18 October 2026 · 8 min read · Cuelyte AI team

Campus Placement Calendar 2026-27: What Happens When, and How to Prepare

A month-by-month guide to the 2026-27 campus placement season in India - internships, mass recruiter drives, product company rounds, IIT Phase 1 in December - and what to prepare at each stage.

In short

Campus placements in India usually run from about July of the final year to the following March. Product and core companies tend to come early, IITs start Phase 1 on 1 December, and mass recruiters such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro run tests and drives through the year. Exact dates differ by college and company, so check your placement cell and each company's official notice.

There is no single national placement calendar - every college and company sets its own dates. But the season follows a familiar pattern, and knowing it helps you prepare the right thing at the right time instead of panicking in October.

Treat the months below as a typical pattern, not fixed dates. Your placement cell's schedule and each company's official notice always come first.

The season at a glance

When (typical)	What usually happens	What to do
Jan - May (pre-final year)	Summer internship drives; some internships convert to pre-placement offers (PPOs)	Apply for internships; build one strong project
May - July	Summer internships; placement cells collect resumes and policies	Do the internship well; update resume; revise core subjects
July - September	Early drives at many colleges: product, core and some consulting companies; aptitude tests start	Daily aptitude and coding practice; mock tests
September - November	Peak drives at many private and state colleges; mass recruiter tests (for example TCS NQT, HackWithInfy for Infosys)	Company-specific prep; group discussion and HR practice
1 December onwards	IIT placements: Phase 1 traditionally starts on 1 December	Final interview prep; shortlist strategy
January - March	Phase 2 and remaining drives; off-campus hiring; joining dates announced	Apply off-campus too; follow up on offer letters

Mass recruiters announce their national tests on their own career sites, sometimes more than once a year. Our company guides list each company's process with links to the official pages.

Three months before your first drive

Aptitude: 30-45 minutes a day of quantitative, logical and verbal practice.
Coding: one or two problems a day in the language you know best; arrays, strings, hashing and basic recursion first.
Core subjects: DBMS, operating systems, networks and OOP - the questions technical rounds ask most.
Resume: one page, with your best project first and what you did in it.

One month before

Take full-length mock tests under time limits.
Read the company guide for each company coming to your campus: rounds, question types, eligibility.
Prepare your self introduction and five STAR stories for HR rounds.
Practise group discussions with friends - speak early, summarise at the end.

During the season

Read each company's eligibility and bond terms before you register.
Know your college's placement policy - many colleges limit how many offers you can hold or apply for after one offer.
After every interview, write down the questions you were asked. Your juniors (and you, next week) will thank you.
Don't stop off-campus applications; many good roles never visit campus.

Use the company guides

Cuelyte AI has free interview guides for 100 companies that hire freshers in India - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Cognizant, Capgemini, banks, product companies and more - each with the hiring process, round-wise questions with how to answer, and a 7-day preparation plan, in English and Hinglish.

Frequently asked questions

When do campus placements start in India?

Usually between July and September of the final year at many colleges, with IIT Phase 1 traditionally starting on 1 December. Dates vary by college, so check your placement cell's schedule.

When is TCS NQT held?

TCS announces NQT dates on its official careers site, and they change from year to year. Register there and follow your placement cell's notices - don't rely on unofficial dates.

How many months of preparation do I need for placements?

Three months of steady daily practice is enough for most service-company drives. Product company coding rounds usually need longer, ideally starting in your pre-final year.