Students write the Infosys placement test at Jamshedpur Women’s College. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Feb. 14: Valentine’s Day spirit did not block the minds of the hundreds who appeared for a campus recruitment session at Jamshedpur Women’s College this morning.

Conducted by software giant Infosys, the campus placement saw nearly 500 students. The team would travel to Ranchi tomorrow and conduct a similar session at the Ranchi Women’s College.

Once selected, the students would be placed with Infosys BPO at either Bangalore or Pune.

“We have been conducting such placement programmes in colleges across southern and western India. But from this year onwards, our focus is more towards the colleges in the north and east,” said an Infosys representative.

Shukla Mohanty, the principal of the college, was overwhelmed by the turnout.

“The response has indeed been great. We have hundreds of students from colleges across Jamshedpur, something that was unexpected today,” said Mohanty.

Divided into three sessions, students had to undergo an 90-minute written test followed by a group discussion and an interview.

Out of the 486 candidates who sat for the test, 262 candidates qualified for the next round.

“The paper followed the CAT pattern and was not too difficult. Though maths was a problem area,” said Aditi Goswami, a student of JWC.

But not every student found the test to be easy.

“I am not adept with the MBA entrance test pattern, therefore for me the paper was a little difficult,” said Prattisha, a final year student.

The group discussion was a nerve-wrecking experience for many, as they were experiencing it for the first time. But some spoke with elan.

“We were expecting very serious themes for discussion and were surprised to get topics like ‘Arranged marriage versus love marriage’ and ‘Merits and demerits of the steel city’,” said Pankhuri Sippy, another college student.

Infosys would hand over the final results to the college authorities tomorrow. Selected students would be able to join the BPO only after their graduation.

While enthusiastic students appeared for the test, the moral cops kept a vigil.