Comfort Jobs

Andrew Levermore, the expat CEO of Bharti Retail puts in his papers

2011-12-08T22:53:00.001-08:00

He's moved out of Bharti, and Bharat too. In a sudden move, Andrew Levermore, the expat CEO of Bharti Retail, has put in his papers and is headed back to home country, South Africa. Levermore had joined the fully-owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises as chief operating officer in July 2010. Says a Bharti spokesperson: "We can confirm that Andrew Levermore has moved on from Bharti Retail as he wanted to return to South Africa to start his own business venture. The company will appoint an appropriate replacement in due course." This is Levermore's second exit from India. The first was in mid-2008 when he quit K Raheja's HyperCity Retail after a four-year stint. Any bets on whether he will be back a third time?

Dearness allowance: Government approves 6% hike

2011-03-22T05:25:00.000-07:00

In a bid to provide relief from high inflation, the government today increased dearness allowance (DA) by 6 per cent to 51 per cent, benefiting over 50 lakh central government employees and 38 lakh pensioners.

"The decision to hike DA was taken by the Union Cabinet at its meeting here," a Union minister said.

The combined impact of the hike will be Rs 5,715.90 crore per annum. However in the next financial year, the burden on the exchequer would be Rs 6,668.52 crore after the additional 6 per cent DA payout is factored in from January 1 to March 31 this year.

The increased DA, which will be effective from January 1, is provided to government staff and pensioners to compensate them for rising prices.

Presently, the DA is paid at 45 per cent of basic pay. The increase in DA by 6 per cent would be in accordance with the formula prescribed by the Sixth Pay Commission for central government employees.

The decision will provide direct relief to around 50 lakh employees and 38 lakh pensioners.

The DA is revised twice a year, on January 1 and July 1. The relief came amid high retail prices, as inflation has been ruling above 9 per cent.

The Consumer Price Index ( Industrial Workers )), which is the basis for revising dearness allowance, was 9.47 per cent in December and 9.30 per cent in January.

Headline inflation, based on movement in wholesale prices, was 8.31 per cent in February, much above the comfort level of 5-6 per cent. Food inflation, too, was hovering above 9 per cent.

From: The Economic Times

IT will employ more than a crore

2011-01-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

If figures tell a story, the technology services’ tale has been spectacular: less than $4 billion in 2000 to $62 billion today; an average of 22% yearly growth; from less than 100,000 to over two million employees; an almost non-existent domestic market has grown to $10 billion-a-year opportunity.

Technology bellwether Infosys was 3,000 people in 2000. At the close of the decade, it has grown manpower 40 times to more than 1,25,000.

Next 10 years will strengthen India’s position as global technology services hub, with Nasscom projecting the industry size at $225 billion by 2020. “IT will employ one crore people,’’ says Nasscom president Som Mittal.

Global tech giants such as IBM , Cisco , Dell, Microsoft , Intel , Oracle, HP and Google have their largest employee base outside the US , in India — tweaking code, developing software products, filing patents and now eying the local market. Homegrown companies such as Infosys, Wipro , TCS and HCL, which never found a mention in global technology and business reports, are now on Rs top quadrant’ of Gartner, Forrester, Everest, BCG and others.

“We started with a narrow set of applications, development and maintenance services, and now do pretty much everything,’’ says Infosys Technologies’ co-founder & CEO, S Gopalakrishnan. And ‘everything’ includes aerospace design, re-doing global retail and pharma, maintaining and improving banking systems and systems integration for the manufacturing sector.

TCS signed a $250-million contract with ABN Amro in 2005 and followed it up with Pearl Assurance deal worth $847 million. In a $250-million deal, Infosys acquired captive centres of Philips in 2007. The same year saw 66 PE deals in the technology space. In 2008, HCL bought out UK-based SAP consultant Axon for $658 million.

Growth has been “unstoppable,’’ says Gopalakrishnan, despite the do tcom bust and economic slowdown. The business case was compelling and the sector weathered all anti-offshoring noises as well.

“Over the decade, there has been a greater acceptance of the global model of working at a distance,” says Mittal. However, the only bad patch was the Satyam episode. “That was an aberration,’ says Mittal.

Shelly Singh

With the industry set for a more than four-fold growth in the next decade, it will have to gear up with new business models. “80% of the opportunity will be in new areas — new markets, new technologies and from smaller companies as well,’’ says Mittal.

From: The Economic Times

Organisations introducing new forms of leave for employees

2010-10-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was casual leave, sick leave, privilege leave and earned leave: pretty much the annual quota of in every organisation. But as evolved, newer varieties set in. Like bereavement leave, stint-oriented leave, parental leave, sharing of leaves amon employees, leave for reward and recognition, study leave and, of course, paternal leave. In fact, the anticipated trouble following the Ayodhya verdict may have thrown up a new kind of emergency leave, with most IT offices allowing employees to go home early, or declaring a half-day at work.

Some of the country’s leading business houses and companies are now innovating on their paid leave component as a way to improve work-life balance in the belief that it will boost productivity. Employees are not complaining either, for even as they work hard, there are now many more opportunities to take a day off with the reason that suits best!

“Leave has taken on a different connotation, a way to provide a level of comfort to employees,” says veteran HR professional and director (human capital) P Dwarkanath. The Max Group, for instance, has conceptualised self-development leave of up to one month for employees to attend short-term courses and reward recognition leave whereby they are sent on a fully-reimbursed holiday along with family. It is also reviewing possibilities to allow accumulation of sick leaves to make its leave policy more employee-friendly.

Accenture has recently launched ‘Hours That Help’, that provides employees an opportunity to receive additional or extra leave from fellow employees during a medical crisis or emergency. As part of this, employees can voluntarily donate their leave to fellow employees who require availing such leave beyond their stipulated ones.

Accenture has created an internal system whereby all employees will receive a notification when an employee in crisis requires additional leave.

“The programme is expected to promote a spirit of caring, sharing, community help and supports our core values. It responds to a vital need of employees who are confronted with crisis situations, ranging from medical emergencies to health-related concerns,” says Accenture India lead (human resources) Prithvi Shergill.
Analysts say the tendency to come up with newer and innovative leaves is more in the services and knowledge-intensive sectors like IT.

“In the services industry, the manpower component is more critical in relative terms. For instance, in the capital-intensive automotive sector, human resource accounts for only 7-10% of the total cost, whereas in services it is almost 50%,” says NS Rajan, partner, national head and EMEIA leader, people and organisation, . Rajan says leaves are one of the main levers that help to enhance employee engagement. Other levers include the employer brand, possibility of learning and development, relationship with seniors, quality of team, overall culture of the organisation and growth prospects.

president HR Adil Malia feels such newer types of leave are possible due to the coming of age of advanced technology like the BlackBerry and Skype, which allows employees to operate beyond the physical workstation of their office. The need for physical presence in office is now not an absolute necessity, he says.
“Productive employees are those who are satisfied with their family life and meet their social obligations. Hence, these type of leaves allow the employee to fulfil his/her duties as a professional, social being and family person. It also builds an emotional connect with the company,” says Malia.

India Inc upbeat on recruitment

2010-09-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

The majority of employers in the country anticipate the creation of new jobs in the coming months of this year, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Painting a robust hiring scenario in the country, a survey by global staffing firm Manpower showed that employers are planning to hire at a robust pace this year.

Manpower's employment outlook survey stated that globally, India is the most optimistic in terms of recruitment intentions for the fourth quarter, after China and Taiwan.

"The job market remains robust in India as a result of strong domestic growth and recovery in key global markets. But employers in other countries are reporting strong hiring forecasts as well," Manpower India managing director Sanjay Pandit said.

India's net employment outlook — an indicator of employers' hiring intentions — stood at 38% on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the next three months. For the third quarter, the outlook stood a little higher at 41%, the Manpower survey stated. "Employers began recruiting at a steady pace in the first half of 2010 and confidence levels were high. The findings indicate sustainable new job opportunities in remainder of the year and job seekers can look forward to a favourable hiring environment," Info Edge senior vice-president, corporate communications Sumeet Singh said

From: The Economic Times

Indian firms' hiring plans stay strong

2010-09-07T22:31:00.001-07:00

Indian companies' hiring intention for the next three months has weakened compared with the current quarter but remains strong over the year-ago period, says a survey by consulting firm Manpower.

India’s net employment outlook (NEO), which indicates hiring intentions, stood at 38% for the October-December 2010 period, a marginal decline from 41% recorded by the previous quarterly survey for the third quarter of 2010.

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, that covered almost 5,400 employers in the country, also revealed that hiring intention has improved 8% compared with the fourth quarter last year, when the economy was still recovering.

“The job market remains robust in India as a result of strong domestic growth and recovery in key global markets,” said Manpower India MD Sanjay Pandit.

Sectors where companies are likely to see strong recruitment include public administration & education followed by services besides finance, insurance and real estate. Employers in sectors such as transportation, utilities and wholesale & retail trade are less likely to create jobs in the coming months.

In terms of regions, employers in the South have strong hiring plans with NEO of 41% for the coming quarter, while those in North have an outlook of 37%, followed by East (36%) and West (32%). NEO is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating total employment to rise, minus the percentage expecting to see a decline in employment at their location in the next quarter. It also takes into consideration the seasonal adjustments in employment.

The global survey revealed that hiring intentions in the entire Asian region is stronger as compared to the past few quarters. India that has been top of charts in terms of employers’ hiring plans in the past two years, has slipped to the third position behind China and Taiwan.

But increase in hiring intent in other APAC countries is good news for Indian job seekers, said Mr Pandit. “We have seen a surge in cross-border opportunities for job seekers from key global markets. Once you combine strong domestic hiring along with improved international opportunities, we see one of the best scenarios that Indian job seekers could have imagined,” he said.

With NEO of 47%, China has the brightest hiring outlook, followed by Taiwan at 40%. Of the 36 countries surveyed, 28 nations showed positive hiring trend for the next three months. Employers in Greece, Italy, Czech Republic, Spain and Ireland reported the weakest hiring plans.

From: The Economic Times

India Inc vies for multi-generation workforce to get maximum output

2010-09-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

Things were different in our times,” is a favourite line of any generation while disapproving any trait of the younger generation. Often dismissed as light-hearted banter, such talk can, however, reflect a real concern in the corporate world.

Four or more generations, with different approaches, value systems and thought processes are sometimes thrown in together, posing a challenge for companies to get them to work in unison and maximise output.

For instance, how does a 20-something sales manager engage the members of his team who can range from 23 to 58 years? Besides, a new generation, Gen Y, born post-1990, will soon start entering the corporate world, calling for managerial skills that require tuning in to their world.

Companies are working at strategies to handle multi-generation teams, from encouraging diversity to actively eliminating biases. Persistent Systems, a Pune-based outsourced product development company, frequently sensitises employees about the company’s goals, gives senior staffers the freedom to choose roles, uses social networking tools for communication and conducts informal sessions to foster bonding.

“For the first time, we are seeing a sizeable number of 45+ year-olds in the industry while the number of young people is growing simultaneously,” says chief operating officer Nitin Kulkarni.

This is a challenge for the IT industry in particular, which is still maturing in India, he adds. “Things are changing fast. We find there is something like a generation gap between every batch of freshers, from one year to the next.” Kulkarni says the key is to accept that each generation has unique strengths and create a framework to harness them.

“When you have a team between ages 20 and 50, the boss’ job is to ensure that juniors and seniors respect each other for strengths like enthusiasm and experience, and he respects both,” says Devendra Chawla, head of the private brands business at Future Group.

Traditionally, a span of 20 years was considered to be a generation gap. But with rapid developments in various fields and social changes, the span has reduced to 10 or even five years in some cases. Demographers have divided generations into Traditionalists (born after 1950), Baby Boomers (post-1960), Gen-Xers (post-1970) and Millennials (post-1980). Each of these generations is so different from its preceding one that it actually precipitates a culture shift.

Most managers believe encouraging bonding between employees can help reduce this divide. At Peerless Mutual Fund, forums are organised for employees to come together and discuss non-work ideas, says CEO and MD Akshay Gupta.

Companies need to eliminate characteristic biases and deal with each person on merit, he says. “That is a habit we try to inculcate in our employees, to remove any generation differences,” says Gupta.

At Bajaj Electricals, too, employee bonding is taken seriously. “Everyone’s contribution is important and the leader should acknowledge that. We need to make people feel they are wanted, energise and empower them with knowledge,” says executive director R Ramakrishnan.

He points to a youngster, on the sidelines of a product launch, saying that he was brought there despite not having any specific role assigned. “I brought him here so he understands how events are organised. These are small things, but help the leader in building his team,” he says.

Fujitsu Consulting India (FCIL), an IT consulting company, has devised two programmes to work around generational differences.

In the “role-based” programme, the right people are appointed to leadership positions, which they would otherwise have occupied in two-three years, says head, human capital management, Anagha Wankar. Here, employees are groomed to handle people older and more experienced than they are.

As part of the “employee manager” programme, senior team members, apart from performing their regular roles, act as guides to other members across teams and help identify potential leaders, she says.

FCIL also allows experienced professionals who don’t want expanded roles to continue doing what they are, while giving them senior designations so their image is not hampered.

For multinational companies, though, this doesn’t appear to be much of an issue. “Coming from the US, we were not accustomed to age-based hiring, so the issue of how to handle multi-generational teams was already taken care of in our hiring policies,” says Chetan Shah, chief operating officer, Synygy India.

“As companies go global, the multi-generation challenge will cease to be a challenge,” he says. But in this rapidly globalising world, even MNCs cannot deny the truth in what Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE), once said: “Any company trying to compete... must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee.” This is as true for India Inc as it was for GE.

From: The Economic Times

59% professionals may quit jobs due to lack of promotion: Survey

2010-09-03T22:14:00.001-07:00

A majority of Indian professionals are likely to quit their jobs this year due to lack of promotional avenues despite good work results and a lack of communication and involvement by their top managements, according to a survey .

For 59 per cent of respondents, finding that the next rung in the career ladder is a no-show was the top "get me out of here" factor, a survey by Regus, revealed.

Lack of communication and involvement by top management was the other big reason for most professionals to quit their existing jobs, 50 per cent of respondents said.

Another 30 per cent said that they would leave a company which lacked 'vision'.

The job market in India is likely to get crowded after the summer vacation as Indian professionals may quit their existing jobs unless they are promoted, it said.

Over 15,000 business respondents from the Regus global contacts database were interviewed during the February-March 2010 period and the survey was managed and administered by Marketing UK, an independent organisation, Regus said in a press release issued here.

Regus ia a leading global provider of innovative workspace solutions.

Regus' Country Head, Madhusudan Thakur, said "as workers pack up their swim-suits and towels after the holidays, they are more likely to dwell on the pros and cons of the job that is waiting for them at home."

According to reports, one of the effects of the economic recovery taking shape presently is that many more employees have started quitting their jobs and looking around for new ones, Thakur said.

"Businesses that are not providing all the trimmings may be heading for a brain-drain of their best talent," he added.

As the economy perks up, employees will flock to businesses that promise them better conditions and not necessarily the biggest wage, he said.

The survey also asked workers what companies could do to avoid a brain-drain of their best talents.

Aside from a pay-rise, in India, 42 per cent of the respondents said that flexible work timings are increasingly becoming important for them. They declared that the ability to flex their work-hours was top of their wish-list.

Other factors that make professionals leave their jobs are bosses who take credit for their (professionals') work and shabby premises. A fifth of respondents would also leave if their commute was too long or administrative support was lacking (20 per cent), the Regus survey said.

From: The Economic Times

More and more corporates shifting to academics

2010-08-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

It’s three years since Prithwis Mukerjee quit his cushy job in the corporate sector to take up academics full-time.

Today, the former partner at PwC and director at IBM is a professor, teaching management information systems at IIT Kharagpur’s Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM). After 18 years of what he calls “being a footnote in the Great Indian Software Story”, he couldn’t be happier.

“The greatest satisfaction is the freedom to choose what I want to do,” he says. “In the software industry, the greatest tragedy is that once you become a manager, or partner, or director, you are effectively a man manager. For a technically oriented person like me, this is claustrophobic. Then also, you have to follow the clients’ dictates. That is where academics scores hands down. You have the luxury to focus on and work with things you really like.”

For some like Mukerjee, it’s the lure of the freedom. For some others, it’s a calling, a way of giving back to society. Then there are those for whom it’s a recipe for a more balanced life. The reasons vary. Notwithstanding that, educational institutes, mostly B-schools, are seeing an increasing number of people who have spent years in the corporate world, quitting their jobs and joining academics full time.

Take IIM Ahmedabad, for instance. The institute has over 22 full-time faculty with 2-5 years of industry experience and 21 with more than five years’ experience. At IIM Calcutta, 55% faculty have prior industry experience with an average stint of 8.5 years.

They represent a spectrum of areas including economics, marketing, finance, human resource, general management, management information system, operations, law and strategy. MDI Gurgaon has 18-odd faculty members with over 10 years industry experience. Other leading institutes, from the IIMs to Narsee Monjee to XLRI Jamshedpur, all have a significant number of faculty members with corporate backgrounds.

HR experts say this trend has started gaining momentum as academic salaries have been on the uptrend. It’s still a far cry from the UK or the US where a star professor can earn over a half-a-million dollars a year, but the differentials with the corporate sector have narrowed.

Leading HR firm, Ma Foi Randstad director and president E Balaji says, “Earlier an academic job would probably pay just about 20-30% of a corporate one, given the same qualifications. That was a huge entry barrier. Today, that has become 65-70%. So a lot of people are making the shift.”

The move is happening primarily at two levels. Those who have spent the bulk of their careers in the corporate world, and now want to give back to society and work with young people. Then there are also those who are in their 30s-40s, at the peak of their career, but still want to make a change. “For the latter, with relatively lesser savings, the transition is more difficult,” feels Balaji.

According to several such people who have bid the corporate world goodbye, an academic environment is intellectually more stimulating.

Also, there’s the fact that most leading institutes now offer plenty of scope for consultancy, more so to those with a strong corporate background. Like BB Chakraborty, professor of finance at IIM Calcutta, who spent 24 years in the manufacturing and financial services sectors, out of which five years were spent as president. After teaching in IIMC as visiting faculty for three years, he joined the institute as a permanent faculty, a job he’s continued for the past nine years.

“The freedom here to pursue one’s interests is enormous. What’s more, you’re in a community of great students and colleagues. As opposed to the corporate world where you are more delivery-oriented, here you have to be a thinker and also work for the community. My only regret is I didn’t join earlier.”

The transition for corporate professionals to academic life has also been helped by the fact that institutes are actively looking out for teachers with industry experience. “Management education is not just about lectures, but pedagogy that requires you to be in direct contact with the industry. Those with a corporate background are in demand,” says a professor with a leading Mumbai-based B-school.

Some have benefited in other ways. For Samiksha Ojha, finance faculty at MDI Gurgaon, the decision to make a shift to academics after spending 14 years in the corporate world across India, Dubai and Abu Dhabi and even running her own management consultancy, was prompted by a desire to give more time to family. “Corporate life was very demanding and I thought it would be the right option,” she says.

Overall, she says it’s been a wonderful experience. “You get to interact with like-minded people, be in constant touch with your subject and being with the students, you keep going back to your own student life.”

At 43, will she ever consider going back to corporate life? “No, but sometimes, when I see some of my classmates at the CEO level, I do feel that maybe I could have been there. I’m already moving more to the training side, and maybe in the future, I’ll become a visiting faculty. But I’ll never give up teaching. I love it.”

From: The Economic Times

Is your salary politically correct?

2010-08-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Are you satisfied with your current salary? The answer depends on who is asking it and when. If your current or prospective employer poses this question, the answer would be an unequivocal ‘NO’.

But if you were to respond to this query among friends and relatives, chances are that you will nod in the affirmative.

“Happiness is relative (in case of salary),” says Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO and chairman of Headhunters India. “It’s in the basic nature of the human being not to be satisfied with what they have in hand.”

Considering the brouhaha created by our Parliamentarians, who were given a 300% hike in their salaries and were yet unsatisfied with it—in spite of the ‘perks’ one gets as an MP—Lakshmikanth’s words appear insightful. However, grey areas remain.

According to PayScale, a global salary data syndicate, the appropriate employee compensation can be calculated by taking into account factors like the company, location, experience, industry and education of the candidate.

The US-based syndicate currently places the pay structure of financial and IT sectors at a premium. However, these are also the sectors where attrition rate is the highest. Clearly, Indian parliamentarians are not the unhappy lot.

According to Surabhi Mathur-Gandhi, vice president, Teamlease Services, an average employee’s discontentment with salary has jumped manifold. “Only a handful of people are happy with their compensation package,” she says.

“Misaligned expectations and peer pressure are the prime reasons for this growing unsatisfaction. The tendency to compare salary with classmates, family cousins has mismatched equations for people.” Mathur-Gandhi adds another interesting aspect with the discontentment factor.

“If one maps out the EQ of compensation structure, it would come in a bell curve shape. The most discontent are people with experience of five to eight years. The most satisfied are people with 8-15 years of experience, people who are middle-aged and have settled with family and children.”

The argument seems well placed. The primary factors seen as the trigger to salary dissatisfaction are peer pressure, heightened career expectations, excess job-hopping and a wrong choice of profession.

A young professional is more prone to be influenced with these while at middle age such issues are hardly a bother. For K Ramkumar, chief HR officer at ICICI Bank, the concept of satisfaction with wealth is a utopian one.

“It is possible that at certain points of time in life one may concede that what they receive is fair and equitable, but it will only last till the hunger for more surfaces again and any feeble evidence of relative imbalance is perceived by the mind,” he says.

With over two decades of experience in HR industry, Lakshmikanth agrees. “For an average employee, the grass is always greener on the other side. Even corporate biggies are not immune to this phenomenon,” he says, adding that even siblings fight for supremacy in the corporate world.

“For them, a happy business is when they outperform the other. Recently, one of our software clients was looking for the global sales head. The company even offered the incumbent double the compensation package. Yet, the person refused to join as his definition of happiness was not getting fulfilled.”

HR experts argue what is sufficient for one in a big organisation need not be acceptable in another. Any attempt to assess whether all employees are satisfied at a given point of time is misplaced. “What is need for one is greed for the other; what is sufficient for one may be inadequate for many,” says ICICI’s Ramkumar.

From: The Economic Times

Are IT jobs losing sparkle?

2010-08-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

After trimming payroll and tightening perks to cope with the economic slowdown last year, software companies are finding that a rising number of engineering and management graduates are transferring their affections to vocations such as manufacturing and banking — a shift that could force tech firms to scramble harder than ever before for talented employees.

For years, college graduates and professionals working in India’s $50 billion ( 2.3 lakh crore) outsourcing sector moved from one tech firm to another, often getting 20-30 % higher salaries in the bargain. Now, recruitment experts and industry officials say the churn of experienced staff from IT to other sectors has increased by 15-20 % over the past year. The main reasons, they say, are the perceived job security in the core sector and rising salary levels in manufacturing and telecom companies.

Among those who made the switch is Amit Bhargava, 29, who quit his job as business analyst at one of India’s top tech firms last month to join a multinational bank’s technology centre in Pune. The technology sector has not really lost its sheen, he says, but he wants to build specialist banking skills.

“And it is not as prone to export risks,” he adds, referring to his new vocation. Another reason for the shift away from IT companies is that they are now visiting college campuses for recruitment only during the eighth semester of the course, giving an opportunity to firms from other sectors to attract the best talent before them. Software industry grouping Nasscom asked its members last year to recruit graduating students during their final, eighth semester and not disrupt academic sessions.

Until two years ago, top Indian software firms competed aggressively with each other to hire engineering graduates. With the halo around working for a tech company beginning to fade, the competition is getting fiercer. Infosys Technologies alone plans to hire 36,000 employees in the fiscal to March and its chief executive S Gopalakrishnan has listed the competition for talent as the industry’s top challenge.

From: The Economic Times

FMCG companies hire in small towns to fire up growth

2010-08-28T01:40:00.000-07:00

Small towns are emerging as the new big hiring zones, as consumer goods companies drive deep into the country. Companies are hiring field staff in areas like Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh, Mangaliya in Madhya Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan and Shirdi in Maharashtra to sell products as diverse as shampoos, edible oil and even pizzas.

The triggers are a combination of a good monsoon this year, farm-loan waivers, higher disposable incomes in rural India, media penetration, low-priced unit packs of 5 and 10 and government programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever is hiring 25,000 ‘shaktimaans,’ or sales and field staff, to sell its products in nearly 1.5 lakh villages, while Dabur India intends to hire 200 ‘feet on street’ and indirect employees through its stockists in villages and small towns.

“Our share of top line from semi-urban and rural markets is touching almost 50%. Naturally, we are looking at these consumers very closely,” says Dabur’s vice president-HR V Krishnan.

Marico has just finished hiring a support staff of 220 in towns like Kalod and Rangwasa in Madhya Pradesh. Fast-food company Domino’s plans to hire 1,000 employees in cities like Ranchi, Kota and Gangtok in the next 12 months. Others like ITC, Nestle, GlaxoSmithKline and Emami are talking of doubling their direct employee strength in small towns and villages.

Hindustan Unilever intends to triple its rural coverage to 15% in 2010. It is hoping the plan to hire ‘shaktimaans’ will help it sell products like Pepsodent toothpaste and Wheel detergent, which are losing share to rivals and smaller players in big towns and metros.

“WE have embarked on an enormous coverage expansion project, facilitated by digital maps, to identify potential markets to be brought under direct coverage,” says an HUL spokesman.

Of the million outlets across India the company directly covers, 0.25 million are in rural areas. Shaktimaans , who are already at work in Orissa, will distribute products to villages adjoining an earmarked ‘Shakti’ village. Villages are tracked through a geographical information system, and the employees have been given bicycles. HUL’s Project Shakti had tapped 45,000 rural women (Shakti ammas) in 2000. Now, it is wooing the men in the families to turn into shaktimaan entrepreneurs.

Dabur has already hired 150-180 additional ‘foot soldiers’ over the past 12 to 15 months. It has also increased the number of stockists by 11-12 % in rural and semiurban markets, who in turn, are serviced by superstockists in big cities. The company will sharpen its focus on small towns and villages in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and Haryana, with a population of at least 3,000. “We will ramp up our field force depending on the increase in business volumes,” says Mr Krishnan.

From: The Economic Times

Comfort Jobs: Companies using incentive trips as a motivational ...

2010-08-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Companies using incentive trips as a motivational ...: "As the liner edged out into the deep blue waters of the Atlantic, an excited Manoj B and his wife watched the receding shoreline from the to..."

Companies using incentive trips as a motivational tool

2010-08-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

As the liner edged out into the deep blue waters of the Atlantic, an excited Manoj B and his wife watched the receding shoreline from the top deck along with hundreds of others. The North European cruise was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something, which Manoj knew, he would probably not have done on his own. Manoj’s overseas trip was courtesy the ICT company he worked for in India. “Money I can always earn, but I would still choose such an amazing trip over a cash payout any day,” he says.

Incentive travel is going places, specially overseas trips, as a reward for good work. That, to many, is sweeter than two wads of currency notes which vanish even before you open them. Increasingly, Indian companies are beginning to realise this.

On the one hand, it’s a motivational tool to encourage employees to go that extra mile for incremental business and service. On the other, it aims at improving the quality of work, foster employee loyalty and reduce attrition. White goods, banks, insurance, telecom, IT, liquor, garments — companies across sectors are becoming more aggressive on this front. “Incentive trips have become part of accepted sales management practice. It is a good way to motivate, very visible, aspirational for many, and with possibilities of learning and exposure and team building in some cases,” says Bimal Rath, founder of HR consulting company Think Talent Services.

With great deals up for grabs and discounts of 20%-plus on bulk corporate bookings, foreign travel is becoming that much more accessible. HR circles say that since bulk bookings in nearby locales like Colombo, Bangkok or Sri Lanka cost almost the same as domestic ones, companies are getting more excited. “Since costs are so competitive, management nowadays rarely frowns on such foreign trips,” says Prabir Jha, senior VP and head of HR at Tata Motors.

At the entry level, there are destinations like Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia, which are finding plenty of takers, while South Africa, Mauritius, Switzerland are the more premium picks. While popular destinations like Hong Kong see as many as 120 groups monthly, even relatively offbeat ones like Istanbul are seeing 30-40 groups per month, claim travel circles. If Mahindra Satyam sent its top performers to the Fifa world cup, a leading MNC bank recently sent its employees to Switzerland, Istanbul or Malaysia based on performances

From: The Economic Times

Comfort Jobs: Manufacturing companies look to invest in white co...

2010-08-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Manufacturing companies look to invest in white co...: "Manufacturing companies are trying to oil their productivity machine, taking a leaf out of the software industry’s books. Like software firm..."

Manufacturing companies look to invest in white collar jobs

2010-08-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

Manufacturing companies are trying to oil their productivity machine, taking a leaf out of the software industry’s books. Like software firms, they are planning to create a ‘bench’ of trained white collar employees as they battle huge capacity constraints in almost all sectors from product design to accounts. Companies are also redeploying staff to cut costs.

All these years, manufacturing companies played safe, expanding capacity only when there was a clear demand. Typically, people would be hired or shifts increased at the time of receiving new orders. Post-slowdown, however, orders have piled up and there is no capacity to fulfil them.

Senior managements thrashed out the issue at a conclave organised by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Association in Pune recently on increasing productivity while maintaining quality.

“We will have to have create capacity ahead of demand. This means not just physical infrastructure at our own and at vendor locations, but also in white collar jobs,” says Pradeep Bhargava, MD, Cummins Generator Technologies, a genset-maker from the Cummins group.

There is a compelling reason for companies to look at increasing white-collar productivity: Costs. “White collar productivity has the biggest bearing on cost, even more than blue collar,” says AK Taneja, MD and CEO, Usha Pistons and Rings, which manufactures piston rings. He cites an example in the area of product development. This is done either in a linear manner, that is, one job after another, in succession, or in a linear-cum-parallel manner.

The last process involves building milestones and checkposts so that errors are caught early, saving time and costs, and not waiting till the end to find the product is unusable. This is productivity enhancement at the design stage, a white collar area. “This reduces time to development, and there is no need to re-work. That is white collar productivity improvement,” he says.

In the 1990s, software companies created ‘benches’ — a US sports term — to meet project demands as they arose. Software companies often bid for work on the basis of this bench. A decade later, the manufacturing industry is deploying this strategy.

CP Rangachar, MD of Bangalore-based machine tool maker Yuken India, says companies are increasingly re-deploying people, not sacking them. “If you start sacking people for productivity improvement, you are headed for losses. White collar productivity improvement is achieved through redeployment,” he says.

From: The Economic Times

Comfort Jobs: Only 1 in every 20 engg grads suitable for IT prod...

2010-08-18T22:13:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Only 1 in every 20 engg grads suitable for IT prod...: "Three out of every five students that graduate from the country’s engineering institutes need to go through further training to be eligible ..."

Only 1 in every 20 engg grads suitable for IT product job

2010-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Three out of every five students that graduate from the country’s engineering institutes need to go through further training to be eligible for any job in the IT/ITeS sector, says a study by a local talent assessment firm.

It said just one in every 20 engineering graduates are fit for a job in an IT product company, while only one in five was fit to work with an IT services provider. The study by Gurgaon-based firm Aspiring Minds highlighted the need for improving training of students to make them employable.

The report tried to use actual candidate quality measurements and industry recruitment benchmarks to create a measure for employability, said Aspiring Minds co-founder Himanshu Aggarwal.

The employability study that covered over 40,000 engineering graduates and post graduates in Computer Applications, was based on the results of a standardised computer-based test called AMCAT taken by the engineering students across the country.

AMCAT covered various objective parameters for adjudging employability in the IT/ITeS sector including English communication besides quantitative, problem-solving and programming skills. While employability of students for BPOs and technical support jobs (TSJ) are relatively better at 38.23% and 25.88% respectively, companies in the knowledge based segment or Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPOs) find only one in every ten technical graduates employable.

The report also highlighted that MCA students are relatively better placed among the engineering graduates for finding a job in the IT sector as they possess superior computer programming skills but there is a need to improve their English language and quantitative ability skills, the report added.

From: The Economic Times.

Job recruitment market likely to double in 5 years

2010-08-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

As the economy expands, India's job recruitment market is also expected to grow in line and double at Rs 2,000 crore in the next five years, a top industry official said.

"The growth in India's economy has helped bring about a tremendous growth in the manufacturing, banking and services sectors in the country. The job recruitment market here is set to grow at 20 per cent annum and touch the Rs 2,000 crore mark in five years from the present Rs 1,000 crore," Esource India's Managing Director, Nitin Deveshwar said.

Esource India is a subsidiary of ESMS (I) Pvt Ltd which is a leading security company with nation-wide operations and is a full-service recruitment agency powered by an online database combining social networking and traditional recruiting.

The country's manufacturing sector is growing at eight to ten per cent and is expected to generate 0.5 million employment opportunities alone, Deveshwar said.

The shift of industrial activities to smaller towns has also created major job opportunities in these areas.

Gujarat's small towns like Vapi, Anjar and Bharuch, Chattisgarh's Raipur, Bilaspur and Korba and Uttarakhand's Haridwar and Rudrapur have provided higher job opportunities, following industrialisation in these areas, Deveshwar said.

Public sector banks as well as private ones are expected to hire in a big way in the coming years as they expand their footprint into smaller towns, he added.

From: the economic times.com

Comfort Jobs: About one million green jobs will open up in India...

2010-08-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: About one million green jobs will open up in India...: "By 2025, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report from 2008 estimates that India will see the creation of nine lakh green jobs i..."

About one million green jobs will open up in India over next two years

2010-08-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

By 2025, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report from 2008 estimates that India will see the creation of nine lakh green jobs in the area of biogas alone. (The global market for environmental products and services is projected to go up to $2.74 trillion).

In India alone, headhunters estimate about one million green jobs will open up over the next two years alone. “Earlier, the manufacturing sector used to hire health, safety and environment officers to ensure adequate protection. Now such positions are opening up across sectors, and some companies are even hiring chief sustainability officers,” says E Balaji, director and president, Ma Foi Randstad.

Green jobs, as defined by UNEP, refers to work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development or administrative activities that contribute to preserving environmental quality, and help in protecting the ecosystem and biodiversity. They may include architects designing energy-efficient buildings, organic farmers in villages, environmental engineers or even plumbers installing water-recycle systems. While green architecture, mechanical and chemical engineering, biotechnology and environmental management are the most lucrative and sought-after professions in the new, green sector, policy-making for renewable energy and natural resources management is not far behind.

There are enough enablers as well. The Suzlon group, a pioneer in exploring renewable energy sources, signed an MoU with TERI University in March 2009, to institute an MTech in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management. Rajeev Seth, its Registrar, says the need for sustainable development has sensitised a corpus of scientists, managers and leaders to the importance of environmental protection.

From just 48 students in 2006, the university now has 260, with the promise of an average pay packet of Rs4.5-5 lakh per annum up from Rs2.5 lakh in 2006. “Almost all our students have been placed in companies like TCS, Reliance Infrastructure and IL&FS, and are involved in green activities,” adds Seth.

One of the biggest future recruiters in green jobs is likely to be real estate, with green buildings coming up fast. A recent study by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) estimates that 45 million square feet of additional green building-space in India will be ready by 2012. Companies like Wipro, Microsoft, Cognizant, TCS, Infosys and Oracle are either operating — or planning to — from green offices, says the study. “There will be a huge demand for people who can certify green buildings, and architects and project planners who are adept in green building norms,” says JLL head (research & intelligence service) Abhishek Kiran Gupta

From: Theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: GNFC on hiring spree, to recruit 800 for Dahej

2010-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: GNFC on hiring spree, to recruit 800 for Dahej: "AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: In a massive recruitment drive undertaken by a PSU in the post-recession period, the Rs 2,600-crore fertilizers and chem..."

GNFC on hiring spree, to recruit 800 for Dahej

2010-08-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

AHMEDABAD/VADODARA: In a massive recruitment drive undertaken by a PSU in the post-recession period, the Rs 2,600-crore fertilizers and chemicals major, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Ltd (GNFC) has initiated the process to hire 800 people for its Dahej plant in Gujarat. GNFC is jointly promoted by Gujarat government and GSFC, also a state PSU.

The process for hiring 300 people is already underway for the Toluene Di-Isocyanate (TDI) project in Dahej which is scheduled to be commissioned by December 2011. The first phase will see recruitment of close to 250 engineers who will be from streams like chemical, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and civil, according to an Ahmedabad-based HR firm which is associated with the recruitments. Confirming the development, a GNFC official told ET that a stipend of Rs 12,000 will be paid to engineering graduates while Rs 5,000 will be given to diploma holders apart the accommodation at GNFC’s township.

The PSU has already indentified nine engineering and 11 polytechnic institutes across Gujarat to hire engineers. The next phase of recruitment will begin in 2012 when the PSU would hire for its upcoming MDI plant. Earlier, GNFC hired in batches of 30-40 in February 2007 when the PSU merged Narmada Chematur Petrochemicals Ltd (NCPL). GNFC’s Dahej project has a capital outlay of Rs 1,655 crore, which will have a capacity expansion of 50,000 MTPA. Once the plans are executed, GNFC will become the only company in Asia to have a capacity to produce 65,000 MTPA of TDI.

Commenting on the scale of hiring by a PSU the CEO of Ma Foi Management Consultancy E Balaji says: “PSU banks are the only ones who have undertaken massive recruitment drive in the recent times (post-recession), as during the 90s they shed a lot of manpower through voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). PSUs in the manufacturing sector do not undertake massive recruitment as they already have a problem of overstaffing.”

Currently, the Bharuch-based GNFC has over 2,900 people working at 18 plants. For FY 2009-10, GNFC recorded net sales of Rs 2,614.45 crore against Rs 2,920.06 crore for FY 2008-09. The net profit too has plummeted to Rs 123.84 crore from Rs 227.52 crore for year 2008-09. For the first Q1 of 2010-11, GNFC has registered sales of Rs 367.81 crore and net profit of Rs 22.67 crore.

from:theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Despite new curbs, many Indians take up jobs in UK...

2010-08-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Despite new curbs, many Indians take up jobs in UK...: "LONDON: Amidst efforts by the David Cameron government to reduce immigration from non-European Union countries, new official figures have as..."

Despite new curbs, many Indians take up jobs in UK

2010-08-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

LONDON: Amidst efforts by the David Cameron government to reduce immigration from non-European Union countries, new official figures have astounded many by disclosing that between April and June this year, 37,000 Indians came to Britain for work.

The figures by the Office of National Statistics put a question mark on efforts by Immigration Minister, Damian Green, to place an annual camp on non-EU workers who could come to the UK for employment.

Between April and June, 186,000 people started work in Britain, of which 145,000 were foreign and 41,000 were British. More than half of the foreign workers - 77,000 - came from within the EU, who have the right to work in Britain.

Of those who came from outside the EU more than half - 37,000 - came from India, indicating that Indian professionals have skills that are much in demand in Britain.

The figure includes many IT professionals. The figures have generated concern at a time of recession, job cuts and unemployment faced by British workers, and have been described as 'astounding' by MPs.

Keith Vaz, the Indian-origin Labour chairman of the Commons' Home Affairs committee, said his committee would investigate the sharp rise. He said he was "amazed and surprised" by the figures, adding: "What it shows is that the Government's intention is not going to work.

"They might want more British workers to get jobs but membership of the European Union mean that non-Brits will get those jobs. The problem is that the immigration cap does not deal with EU migration. The committee will examine the numbers of EU immigrants and its impact on the total figures within the cap."

James Clappison, a senior Conservative MP, said: "These figures are astounding. It is very worrying that employers are not looking at the British workforce to meet their needs. It is very important if not urgent for the Coalition to place tough limits on migration from outside the EU."

Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, said: "This Government believes that Britain can benefit from migration but not uncontrolled migration. It is our aim to reduce the level of net migration back down to the levels of the 1990s, tens of thousands each year, not hundreds of thousands.

Introducing a limit on migrants from outside Europe coming here to work is just one of the ways we intend to achieve this.David Green, a director of the thinktank Civitas, added: "The figures show that unless we control immigration it has the potential to undermine efforts to reform welfare by encouraging claimants to return to work. The taxpayer will be left with a large bill for benefits."

From:theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Hiring in July up 23 per cent on improved biz conf...

2010-08-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Hiring in July up 23 per cent on improved biz conf...: "A spurt in the economic growth and the improved business confidence resulted in a 23 per cent growth in India Inc's hiring activity in the m..."

Hiring in July up 23 per cent on improved biz confidence

2010-08-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

A spurt in the economic growth and the improved business confidence resulted in a 23 per cent growth in India Inc's hiring activity in the month of July, as against the same period a year ago.

Naukri.com's monthly job index -- JobSpeak -- moved up to 963 in July this year compared to 783 in the same month of 2009.

Recruitments in July also showed an improvement over the previous month as well, with the job index increasing by two per cent (to 963) in July from 947 in June, the study found.

"Hiring activity has been increasing in the country on the back of improving business sentiments and higher attrition level," Info Edge chief financial officer Ambarish Raghuvanshi said.

Besides he said, "There are some pleasant hues in terms of the core sectors like auto, Insurance, pharma and oil and gas taking a lead in job creation in the economy."

The pharma and insurance sectors have been bullish on hiring, with the sector registering a notable growth of 19 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively in the job index for July compared to June.

Other key industry sectors such as auto and oil and gas exhibited strong hiring growth, with the sectoral job indices moving up by 9 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, in July compared to June.

In July, some sectors seemed on a comeback mode with a growth of 6 per cent in real estate jobs and 3 per cent in the retail and IT-Software over June -- reflecting the underlying positive growth scenario and business confidence in these sectors.

Similarly, demand for professionals in project management and sales moved up by 13 per cent and 10 per cent,respectively in July against the last month.

Geographically, Mumbai and Delhi witnessed an upsurge in jobs in the period under review with their job indices moving up by four per cent and three per cent, respectively, as against June.

On the contrary, Bengaluru and Chennai saw a dip in the index by seven per cent and three per cent, respectively.

In addition, hiring has been bullish in the first six months of this year, with 22 per cent more recruitment seen in the January-June period of 2010 compared to the same period last year.

"The continuous upward movement of the job index over the last few months surely instills a lot of confidence in the psyche of the jobseeker," the report stated.

From: theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: US jobs will not go to China, India, Germany: Obam...

2010-08-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: US jobs will not go to China, India, Germany: Obam...: "US President Barack Obama has said that America had returned to robust competitiveness and the danger of jobs and industries fleeing to coun..."

US jobs will not go to China, India, Germany: Obama

2010-08-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

US President Barack Obama has said that America had returned to robust competitiveness and the danger of jobs and industries fleeing to countries like China, India or Germany was over.

"When I took office, we put in place a new economic plan that rewards hard work instead of greed; a plan that rewards responsibility instead of reckless; a plan that focused on our middle class, (and) making them more secure," Obama said at a Democratic Fund Raiser in Austin, Texas.

The US President said that the US "was competitive over the long run so the jobs and industries of the future weren't going to China or India or Germany, but were going to the United States of America, right here."

Gradually entering into an election mode with the mid-term elections less than three months ago, the US President has been frequently in his public speeches claiming how his policies are aimed towards stopping outsourcing of jobs and manufacturing.

Instead of spending money on special interest tax loopholes that don't create American jobs, we said we're going to make smart investments in education and innovation and clean energy that will benefit all people and our entire economy, he said.

From:theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: India: The new land of opportunities

2010-08-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: India: The new land of opportunities: "It’s 8:00 a.m, and Margaret Holden has just returned from her Yoga class in her south Delhi neighbourhood. She opens the fridge to see what ..."

India: The new land of opportunities

2010-08-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

It’s 8:00 a.m, and Margaret Holden has just returned from her Yoga class in her south Delhi neighbourhood. She opens the fridge to see what she can carry for lunch, settles for ‘baingan ka bharta’ and chapattis, and rushes off to get ready for work. By 9:15 a.m, she is in the office of The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri), where she works on international climate change policy, US-India relations and much more.

“It’s an exciting time to be in India and do this kind of work,” says the environment policy and political science graduate from Yale University, in the US. In 2008, the 22-year-old attended an on-campus lecture by Teri director general RK Pachauri, and decided to work in India. A US citizen, she landed in Delhi the same year with a two-year contract, and has been here since.

That was also the year, when Polish national Kataryzna, 25, arrived for an internship with Delhi-based Bird Group, a diversified conglomerate working in travel and technology. With a master’s in international business from Warsaw University, Kataryzna helped Bird Information Systems (BIS), a group subsidiary, foray into Latin America and Russia within a year, selling airline inventory and reservation system solutions. “I speak Russian, Polish, French and Spanish, so it worked out for me,” she says, having snagged the job after just a year of internship. She travelled to and from Europe — a market she was familiar with — and added substantially to the client list, enabling the first-ever international division within the company. The company has now recruited two more interns from Peru and Russia, to focus on the new markets. “A local understands the market dynamics better,” says Kataryzna, who is now project leader for corporate and strategic alliance, IT systems, for BIS’ international markets. And loves it in India.

Holden and Kataryzna are part of a growing number of expatriates who come to India to intern or look for jobs, and stay back because of better opportunities.

Teri has seen the number of its expat interns jump from 13 in 2008, to 24 in 2009 and possibly they will have 26 this year. Students from some of the best colleges across the globe — Cambridge in the UK, the Ivy League in America — have been coming here to work in climate change and sustainable development. “These are hot issues today, globally. Job options for professionals from this field are increasing, and so is interest among students,” says Geetika Sharma, senior manager, HR, at Teri.

IT education company Educomp has seen 40 interns in the past two years, from countries as varied as the UK and the US, to Sri Lanka and Poland, wanting to work in an ‘emerging economy’. “The trend indicates that interest among young foreigners is only growing,” says Educomp senior VP (HR & administration) Venkatesh MS. A senior home ministry official adds: “The number of expats, including freshers, coming for work here in 2008-09 went up by 15% over the previous years.”

The International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management (AIESEC), the world’s largest youth organisation that conducts student exchange across the globe, too, has evidence for this. The number of exchanges went from 1,015 in 2007, to 1,713 in the first six months of 2010. Of this, 1,443 are expats. “Earlier, it was only the social sector that attracted foreigners. Post recession, corporate India is getting more attention,” says Preetika Rana, VP, communication, AIESEC.

from:theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Manufacturing sector likely to churn out 30 lakh j...

2010-08-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Manufacturing sector likely to churn out 30 lakh j...: "Amid revival in the job market, nearly 30 lakh jobs are likely to be created by the manufacturing sector this year driven by an overall rise..."

Manufacturing sector likely to churn out 30 lakh jobs this year

2010-08-08T22:08:00.001-07:00

Amid revival in the job market, nearly 30 lakh jobs are likely to be created by the manufacturing sector this year driven by an overall rise in demand and the growing confidence of companies, experts said.

With the corporate sector regaining confidence and embarking on expansion drives, their hiring plans have also gained momentum.

According to leading Recruitment Process Outsourcing firm Elixir, the manufacturing sector is expanding and has brought in higher demand for experienced professionals in the sector to manage operations.

"At the current growth rate, close to 30 lakh jobs across levels will be created this year and by 2015 the working population in the manufacturing sector is predicted to grow by 2.8 crore," Elixir Associate Vice President Preeti Singh said.

"The growth is driven by overall increase in demand, especially in power and focus on new sectors for employment like defense manufacturing. The way firms have opened up their hiring in the current fiscal is very encouraging," Singh said.

Global consultancy KPMG's Business Outloook survey recently stated Indian manufacturers are now more optimistic about growth in business activities in the year ahead, with output and new orders expected to see a considerable increase.

"India has set its sights on becoming a global manufacturing hub and seems well on its way to achieve this aim. Productivity is improving, as its quality, with a large number of Indian manufacturers now holding their own in terms of quality comparisons with their Asian competitors," KPMG India Advisory Head Richard Rekhy said.

Elixir's Singh said power equipment manufacturing and construction related manufacturing like cement and metals have seen a huge surge with increased growth in the power sector and setting up of new plants.

Defense manufacturing has also opened up several new employment avenues, while the impetus given by the government is also acting in favour of the sector

Comfort Jobs: WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has vowed to...

2010-08-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has vowed to...: "WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has vowed to give tough competition to India and China for millions of potential jobs in the American ..."

2010-08-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has vowed to give tough competition to India and China for millions of potential jobs in the American clean energy industry, once again raising the bugaboo of outsourcing.

"For generations, manufacturing was the ticket to a better life for the American worker," he said at a meeting here Wednesday of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, America's union movement.

"But as the world became smaller, outsourcing, an easier way to increase profits, a lot of those jobs shifted to low-wage nations."

Millions of Americans were swept up in the disaster wrought by the Wall Street bubble burst, Obama said. "But I'm here to tell you, we are not giving up and we are not giving in. We are going to keep fighting for an economy that works for everybody, not just for a privileged few."

From: theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Indian corporate hiring activity dipped 5 percent ...

2010-08-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Indian corporate hiring activity dipped 5 percent ...: "Online hiring by Indian corporate companies dropped by 5 per cent in July despite a six-month strong momentum in the overall job market, say..."

Indian corporate hiring activity dipped 5 percent in July: Survey

2010-08-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Online hiring by Indian corporate companies dropped by 5 per cent in July despite a six-month strong momentum in the overall job market, says a recent survey by recruitment services firm Monster India.

The Monster's Employment Index, a monthly gauge of the country's online job demand, declined by six points to 129 in July as against 135 in June.

"July is the first month since November 2009 to witness a decline and it is just due to some cyclical and seasonal factors", Monster's Managing Director for India/ Middle East & South East Asia Sanjay Modi said.

Modi attributed the slow down to cylical and seasonal factors like firms being busy with their quarterly results announcement as well as completing the training and post-hiring formalities after the recruitment activity in the previous month.

Yet, despite the month-on month decline, the six month average of the employment index remained strongly positive with 20 of the 27 sectors surveyed exhibiting positive six-month growth.

"Companies across sectors remain enthusiastic about hiring and the fresher level hiring has remain stable from the last month", Modi said.

He added the current employment scenario in country in contrast to October- December 2009 had improved, as indicated by the Monster Employment Index and the job openings in general were higher since April.

The Education sector was the top growth sector that grew by six per cent in July against the previous month. BPO/ITES sector maintained its previous hiring levels in July, while online recruitment activity in the IT sector dropped by 5.4 percent over June.

The study revealed demand for health care professionals edged up by six per cent, while real estate recorded the sturdiest medium-term growth gaining 79 per cent above January levels.

Online job opportunities in the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector declined by 8 per cent in July, its first dip since March 2010.

Twelve out of 13 cities covered in survey registered a decline in online recruitment. Bangalore registered the steepest decline of 11 per cent followed by Kolkata at 10 per cent. Delhi-NCR was the only city where recruitment levels maintained steady in July, the study noted.

from:economictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Indian firms may have to import software engineers...

2010-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Indian firms may have to import software engineers...: "Software engineering services is projected to be a $45-50-billion export business in a decade, and this is expected to force Indian companie..."

Indian firms may have to import software engineers

2010-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Software engineering services is projected to be a $45-50-billion export business in a decade, and this is expected to force Indian companies to import engineers to tap the opportunity, says a Nasscom-Booz Allen study of the sector.

Bringing in overseas people will be necessary because of severe talent shortage, said Ketan Bakshi, CMD of Neilsoft, an engineering services company. Mr Bakshi is also member of the executive committee of Nasscom and co-chair of its engineering forum.

“By 2020, Indian software engineering services companies will need to bring in 25-30% of engineering talent from abroad, since there is a huge shortage of trained people now in India. And, as Indian engineering services companies step up their global presence to meet that $45-billion market opportunity, that shortage will only increase,” Mr Bakshi said.

Mr Bakshi estimates that nearly 1-1.5 million people will be needed by engineering services companies alone, of which about 250,000-plus, will have to come from elsewhere. This is a little less than the combined strengths of TCS and Infosys, in terms of revenues and headcount.

Samir Yajnik, president, global services and chief operating officer, Asia-Pacific, Tata Technologies, supported Mr Bakshi’s view on talent shortage in India. “If we are to meet those $45-billion targets by 2020, then we will definitely face a manpower shortage in the next few years. I wouldn’t want to put a number of exactly how big that gap will be, but yes, given the number of engineering colleges, etc that are slated to come up and those revenue figures, there will be a shortfall,” Mr Yajnik said.

Mr Yajnik illustrated the route adopted by Tata Technologies to handle this situation. “We have begun to proactively bridge this gap by building relationships with other countries. So, we have built an engineering centre in Thailand which does our low-end engineering. Overall costs in low-end engineering services are lower in Thailand and we will have to build more such tier-II relationships. We will take on the full-vehicle programme here in India (because this is a better location than the others) and farm out the lower end to centres like the one we now have in Thailand. In future, we will look at Korea and even China,” Mr Yajnik said.

Increasingly, this will mean that Indian companies in this space will become global, Mr Bakshi said, and solve their issues the way a global company would: by farming out work where costs are lowest and talent available.

“Growth is heady and any time such growth happens, there is a big strain. A fresh graduate needs more than six-12 months of training to become a good engineer. For engineering projects, say, in the infrastructure sector, a good engineer would be the one with 15-20 years of experience. Look at our national infrastructure projects and the pace at which they are being done: part of the reason is that we do not have the manpower to execute so much work,” Mr Bakshi stated.

The other issue which will require the import of people is the lack of bandwidth, Mr Bakshi said. “Indian companies do not have the bandwidth to handle the kind of infrastructure projects that are coming up, so they will have to get expertise from abroad,” he said.

The trick, both agreed, is to manage the scalability of operations and that is something industry is addressing, each in its own way

from: theeconomictimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Capgemini India hires 10,000 people in 2010, to re...

2010-08-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Capgemini India hires 10,000 people in 2010, to re...: "Bullish on strong growth prospects in India, global IT consultancy Capgemini has hired 10,000 people so far in 2010 and plans to recruit ano..."

Capgemini India hires 10,000 people in 2010, to recruit 7000 more.

2010-08-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

Bullish on strong growth prospects in India, global IT consultancy Capgemini has hired 10,000 people so far in 2010 and plans to recruit another 7,000 by the year-end.

"We have already hired more than 10,000 people as of July. We plan to recruit further 7,000 within this year," Capgemini India Executive Chairman Salil Parekh said.

Placing emphasis on the importance of the Indian market in the group's growth strategy, Parekh said,"Capgemini India is an important resource centre to drive Capgemini's Rightshore model and is also the main innovation hub for the group."

"Additionally, the domestic market in India has also seen a lot of traction. We have added more than 40 clients in the last 18 months. With such a lot of growth, we need to be in a position to service this and, hence, have stepped up the recruitment process," he said.

Capgemini India's employee strength was at 26,000 in June 2010. It has a strong presence across seven cities in India, primarily Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Delhi.

The outsourcing firm reported its second quarter and first half earnings result this week. It stated that the main markets, in which the group operates, saw steadily improving activity levels, despite the lingering effect of the global economic crisis on IT services.

The group's second quarter revenue increased by 5.2 per cent to 2.15 billion euros over the first quarter of this year. Booking volumes also confirmed a positive trend with outsourcing services recording the highest rise of 37 per cent in bookings, thanks to the early renewal or extension of several major contracts.

Optimistic about companies' boosting their technology spend, Capgemini has raised its 2010 targets. The group now forecasts revenue growth of 3-5 per cent in the second half of 2010.

Present in more than 30 countries, Capgemini employs over 95,000 people worldwide, and its Indian employee strength represents 27 per cent of the global head count.

from:theeconomicstimes.com

Comfort Jobs: Dealing with a Bad Boss

2010-08-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Dealing with a Bad Boss: "Everyone dislikes their boss at some point. But if it’s a perpetual state of affairs, that’s a serious problem. It could make your working d..."

Dealing with a Bad Boss

2010-08-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone dislikes their boss at some point. But if it’s a perpetual state of affairs, that’s a serious problem. It could make your working day hell and potentially affect your overall job performance.

Studies have shown that discord between an employee and manager is one of the major reasons why people leave jobs. But running away from your job should only be a last resort since you could easily find another bad boss at your next job.
Bad bosses come in many flavors, and here are some ways in which you can deal with them. Warning: Many involve a degree of self-control and discipline that you probably won’t feel if you detest your supervisor but are worth giving a shot.

1. Is it just you or everyone else too?

“It’s very easy to misunderstand the boss,” says Ramesh Vaswani, executive vice chairman of computer accessory-maker Intex Technologies (India) Ltd. Mr. Vaswani says employees should appreciate that there is a reason why the person is your boss. So instead of taking the boss’s antagonistic attitude personally, try to understand the reason for the bad behavior. If necessary, do your own rigorous self-assessment.

Are you not doing your work up to the required standards? Change that. Does your personality not match with your boss’s? Overcome your personal feelings and focus on your professional relationship with the boss.
However, if the boss is perceived as bad for your peers as well–it really isn’t you, it’s him!–try some of the steps mentioned below.

2. Try on the boss’s shoes.

A bad manager is not necessarily a bad person. Often, the problem is that managers don’t have any training or skills to manage people. Or they may be insecure, or they might just be under pressure from their bosses to deliver tough targets.
Understanding your boss’s perspective can enable you to figure out steps to tackle the situation. For instance, do what it takes to help the boss achieve his or her goals; you will be appreciated more. “That empathy towards trying to understand your manager…has helped people,” says Sanjay Pandit, managing director of recruiting firm Manpower Services India. This is especially the case for employees in functions like sales and marketing and finance, adds Mr. Pandit.

3. Is your boss inefficient?

If your boss is not doing his job well, and is not interested in improving either, that could reflect badly on your team’s results and on you. Try taking some more responsibility, even if means doing tasks that don’t fall strictly under your job profile. If your work can help raise your team’s delivery rate, you’ll benefit ultimately. Think of this as an opportunity to get more experience than you normally could if you were working under a boss who micro-manages. When possible, you could informally bring up your achievements before other superiors or human-resource managers.

4. You do the work, boss takes the credit.

One way to get around this is to try to become more visible to higher-ups in the organization. Stand up and be seen in “team meetings, where the boss’s boss is also attending or people from other functions are also attending,” says Mr. Pandit.
You could also keep a detailed log of your accomplishments, major tasks or projects completed and how that compares with many of your peers. This could come in handy at performance review time to show either to your boss who won’t acknowledge your achievements or someone higher up in case you need to defend your performance.
Silent performers could end up suffering in this case, says Mr. Pandit.

5. Working for a bully.

Does your boss yell, curse, or humiliate you in front of your peers?
If it’s a one-off case, then forget about it. But if it happens often, experts advise taking up the matter with the boss’s supervisors or the company’s human resources team. “This is…non-acceptable behavior,” says Rajendra Ghag, executive vice president of human resources and administration at HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. A company with the right culture will take action against the manager immediately.

Whatever you do, do not yell back or get into a shouting match with your boss. It will not help resolve anything. Remember, your behavior is being seen by your peers and others in the organization, and you don’t want to come across as too aggressive or vengeful. If you need to vent, take it outside, or home, or anywhere but your boss’s office.

6. Speak up, politely.

Experts say that often managers don’t even realize that they are perceived as bad managers. “There are many blind spots all of us have,” says Ms. Ghag.
Consider communicating your problem to your manager, professionally and with a positive spin. For instance, if you are upset that you don’t get enough feedback or are under-appreciated, approach the boss and say: “I loved doing this project but it would really help me if you could suggest ways that I can improve and do this better.” Or, if you are given too short a time to complete a project, say that you could do a better job if you had more time to do other things like X and Y. The key is to make your point without hostility.

7. Use your company’s feedback system.

You can also try communicating with the boss indirectly through the company’s feedback system. That could include everything from boxes where you can write anonymous letters to a “360 degree feedback” system in which a manager is rated based on comments from various people, including his peers and subordinates. Or, you can go directly to the human-resource managers with your specific grievances.
“Every company will have some avenue” for feedback, says Vikram Bhalla, partner and director at the Boston Consulting Group. He adds, however, that the effectiveness of this step depends largely on how much emphasis the company places on its culture versus achieving sales and growth targets.

8. Stick it out.

You have tried your best to resolve the problems with your boss, but it hasn’t helped. But you are working for a dream company and would like to have a long-term career there. Seriously think about just sticking it out, however unpalatable that might sound. Remember that bosses also rotate so you won’t have to bear your current boss forever. Or your job function could change where you don’t have to deal with this person all the time.

9. Time to move on.

Then there are times when nothing seems to work and you can’t take it any more. It may be time to accept that if the relationship with your boss is too destructive for your peace of mind and career prospects. Look for another job, either within the company but in another department, or with another organization. Many companies conduct exit interviews where you may finally get a chance to elaborate extensively on your frustrations, even if it means you then walk out the door.

from: wsj.com

Comfort Jobs: Infosys Looks Toward Global Growth

2010-08-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs: Infosys Looks Toward Global Growth: "S. Gopalakrishnan, known as Kris to his colleagues, is one of the seven founders of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Mr. Gopalakrishnan took over a..."

Infosys Looks Toward Global Growth

2010-08-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

S. Gopalakrishnan, known as Kris to his colleagues, is one of the seven founders of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Mr. Gopalakrishnan took over as chief executive and managing director of the company in June 2007. Mr. Gopalakrishnan has helmed Infosys at a time when the Indian software industry is going through its worst phase since the dotcom bust. He has seen Infosys evolve into India's second-largest software exporter by revenue and he is part of the core team that is setting the agenda for India's bellwether technology companies. His leadership skills will be tested when the Bangalore-based company, listed on the Nasdaq and Indian stock exchanges, is looking to make strategic acquisitions to grow in emerging markets, while reducing its reliance on the key U.S. market.

What is your vision for the company and how do you plan to achieve that?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: There are two parts to the vision. One, we need to expand our footprint outside India from a market perspective -- so we are investing in Europe, Asia, Middle East, South and Latin America. We have plans to recruit 1,000 people in the U.S. Already about 140 offers have been made. Seventy have joined. ... In a quarter we are looking at about 250 people. Over time we see about 15% of our employees as non-Indians. The second dimension is to invest in research, development and recruiting the right people.

How has Infosys been impacted by the recession?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: We have been able to maintain our margins and even add our employee strength. So, in spite of growth coming down to almost zero -- this year we are looking at almost zero percent growth -- we have been able to make the investments required and sustain our margins. Hence, I believe that we are emerging out of it stronger.

When do you expect to regain historic growth levels?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: We don't know whether it will come back to old levels. What we are seeing from projections is that it is possible for the industry to get to double-digit growth rate -- between 10% and 20%. I think the recovery of the economy itself would be sufficient to reach this growth level. There are already signs of that.

You have almost $2.8 billion in cash. How do you plan to utilize this cash?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: One of the reasons for that cash is acquisition. It gives you the confidence to make an acquisition happen. But we also believe that we must be able to run the business with no revenue for as long as a year.
We are looking at acquisitions in non-English speaking markets like Germany, France, Japan to accelerate growth and get new capabilities. We are not looking at acquiring a business and cleaning it up and making it profitable.

What is the size of the acquisitions you are looking at?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: Ordinarily we look at a company of 10% of our size. So I am talking about revenue of maybe $300 million to $500 million. But, if a great opportunity comes, we would look at it. And the cash will definitely help.

Would Infosys be an acquisition target?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: If you are a public company you are always an acquisition target...With founders holding probably a 16.5% stake, today potentially we can get bought out. If the company is well run, the likelihood of getting acquired is less.

You are one of the last from the core founding group to head the company. Do you have a succession plan?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: We have a robust succession plan in place. I see most of senior positions filled -- let's say 90% to 95% senior position filled -- from within the company.

How do you view competition from China? There's talk that outsourcing could move from India to China in the future.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: It is not a factor today. Maybe 5 or 10 years down the line it will be. But right now the competitive dynamics has not changed that much. It is still the same set of five or six companies that we compete always in all markets. A few from India and a few from outside.

Where are your fastest growing markets?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: India is doing well for us. In China we have some challenges. We don't have enough to show our capability in that market. So our brand is not yet there. It will take some time.

Why is Infosys conservative in its outlook on client budgets, while others are not?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: Better is a relative term. The budgets this year declined by 6% to 8% from last year, according to analysts. So being flat is better than declining. We are not overly optimistic at this point because the uncertainties in the market have not gone away. It is better to be cautious. I would not call it conservative.

When do you see that kind of confidence returning?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: May be a couple of years. It is positive if it happens before that. But it is better to be cautious.

But you have been optimistic about the pricing environment?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: We are optimistic. The bottom has been reached and recovery has started. Pricing also continues to be stable. But, we don't see pricing power returning.

What about business volumes?

Mr. Gopalakrishnan: That is where the growth will come from, in the next fiscal year also. Whatever growth will be, will come from volumes.

From: wsj.com

Promoting High Growth Entrepreneurship in India

2010-07-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

The centrality of entrepreneurship in the economic growth of nations is increasingly coming into focus in these troubled times. As pointed out in a recent article in The Economist, even as governments are busy trying to save their economies, policy makers are demonstrating a renewed interest in entrepreneurship and innovation.

In modern open economies, entrepreneurship is argued to be far more important than it ever was. There is a general consensus that almost all the new jobs in the U.S. in the last couple of decades have been created by startups spearheaded by energetic entrepreneurs. The large companies, if anything, have been steadily losing jobs.

The question that follows then is what type of entrepreneurship is important. Entrepreneurial ventures vary widely in their characteristics – from self-employment or necessity based entrepreneurship at one end of the spectrum to opportunity based entrepreneurship at the other, that seeks to revolutionize the world by leveraging new technology and creating new markets, Opportunity based entrepreneurship is usually based on significant innovation in the realm of technology, business process or the like and is set up to grow, right from inception. A significant share of new employment, particularly in the US, is created by the latter kind -- a small bunch of fast growing firms referred to as 'gazelles".

While India has a long history of entrepreneurship, as evidenced by centuries of business and commercial activity and the existence of generations old business groups and families, recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor studies found that entrepreneurship in India has predominantly been necessity based rather than opportunity based. There have been very few 'gazelles' to create the desired impact on the economy through job creation. Thus the challenge of entrepreneurship in India is: - How to increase the incidence of potentially high growth entrepreneurial ventures?

To say that formidable barriers exist for high growth entrepreneurship in India is an understatement. Our research into the barriers and facilitators of entrepreneurship in the Indian context has revealed many facets of this problem. The catch up nature of technological opportunities, together with a strong focus on indigenization, has driven technological innovation away from commercial viability and state of the art knowledge. Indirect tax regimes favoring the small enterprise have suppressed scale and encouraged firms to remain small. Labor laws that limited the mobility of labor forced entrepreneurs to fear growth in employee strength. Poor infrastructure has led entrepreneurs to create their own and in the process, lock up precious capital which should have been deployed to grow the business. Inadequate availability of land with clear titles, and owner-occupant friendly policies have led to the diversion of scarce capital towards unproductive investments in land and buildings. Poor judicial enforcement of property rights and private contracts has led to sub-optimal business practices, such as make instead of buy and own instead of rent. Perhaps the most damaging impact of our deeply entrenched policy regime of the past has been the effect it had on the entrepreneurs' own beliefs concerning economy of scale, diversification and efficiency wages that limit their propensity to grow.

The accent on liberalization and globalization in the last two decades has brought about some mitigating effects in many of the areas cited above. A cursory look at some of the high growth ventures that have established themselves during this period points to a positive role played by the new economic policies in opening up areas with huge pent up demand for private investment and providing unrestricted access to the state of the art technology available in the world. Sectors such as telecommunication, power, transportation, logistics, media etc have seen significant entrepreneurial activity both from traditional business houses and first generation entrepreneurs. However, high growth entrepreneurship has not yet reached a proportion in India that commands attention.

Given the ambitious economic growth targets that India has set for itself, high growth businesses have a crucial role to play. While high growth businesses have to use their entrepreneurial ingenuity to overcome the environmental constraints or render them irrelevant, public policy has a significant and decisive role to play in minimizing, and preferably, completely removing the constraints that tend to be hostile to high growth entrepreneurship.

The challenge for policy makers in India can thus be articulated as one of creating the right framework conditions to enable the establishment of fast growing innovative new businesses by entrepreneurs. There are many avenues open to policy makers to address the issue, but the challenge would be in prioritization -- picking the right set of issues and sequencing them to achieve significant and quick pay-off.

Firstly, at the macro level, the government has to focus on upgrading and making available on demand quality physical infrastructure like power, roads, and transportation. Other than the quantum of the investments, what is required is also efficient project management and effective coordination among all stakeholders to ensure speedy implementation of projects. This will enable entrepreneurs to conserve capital and direct it to their core competence -- innovation.

Secondly, significant attention has to be paid to create and upgrade the knowledge infrastructure. This is where India has to reverse certain strongly entrenched trends in the economy that have proved to be counterproductive. Two thirds of the R&D expenditure in India is happening in the government and public sector, which is exactly the opposite of the trends in U.S . Technologies developed in the confines of government laboratories often find it difficult to face the test of viable commercial application. Also, effective mechanisms for efficient technologies to move from the government owned laboratories into the realm of commercial exploitation continue to remain weak despite years of trying. The combined impact has been a poor pipeline of innovative technologies that could be economically deployed by the commercial organizations in the form of products and services. On the other hand, the private sector, now increasingly open to global competition, should progressively increase its focus on R&D to develop a competitive edge through technological innovation. Any policy support to incentivize the private sector to increase its engagement with R&D would go a long way in promoting innovation with a sense of urgency and commercial viability. In addition, the processes and systems governing the public-private partnerships in commercializing technological innovations need to be overhauled to maximize their impact.
Thirdly, policies have to gear up to channelize the early stage risk capital towards sustaining vibrant innovative activity. There has been a significant increase in the number of government innovation funding programs to support new ideas falling into various domains. This directional shift in focus from controlling economic activity to promoting innovation is welcome, particularly because private venture capital in India has tended to be growth capital rather than risk capital. But, at the operating level, the rules, regulations and processes have not evolved with this change in focus. This, together with the near total absence of expertise on the part of the government machinery to assess and respond to risks associated with innovation, renders such resources inaccessible to those who need and deserve them. This has to change.

10 Signs It’s Time to Leave Your Job

2010-07-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

Do you get into the office without a plan of action for the day? Are you not being rewarded for your efforts? Does your boss often pull you down and embarrass you in front of colleagues?

If any or all of these ring true, it might be time to shake things up.

Here are 10 signs that could indicate that it’s time for you to move on – either from your current job function or from your organization – to other adventures.

1. Social networking but not working
Are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter taking up more of your working day than preparing that PowerPoint presentation? If your company doesn’t allow access to these sites, perhaps your energies are focused on finding proxy sites which allow you to access sites that have been blocked by your company.
Or, do you simply dread coming to office and wait for the day to end quickly?
If this happens some days a week, then maybe you simply need a holiday. “But if one spends more than a month populating Farmville on Facebook, then yes, it’s stagnation and you need to move on,” says Purvi Sheth, chief executive officer of Mumbai management consulting firm Shilpusti Consultants.

2. Been there, done that
If your job has become so routine or monotonous that you can do most of it without thinking much, what are you doing in it? Essentially, you are not learning much or growing in that role, so you won’t be able to stay motivated for long. “Careers are not ponds, they are streams; they have got to be going somewhere from somewhere,” says Dony Kuriakose, director of Delhi-based recruitment firm Edge Executive Search Pvt. Ltd. “If you’re not moving, you’re dead in the water.”
Remember that if you have become too complacent and start taking the company for granted, your employer will soon recognize that, putting your role in jeopardy.

3. Not challenged enough
This is related to the point above. But if you feel that your organization is not giving you the right exposure or a challenging enough position, you could end up becoming very frustrated. “Take the initiative of engaging with (your) employer and…ask for more responsibilities,” says Pankaj Arora, managing director of Protiviti Consulting Pvt. Ltd, a business consulting and audit firm. If that doesn’t work, look for challenges elsewhere within or outside your organization.

4. Unmet goals
You want to become a team leader or a business head but your employer is moving you around into different departments without really promoting you. “It is time for you to move on when you feel your career objectives are not being met or fulfilled by your employer,” says Ms. Sheth.

5. Too big for your shoes
You were good at your first job, so you were promoted to the next level and the next level and so on. But now you have reached a position which is too much for you to handle. This is popularly referred to as the Peter Principle which states that in a hierarchy, employees rise to a level of their incompetence.
Either you need to re-skill and reinvent yourself pretty quickly to survive in that role or you need to move into another position which is a better fit for you.

6. Closed to change
Today’s organizations are nimble on their feet and are often changing their processes or businesses to meet delivery and cost pressures. If you can’t handle that change because you are too set in your ways, you could end up getting left behind. Or, maybe you don’t agree with your organization’s changes at a philosophical or an ethical level. “There are certain reasons why you work at a place and there are certain things that enthuse you,” says Mr. Kuriakose. “If those core issues change and you suddenly find that you’re working for a place that you wouldn’t have joined” it might be time to rethink.

7. Politics over mechanics
Every organization has politics and it’s smart to keep on top of major changes as well as the movers and shakers of your organization. But if your professional relationships at work have become so entangled and complicated that they are keeping you from your work, that’s a problem. Don’t let politics become more important to you than the mechanics of your job.

8. You’ve been overlooked — again
Are your batch mates from school and college more successful than you are? Or is your company promoting people with less experience and fewer achievements above you? Figure out why that is happening. If they’re working harder and are smarter than you, then consider adding to whatever skills are keeping you from that next job. But if your company is overlooking you, then it might be time to go where you get more recognition.

9. Don’t want your boss’s job?
We typically envy our bosses not only for their higher salaries but also for the responsibility and authority they command. But if you don’t aspire to be in your boss’s position at some time in the future, then it’s time to look around and reconsider your career plans. You can’t stay in your current position forever. Not everyone has to be the top dog, but a career path that promises advancement and satisfaction is a good road to be on.

10. Evil thoughts about your boss?
Ok, so all of us have some evil thoughts about our bosses every now and then. That’s normal. If you hate him or her as a person, deal with it. But if your professional relationship is troubled, then you have a problem. “You have to work with all kinds of people,” says Mr. Kuriakose. However, a boss who is always pulling you down, and maybe embarrassing you in front of colleagues, could be harmful for your morale and progress. Time for some introspection and perhaps an exit strategy.

Employership vs Entrepreneurship

2010-07-28T22:51:00.000-07:00

With more than half a billion people under the age of 25, India is sitting atop a potential powerhouse of intellectual and physical energy. But, India’s demographic dividend is only a ‘potential’ positive unless India’s social entrepreneurs become actors in this transition.

A look at the numbers released in the recently published India Labour Report 2009 reveals that the population will grow to 1.4 billion by 2026, and 83% of this increase will be in the 15-59 age group—a huge lump of productive labor. Much has been said about India’s need to educate its youth in order to capitalize on this demographic window of opportunity. And, there is no denying the importance of education. But, there is also a dire need for job creation and job training. By 2025, India will house a whopping 25% of the world’s total workforce, with the projected number of new entrants into the workforce each year at 12.8 million. Where are these jobs going to come from?

The India Labour Report cites the need for a smooth legal and regulatory ecosystem, as well as employability frameworks and employment ecosystems in order to create a more enabling environment for job creation. I would argue that we also need to encourage social entrepreneurs to take on the challenge—by becoming employers themselves.

Social entrepreneurs are known for the creativity and innovation they bring to bear on the gaps in development. Whether tackling water or education, energy or sanitation, social entrepreneurs develop inventive ways to bring new solutions to social challenges. But, in all this creativity, they may be missing one of the larger issues at hand: “employership,” or, the generation of jobs where none existed before.

Lest you confuse employership with entrepreneurship, allow me to elaborate. ‘Entrepreneurship’ is a loaded word. There is pressure to launch a game-changing idea—or nothing at all. It asks for confidence and considerable chutzpah. It takes passion and an affinity for risk. To be an entrepreneur is to take the weight of the world on one’s shoulders in order to create something that no one has ever done before. It’s not something taken lightly, nor is it something many Indian families encourage.

Now, consider “employership.” The task of creating 100 jobs is challenging, but beautifully concrete. The framework is Problem/Solution, rather than Blue-Sky thinking. It requires flipping the idea of a target market on its head: it’s not about the consumer (yet); in the initial stages, it is about determining who to employ.

Several social entrepreneurs have founded companies that use already existing business models, but employ a specific segment of the labor pool. Dhruv Lakra started a courier company, Mirakle Couriers , which employs deaf adults, a group that receives concessions on Mumbai train transport. Revathi Roy is the Managing Director of ForShe , an all-women-driven taxi service, preferred by many women traveling alone. Vivek Agrawal is the CEO of Kanak Resources Management, a company that employs ragpickers—who have plenty of experience—to assist in municipal waste collection. In the case of all three enterprises, very few, if any, of the current employees were previously employed. But, each company’s labor pool also happens to offer a competitive advantage.

Perhaps we should encourage India’s budding social entrepreneurs to be less creative. Less innovative. Because employership does not require a game-changing idea, or a system-fix—just basic businesses that create jobs, raise standards of living, and create a virtuous cycle of advancement. If 1,000 people in each of 20 states built businesses that employed just 50 people, we’d see 1 million new jobs created—a decent dent in the projected 12.8 million demand. And, no doubt, by creating employment some of the problems social entrepreneurs are trying so desperately to solve may go away without direct intervention.

India has the chance to use its coming demographic transition as a catapult into the future, building its economy, its workforce, and its global brand. But, a working-age population won’t provide value on its own. By challenging India’s social entrepreneurs to become part of the solution, India will reap the benefits of this new wave of human capital.

–Lindsay Clinton, associate vice president of Intellecap, argues that India’s innovators should innovate less and employ more to help reap the nation’s demographic dividend.

MBA Placements 2010: Nothing Much to Cheer

2010-07-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI--The placement process is over in the top three Indian Institutes of Management and all the students have received job offers. In some other top-ranking business schools, 90% to 95% of students had been placed in jobs by mid-March.
So for the top business schools, the placement scenario this year has shown some improvement in the sense that the duration of the placement process has reduced significantly compared with last year.

But the increase in salaries has been only marginal. And the situation is as bad as last year in the majority of our B-schools. Even in the top private B-schools that run parallel management programs to their main programs the scene is no better. The placements so far in most such programs have been between 40% and 60%.
For example, Dr. C.S. Venkata Ratnam, director of the International Management Institute in Delhi , says that although 95% of students that pursue the flagship post graduate diploma in management program have been placed, only about 60% of students in other parallel programs for executives have received job offers.
Lower rung B-schools also are struggling to place their students. In many of them, not even half the batch has been hired. Nonetheless, there is optimism in some quarters that in April the situation will improve.

"Many companies are still finalizing their recruitment needs and will hopefully start their recruitment process in April," says Dr. Suresh Ghai, director of K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research in Mumbai, where over 60% students have been placed.

Accompanying every placement season is the practice of exaggerating salary figures and the appearance of misleading media reports. I have been writing about this practice for the past few years.

Though the top IIMs are not officially disclosing salary figures, there have been "leaks" to the media about salaries of 10 million rupees-plus that some of their students have received. Such a salary is, in fact, often paid in dollars or pounds, and for foreign postings. So, it's not as if the alumni are earning abroad and spending in India .

Also, one has to take into account purchasing power parity to convert the salary into effective Indian rupees. In other words, a dollar's purchasing power in the U.S. is not equivalent to roughly 45 rupees in India ; it is the equivalent of less than 10 rupees. So $100,000 doesn't automatically translate to 4.5 million rupees but really somewhere close to 1 million rupees.

Then, one should not forget that these are cost-to-company or so-called CTC offers, which many times include intangibles such as the cost of training, relocation expenses as well as variable pay. The performance incentive, which can be substantial in these pay packages, is a tricky component. One has to achieve targets to qualify for full pay. If we take all these into account, the 10 million rupee salary is, in effect, a lot less.

In the annual survey of business schools that we do, we ask these institutes for a copy of campus placement offers. A careful look at the offer letters gives the true picture. The package is inflated by notional benefits and the bonus component is usually very high. City relocation charges, which are one-time payments, can themselves go up to over 100,000 rupees. Some companies even include subsidized canteen food in the pay package.

The salary figures look even less impressive if we take into account the education loans that most students take out. The fee in many of our top B-Schools varies between 500,000 rupees to one million rupees for the full program. For a loan of 600,000 rupees, the monthly repayment installment is about 18,000 rupees, which students have to start paying six months after getting a job or after one year if they don't get a job.

If we leave out laterals (students with at least two years' work experience), the average monthly take home for a fresher (a student with no work experience) from a top Indian B-school is about 50,000-60,000 rupees.

For second rung B-schools, it's between 20,000-30,000 rupees. For those lower in the schools hierarchy—and they constitute over 95% of B-schools in India-- the average monthly take home salary works out to anywhere in the range of 10,000-20,000 rupees; that is for those who are lucky enough to get a job.

Improving the Odds For Changing Jobs

2010-07-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

If you've been marking time at work and hoping to get a new job, you've got company. Employment experts caution, though, that moving too quickly could land you in a new job that you dislike even more. Here are some ways to improve the odds of finding the right one.

• Re-evaluate the situation. Think about why you're dissatisfied at your current job. If you aren't challenged enough, there might be a way to make a change without leaving. "There may be ways that your job can be changed for the better or your role in the company expanded to offer more challenges," says Tony Mulkern, a management consultant in Los Angeles. Scout job openings in other departments or at higher levels that you may qualify for with some additional extended education or skills and ask your manager to support your effort to get the training you need.

• Reach out. If the opportunities just aren't there or you're simply dissatisfied and aching to move, tap your personal and professional network for information on who is hiring. Many job postings go up with a candidate in mind already, if you know someone at the companies you are targeting—or someone in your network does—work to get personal referrals.
But be discreet with your inquiries. Keep requests off social-networking websites like Facebook and Linkedin—they can be indexed by search engines and discovered by anyone, including your current boss.

• Do your homework. When you land an interview, use the opportunity to learn about the company. You should get as much from them as they will try to get from you, says Sharon Armstrong, a human-resources consultant in Washington. Salary and benefits are important, but so is fit. It's difficult to tell what the workplace culture is like from casual visits. Don't be shy about calling for more information and contact current and former employees, if possible, to get a feel for the company and opportunities.
If you get an offer, before you accept, consider doing more in-depth financial research on the company. Try The Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR Public Dissemination Service (edgarcompany.sec.gov). For private firms and startups, Gail Rosen, an accountant in Martinsville N.J., says to look for a profit-and-loss statement, a balance sheet, references, a business plan and a list of where the company is getting funding.
"You may not get that all but it doesn't hurt to ask, and they might at least give you something else you can use," she says. Some information also can be found on fee services like Hoovers or on business blogs.

• Leap carefully. Whatever you do, don't quit your job until you're certain you're hired, says Ms. Armstrong. "Even if a job offer seems imminent, there are a lot of things that can happen at the last minute."
If your current company wants to keep you and replies with a counteroffer, keep in mind why you're leaving. "People seldom move just for money, so don't be swayed by a bigger paycheck if everything else stays the same," says Ms. Armstrong. "Job satisfaction comes from a lot of different places. If the boss offers to help change the other things that are making you unhappy, that might be worth at least discussing."

From: wsj.com

Paychecks shall improve in 2010 for India

2010-07-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

It is celebration time for India Inc. With media reports of the economic recession slowing dwindling away, finally companies are all set to loosen their purse strings to much-relieved employees. If 2009 was marred by the gloom of global economic downturn, 2010 promises to be a year with less of downsizing, job-freeze and most importantly, heftier pay packages to follow!

While the road to better pay package and compensation benefits depend on performance, companies are all out this year to recruiting ‘specialists’ - where both time and money can be optimised to impact the company’s profits.

“Companies will recruit employees based on their ‘domain expertise’. I foresee a 5-15% growth at a company-to-company and industry-to-industry basis, while naming IT, ITES and Infrastructures sectors as offering higher pay packages in 2010,” says Vivek Madhukar, Vice President, Timesjobs.com.

And which functional roles can expect a good raise this year? Says Madhukar, “Definitely revenue-generating roles such as sales agents, call-centre executives and software developers.”

Adds Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Exchange4media Group,“Ad sales, Internet specialist and media specialist roles will benefit the most in terms of pay packages.” He continues, “Editorial salaries will flatten because of retrenchment in the last year leading to oversupply. Media CEOs who have proved their mettle in their last job will be in demand and will command premiums.”

A media and advertising veteran, Anurag Batra, predicts, “Advertising compensation might not leapfrog as business models of ad agencies will be further under pressure. A lot of advertising industry professionals will jump to the media side.”

Taking a cue from Madhukar, it seems to be actually good news for the IT and ITES sector as we hear it from another source. C.S. Puri, President, Puri Consultants & Associates, an executive search company, says, “Last year, there was only 4-5% hike in the salaries in the IT sector. This year IT companies are planning on 8-10% hike in salaries. Other sectors such as FMCG and Consumer Durables shall also see a reasonable growth in pay structures.”

While news reports of IT companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys have already done the rounds, there are other sectors as well where pay packets are bound to get heavier.

“The projected growth rate for luxury industry in India is as high as 25% over the next couple of years. This is a phenomenon that is being watched very carefully by the West, where the recovery process is much slower,” says Roasie Ahluwalia,
GM – Marketing Communications, Genesis Luxury.

“Given this optimism in the market the surge is also visible in compensation packages. Jobs that were on freeze, are already back and the industry is looking at doling out good compensation packages,” continues Roasie.

Roasie also comments on the compensation standards in India. “I think most large corporates are already aware of compensation benchmarking and they do have reward systems that are tuned to performance. Given the current influx of International brands into India, we will have to further align ourselves to global best practices.”

And higher pay packets just do not end with the old guns! B-school graduates can expect a higher starting salary this year. Jyotirmoy Bose, Founder & CEO, White Spaces Consulting has this to share, “The FMCG sector has emerged as the industry of choice, as 44% management graduating in 2010 voting it as their most preferred industry in the latest Nielsen Campus Track–B School Survey.”

He adds, “The average salary expectation of students from their “dream company” has notched up a few decimals to Rs.14.6 lakhs this year. Salary expectation from a foreign company is almost twice than that from an Indian company.”

From: paycheck.in

Job Seekers - Read the article carefully

2010-07-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

In a tight job market, building and maintaining an online presence is critical to networking and job hunting. Done right, it can be an important tool for present and future networking and useful for potential employers trying to get a sense of who you are, your talents and your experience. Done wrong, it can easily take you out of the running for most positions.

Here are five mistakes online job hunters make:

1. Forgetting manners.
If you use Twitter or you write a blog, you should assume that hiring managers and recruiters will read your updates and your posts. A December 2009 study by Microsoft Corp. found that 79% of hiring managers and job recruiters review online information about job applicants before making a hiring decision. Of those, 70% said that they have rejected candidates based on information that they found online. Top reasons listed? Concerns about lifestyle, inappropriate comments, and unsuitable photos and videos.
"Everything is indexed and able to be searched," says Miriam Salpeter, an Atlanta-based job search and social media coach. "Even Facebook, which many people consider a more private network, can easily become a trap for job seekers who post things they would not want a prospective boss to see."

Don't be lulled into thinking your privacy settings are foolproof. "All it takes is one person sharing information you might not want shared, forwarding a post, or otherwise breaching a trust for the illusion of privacy in a closed network to be eliminated," says Ms. Salpeter, who recommends not posting anything illegal (even if it's a joke), criticism of a boss, coworker or client, information about an interviewer, or anything sexual or discriminatory. "Assume your future boss is reading everything you share online," she says.

2. Overkill.
Blanketing social media networks with half-done profiles accomplishes nothing except to annoy the exact people you want to impress: prospective employees trying to find out more about on you.
One online profile done well is far more effective than several unpolished and incomplete ones, says Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He made the decision early on to limit himself to three social-networking sites: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. "There is just not enough time," he says. "Pick two or three, then cultivate a presence there."
Many people make the mistake of joining LinkedIn and other social media sites and then just letting their profiles sit publicly unfinished, says Krista Canfield, a LinkedIn spokesperson. "Just signing up for an account simply isn't enough," she says. "At a bare minimum, make sure you're connected to at least 35 people and make sure your profile is 100 percent complete. Members with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities through LinkedIn."
LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are the three most popular social networking sites for human resources managers to use for recruiting, according to a survey released last month by JobVite, a maker of recruiting software.

3. Not getting the word out.
When accounting firm Dixon Hughes recently had an opening for a business development executive, Emily Bennington, the company's director of marketing and development, posted a link to the opportunity on her Facebook page. "I immediately got private emails from a host of people in my network, none of whom I knew were in the market for a new job," she says. " I understand that there are privacy concerns when it comes to job hunting, but if no one knows you're looking, that's a problem, too."
Changing this can be as simple as updating your status on LinkedIn and other social networking sites to let people know that you are open to new positions. If you're currently employed and don't want your boss to find out that you're looking, you'll need to be more subtle. One way to do this is to give prospective employers a sense of how you might fit in, says Dan Schawbel, author of "Me 2.0" and founder of Millennial Branding. "I recommend a positioning, or personal brand statement, that depicts who you are, what you do, and what audience you serve, so that people get a feeling for how you can benefit their company."

4. Quantity over quality.
Choose connections wisely; only add people you actually know or with whom you've done business. Whether it's on LinkedIn, Facebook or any other networking site, "it's much more of a quality game than a quantity game," says Ms. Canfield. A recruiter may choose to contact one of your connections to ask about you; make sure that person is someone you know and trust.
And there's really no excuse for sending an automated, generic introduction, says Ms. Canfield. "Taking the extra five to 10 seconds to write a line or two about how you know the other person and why'd you'd like to connect to them can make the difference between them accepting or declining your connection request," she says. "It also doesn't hurt to mention that you're more than willing to help them or introduce them to other people in your network."

5. Online exclusivity.
Early last year, Washington's Tacoma Public Utilities posted a water meter reader position on its website. The response? More than 1,600 people applied for the $17.76 an hour position.
With the larger number of people currently unemployed (and under-employed), many employers are being inundated with huge numbers of applications for any positions they post. In order to limit the applicant pool, some have stopped posting positions on their websites and job boards, says Tim Schoonover, chairman of career consulting firm OI Partners.
Scouring the Web for a position and doing nothing else is rarely the best way to go. "When job-seekers choose to search for jobs exclusively online– rather than also include in-person networking–they may be missing out on 'hidden' opportunities," says Mr. Schoonover. "Higher-level jobs are not posted as often as lower-level jobs online. In-person networking may be needed to uncover these higher-level positions, which may be filled by executive recruiters."

From: online.wsj.com

Gujarat - Top in job placement

2010-07-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Gujarat continued to top in job placements notified through employment exchanges in India for the seventh consecutive year in 2009, Gujarat Government's spokespersons ministers Jaynarayan Vyas and Saurabh Dalal said here today.

As per the latest annual report of the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, Gujarat provided jobs through the exchanges to 2.14-lakh people during 2009, as against that to 3.09-lakh in the entire country. This amounts to a whopping 71.4% of the total vacancies filled through employment exchanges.

Tamil Nadu that stood second in the country way behind Gujarat, provided jobs through exchanges to merely 22,000, Maharashtra came third with 10,800 and Andhra fourth with just 1,300 placements.

In 2008 too, Gujarat topped in job placement through exchanges to 2.18-lakh, out of total 2.91-lakh in the entire country.

This successive extra-ordinary feat is made possible because of the vibrant Gujarat's march to economic and industrial progress under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, keeping Human Resources and Human Development Indices in mind, the Ministers said.

Career Opportunities in IB (International Business)

2010-07-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

During the last two decades the world has witnessed a sea change in the international trade practices, processes and behaviour. Liberalization has opened new horizons of international trade for its huge potential market and has also opened vistas of foreign markets for its diversified product line. Though India’s foreign trade constitutes only 1% of the total world trade, the volume and diversity is significant. In 1991 when the new economic policy was introduced India’s export was merely $ 18 billion which surged to about $ 200 billion by the year 2009.According to an estimate, 45% of the GDP is due to export and import. India’s total share in goods and services trade was 0.92% in 2003 which increased upto 1.64% in 2008. Studies have revealed that nearly 14 million jobs were created directly or indirectly as a result of augmented exports in the last five years (i.e. from 2003 to 2008). Also the EXIM (Export Import) policy provides for an export growth of 15% thereby increasing the share of world trade to 1.5% from the existing 1%.For achieving this objective, the Government has strengthened the foreign trade policy and set up Export Processing Zones (EPZ), Special Economic Zones (SEZ), dry ports for facilitating export and imports, exemptions of duty and other measures. Thus, international trade and business have tremendous scope in terms of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in India.

Dimensions of International Business

In broader terms, international business strives for achieving the foreign trade objectives of a country by integrating the export and import practices of various trading partners/countries. With the emergence of WTO (World Trade Organization) in 1999 the international trade practices have gone standardized and member countries have agreed to come under a broader network with some common rule and trade codes of conduct. Though there are some impediments and disagreements on some issues, the contribution of this organization to bring world trade coherence can not be neglected. Since various trading partners/countries are involved in the complex trade activities, a lot of complexities arise during the whole process. These may be due to differing export-import policies, legislations, custom agreements, documentation requirements, quality control concerns, standardization and other micro/ macro economic consideration. International business operations account for production, invoicing, packing, insurance, transportation and shipping, logistics, quality control, inspection, finance, documentation, marketing, import, export, custom clearance, legislation, risk assessment, surveying, service, liasoning, foreign exchange management, merchandizing, taxation, research and development etc. Aside from it, there is direct role of professionals in managing human resource at multinational companies involved in international trade and business. These include; cross cultural research methodology and cross cultural negotiation and communication, foreign exchange markets and their operations, institutions for finance and infrastructure including export promotion councils and commodity boards, state trading corporations, export processing zones, regional trade blocks, multilateral and bilateral trade agreements and e-commerce. They enhance the scope of international business.

Scope and Nature of Career in International Business

In view of the dimensions mentioned above, the professionals in international business are required by organizations involved in export import specially export houses, merchandisers, custom clearing houses, special economic zones, dry ports, ports, logistic companies, transportation corporations , state trading corporations, marine insurance companies, shipping companies/corporations, directorate general of foreign trade, banks and financial institutions providing export-import finance & foreign exchange services, pre-shipment and post-shipment quality control labs, export marketing firms, BPO involved in export import business, customer relationship management, International finance, international accounting and international financial management.
International business management is one such career course that offers ample scope for career in international and transnational corporations. Candidates after completing the course may search for jobs available in the export companies, public sector houses, international banks and companies having subsidiaries in other countries. Most of the companies offer handsome salary packages along with other lucrative facilities.
After completing masters’ degree/ diploma in international business, one can be absorbed in export houses or with merchandisers. The responsibilities assigned to a professional may be documentation related to export/import and liasoning with the tax & custom authorities. Their work also involves liasoning between exporters and port authority. CHA (Custom House Agents) are required by the exporters to facilitate the custom clearance. Similarly, export managers and executives are much in demand for insurance companies particularly marine insurance corporations where they are required to assess the loss or physical damage to the goods shipped in a country. They are assigned the responsibilities of assessors, surveyors and certifiers. This is a very technical and specified job which not only requires professional competence but also demands knowledge of latest standards and legislations in international business to cope up with the situation.
In marketing field there lies enormous scope for the management graduates with IB specialization. For boosting overseas sales, searching new business hubs and potential markets abroad, marketing professionals are desired by the export houses. The essential qualification includes; post graduate degree in IB with attitude to take challenges coupled with understanding of the world business environment. Knowledge of foreign language is an added advantage for these professionals. In addition to the above, international marketing executives suggest strategies based on marketing research and predict demand and potential buyers abroad. They are also engaged in Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
Consultancy is one of the most sought after and remunerative career for international business professionals. An international business consultant is responsible for providing relevant and up-to-date information about various aspects of business development and market information for international companies. The international business consultant conveys information about foreign business investments, opportunities, competitive companies and even information about business practices and legal implications of owning a business in another country. International business consultants work for companies that are already in international markets or with companies that are planning international expansions or investments. Risk analysis and business analysis based on research is also a part of responsibility to international business consultant.
If one can develop and exposed to the international trade legislation, negotiation and research in international trade, he will surely find suitable positions in WTO, UNCTAD, IMF, World Bank, Regional Trade Blocks and trade associations. Experts in commodity trade are also required for the posts catering to the needs of the exporters and importers. The persons with interest in legal affairs of international trade disputes ranging from patents, specific product and service categories related to geographical locations, multilateral and bilateral trade agreements, customs, tariffs and non tariff issues are much in demand to solve the legal disputes among countries. A degree in international business with law qualification is sufficient to grab the opportunity in this sector.
International finance has also emerged as a major sector attracting experts in managing the fiancé related affairs of multinational corporations and Despite the increasing demand of experts in international business management, there is a dearth of faculty in international business in management institutions offering and planning to offer these courses. If you have a taste of updating, analyzing, accelerating, disseminating your knowledge in international business, there lies enormous opportunities in teaching and research profession. You can develop your specialization in the field of international business area if already teaching in some institution. Media reporting and journalism related to import export and commodity specific reporting can also be a good opportunity to the young people having a flare for international business news in print and electronic media.
People having analytical skills and background in international finance are placed at different positions in finance related departments of banks and financial institutions. Now a days banks have their own separate wings of foreign exchange transactions, export finance, risk management and consultancy in international financial management where every task related to foreign exchange dealings and export import finance is performed e.g. letter of credit etc. Competent professionals must have degree in international business with specialization in international finance are placed for this job. EXIM bank, ,public & private and foreign banks also appoint specialized people in international finance, foreign exchange, risk management and currency derivatives.
Entrepreneurship is also one of the lucrative career options for the persons who desire to have their own export house for facilitating international trade practices. The professional having some experience in export-import documentation can establish their offices in dry ports, SEZ and export processing zones (EPZs) and provide services to the clients(in this case exporters and importers) related to every aspect of procedural requirement of export and import.
International accounting is also an area where the experts in accounting operations may be posted in multinational corporations and firms engaged in international business operations. The accounting professionals are required for compliance of international accounting norms and standards

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Hiring status of India

2010-07-02T04:28:00.000-07:00

The organized sector in India is set to create close to a million new jobs in the year 2010 -2011

The overall picture looks bright for the year with the intention of creating close to a million new jobs. However, in the immediate future of 3 months, hiring intentions of employers are not loud and clear. Most of them are cautious for the quarter but optimistic about the FY 2010-11.

BFSI:
Total Employee Base: 8,52,000 New Jobs: 46,000
Employment in the Banking and Financial Services industry has not grown in the aggregate last year due to low additional employment by public sector financial institutions. However, with greater efforts in financial inclusion, this trend is expected to turn around. Moreover, average age of an employee in PSU banks being 53, we will witness replenishment of talent soon there. Last year’s troubles in the financial sector have taught the sector many lessons and its impact will be visible this year on employment numbers and criteria. This sector is looking to hire over 46,000 people in 2010.

Education, Training and Consultancy:
Total Employee Base: 97,15,000 New Jobs: 83,000
India has the largest student population in the world with 13.5 crore children in primary schools. And this large body of students needs educational infrastructure and teaching staff. The country faces a shortage of at least two lakh schools. To plug the gap, investments are flowing in. We see a surge in education, especially in the private sector; vocational training, professional training, as well as growth in private schools have been aiding this momentum.

Energy generation & supply:
Total Employee Base: 8,74,000 New Jobs: 15,000
Major projects are not expected to come on-stream this year. Bulk of the growth is likely to come from the city utilities. However, this sector is expected to generate many more jobs in the coming years.

Healthcare
Total Employee Base: 33,66,000 New Jobs: 2,95,000
Private healthcare boom continues notwithstanding the slowdown. Over the last 18 months, when most industries were busy restructuring operations, cleaning up books or optimizing their costs, Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare industry was adding manpower and giving salary increases. Next year looks bright with addition of many new hospital beds, deeper penetration of super-specialty healthcare, greater coverage of insurance facilities and increasing medical tourism.

Hospitality & Travel:
Total Employee Base: 59,51,000 New Jobs: 1,37,000
India is expected to add about 15,600 hotel rooms in 2010. And by 2011, 40 new international hotel brands will be operational in India. Add to this, close to 415 projects or 68,480 rooms are under various stages of development and 41 per cent of these projects may start adding to existing inventory from 2010. This is not a small figure and even if one presumes a moderate figure of two people to service per room, the number of people that the sector will need to recruit is 32,000. Business travel is coming back to track and positive sentiments of consumers to spend on travel and tourism has been helping this sector sustain this momentum. This sector is likely to generate the 2nd largest number of jobs in the country in the coming days.

IT & ITES
Total Employee Base: 17,93,000 New Jobs: 97,000
Bench strength in the industry is still not used up fully. Hiring is expected to take place due to continued international demand in the IT sector. As far as ITES is concerned, domestic demand is growing though many international contracts have not yet come back to normalcy. Having dominated the job market with the greatest number of new job additions year after year, India's IT and ITES industry is showing signs of stabilizing. Indian industry is showing signs of climbing the value chain and winning deals in knowledge-intensive applications. This sector will create a substantial amount of new jobs – 97000, the 4th largest amongst all sectors.

Real Estate & Construction
Total Employee Base: 7,30,000 New Jobs: 1,36,000
Smaller towns and suburban townships are growing with lower value housing. Infrastructure growth continues in many ways and appears to be accelerating. From unskilled site workers to highly skilled talent like engineers, foremen, crane operators, project managers and architects, this sector is expected to explode with new jobs.

Trade
Total Employee Base: 611,000 New Jobs: 13,000
Organized retail is yet to recover fully, but new entry is expected towards the latter part of the year. With improvements in consumer sentiments, this sector is likely to gather momentum towards later part of the year.

Transport, Storage & Communication
Total Employee Base: 26,38,000 New Jobs: 27,000
Economic growth will push transport forward and new jobs will get created in this segment. Storage is yet not on a high growth path. Communication sector policies such as 3G introduction are likely to aid the growth creating new jobs. This sector however has been improving its operational efficiencies in many ways thus, not creating jobs in proportion with the sector growth.

Manufacturing
Total Employee Base: 55,30,000 New Jobs: 68,000
Auto sector, light engineering, minerals and metals are expected to show some resurgence. Recent trends of increasing sales of automobiles and consumer goods are testimony of this growth. SSIs still appear to be cautious, still impacted by liquidity constraints. This sector has enhanced its productivity levels and optimized costs over the last year. The year ahead will witness growth in jobs and change in hiring trends. We will see hiring more freshers and people with specialized skills.

Employment trends – city-wise

Mumbai - Moderately down
Entertainment up, media remains affected, financial services yet to pick up significantly. Reversal of downward trend in business services; construction sector has bottomed out.

Delhi - Significantly down
Media and business services have taken a big hit. Retail has not recovered yet; financial services and construction sector see slow upturn.

Bangalore - Moderately up
Employment in IT is picking up again; retail sector remains adversely affected as players don't add new stores. Business services continue to do well.

Kolkata - Moderately up
Signs of revival in the manufacturing and IT. However, business services remain down and media continues to remain adversely affected due to the slowdown.

Chennai - Significantly up
Manufacturing and IT are both up significantly, slight improvement in retail and financial services. Situation may improve in the next couple of quarters.

Pune - Strongly up
Movement from Mumbai to Pune has strengthened due to better infrastructure. IT and manufacturing are strongly up as economy looks up. Construction is hiring again.

Hyderabad - Strongly down
Political uncertainty has forced some companies to put plans on hold. IT, manufacturing, infrastructure and construction are all down.

Ahmedabad - Strongly up
Manufacturing sector, business services, media and transport sector all see a strong uptrend as new investments continue to flow into Gujarat.

Key findings of the report:
• HR managers and entrepreneurs quite uncertain on hiring in the short term, but see the need for significant fresh hiring sometime during the calendar year 2010.
• Policy uncertainty as well as recent experiences are supporting this uncertainty in hiring
• Overall therefore, most see very little hiring this quarter, but expect to ramp up in FY 2010-11
• Industry specific constraints are still impacting hiring in sectors such as IT and trade, though this is not expected to remain for long
• Most see the current growth levels as sustained and on an accelerating trend and expect necessity for fresh hiring
• Consensus among managers that despite rising inflation, new hiring will not be at significantly higher remuneration levels than observed currently
• Cost control seen as a constant concern across all sectors
The structured analysis was administered by India’s leading economic research firm Indicus Analytics using a quick industry analysis to ascertain the various forces that are working on companies that are affecting their intentions to hire.

Looking for Team Leader - Recruitments

2010-06-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

Looking for Team Leader - Recruitment for Comfort Jobs for HO at Vadodara.

Comfort Jobs

2010-04-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Comfort Jobs is a Baroda based placement agency providing HR services to companies, Candidates and recruitment agencies alike. It is a sister concern of Comfort Realty India Pvt. Ltd. We have also branch in Indore (MP). We provide recruitment solutions for companies across different Industries and at various different levels in an organisation. We are currently providing recruitment solutions to various companies in India.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our interest in building relationship with your company. We are highly dedicated to provide the most effective solution for your recruitment and staffing needs, then finding the right people to fill your requirements.

We identify qualified candidates and recruit through a network of our placement agencies to match your requirement.

Our aim is to provide high quality recruitment solutions. Whether your needs are temporary, short-term or permanent, we can help you achieve your goals.

Please let us know just incase you need any clarification about our services alternatively you can also visit our website for more information. www.comfortjobs.com