks. Keep fixed pay separate from first-year CTC, and state each component clearly so the cell can reproduce the terms accurately in its student circular. For internship terms, see hiring interns through colleges. The table shows what colleges ask for, as of 31 October 2026.
| What the cell needs | What to write | Example from a college page |
|---|---|---|
| Pay and service agreement | Fixed pay, variable pay, bonus, stipend, and any bond or service contract (or none) | IIT (BHU) wants the first-year CTC with a breakup, including bonus and stock options, and wants a company to say whether it has a bond or service contract |
| Result timing | When your shortlist and selected list will reach the cell | IIT (BHU) expects results within 24 working hours of interviews ending, after 15 December 2026 |
What if the placement cell does not reply or says no?
Follow up once by email after about a week, then once by phone. If neither gets a reply, pause reminders and check the college’s published calendar before contacting it again. If the college declines, ask whether the reason is eligibility, pay or timing.
Subject: Re: [Role] openings for [year] graduates | [Company] Dear [Name], On [date] I wrote about [number] [role] openings for your [courses] graduates. If someone else handles recruiters, could you forward this or send me their email? If you are not accepting new recruiters this season, please let me know when I should contact you again. [Name] | [phone]
- When you phone, ask for the placement office, say you emailed on [date], and ask who handles recruiters, which form to use and which dates are open.
- If a full drive is unsuitable, ask whether the cell can circulate the vacancy, arrange a virtual interview slot or join a pooled drive. If the calendar is full, ask whether it keeps a reserve list for cancelled slots.
- Ask the head of the department that teaches your course who handles recruiters.
What happens after the college says yes?
Ask for the college’s steps in writing. As of 31 October 2026, the MMIT and IITRAM pages describe versions of this order.
- Fill in the college’s form. At MMIT, interview dates are allotted from the information in it.
- Hold the pre-placement talk, if offered, and receive the student list. At MMIT, students register online, their CVs go to the company, and its shortlist goes to the placement cell before the final interviews.
- Run the selection and send the selected list. MMIT asks for it the same day, and IITRAM says appointment letters are expected within two weeks of the offer.
Once the date is fixed, send one confirmation with every agreed field on its own line. For the drive day itself, see the campus recruitment process for companies, or the campus drive plan for small companies if one person is running it.
Subject: Confirmed: [Company] drive on [date] at [College] Agreed on: [date of call or email] College and city: [name], [city] College contact: [name], [phone] Our contact on the day: [name], [phone] Date and time: [date], [start] to [end] Format: [on campus / online] Room or video link: [details] Rooms or seats: [number] Devices: [who provides what] Internet: [who is responsible] Company coordinator: [name] College coordinator: [name] Backup contact: [name, phone] Backup connection: [second link] Roles and openings: [role] x [number] Eligible courses and batch: [details] Marks or backlog rule: [details, or none] Full-time pay: [₹ fixed per year] plus [variable] Internship stipend: [₹ per month] Rounds: [talk] / [task, minutes] / [interview, minutes] Student list from the college by: [date] Our shortlist to the college by: [date] Selected and waitlisted lists to the college: [agreed date and time] Offer letters to the college by: [date] Joining: [month, year], at [location] Fee, if any: [₹ amount and invoice details] Please reply to confirm these arrangements or flag corrections.
After selection, send the placement office the offer status and agreed joining dates. Tell the office and affected candidates promptly about any delay, and ask the office for feedback after the drive. If interviews overrun or your room or equipment needs change, contact the college coordinator before extending the schedule.
Do colleges charge companies, and can I contact students directly?
Ask in your first email whether the college charges. As of 31 October 2026, IIT Madras states a placement fee of ₹10,000 including GST, and IIT (BHU) says in its FAQ that there is no fee for registration or the placement process.
As of 31 October 2026, IIT Madras prohibits direct contact with individual students before interview day unless its Placement and Internship Office expressly permits communication with shortlisted candidates, and says all offers go through its placement office. IIT (BHU) states that the final selection is not to be disclosed to students directly. Treat these as examples, and get the fee, contact rules and offer rules in writing before you plan the drive.
When should I contact placement cells?
Ask for each college’s placement calendar in your first email, and write before its recruiter registration opens. Ask about recruiter registration and interview dates separately. As of 31 October 2026, IIT Madras states that its placement season runs from July to May, with registration from August and pre-interview activities from September to November. IIT (BHU) states that its final placement process is slotted from 1 December 2026 onwards, and that the shortlist for the first slots must reach its cell before 1 December 2026.
How do I work with many colleges at once?
Use the same brief for the same role across colleges and track replies in one sheet. Consider a pooled drive or platform if individual coordination takes too much time. For the wider choice of routes, see how to hire freshers from colleges.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| College | Contact and date emailed | Form, fee and calendar | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| [College A, city] | [TPO name, email, date] | [form name, fee in ₹, month registration opens] | [follow up on date] |
A pooled drive brings eligible students from several colleges into one recruitment process. As of 31 October 2026, the Adi Shankara page describes discussing a drive with individual or pool campus status. Ask each college whether it can join a neighbour’s date and who will merge the student lists.
Platform statements below are as of 31 October 2026, based on the linked official pages. Check whether you need contact with placement staff, tools to run a campus drive or applications to a job advert. For a wider comparison, see best campus recruitment platforms for companies.
| Route | What its own page states | Check before you rely on it |
|---|---|---|
| Superset | Its employer page describes one-click outreach and job posts to placement cells. The linked employer page does not publish pricing or identify a free plan. | Which colleges it can reach for your roles, and what it costs |
| Unstop | Its campus hiring page describes campus sourcing, assessments, virtual interviews and bulk offer rollouts. It does not publish pricing or identify a free plan. | Which tools are included in the package quoted for your drive |
| Internshala | Internshala advertises hiring for internships and fresher roles. Its terms allow India-based employers one free internship or job listing per month, and its hiring page says a free listing shows the first 20 applications. | Whether the first 20 applications are enough for your opening |
| LineupX | Employers post jobs and internships free, with no hidden charges and no limit on posts. Placement teams at 100+ institutions and edtechs share the role with the right students. | Whether the institutions you want are on the platform. Post a job free |
Confirm each college’s participation, contact and offer rules before scheduling students through a platform.
What mistakes should companies avoid when contacting placement cells?
Send a complete hiring brief and keep the advertised terms consistent through selection and offers. Rules cited below are as of 31 October 2026.
- A mass email with no job description or a vague pay line. It leaves the cell without enough information to circulate the vacancy.
- Writing to students first. Some colleges bar it unless the placement office permits it, as the IIT Madras rule above shows. Go through the cell.
- Changing terms after the date is fixed, or after the drive. IIT (BHU) says any change to a filled form must be notified to its cell by email. Keep the offer’s pay, work location and joining date consistent with the advertised terms, and explain any change before students decide.
- Late lists and offers outside the cell. IIT Indore and MMIT ask for the selected list on the same day, and IIT Madras routes every offer through its placement office. Confirm the result deadline and offer route with each placement office.
Is there an official list of placement officers’ email addresses for every college in India?
We could not confirm a single official directory covering every college’s placement officers. Verify vendor-list contacts against each college’s official placement page or staff directory before using them.
Should I send separate emails for two different roles?
Introduce both roles in one email and attach a separate job description for each. Ask whether the college needs separate forms, eligibility lists or selection schedules.
Can a startup recruiting from a college for the first time request a placement slot?
Yes, you can ask, but nobody can promise a slot because it depends on the college’s calendar and demand. A clear pay line, a specific job description, a named contact and flexible dates all help.
Can I ask the placement cell to send me student CVs in my first email?
Start with the vacancies and ask how interested students should register. You can also ask when the placement office will share registered applicants’ CVs.
What is a JAF or JNF that a placement cell asks me to fill in?
It is the form where a recruiter gives the job profile, eligibility, pay and selection process. Colleges call it a Job Announcement Form or a Job Notification Form. Ask whether a separate form is needed for each role.
Can we offer an internship with a possible PPO?
State whether a PPO may be considered, how the decision will be made and when students will hear. Ask the placement office how accepting a PPO affects other drives. Promise conversion only when your company has authorised it.