Thursday, June 26, 2008

Did you know?

Did you know that TimesJobs.com was the only Indian Portal nominated at the International Online Recruitment Awards?

Here's why:

The first award being The Best Technical Innovation for the recently launched– TimesJobs Talkies –the First Voice Resumes in the World. This Path-breaking innovation offered only by TimesJobs.com, cuts recruitment cycles, reduces cost, time and manpower involved in recruitment and facilitates candidates by improving their chances of post interview selection.

“TimesJobs Talkies” allows candidates to record, store and place their voice in their resumes for job applications. TimesJobs Talkies is empowered by NowPos patent-applied voice technology.
Mr. Ayyappa Nagubandi, Leader (title equivalent of CEO), NowPos speaking about TimesJobs Talkies said, “The partnership with TimesJobs.com creates several unique solutions, where CVs, first round short-listing and subsequent interviews, empowered by NowPos patent-applied voice technology, will change the way jobs are to be found, and people recruited.”


The second being The Innovative Online Marketing Award nomination for TimesJobs.com’s Chartbusters” Campaign - The creative, is a compilation of songs – spoofs on classic hits– by genuine job seekers who take a break from their routine job search. Tribal DDB, the Interactive Media Division of Mudra Marketing Services, did the creatives for these campaigns.


Mr. R. Lakshminarayanan, Mudra Marketing Services added, “In the interactive space, any communication must be simple, easy and quick. By integrating the browsing and uploading of resumes, TimesJobs.com reflected a fine understanding of consumer needs andonline behaviourand a refreshing approach to capturing their profiles with the least effort on their part."


Mr R. Sundar, President Times Business Solutions, observed “The major victory, we feel, with these prestigious recognitions is that, these campaigns have not only been great creatives – as adjudged by these Juries, but great products as well. Through these, TimesJobs.com has achieved more than 25 thousand registrations a day, resulting in over 5.5 million active job seekers on our site. This shows the strength of TimesJobs.com in delivering results to candidates, who place their faith and trust in us by posting their resumes on our site and makes TimesJobs.com – the Job site of First Preference.”


TimesJobs.com has won a spate of awards for its Interactive Campaigns – a Gold and a Bronze at the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) Awards in GoaFest 2006 and fetched a Silver at the Asia Pacific Ad fest 2006 in Thailand.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Job Portals in India

Are Job Portals in India the most happening thing among dot com companies? When searching through them, there seem to be as many different portals as we’ve got fingers and toes, with even a few to spare! In fact it almost seems to me that they are all EXACTLY the same, only with different templates and User Interface designs.

If this is true, and I am correct, then what is it that keeps people coming back to specific portals? Are they in search of something specific? Are they loving the customer experience? Are they comfortable navigating between pages and find the website extremely user friendly?

Here is what one person had to say about the TimesJobs portal and her experience there:

(Megha, 26 yrs) – “I have been on the TimesJobs job portal for nearly 4 years now and I am loving it! The best thing about this portal is the good customer experience I had. I also loved the resume services. My resume rocked after they did it for me. Three cheers for TimesJobs!”

We all know there are plus points to every website. If there weren’t, they most likely would have been taken down by now from the apparent lack of profit. The difference then, I suppose, is made in the customer experience that follows those plus points. Hats off to all the job portals that provide a good candidate experience to job seekers both new and old!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Jobs in Social Work

At A Glance

Jobs in social work promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships, and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance their independence and happiness. If you are willing to be a partner, negotiator, supporter, communicator, re-framer, confronter and reflector and if you feel a great deal of compassion towards social issues, then this can be an excellent career option for you.

Social work is not just about doing good deeds and helping the under-privileged. Over a period of time, it has evolved into a profession. Correctly it is not a ‘conventional’ career. But with issues of disability, drug misuse, poverty, mental ill health, problems associated with aging etc. rising constantly, social work has become a vital need of our society today. If you are willing to take up a profession for emotional fulfillment and if your purpose of working is not just financial, this would be the ideal career for you.

What it takes?
Interest in the psychological and emotional side of people's behavior, sensitivity, patience and persistence are a few of the characteristics that you must possess to be in this field. You need to have idealism to make a difference to the lives of individuals, the courage to make a positive decision to do a job that contributes to the society, the need to feel proud of your contribution and stimulating role and most importantly personal fulfillment. Also you need to treat everyone as equals and you can not hold a bias or prejudice against any section of the society.
The WorkSocial work is all about determining people's social, economic and emotional problems. Social workers work towards the solutions of these problems through counseling, arranging conferences, increasing resources, spreading public awareness and starting social programs and health services. Assessing and treating, mental health and emotional problems is also the job of a social worker. Social work offers diverse opportunities because every individual and society deal with different kinds of problems.


Where to study?

You can undertake a two year course [MSW-MA] at the post-graduate level after completing your graduation in any subject. Graduates with a degree in sociology or a social science subject get higher preference. Admission is based on an entrance test which tests your mental ability and general awareness. The interview conducted in the next stage is to test your speaking skills and to understand your reasons for taking up this profession.


In Summary


A social worker works towards the interests of the community and ensures that its most susceptible/vulnerable citizens receive protection and care in the most responsive way possible. Can any job be more fulfilling than this one?


For more on social work, visit www.timesjobs.com

Monday, June 2, 2008

Journalism

At A GlanceJournalism is the act of communicating information through the process of gathering, writing, editing and presenting events to create awareness amongst the public. Career OptionsJournalism is broadly divided into two categories - Print and Electronic. Journalism in the print media consists of newspapers, journals, magazines, digests and news agencies. On the other hand, journalism through the electronic medium consists of television, radio and the internet. The career options in these fields vary.

Journalism includes such things as writing for newspapers, an editorial job, proof reading, being a reporter or correspondent, writing, etc.

Journalism is a craft with established rules, procedures and guidelines, as well as techniques and deadlines. So if you have a flair or talent for language and the urge to communicate, you can learn this craft and become a successful journalist.

Personal AttributesIf you are looking for a career in journalism, you must have a presentable and confident personality. The ability to write and present accurately and concisely is necessary. An inquisitive mind, good writing and communication skills, the ability to differentiate between fact and fiction and tact too are essential. Intelligence, awareness, and interest in current affairs are also necessary requirements. Most importantly, you must exercise high tolerance and be capable of working in difficult conditions if necessary.

Where to study?You can do a course in journalism right after you pass your senior secondary examination [10+2]. You also have the choice of doing a professional degree after the completion of your undergraduate course in any subject. A background in humanities is usually preferred.Courses are offered in English, Hindi and regional languages.

Top Organisations Channels like NDTV, CNN, Discovery and newspapers like The Times of India, The Economic Times and The Tribune are great organizations that any journalist would like to work in.