On The Job

On the Job has moved

2009-10-01T09:14:00Z

On the Job, along with all of Livemint's blogs has moved to a new Wordpress platform. Visit http://blog.livemint.com/on-the-job/ for more on office humour or simply click here. Also don't forget to update your RSS feed readers and tell all your friends!

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How Important is Salary?

2009-09-14T16:56:00Z

I was chatting with an old friend, SN over coffee last week. He graduated from a top business school 3 years back, got a good career break right after graduation and is doing reasonable well in his current job.

SN: I heard company XY is hiring aggressively these days.
TM: Yeah.. I heard that too..
SN: I am thinking of applying
TM: hmm.. I thought you were doing well in your current job
SN: Its going well so far. I am getting tremendous exposure and my contribution seems to be valued
TM: So, why do you want to switch jobs?
SN: There hasn't been any salary hike this year.. Company XY might offer me a higher salary
TM: hmm.. Does it really matter?
SN: Sure, It does.
TM: Okay. Lets say we increase your gross salary by 25% .. or even 50%. What'll you do that you can't do now?
SN: hmm.. I can travel the world. I'll go to Europe!
TM: Can't you do that today? You can easily travel the world, with the kind of money you making right now..
SN: yeah.

Of course, salary is important and nobody can work for free. The point here is would 10, 20 or even 25% increase in salary make any difference to your quality of life.

I've had this conversation so many times - with myself and my friends on numerous occasions. Why do we negotiate so much for a few percentage increases in salary while accepting new job offers and at the times of appraisals? My personal experience is that higher salary feels good for the first few months and then it just doesn't matter thereafter. Below are some of the factors that will surely determine if you are happy (or not) in your job -

1. Do I like what I am doing?
2. Am I acquiring new skills and/or polishing existing skills?
3. Is my contribution being valued by my employer?
4. Do I have good relations with my peers, supervisor, and management?

Answers to these questions are far more important than worrying about 15 or 25% increase in salary levels. What do you think?

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Tarun Matta is the founder of iimjobs.com – an exclusive job portal for MBAs from IIMs and other premier business schools in India.

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Dressing for Success at Workplace

2009-09-03T09:56:00Z

Dressing plays an important role in how a person is perceived at workplace. Dressing professionally can help one project the right image in front of senior management, customers, peers, and subordinates.

At iimjobs.com we decided to conducted our first “Dressing for Success at Workplace” survey to understand fashion trends and its impact at the workplace. The survey was conducted during Aug 2 – 8, 2009 with over 2700 MBA graduates from top 15 business schools participating in the survey anonymously.

We collected some interesting data points -

45 percent of the respondents prefer to wear business casuals at workplace and a vast majority (83 percent) of them wanted business casuals to be the standard office dress.
47 percent of the respondents said that employees who dress professionally tend to be promoted more often than their peers with similar background and work experience.
Employees who dressed casually were perceived to be taken less seriously (53 percent) at workplace. However, they were perceived to be pleasant (75 percent), fun loving (69 percent) and creative (62 percent).
82 percent of the respondents said that co-workers in traditional business dress were perceived to be at senior level and taken more seriously (73 percent) at the workplace. Employees in suits were also perceived to be less creative (69 percent) and rigid (83 percent).

We also got some interesting comments

“Even though we are seeing a trend of more relaxed dress codes in the office, it doesn’t mean that professionalism should go out the window. One needs to wear business formal when meeting customers or in important meetings with senior management”, A respondent who has been working with an IT company for last 7 years.
“One needs to err on the side of caution, especially women employees. Dress too casually, and colleagues may think that one is open to dinner invitations and more” said a lady respondent who didn’t mention her name.
“The person needs to understand the dress code prevalent in the organisation. Often its not even clearly stated or documented but has to be observed and followed, atleast in the early stages of the career”, - an IIM graduate working in the FMCG retail sector.
“In any industry or corporate atmosphere, you have to be perceived as competent and responsible. A sloppy dress says that you don't care, and that you might not be competent enough to take higher responsibly” - a respondent working in IT sector

Of course, these trends change across industries and job roles. What do you think?

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Tarun Matta is the founder of iimjobs.com – an exclusive job portal for MBAs from IIMs and other premier business schools in India.

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At the end of the day: Overused words in office

2009-08-28T06:31:00Z

U.S.-based career consultant Chris Janzen has tweeted a survey on the most overused words at the workplace. It seems “viral” and “leverage” win among the most annoying and overused jargon, cliches and buzzwords in office.

In a survey conducted by a staffing company and published by a business weekly in Seattle, executives were asked, “What is the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?”

Their responses included:

• Leverage: As in, “We intend to leverage our investment in IT infrastructure across multiple business units to drive profits.”

• Reach out: As in, “Remember to reach out to customers impacted by the change.”

• It is what it is: As in, “The server is down today, and clients are irate. It is what it is.”

• Viral: As in, “Our video has gone viral.”

• Game changer: As in, “Transitioning from products to solutions was a game changer for our company.”

• Disconnect: As in, “There is a disconnect between what the consumer wants and what the product provides.”

• Value-add: As in, “We have to evaluate the value-add of this activity before we spend more on it.”

• Circle back: As in, “I’m heading out of the office now, but I will circle back with you later.”

• Socialize: As in, “We need to socialize this concept with our key stakeholders.”

• Interface: As in, “My job requires me to interface with all levels of the organization.”

• Cutting edge: As in, “Our cutting-edge technology gives us a competitive advantage.”

The staffing firm conducted a similar survey in 2004. The following “Hall-of-Fame” buzzwords were cited in both surveys:

• At the end of the day

• Synergy

• Solution

• Think outside the box

• On the same page

Would readers of this blog like to send their own entries? Just think, what words annoy you most when your boss is giving you gyan?

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Students in online learning perform better than those in traditional classroom?

2009-08-24T06:28:00Z

Alerted via Twitter on an intriguing study by the U.S. Department of Education which has found "students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction".

The wordily titled 'Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online learning Studies' also found that combining online and face-to-face instructions is even better. That is, online education when combined with traditional classroom is better that pure classroom teaching or a pure online course.

This is a valuable finding for India as well, where online education is growing.

Though the U.S. study is about K-12 (the term used for Kindergarten to 12th class), it is colleges in India which are making an effort to start tech-based distance learning courses. Mint covered one such course from XLRI in a story on industry-university partnerships last week.

I am a little skeptical, though, if online education is making a difference in K-12 education in India though it is becoming more and more popular in private and government schools (where the government allocates a big ICT budget every year). Last year, Mint ran a profile of Educomp Solutions Ltd's owner Shantanu Prakash whose company sells online lessons to schools. The lessons I witnessed comprised of teachers clicking a mouse and showing seed germination/climate change on a wall-mounted plasma screen. While some students responded enthusiastically, it seemed like our rote-based education system in a new form. That is, old wine in a new bottle. Education experts such as Krishna Kumar favour a learning-by-doing approach; he feels a child will learn more if she is encouraged to germinate a seed in a pot. Reading the lesson in a book or watching it on screen makes little difference.

Can readers of this blog who have partcipated in internet-based distance education courses write to me about their experiences?

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A doodle contest for kids from Google

2009-08-20T11:18:00Z

Every once in a while I notice the doodles around the red,blue,green and yellow all too familiar logo of Google and wonder what's special today. Google puts out those doodles celebrating artists and scientists, historic days and the like.
Today Google has announced a doodle contest open to all school kids. The winner's drawing will appear on the Google India homepage on November 14, childrens' day. The world's largest internet search engine will also give out a laptop to the winner and a technology grant of Rs 1 lakh to the winner's school.
To apply students can register online at www.google.co.in/doodle4google
Faculty and students of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad will play judge on the basis of artistic merit, creativity, how well the idea is conveyed and a supporting statement which explains the idea behind the scribble.
Google is out to capture mindshare among internet savvy, Indian kids who are only too familiar with the search engine. Whenever my 6-year old nephew needs to find something he goes, "Can you find it on google?"

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The future of work

2009-08-20T07:46:00Z

This is what it will be, according to staffing expert Kevin Wheeler, and The Future of Talent Institute:

1. More women at the workplace.

2. People will take on roles, not positions.

3. More independent contractors instead of full-time employees.

4. Offices will use less, conserve more.

All the above are true, if you look around you. At the company which owns Mint, HT Media Ltd, 52% workers are women. They have changed, and are changing, workplace rules and according to Wheeler, the way offices look, feel and function.

A friend I spoke to (who now heads a huge company) told me a while ago that he views jobs as projects. You complete one, and you move on. So the talk about roles, not positions, makes sense. Also, because companies are so fluid now and are more interested in what you do well, rather than titles and designations.

Independent contractors are already flooding an area of work I am familiar with, journalism. The domination of web-based news means more media companies, especially those headquartered outside India, are looking for freelance staff instead of full-time reporters.

Conserve, yes. All of us will have to. Use both sides of a paper while printing, keep re-usable water bottles on tables, cut down on plastic, turn-off computers, and rely on natural light, when possible.

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Some jobs require Facebook, Twitter experience

2009-08-19T06:53:00Z

My last post on Facebook and productivity made me unpopular in office despite my protest that I wrote being on Facebook increases contacts/ability to strike deals for some. But here's some amazing stuff: it seems there are jobs in advertising, marketing and communications which require candidates to be Facebook and Twitter-savvy.

A Canadian newspaper reports that job postings on a number of Canadian and U.S. websites now ask for Twitter and Facebook requirements from applicants.

So, a senior account executive position at Softscribe Inc. requires "five years Tech PR Agency Record and Twitter."

Mosaic Sales Solutions describes the "key characteristics" of its ideal market training specialist as "an avid user of the Internet, blogs, Twitter and/or has a Facebook page or other social networking account."

Valtech Technologies seeks a scrum master/project manager whose critical responsibilities will include "social collaboration including work spaces like Wiki’s, blogs, Twitter, etc."

The reason I am so impressed is because I am a recent convert to Facebook and Twitter. My colleagues Sidin Vadukut (follow Sidin's blog here), and Melissa Bell (read her view on SRK's airport incident here) introduced me to the joys of Tweeting. A former colleague recently dismissed Twitter as "being for twits" ( a comment which I found funny) but I was already hooked to the microblogging service.

Of course, coming across instances such as an IIT-Delhi student I interviewed who landed a summer internship after getting in touch with a senior on Facebook reaffirms my faith: Facebook, Twitter and work do mix.

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8-21 Aug: free online CAT trial at Career Launcher centres

2009-08-12T11:28:00Z

My earlier post on CAT 2009 got questions I could not answer. So here's my cop out: test prep company Career Launcher will answer those questions on eligibility etc (I checked with them). They are also offering CAT trials for aspirants, free (no hidden costs). The company said you don't have to be enrolled with Career Launcher to take a free test; the tests are for those candidates not enrolled with them.

The free tests will be held between 8-21 August. Here's how to take the free test:

1. Go physically and register at a Career Launcher centre (no facility for online registration, unfortunately). Find out the nearest Career Launcher centre's location from their website.

2. The centre will help you choose a date and time for taking the online test. The company said it can allow 20,000 candidates to take the free test.

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10 most hated type of colleagues

2009-08-10T10:30:00Z

I Hate People! Yup, that's the title of a new book that's doing the rounds. Of course, there's more to it. Its complete title is I Hate People! : Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job.

I was directed via Twitter to the book and its review on amazon.com. The authors select the ten most troublesome type of people in office, and give you strategies to cope with them. But, to begin with, here's how to identify these colleagues by the things they say:

STOP SIGN

"The world is flat."

"I think you've had enough fun."

"You'll put an eye out with that thing."

FLIMFLAM

"Could you work on this project?"

"It's a really small, quick thing."

"No big deal."

BULLDOZER

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"You're an idiot."

"You're lucky I don't fire you."

SMILEY FACE

"Would you like a doughnut?"

"Were you invited to the company picnic?"

"How was your performance review?"

LIAR LIAR

"I never got that email."

"My hard drive crashed."

"You didn't get my voice mail?"

Ok, I'm cheating and want you to send me the next five ones. The ones you hate most.

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CAT 2009 update from IIM-A

2009-08-06T11:28:00Z

Alerted via pagalguy.com on an update on the computerised CAT released by IIM Ahmedabad on its website today. The CAT opens the door for IIMs and other business schools. Here is the update for readers of this blog:

Q1: When is the advertisement for CAT 2009 going to appear?
A1: CAT Advertisement will appear in leading newspapers on Sunday, 30 August 2009.

Q2: Once the advertisement appears, is one expected to buy CAT bulletin from designated banks?
A2: No. One does not have to buy a bulky CAT bulletin. We want to go paperless. A prospective candidate buys a scratch-voucher from the designated bank branches, and, later registers online for CAT 2009.

Q3: When does the sale of voucher start and end?
A3: Sale of vouchers starts on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 at designated bank branches and their associate outlets. The sale ends on Thursday, 1 October 2009.

Q4: When and how do I register for CAT 2009 after buying the voucher?
A4: Online registration for CAT 2009 will also begin on Wednesday, 9 September 2009 and end on Thursday, 1 October 2009. Instructions on access to online registration will be given in the voucher, and, detailed registration instructions will be on the CAT website.

Q5: When will CAT be held and can I choose a test date?
A5: CAT will be held during the period Saturday, 28 November 2009 to Monday, 7 December 2009. Yes, you can choose a test date, session (morning/afternoon), and venue across thirty centres (cities) all over India, subject to availability.

Q6: Can you give more details on taking test in a CBT format?
A6: Starting Sunday, 30 August 2009, CAT website (www.catiim.in) will provide all the details.

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LITMUS ’09: Annual IT Management Conclave at NITIE

2009-08-06T04:05:00Z

Barely had our summer-internships concluded in June when efforts towards organization of LITMUS ’09 began in earnest- there really never is a dull moment at NITIE! LITMUS is the annual IT Management conclave at NITIE and is the brainchild of the students of the Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology Management.

LITMUS ’09 will be held on August 8th at the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE’s) Powai campus.

The primary focus of LITMUS ’09 will be on contemporary themes regarding the effective use of Information Technology (IT) in the Manufacturing Sector. The event consists of three sections: A case study competition known as Sync-Quest, a panel discussion called Biz-Talk and an online quiz E-NIGMA. Students from top national MBA institutes like the IIMs, XLRI, SP Jain, FMS are expected to participate.

Sync-Quest offers an intellectual platform for interaction. The case is presented by Greenway Ecodevelopment, an organization committed to the adoption of Green IT practices for improvement in business processes. The solutions given by participants are hoped to help the organization reassess present problems from a fresh perspective. At the same time it presents an opportunity to explore the talent pool of exceptional management minds.

The focus of Biz–Talk is to gain an industry perspective on various matters related to IT. This year’s Biz-Talk topic is ‘How can India and China capitalize on each others’ strengths in a manner that will ensure commensurate benefits to both? The 6 man panel for the talk include Mr. Prantik Das Gupta, Head Marketing (Aluminum Sector), Vedanta Resources Plc, Mr. Kunal Pande, Director, IT Advisory, KPMG, and Mr. Pradeep Erinjery, Director, Thirdware Solutions Ltd. The discussion will be moderated by Mr. M.J. Arun, Dy. Bureau Chief, Financial Express.

E-NIGMA, the online quiz event (launched on Aug 03) will be held in two rounds. The first round is Quiz IT followed by the ITinerary Hunt. Quiz IT will follow the basic quiz norms. Participants will be given a stipulated time period to answer a certain number of questions. The first 8 teams to submit the correct answers to each of the questions would qualify for the next round. The second round, ITinerary Hunt can be best explained as the amalgam of a Quiz and Treasure Hunt. Spread across different locations on Wikimapia, the round will entail solving a string of clues, each pointing to the location of the next clue.

Team LITMUS extends a warm welcome to all to come, participate and learn.

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Art and culture course from Osian

2009-08-05T05:55:00Z

Mumbai-based, art auction house, Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art is set to start a 1,000 hour course on art, cinema, popular culture and cultural management. This marks Osian's foray into education targetting anyone with an inclination towards arts and culture, right from students, private banking professionals to diplomats. The faculty will include artists like Gieve Patel and film makers like Shyam Benegal and Anurag Kashyap.
The course, which will start on 1 November in Mumbai and on 1 December in Delhi, will cost anything from Rs 10,000 to a lakh depending on the depth and duration. There will be no rigorous screening, admissions will be based on interests and inclinations of applicants, says an Osian spokesperson.

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Get off Facebook and get back to work

2009-08-04T08:49:00Z

Have colleagues who spend more time on Facebook than on work? Well, IBM has issued gentle guidelines to its employees that say 'Don't forget your day job'.

This has led to a lively debate on whether use of social media -- Facebook/Twitter/ I would include Gtalk -- at the workplace affects productivity. Tim O'Reilly, credited with coining Web 2.0 (read about him and this new English term here), who I follow on Twitter, has a guest blogger who says companies should have clear guidelines on productivity and then leave employees alone.

If they want to tweet, watch holiday pictures of their friends and take inane quizzes on how well their friends know them and how well they know their friends, so be it. The blogger also argues that employees have enough distractions, such as coffee and cigarette breaks, and social networking is another one of them.

But what about those who Twitter, (and sometimes Facebook), help work better. A colleague in marketing has business contacts on Facebook who help him strike deals, and I follow at least one regular source on Twitter. A few students I have interviewed are on my Facebook.

So, social media actually increases productivity for some, right?

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Job Search Tips – Writing a high impact resume

2009-08-03T09:40:00Z

Most people don't give enough importance to writing their resume. An effective resume can greatly improve the chances of getting that dream job. The quality of resume determines the number interview calls, offers and salary you get at the end of the process. Stronger resume leads to more interview calls and higher chances of getting a good job.

In today’s job market, recruiters get hundreds of resume for every position that is advertised. The only way to stand out is to have a high impact resume that highlights your strengths, skill-sets and background.

Objective – Start with your career objective describing what you are looking for. You must use it as an opportunity to state why you are best fit for the job. Make sure it is not weak, cliché, unclear, or vague. It must be relevant to the advertised position and your academic and/or professional background.

Highlight your strengths – According to certain estimates, on an average recruiters do not spend more than 30 seconds reviewing a resume. Make sure you identify and highlight your strengths. If you have any specific accomplishments or work experience that makes you better fit for the job, make sure that’s highlighted. If you are a fresher (or with lesser work experience) but better academic background, make sure you highlight that.

Focus on Accomplishments – A vast majority of candidates consider resume as a list of job history in chronological order. Resume is like a marketing tool that’ll help you get a job. It’s like a business proposal RELEVANT to the advertised position.

Lot of people talk about tasks or duties performed in various roles in the past. That is never as effective as talking about some of your accomplishments in every role. Use numbers, percentages to highlight your contribution in growing your employers business. For example – implemented <something> which lead to reduced <business parameter> by <some percentage>. These types of statements have more impact than just listing down the responsibilities or tasks.

Hygiene Factors – This is the most important point. Nothing puts off a recruiter more than a spelling mistake that could have been easily avoided. Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Get it proofread by friends & family before you start sending it to recruiters.

Do not try fancy designs. Stick to simple & professional resume layout and use an easy to read font – Times New Roman or Arial. Do not highlight or underline too much. Make sure basic facts (dates, qualifications, score/marks) mentioned in the resume are absolutely correct.

Most recruiters search for resume by certain keywords. Make sure you include the right keywords in your resume. Don’t overdo it though.

The list isn’t exhaustive. What do you think?

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Tarun Matta is the founder of iimjobs.com – an exclusive job portal for MBAs from IIMs and other premier business schools in India.

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