New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- India's engineering graduates are facing an increasingly long wait to start their first jobs, as a more cautious information technology (IT) services industry is shifting its hiring norms. Some freshers are waiting more than a year after clearing selection processes, as uneven demand and growing automation push companies to align onboarding more closely with actual project needs.

At least three tech services firms, including Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Wipro Ltd and LTM Ltd, have hugely delayed onboarding of fresh graduates, given joining dates of more than a year after the students cleared the selection process, or not given a joining date at all.

While geopolitical tensions in West Asia prompt companies ...