Wednesday, January 28, 2009

An Age of Entrepreneurs

Despite the recession, quickly changing trends and extreme competition, it is interesting to note that there has been a surge in the number of entrepreneurs in recent times. In fact, many of my friends are entrepreneurs and have many a tale to tell about the life that is lived on the forefront of a life that is extremely trying and yet adventurous to an extent.

Here are some people who continue to inspire us with their success stories:

o Simon Cowell – a successful music producer/ millionaire
o Michael Dell - Chairman and CEO of the Dell company
o Coco Channel – pioneer of 20th century fashion
o Walt Disney – well, we all know what he did ;)
o Henry Ford – first mass producer of vehicles
o Bill Gates – Microsoft co-founder
o Donald Trump – Real Estate Tycoon/ billionaire

No matter the rank on those topper charts, each entrepreneur - both famous and those recently entered into the profession of entrepreneurship – are an inspiration to those of us who want to believe that anything is possible if you put your all into it.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Happy Republic Day!

This is just a post to wish you a happy Republic Day!! Have a great holiday ahead :).

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Do Delhi Jobs = Internet Jobs?

Delhi is a hotspot for internet jobs. But it wasn’t always this way. It used to be that having a call center in Delhi & NCR was the norm for many global companies today. In order to meet the growing international demand for cost-effective, customer-oriented call centers, many organizations worldwide were outsourcing these services by setting up call centers here.

Nowadays, in a modern age of internet and computers, it is dot.com companies that seem to be the most successful, as BPO jobs and call centers jobs are now less in demand then they were before.

But what made customer care jobs in Delhi such an attractive option for fresh job seekers? It certainly is not outdated and is largely viewed as an option to earn an extra buck. At call centers the opportunity to make money can be very lucrative as the salary offered with just a graduation degree is way ahead expectation. More to this list is free pick and drop cab, a free meal, attractive offices and a lot of entertainment at times with amenities such as gym facilities (some even have a swimming pool), a nap room, a in-company-hospital, etc. The fact is customer care executive jobs offer great opportunities for both fresh and experienced university graduates.

But for those who are looking to build a long-term career, jobs in BPO’s are not the way to go. Get yourself a job at a regular company with regular benefits, a regular pay package and day-shift timings if you can manage that.

And certainly, jobs in internet companies have been predicted to be – and are catching on like crazy now – the way of the success future. If you want to build a career and last on it for awhile to come, try getting an internet job in Delhi.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

How to handle Monday-Blues

Monday, Monday, what a drag!
And there’s only 6 days left,
Till those Monday Blues come around,
To remind us not to forget:

That Monday, Monday will come around,
And our happiness will be gone,
All because it’s a Monday Blue,
Without reason, rhyme or song!

If this is your mental thought pattern today, then read on for some jazzy tips and tidbits to break your Monday Blues in a flash!

Try a little laughter:
A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working.
He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"
The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines."

Try a little nap perhaps??
Don’t worry about getting caught. You can use one of these lines just to ensure if you do get caught, you’re not sacked as well..

o "They told me at the blood bank this might happen."
o "I wasn't sleeping, I was trying to pick up contact lens without hands."
o "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"
o "Amen"
o "This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to."
o "Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper"
o "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress."
o "This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!"
o "Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off!"
o "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem."

Try to liven up your meetings the intelligent way
Tips to liven up your meetings, while you prove that your Master’s certificate is certainly worth it’s while:

o Stand up and act indignant. Demand that the boss tell you the 'real' reason this meeting has been called.
o Spill coffee on the conference table. Produce a little paper boat and sail it down the table.
o Stay behind as everyone else, including the boss, leaves. Thank them for coming.
o Give a broad smirk to someone else at the table. In time, smirk at everyone. Sometimes shake your head just a little, as if to indicate that the speaker is slightly crazy and everybody knows it.
o Arrange to have a poorly-dressed young woman with an infant quietly enter the meeting, stare directly at the (male) speaker for a while, burst into tears, then leave the room.
o Bring a hand puppet, preferably an animal. Ask it to clarify difficult points.
o When there is a call for questions, lean back in your chair, prop your feet up on the table, smile contentedly, and say, "Well, here's the way I see it, J.B..." (or any other impressive-sounding initials that are not actually your boss's.)
o Bring a small mountain of computer printouts to the meeting. If possible, include some old-fashioned fanfold paper for dramatic effect. Every time the speaker makes a point, pretend to check it in one of the printouts. Pretend to find substantiating evidence there. Nod vigorously, and say "uh-huh, uh-huh!"

Do something nice for your boss
A sure-fire way of improving your Monday is to step up and do something nice for someone else. Here’s an example of how to do something nice for your boss:

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?"

"Certainly," said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

"Excellent, excellent!" said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."

In closing
And finally, keep telling yourself that it’s gonna be JUST 4-5 days till your day/ days off and a WHOLE ‘nother 6 till the Monday come back around again! – Now that’s something to cherish ;).

Cheers and Happy Monday-ing!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

About Résumé’s and Resume Services

What are Resume Services?
Resume Services are a feature on most job sites (and some others) that aid an individual in the writing and developing of a professional resume (as well as other services pertaining to the creation of a well-rounded, expert resume). On occasion this also includes sending it to targeted consultants in specified areas or regions.

Why are Resume Services helpful?
Resume Services are especially helpful when you are trying to construct a winning resume that will get you the kind of job you need and want.

But you may be thinking why you need a resume first of all? People use résumé’s as a marketing tool, or as a way of highlighting their talent, strengths and skills that they intend (and can) bring to the job.

What does a resume need?
A resume should have such things as your biodata (your personal information like your date of birth, your full legal name, etc.), your academic qualifications and your work experience (if any, else just clarify in your resume that you wish to begin work as a fresher). You also add in your resume any other qualification or extra curricular activities you may have participated in (such as competitions you may have won). And last but not least, write a short paragraph (not more than a few lines) on what your future goals and aspirations are.

So why did I need help again?
And now you might ask, well, if making a resume was so simple, and entailed so little, then why can’t I just put one together myself? What’s all this hype about professional resume services?

You may find that you’ll need some help when it comes to creating and boiling down your ‘Fat List’ which is the basis of every resume.

Now what’s a Fat List?
A Fat List is the beginning step to creating a resume. It is a giant list of everything you’ve done and/ or accomplished throughout each year of your life – or as far back as is relevant to your job hunt. Fat Lists can be several pages long, hence its name – Fat List.

A Fat List will look something like this:

1998:
Completed 12th Grade
Was school captain
Won art competition
Did 240 hours of social work
Worked part-time teaching guitar classes

1999:
Enrolled for BA
Took up a Diploma Course in Music
Worked part-time at Dad’s factory

And on your list would go year by year as far back as is related to your job hunting.

But making this list is fairly easy. The hard part will come in when you end up with a giant list spanning several pages, and then need to trim it down to fit on just one page in a clear, concise, marketing-language way!

As a resume is THE tool you will be using to ‘sell yourself’ so to speak, it needs to be perfect. A consultant or potential employer will not spend more than a few seconds on your CV unless something there catches his eye or interests him.

Having your resume done by a professional ensures that you will get the maximum results out of your efforts with a job that is well-rewarding.