Placement Officer Job Description, KRAs and Skills

A Placement Officer runs the daily work of a college placement cell. The role schedules campus drives, coordinates with company HR teams, collects student data and resumes, arranges tests and interviews and records offers and joinings. It reports to the Training and Placement Head. A good placement officer makes every drive start on time, keeps student data accurate and answers recruiters faster than competing colleges do, so that companies come back the following year.

Detail	For this role
Department	Education and Teaching
Level	Mid level
Reports to	Training and Placement Head
Direct reports	None
Experience	2 to 5 years in placements, recruitment or corporate relations

Placement Officer job description template

Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.

Job title: Placement Officer

Department: Education and Teaching

Reports to: Training and Placement Head

Location: [City], [office, branch or site]

About the role

Key responsibilities

Contact company HR teams by phone, email and LinkedIn to invite them for campus, pool or virtual drives.
Send recruiters the college profile, student databases and lists filtered by their eligibility criteria.
Announce each drive to eligible students with the job description, criteria and schedule, and collect registrations.
Book rooms, computers, internet and projectors for pre-placement talks, online tests, group discussions and interviews.
Receive recruiter teams on drive days, keep the schedule moving and solve problems as they come up.
Collect results, offer letters and joining confirmations, and update the placement register within the week.
Coordinate internship placements, collecting offer letters, completion certificates and company feedback.
Arrange the mock interviews, resume reviews and aptitude sessions planned by the placement head.
Maintain accurate placement statistics for NIRF, NAAC and internal reports.
Brief and train student coordinators who help on drive days.

Requirements

Graduate degree; an MBA in HR or marketing is an advantage
Experience in campus hiring, recruitment consulting or student services
Good spoken and written English
2 to 5 years in placements, recruitment or corporate relations

KRAs and KPIs for a Placement Officer

Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.

Key result area	How to measure it
Recruiter outreach	At least 8 new companies contacted every week during the placement season
Drive execution	Every drive starts on schedule, with no recruiter complaint about arrangements
Data accuracy	Placement register updated within 3 working days of every result
Student participation	At least 90 percent of eligible students register for relevant drives
Recruiter response	Recruiter emails and calls answered within 4 working hours
Internship records	Internship documents on file for every student

Skills and tools

Recruiter outreachDrive logisticsExcel and student databasesPhone and email etiquetteOnline test coordinationDocumentationQuick problem solvingEnergy and persistenceClear communication

Tools used day to day: MS Excel, Placement portal, LinkedIn, Google Forms, Video meeting tools, Bulk email tools.

Reporting line and career path

Moves up from: Placement Coordinator, HR Executive, Recruiter
Next roles: Training and Placement Head, Corporate Relations Manager

Interview questions for a Placement Officer

How would you get a company that has never visited us to hold a drive?
The internet fails in the middle of a drive's online test. What do you do?
How would you filter 400 students into an eligible list within an hour?
A student registered for a drive and did not turn up. How should the cell respond?
A company has not shared results for two weeks. How do you follow up?
What would you put in a one-page college profile for recruiters?

Managing a Placement Officer in ZeniaHR

AttendanceA general shift covers most days. Visits to recruiters' offices go in as on duty requests, and weekend drive days are punched at the campus kiosk, so HR can later grant comp-off against those punches.LeavePlacement officers should avoid leave from the start of the placement season until the main drives close. The placement head approves from My Team after checking that someone else can run the scheduled drives, and HR confirms.Performance and KRAsA quarterly review cycle suits this role. Set weighted KPI goals for outreach, drive execution, data accuracy and student participation, and check them against the placement register every quarter.

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Frequently asked questions

What does a placement officer do in a college?

A placement officer organizes campus recruitment. The officer contacts companies, shares student data, announces drives, arranges tests and interviews, manages drive-day logistics and records offers and joinings. The same office coordinates internships and keeps the placement statistics used in rankings and accreditation.

What qualifications are needed for a placement officer job?

Colleges usually hire graduates, often with an MBA in HR or marketing, who have worked in campus hiring, recruitment consulting or student services. Strong communication, comfort with Excel and a growing network of HR contacts matter more than any specific degree.

Who does a placement officer report to?

A placement officer usually reports to the Training and Placement Head, sometimes called the TPO or Dean of Placements. In smaller colleges without a separate head, the placement officer reports directly to the Principal or Director.