'India Inc consolidates hiring; demand for core functions up'

Companies have become "guarded" in terms of hiring activity and have shifted their focus to core functions, especially technology profiles, during January-June period of this year, says a report.
According to the RecruiteX Half-Yearly Report 2015 by TimesJobs.Com, talent demand shifted focus from support to core roles in January-June period of this year.
During the period under consideration, the overall job sentiment was guarded with demand index witnessing an average 1 per cent drop.
Moreover, middle- and senior-level professionals dominated hiring across industries in the first six months of the year and professionals with 4-15 years of experience were most in demand during this period.

"As businesses plan expansion and more startups emerge, the trend of hiring experienced senior professionals is expected to continue," TimesJobs.Com COO Vivek Madhukar said.
Demand for engineering, project management, product development, finance, and technology professionals all saw upticks. The previous six months (July-December 2014) had seen hiring trending upwards for support functions.

"Niche skills in change management, risk management, controls and compliance expertise are some key areas that will be sought at middle and senior levels across sectors in the coming months," Madhukar added.
Location-wise, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala all witnessed growth rates of over 20 per cent during January-June 2015.

Among metros, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR were the highest gainers as they accounted for over 50 per cent of the total jobs across sectors, according to TimesJobs' RecruiteX Half-Yearly Report 2015.