DU History Graduate Told No Companies Recruit Humanities Students
A Delhi University History Honors graduate who scored 84 percent marks was allegedly turned away by her college placement cell after being told that no companies recruit humanities students. The incident, which occurred after she graduated last year from Delhi University, was shared on LinkedIn by founder Harshit Khare, sparking a widespread debate about employment opportunities for humanities graduates.
According to Khare, the unnamed student had made the Dean's List and possessed strong skills in writing and debating colonial economics. However, when she approached her college's placement cell for campus recruitment, officials reportedly informed her that they did not have companies coming in for humanities students, offering no follow-up or alternative support.
Following the placement cell's response, the graduate spent the subsequent eight months searching for employment. Her search involved sending cold emails and attending interviews for roles where she was frequently deemed "not qualified" on paper. Khare noted that the process led her to question her career choices.
The graduate eventually secured a content writing role at a small startup, earning a monthly salary of ₹12,000. Khare criticized the existing placement infrastructure, stating it "serves engineers and quietly abandons everyone else," despite organizations claiming to value soft skills and critical thinking.
"Your degree is not the problem. The system just hasn't caught up yet," Khare wrote in his post, encouraging humanities students not to blame themselves.
The online post drew mixed reactions. Some users agreed with Khare, with one recent graduate noting that as artificial intelligence handles basic technical tasks and coding, companies should ideally look for individuals who understand human nuance and communication. Another user shared a personal experience where a research-oriented marketing role changed its undergraduate criteria to exclude non-business degrees after they applied.
Conversely, other commentators defended the recruiters, arguing that academic excellence in history does not automatically make a candidate the best fit for corporate roles, and advised students to target roles that align specifically with their degrees rather than blaming the system.
