| |
| |
|
Careers & Employment Information |
|
|
|
Job! Money! Career!
Feel somehow your life is stuck in MS-OFFICE - The reality of life for MBAs is Excel or PowerPoint , I heard Google is catching up at campus. Having gone through this myself, (I am still not out of it!), having had the nightmare of freshly minted MBAs reporting to me every year ( 90% of MBAs in their first job believe that their first Boss in Incompetent) and struggling to manage their transition to reality, guess I am now in a position to give some Gyan on assessing your job and career moves. I crystallized these thoughts while discussing these situations with a friend of mine, her issues with the first job where similar to what most of you would be facing. Job!! Money !! or Career !! 1. Money is not Important: - I do not actually mean it, not that I am asking you to struggle through an insipid low paying job. I did that for almost a year. But the rules of taxation are such that anybody earning between Rs.5.00 Lakhs to Rs. 10.00 Lakhs per annum ends up more or less with a similar quality of life. So if you are just switching jobs for a few thousand more, think twice, it may not be worth it. Do not concentrate on money right now. It is not too difficult to make money. But nobody is going to pay you a higher salary because you ask for it, organizational decision making processes are far too complex. It is not how hard you work or how you please the boss that matters! I tried this for a couple of years to no effect. The crux of the matter is what "Value" you are delivering to the organization, if the Organization as a whole (at least the people who matter) sees you deliver value they have no option but to pay for it. 2. Evaluate Payoffs: - Any Company or everybody pays you to get a job done. The choice you have to make is whether you really want to do "that" Job. Here what you need to check is- are you emotionally enjoying the job. I have seen guys struggling through high-pressure and stressful sales jobs, because of incentives, commissions and Quarterly conference at plush location when they would be much happier doing a less glamorous job that they would enjoy. This is also seen in situations when people are stuck in so called "Corporate Office" positions assisting the Senior Management with their Excel or PowerPoint, although there is a glamour attached to being in the Corporate Office etc, check whether you are actually adding to your skills. You would be better off on the Shop Floor or Field Sales at a younger age. 3. Is the job utilizing your time or adding to your skill sets: - Skill sets are both technical and behavioral. For example if your talking of a Demand Planning job, a Demand Planner who has worked on SCM packages like i2 or Oracle APO/SAP APS will at the end of the day have skills which are highly valued in the job market, but not demand planning done in "Excel". Behavioral Skill sets are complex to explain but you know the usual set like Team Working, Leadership etc etc. This happens when the job offers you opportunity to meet a lot of professionals. Sometimes you choose a job if you find it adds to Behavioral Skill - after my engineering I opted to work as a Sales Person living on full commission for 6 months before my MBA, because that was a Skill I wanted and maybe because at the age 21 you can afford to take the risk. 4. What is Work Environment /Ambiance offering you: This is particularly important for youngsters. The world around us is changing, there are a lot of Indian companies, which are changing, valuing performance instead of loyalty, having global ambitions etc. Yet there are a lot of companies who are still stuck in the protectionist economy morass. Another method of evaluation is looking at lifecycle of the Company and the Products it sells. If a company operates in a Mature or a declining market, it changes the whole worldview of the organization. The operations of these organizations would be tuned to maximizing returns in a mature or declining market through Cost Reductions- this always has cascading effect, Pay Packets, Promotions, Training Budgets or Publicity Budgets. At individual performance level, getting a 1% change in market share in a mature market is an extremely difficult job, so you may be actually struggling and putting in your best with minimal results, which can be very demoralizing. Also there are certain businesses or kinds of industries, which attract a particular kind of people. Although at the first instance you may not realize it, in the long term you realize a cultural dissonance. In such scenarios it would you to shift immediately, if you culturally do not fit in the organization, there are three things that may happen: a) You will never grow - because you would at a cultural level be an outsider b) You change yourself to make yourself culturally acceptable to the organization and repent that decision c) You would have morphed so much trying fit yourself to the culture that you become unfit for any other organization That in short is my line of thinking. It is quiet contrary to conventional thinking of running after Money and Position. Concentrate only on adding to your Skills Sets and Experiences. The Economy is currently booming there are new opportunities being thrown up both for professionals and entrepreneurs. So if you have the right mix of skills and experiences making money is not difficult. In fact there are a number of companies who have kept important positions vacant. In the Economic Time dated 19th March 2005, it was reported that the position of Vice-President(Sales & Marketing) of India's largest two wheeler manufacturer has been kept vacant for more than 6 months. Amazing isn't it considering that so many marketing MBAs are minted every year. Most importantly you should remember that all this is not very important. Career is only a means to maintain a Lifestyle and living it up is more important. Vijay V Bhat, Mechanical Engineer and MBA from Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD,India, currently employed as a Consultant with Infosys Technologies Ltd. The views expressed here are his and does not represent his employer. He has previously worked with manufacturing and automotive companies in India in the sales and marketing arena. He has also taught students in the Engineering and Management fields in Indian Colleges
MORE RESOURCES:
Employment - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Job! Money! Career! Feel somehow your life is stuck in MS-OFFICE - The reality of life for MBAs is Excel or PowerPoint , I heard Google is catching up at campus. Having gone through this myself, (I am still not out of it!), having had the nightmare of freshly minted MBAs reporting to me every year ( 90% of MBAs in their first job believe that their first Boss in Incompetent) and struggling to manage their transition to reality, guess I am now in a position to give some Gyan on assessing your job and career moves. Is Your Resume Doing ITS Job? Is it opening doors to new opportunities? Does it compel the reader to think, "Hey! This applicant can ?put that one on top of the 'call in for an interview' pile!" Does it showcase what you have accomplished for past employers as well as what you can accomplish for the potential employer?Your resume is your personal marketing tool that must immediately convey to the reader that you CAN and WILL be a positive driving force to further their organization's mission. They have a need to QUICKLY get thru all the resumes received in response to their job posting so you've got to QUICKLY grab their attention. Identity Theft and Your Online Job Search While identity theft is nothing new, the Web has opened up whole new world of opportunity for identity thieves.According to the FBI, identity theft is the top online fraud. Getting Your Online Health Care Administration Degree Are you thinking about getting your online health care degree but don't know where to start? Afraid of choosing the wrong college or school? Here's a simple guide to help you get started building the career that you've always wanted.Making the decision to get your online health care degree is not any easy one. CV Writing - How to Write a CV A winning CV has 2 objectives: To illustrate your strengths and maximise your chances of getting through to interview and to put factual information, such as dates, places, names together in a presentable and readable form. Focal Point It is claimed that the human eyes are naturally drawn to a focal point one third down from the top of the page. What You Cant Ask a Job Candidate is as Important as What You Can Ask As a human resources professional or business owner, you face many challenges during the hiring process, from sorting through stacks of job applicant résumés to making an attractive offer to the one person you believe best matches the specifications of your open position's job description. The whole procedure is more than time-consuming; it can be stressful as well. The Top Ten Strategies of A Great Interview You've just received a call to interview with your dream company. Do you know how to prepare for the interview so that you'll feel confident, have a good experience and set yourself apart from others? Try following the steps below and you'll not only be well prepared, you'll present yourself as a true professional. Continuing Professional Development Continuing professional development (CPD) is promoted by the CIPD to support the systematic development and accreditation of its members. The aim is that the continuing search to improve knowledge and skills through exposure to new experiences benefits both the individual and the business. 5 Characteristics of a Dynamic Loan Processor Not everyone is cut out to be a mortgage processor. Find out if you or a team member has what it takes to be a dynamic processor. Your Resume is Just One of the Tools in Your Job Search A resume is a tool. It allows employers to see what skills you have and what benefits you bring to the table. Resurgence of the Time Sheet: Why You Should Write Down Your Workday Activities One day I walked into my boss's office and said, " I think all staff should do a time sheet, including you, from now on." I definitely surprised her but the results of this request certainly got the attention of all of our staff. My Landscaping Business is Better Than Your Lanscaping Business... Yesterday I was having a discussion with Mary who I know from a mother's group that I attend with my daughter Sammi. Through previous conversations I have determined that this woman is very talented in the areas of landscaping and interior design. Do You Have the courage to ignore the experts? Do you have the courage to ignore the experts? Do you have the willingness and ability to understand and use the power that is within you? Courage is that state of mind when you do something that you know is right for you and your loved ones and the rest of the world thinks you're mad. The ability to make the decision and then make it happen. 20 Powerful Tips For Advancing Your Career You don't want to stay in your current position forever.. What You Should Never Put on Your Resume Liars Get Caught! What NOT to Put on Your Resume"Everybody does it" as they say. Face it, the job market can be a very tough place to compete. Choose Your References Wisely! So, you need to submit employment references. A simple task, right? Sure, you could contact three of your closest friends and ask them to be your references. Overwhelmed and Overworked: The Myth of American Productivity Employment finally seemed back on track during the first few months of 2004. Politicians crowed that "Our tax cuts are working. The Perils Of Employment: Are You About To Be Let Go? From the moment you are born and you take your first breath, you begin to die.It's just a fact of life. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone in the Job Search Most everyone these days knows what a comfort zone is. My definition is the place, environment and tasks that we have learned to do and feel comfortable with--a comfort zone. Planning To Work Abroad Working abroad can be an exciting, rewarding and horizon broadening experience; and if you take the time to plan ahead carefully before you go, you will make your transition into the overseas work place a smooth and successful one.So, if you're considering relocating overseas to take up a temporary assignment or you'd like to move abroad permanently and find work there are basically three main aspects of expatriation that you need to think about before you make your move and this article examines them for you.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
