The perfect resume gets the perfect job!

Even if you’ve spent hours writing up your resume, days perhaps, if you haven’t proofread it at least once, you may be in danger of facing an interview rejection.

Rohit Kapoor just got out of college. Thinking he’d get into employment right away he sat down to make his resume. A week and some change after he’d begun, Rohit figured his resume was good to go, and he mailed it out to over 50 potential employers. Unluckily for Rohit, he had put in the time, but forgot to proofread his resume. It was full of typos and genuine errors.

His school dates, instead of reading 1985-2008, it read 1895-2008. Instead of reading that he studied public relations, it read that he had studied ‘public rations’. Funny, isn’t it? His potential employers didn’t think so. As a result, Rohit got not even one positive job-response to the resume he’d worked so hard for.

An important point to remember is that there is plenty of competition in the market today. If you do not portray yourself as top-notch, someone else will come along and bag the job that could have been yours to begin with.

One employer wrote back to Rohit explaining that if he could not display thoroughness in his resume – which was meant to be his initial introduction – they weren’t sure if he would be able to give the job the due it required.

Some important points to learn from Rohit:

• Always proofread your resume, no matter how long you’ve worked on it.
• Get a friend to look over it too. Their perspective will help to point out things you hadn’t noticed.
• Come back to it at a later time when you are fresh and can read through it properly.
• Reading your resume aloud to yourself will help you to check for grammatical errors and run-on sentences that can happen to even the best of us.
• Leaving errors on your resume will allow employers to think that you are careless and inefficient. Don’t give them room for that.

Well, Rohit learned his lesson that day, but it’s an important point for all of us. He proofread his resume, got a friend to look over it too, and he’s now got himself the job he imagined he could have.

Major metros on a hiring spree again

TJ InSite finds that recruitment in the major metros of the country is once again on the upswing

TJ InSite, the Research Wing of TimesJobs.com, India’s leading job portal, promoted by the Times Group, conducted a survey that captured the hiring sentiment amongst companies in India recently. The recruitment outlook amongst employers in the nerve centers of Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore is once again on the upswing as employers plan to increase hiring in the next quarter, as reported by 42% of the employers in Delhi, 44% in Mumbai and 24% in Bangalore.

Commenting on this result, Mr. Vivek Madhukar, VP, TimesJobs.com said, “The positive hiring outlook of Employers in India is not unfounded, the Q-on-Q growth that India Inc. has witnessed both in terms of revenues & profits, and the continuation of government stability, policies & commitments, have brought a more optimistic business forecast for organisations.”

ITeS industry veteran Ms. Shailaja Puranik, Country Director & COO, Hays Business Solutions, remarked, “ Hiring has started across all levels in the last three months, across the ITeS & BPO industry, though at half the pre-September 2008 levels. However, the major change now is that the hiring is happening for the core groups of business and not for support functions. Hiring is taking place in new areas or where outliers have been weeded out. Salaries have remained at earlier levels.”

“Just in Time (JIT) hiring has begun in a small way,” said Mr. Ravishankar B, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, HCL Technologies, as the company is scouting for niche skills in the experience range of three plus years. “Today there are definite signs of hiring. While specialized or JIT hiring is happening and people with niche skills and some experience are being sought, we are also entertaining walk-ins and have been calling for interviews. It is still too premature to comment whether this is a spike or a regular trend. I think we have to wait for two to three months to make such a comment.”

TimesJobs.com Research collated feedback from a wide range of corporate employers in Delhi Mumbai & Bangalore spanning sectors as diverse as IT, BPO & ITeS, Engineering, Logistics, Healthcare, Architecture, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Finance & Accounting and Sales & Marketing.

According to the study Delhi appears to be the most bullish with 81% of employers surveyed recruiting to Ramp Up for Growth over the next year. A majority of Mumbai corporates (57%) are also hiring to grow their businesses.

India’s Silicon Valley – Bangalore, seems to be returning to reality, after a knee-jerk mass-retrenchment execution undertaken in Q4 2009, 52% of the corporates surveyed are undertaking Replacement Hiring of HR reduced earlier, while the balance prepare to Ramp up for Growth over the next year.

In terms of Experience Levels, for the Senior Managerial Grade, which forms the top of the corporate pyramid 9% of Corporates in Delhi, and 6% of Corporates in Mumbai, are looking for qualified people. The demand from Bangalore for this grade, however, is negligible.

The demand for Managers, with 3 to 8 years of Experience in Delhi is at 22%, Mumbai at 36% and Bangalore recruiting 21% of their total recruitment demand from this grade.

The demand for Executives with 1 to 3 years of experience have requirements from Delhi arriving at 52%; Mumbai at 39%; and 55% in Bangalore of total demand. This is closely followed by Freshers with 0 to 1 years of experience, constituting 17% of the demand in Delhi, 19% in Mumbai and 24% in Bangalore.

Of the Corporate Respondents from the IT Industry, 7% in Delhi, 16% in Mumbai and 12% in Bangalore, were planning to increase hiring and headcount over the year.

What is hearting to note, is this trend on employment. The TJ InSite Survey has shown that the major drivers of recent growth and employment in India, namely, the Sales and Marketing, IT, ITeS & BPO, BFSI, Engineering sectors have not just initiated replacement hiring, but have started recruitments to Ramp up for Growth.

Vande Mataram - Happy Independence Day!

“Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands

When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands

And seventy million voices roar

Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?

With many strengths who art mighty and stored,

To thee I call Mother and Lord!”

“Mother, mother mine!

Mother sweet, I bow to thee,

Mother great and free!”

The seventy million has become many more, and India has only risen to be a stronger, greater, and more independent nation. Mother India - land of tradition, values, ethics, respect, rich vibrant colors, song, dance, culture, diversity, and experience. She has grown through the ages and changed with time, like an ocean flowing over the rocks, pebbles and sand on the sea shore.

From a time when women would scarcely be seen as equals, to a modern age where they are CEO’s, managers, trainers, corporate executives and more, we can see that India continues to change and grow, continues to be free and independent. Freedom.

We are free to choose our careers and paths. We are free. Free to worship as we please, free to go abroad, or to remain on our Motherland shores if we please. We are free.

On this day, we celebrate our 62nd year of freedom. We raise a toast to the great nation India is, has been, and will yet continue to be. We live in freedom! We celebrate that we walk in the land of the free.

Cheers to our Independence! Cheers to our celebrations for this happy day too!

Vande Mataram translation, courtesy of www.indianchild.com/

Swine flu affects work output

No puns intended, but swine flu has literally hogged the spotlight internationally. On the 2nd of May, 2009, Times of India reported 3 suspected cases. By the 7th of August, 2009, Economic Times reported a dramatic hike of 712 total victims having been infected with the deadly virus. Just days ago, BBC reported 6 deaths among the swine flu victims in India.

Newshopper.sulekha.com, reported “Since May 16, when the first case was reported in Hyderabad, more than 4,000 people have been tested for influenza A (H1N1) virus. Of these, 840 people have tested positive.”

They also had written of how a swine flu test kit will cost Rupees 5,000 for a regular test, and Rupees 10,000 once the victim is confirmed positive with the flu. Apparently it takes a minimum of six hours for the test to return with positive results.

But this no longer affects only personal lives. It affects companies and work output too. Some offices in heavily affected areas such as Pune, allowed their employees to work from home for as long as 10 working days so as to protect the employees, and in essence, their work output as well.

On these flu symptoms, Times of India wrote:

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

* Fast breathing or difficulty in breathing

* Bluish or gray skin colour

* Not drinking enough fluids

* Severe or persistent vomiting

* Not waking up or not interacting

* Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held

* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

* Difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath

* Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen

* Sudden dizziness

* Confusion

* Severe or persistent vomiting

* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?

There is no vaccine available right now to protect against H1N1 (swine) flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

* Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

* Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

* If you get sick with influenza, you should stay at home and not go for work or school and limit contact with others to prevent them from getting infecting by you.

* Reduce the time spent in the crowded settings.

* Improve airflow in the living space by opening the windows and proper ventilation.

* Practice good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active.

This is advice to be heeded. What are you as a company doing to safeguard your employees against swine flu? What measures are you taking to ensure that in the long run, your work does not suffer? Write in and tell us and all our readers about it!

Gift something new this season

Hey guys and girls! What are you planning on gifting your brother or sister this holiday?

Why not gift them a successful start to a long, fulfilling career?

Many job sites are offering good discounts on their resume services and other career preparation tools in leiu of the seasonal festivities.

Grab your offer now, and invest in your loved ones future.

Exercise in office

Ever felt sleepy at work and like you just can’t concentrate no matter how hard you try? Come on, admit it. It won’t be politically incorrect to say yes.

The fact of the matter is that, fat or slim, short or tall, black or white (or brown), long-haired or messy-haired, your brain cells need some good ‘ol fresh air.

Studies show that those who exercised daily were nearly 100% more alert and effective in their workplace. How’s that for good statistics!

So, if you’ve been wondering how to get that due appraisal to work in your favor, my advice to you would be to try at least a half hour of cardiac workouts a day! Not only will you feel different, your work will be so much more productive and those around you will notice the new you.

Truth be known, even a 15 minute workout in office, can give your heart a serious pump up, infuse your body with oxygen and freshen your brain cells. In some organisations, HR even put up a gym in the office so as to promote the exercise = productive work formula. It doesn’t have to be something that takes up tons of your busy schedule. Take the first 15 minutes of your lunch break to sneak in a quick workout, another 15 for a quick freshening up and a half hour for your food, or however it suits you best.

You can look on youtube.com for practical ideas for a sneaking in a quick workout in office. Here it is:

Before I sign out, I’d like to emphasize to you that you really don’t want to wait another day. If nothing else, shake the sheets full of dust on your treadmill at home, or hit the gym at your office for some ‘I-want-to-be-more-productive-at-work-time’ and see the change it’ll bring to your life.

Well, that’s all for now on that topic, I got some serious gymming to do!

Job hunt with little to no effort!

What would you do in the following situations?

You’ve to reach the 10th floor in an office tower. You can go by two ways:
a. Climb up the stairs
b. Use an elevator

You want to write a message to your friend. You can write in two ways:
a. Send a handwritten letter by post
b. Send an e-mail

You want to withdraw money. You can do so in two ways:
a. Visit a bank
b. Use an ATM

There is nothing tricky about these questions, and the answers are so obvious. Can you, however, see the not-so-obvious phenomenon underlying our everyday choices? We like to spend least possible effort to accomplish our objectives.

Our tendency to spend as little effort as possible is so strong that most of the technologies, products and services are aimed at helping us achieve just that: least effort! Behind the auto-redial function on phones, Internet banking and ready-made food stuff is our basic need to minimise the effort.

The hiring process is not immune to our nature to spend the least effort. The only catch is that when job seekers take the path of least effort, they invariably create a path of more effort for the employers and that doesn’t work. On the other hand, when job seekers consciously enable the employers to follow the path of least effort, they stand to gain. Here is how it works:

Resume
As a job seeker, the natural inclination is to prepare a resume as fast as possible and shoot it out to as many employers as possible. When you do that you create two problems:

First, a resume prepared in a hurry is likely to be long, complicated, unfocused, and may contain mistakes. Second, a generic resume fails to connect with the unique needs of different employers. When recruiters look at such resumes, they are unable to figure out candidates’ suitability as quickly and clearly as they would like to do. As a result, hurriedly prepared, generic resumes go to the rejection pile.

The smartness lies in spending more effort in preparing your resume so that employers spend least effort while dealing with it. Specifically, that means:

· tailoring your resume according to each employer’s unique needs

· keeping it short—2 pages or 3 pages (max.)

· ensuring it contains only the relevant information

· keeping it simple, credible and without any mistakes

Interview
Job seekers appear at interviews expecting employers to question them and assess their suitability. But when you follow this common approach, you demand more effort from employers. They have to first dig out all the relevant information from you, and then make an assessment whether you fit into their needs.

On the contrary, if you take the initiative during an interview to show your understanding of employer’s needs and then demonstrate how you can fulfil them, you take them along the path of least effort. And employers would prefer such candidates.

Job hunting
Typically, job seekers focus on job openings advertised in the newspapers or on the Internet. For employers, however, the route of advertising vacancies, then getting flooded with applications and interviewing scores of candidates is a route of “more effort.”

A quick way to find a job would be to get in touch with potential employers either through contacts or directly. That way, you’ll save them the extra effort. That’s the reason why many smart job seekers get jobs by networking or showing the guts to approach employers directly.

The bottom line: To enjoy success in the job market, consciously help potential employers to take the path of least effort. Invariably, this would mean making more effort on your side at every stage of the hiring process. But isn’t that extra effort worth it if it helps to shorten your job search?