If you are planning to make a Video resume here is a list of Top 5 Video resume sites. A Video resume has its own advantages and disadvantages – but it is at present one of the effective ways to use along with traditional resume and impress your prospective employers. Video resume are especially good opportunities for candidates who have excellent communication skills and pleasing personalities.

Plan well for Video Resume

A video resume give you a way to display your abilities beyond the capabilities of a traditional paper resume. In a video resume prospective employers can see, hear and get a feel for how the applicant presents themselves.

According to C2C Video Resume – “89% of employers revealed that they would watch a video resume if it were submitted to them.” Although most employers have not yet used this new technology as an evaluative tool, only 17% have actually viewed a video resume the vast majority are receptive to it.”

Video resumes are sometimes also called Visumé  or Video CV. Video Resume date back to 1980s when they used to be distributed using the VHS tapes. Tapes and CD had limited use to Video resumes as they need to be played on a player or distributed in physical formats. However, with the modern internet capabilities of hosting videos (like Youtube) the transmission and streaming video via the internet has ensured that video resumes are rising on the popularity charts.

Video Resume in a Nutshell

• Effective to showcase your capabilities
• Especially good if you have excellent communication skills / pleasing personalities
• Keep video resume short
• Start with your ‘Elevator Pitch”

List of top 6 Video Resume websites

(1) Koozba

One of the leading website for Video resumes in India. Connects employers and job-seekers with video resumes.

http://www.koozba.com

(2) C2C Video resume

One of the first company in India to launch on-line video resume services (www.c2cvideoresume.com) for job seekers where applicants can create their own video resume and send it to employers across the globe

http://www.c2cvideoresume.com/

(3) Go CV One

http://www.gocvone.com/

(4) Resume Tube

http://www.resumetube.com/

(5) Visual CV

http://www.visualcv.com/

(6) Mayomann

http://www.mayomann.com/

Alternatively you can simply create a resume and share it on Youtube. Take a look at following Video Resumes on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf-o–R3kY4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHMbtxBndgY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRE7rjLocc

You can be Innovative with your video resume.

Using personal site to host resume?

Many of candidates I counsel ask me, “Can I create a personal website for hosting my video resume as I am not comfortable in hosting them to public websites.”  My advise is yes you can and it is a great idea to create a personal website. In fact now we have a series of domains name .me available for personal website. So you can have a personal website as www.myname.me

One of the company I work with which is into website development in Hyderabad, India and they in fact design and develop personal websites. According to them the typical cost of creating a personal website with an integrated blog is about USD 100 or 5000 Indian Rupees. Alternatively you can use using Google Sites & Google Apps Video (Business Edition) which costs USD 50 per per year to create a personal site and host video.

If you have created a video resume and want to share with others – share in comments below.

Why we do not have Indian Teaching Services or ITS in the line of Indian Administrative Services (IAS) or Indian Police Services (IPS)? Yesterday I was watching Bollywood movie Aarakshan on TV (missed it in theater) and in one of the scene main protagonist played by Amitabh Bachchan has asked that question. This really made me think and yes there are many services in elite Union Public Services (UPSC) exam apart from IAS and IPS. 

The well known civil services exam which has been conducted for last so many years and has given this country the administrative backbone – includes following services.

Services in UPSC Civil Services Exam

(i) Indian Administrative Service. (IAS)
(ii) Indian Foreign Service. (IFS)
(iii) Indian Police Service. (IPS)
(iv) Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’.
(v) Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
(vi) Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’.
(vii) Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
(viii) Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’.
(ix) Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Group ‘A’ (Assistant Works Manager, Administration).
(x) Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’.
(xi) Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
(xii) Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’.
(xiii) Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group ‘A’.
(xiv) Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’.
(xv) Post of Assistant Security Commissioner in Railway Protection Force, Group ‘A’
(xvi) Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’.
(xvii) Indian Information Service (Junior Grade), Group ‘A’.
(xviii) Indian Trade Service, Group ‘A’ (Gr. III).
(xix) Indian Corporate Law Service, Group “A”.
(xx) Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade).
(xxi) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra &
Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group ‘B’.
(xxii) Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra &
Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group ‘B’.
(xxiii) Pondicherry Civil Service, Group ‘B’.
(xxiv) Pondicherry Police Service, Group ‘B’

(Above list is as per 2011 civil services notification)

Why not Indian Teaching Services (ITS)?

Now really the question is – Why we do not have an Indian Teaching Services (ITS)? Do we have an alternative for similar services in education – NO! They why, when education is such an important aspect for the growth of our country – we do not have a service category where we select the best minds for the education sector? After all selection of IAS and IPS has been often cited as one of the best in world model of selection and training.

The value associated with this coveted exam ensures that millions of youth in India aspire to become an IPS or IAS one day and serve the country. Just imagine what will happen if the same best minds also compete for the education services – Indian Teaching Services. These ITS can do an education revolution in India! If IAS, IFS and IPS then why not ITS. Why we always undervalue our education sector? Why education is the last priority for us – when it should be first?

ITS – the way to go forward!

With the neglect the situation is that barring few IITs and IIMs the education sector in India is severely under the need of best talent. There are no quality administrators, principals, professors, teachers in the universities and colleges. This is the high time that education ministry should make a start and give a proposal for Indian Education Services to select best minds who will carry the flag of education in this century. A dedicated service for education will ensure that growth in sector increases by leaps and bounds and quality improves many-fold.

Banking is one of the most required after career option between the students. It is an entry into a well paid, secure and status career. These jobs are meant for commerce/economics students but the fact is that majority of bank officers are from different streams of education. Now appointing management graduates, CAs and CFAs but bright graduates from any subject can get entry in the Public sector Banks through an “All India Examination” conducted by them. Now banks are in the mutual funds, securitization business credit cards, and consumer loans, housing loans, housing loans besides trading in gold and forex activities.

Generally banks look for good communication skills, good interpersonal skills, and the ability to deal with customers, an alert nature, and basic knowledge of the industry. Good computer knowledge is always preferred.

There is a growing need for better and better banking facilities due to international trade and industrial liberalization which have contributed a lot to the change in the banking environment. All this has created an increase in opportunities in banking jobs and a requirement for people with marketing and technological skills apart from financial background.

There are various different levels at which a person can join the bank namely clerk, a Grade I officer, a Grade II officer or as a manager.

A good banker is a person who has a well-organized mind with an eye for detail. It helps in maintenance of records accurately and neatly. The person should have a mathematical aptitude. Employees joining as officers should be able to lead, motivate and manage the bank staff. Good verbal and written communication skills help in effective interaction with the clients as well as the staff. Integrity and honesty play a major role in all dealings related to money, staff and clients. A person responsible for foreign exchange transactions needs to have a sharp, quick and analytical mind.

There are front office personnel in all banks, and then there are supervisors who handle most back office operations like completion of transactions, general ledger work, and overall supervision. Banks are now offering good salary packages.

State Bank of India is the top commercial bank of the country. The Private sector with the entry of new banks mostly promoted by the major Financial Institutions like IDBI, ICICI etc has provided competition to both Public sector and Foreign Banks. They are more technology know-how and offer better salaries than Public sector Banks. Unlike public sector banks, the promotional avenues are not time-bound.

Foreign Banks are the most sought after due to their salary packages comparable to the best in the country and better job profiles. Public sector Banks recruit mainly graduates at the entry level on the basis of All India Level examination. However professionals like engineers, doctors, technologists, lawyers, ex-defence officers etc are recruited on senior positions through All India tests.

Private sector/Foreign Banks prefer to take MBA’s, CA’s etc at junior positions through Campus recruitment and interviews. However, at the senior positions they opt for experienced bankers. Thus the officers from Public sector Banks become the natural choice for such positions. Thus job-hopping has become a well-accepted norm in the Industry.

Therefore joining a Public sector Bank as Probationary Officer (Direct Officer) on the basis All India exam has become a stepping stone for the career growth in the Banking Industry.

Selection procedure for RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the topmost financial institution in India which makes all the policies and regulations for the other banks. It conducts tests for three types of entry level positions:

• Clerical grade
• Grade I officers
• Grade II officers

The entry point for clerical staff is in the cash department as examiners of coins and notes. They are promoted to the next grade when they successfully clear the relevant examinations after 5-10 years of service.

There is an All India Exam conducted for class I posts. Graduates, Post Graduates, CA’s, MBA’s in the 21-26 years of age group are eligible.

The candidates are tested in

• Logical Reasoning,
• Mental Ability,
• Numerical Aptitude
•  General English

The examination is in parts.

Paper I is a written test comprising of General Mental Ability (Objective type).

Paper II is a subjective one which has English Essays/Comprehension/Precise writing etc.

Paper III is on Economics and Social problems.

Selected candidates are shortlisted for an interview which forms the basis for the final selection.

Selection procedure for other nationalized banks

 Anyone in the age group of 18-26 years having a degree is eligible for appearing in the written test. The format of the test is similar to the RBI examination. Test is followed by an interview. Clerical staff gets recruited through regional boards. The eligibility and test format are the same as for PO examination.

Selection procedure for nationalized

commercial banks

Commercial banks regularly advertise through their Banking Service Recruitment Board (BSRB) to recruit Probationary Officers (‘PO’). Each region has its own BSRB which carries out the recruitment. Eligibility is a graduate in any discipline with an upper age limit of 28 years.

Information about the examination

The office grade examination has 2 parts – objective and subjective.

Written Test

 The test of reasoning judges the analytical and problem solving skills of the candidate. The English language test focuses on the grammar, synonyms, antonyms, vocabulary etc. General awareness tests the understanding of environmental and social issues, people and events etc.

The quantitative aptitude test measures the numerical ability and accuracy in mathematical calculations. The questions range from purely numeric calculations to problems of arithmetic reasoning, graph and table reading, percentage analysis, categorization and quantitative analysis.

The subjective part of the paper typically involves imagining oneself in a situation such as observer in a public meeting. One has to then comprehend the situation, provide unique observations and analysis.

Interviews

Selection in the interview is based on the knowledge of the subject of study, personality and awareness. Candidate’s communication skills and leadership qualities are judged during the interview. Typically 30% of the candidates get selected after the interview.

In India FIITJEE across 150 Test Centers, nation’s premier institute for IIT-JEE training will be conducting FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam on Sunday 25th December 2011.

FIITJEE- Nation’s premier institute for IIT-JEE training will be conducting FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam on Sunday 25th December 2011.

FIITJEE Talent Reward Examination (FTRE) is meant for students presently in class V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI & XII, who have as their target NTSE & Junior Olympiads; excellence in boards; SAT- I; SAT-II; TOEFL and advance placements for admission to US University; IITJEE / MEDICAL / XII Board or integrated school / Olympiads / KVPY / SAT Plus and other engineering entrance competitive examinations. FIITJEE, a socially responsible organization aims to help these serious IIT-JEE aspirants realize their dreams through this examination and based on their performance, it will help them know their chances of success in securing a seat in the IIT’s through the Rank Potential Index obtained in FTRE.

Students can use this exam as an assessment tool to decide about their best career choice / option and the need to join any relevant coaching / support program. Substantial STUDY SCHOLARSHIP and CASH AWARDS will be given to those students who will perform exceptionally well in the exam.

There will be a minimal fee for appearing in FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam. The exam pattern of FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam is truly scientific and is a combination of objective and subjective questions. The exam will be held in different sessions starting from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm with proper intervals. The questions will cover all the important topics of Science & Mathematics and also test the student’s IQ & Aptitude for their overall assessment

The last date for the registration is Sunday 11th December, 2011 with a registration fee of just Rs. 300/- and after 11th December, 2011 the late fees of Rs. 100/- (total exam fee of Rs. 400/-) along with the registration fee will be charged till 20th December, 2011. Results will be announced from 4th January 2012 till 19th January 2012.

Further details and information about the registration process, exam schedule, the details of syllabi and the regular FIITJEE Programs are available at www.fiitjee.com

Awards & Scholarships: Based on the performance in subjective paper of FIITJEE Talent Reward Exam, students will be rewarded.

For students studying in class V and VII the rewards will be of Rs 60,000, 50,000 and 40,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 97 more rewards for V class students and 297 more rewards for VII class students.

For students studying in class VI the reward will be Rs 1,20,000; 1,00,000 and 80,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 297 more rewards.

For students studying in class VIII the reward will be Rs. 3,20,000; 2,80,000 and 2,40,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 497 more rewards.

For students studying in class IX the reward will be Rs 2,60,000; 2,30,000 and 2,00,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 497 more rewards.

For students studying in class X the reward will be Rs 2, 00,000; 1, 80,000 and 1, 60,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 497 more rewards.

For students studying in class XI the reward will be Rs 1, 00,000; 90,000 and 80,000 for students scoring 1st, 2nd and third rank respectively and 297 more rewards.

What is a Resume? The word “resume” is a French word meaning “summary”. A simple, well-organized profile of your experiences and qualifications.  The  major part of the interview process would be how well you can make your resume to which the HR would be interested to see.

A resume is your calling for interview card when you apply for a job. Usually, your resume has to sell an employer on giving you an interview. Interviews get the job; resumes can only get an interview. Very often, personnel people will prototype the interview on the resume they have received from you. Thus, it is essential that you have a resume and that it be a good one.

 A resume should contain brief but sufficient

information to tell a prospective employer:

•  Who you are
•  What you can do
•  What you have done
• What type of job you would like to do
•  What you know

 Your resume is often the first contact an employer will have with you, so it is important that you present yourself to your best advantage. Your resume must look professional and read professionally.

The main things are

•  Make the profile catchy using good English language.
• You are fresher so they will look about the Internship done and at what place, company etc…
• Show even what plans you have for the next coming few years.
• Show them how strong you are in the field .
• Do some market research and then work on the posting of the profile.

Follow These Basic Standards tips

• Don’t overcrowd your resume; allow for plenty of white space.
• Keep your resume to one page whenever possible.
• Keep the number of fonts you use to a minimum — two at the most.
• Use a font that is easy to read. Times Roman works well.
• Do not justify the lines of type on your resume. Allow the right side of the page to “rag.”
• use one font face and size, type very simple, check spaces and caps and small , gaps etc…

 your resume is type in the following order

•  Personal
•  Education qualification
•  Project
• Area of interest ( your interested subject )
•  Achievements
•  Point for self
•  Hobbies

I think CV resume is quite simply a ‘ To call attention ‘ to sell youself to an employer. You should send a CV to an employer when they ask for one in a job to call attention, or when you are enquiring if any jobs are available. So the purpose of your CV is to make you attractive, interesting, worth considering to the company and so receive a job interview. An employer may have several hundred enquiries about a single job, he or she will only choose a few people who appear suitable for interview.

• List your responsibilities and achievements.
• Find the one word that best describes your role in that situation such as manage, co-ordinate, plan, advice etc.
• Begin your sentence with the past tense of the verb you decide to use for every responsibility.
• Add some figures and facts to your statement.

If you want to ad more sap to you resumes, you can consult some professional resume writing services personally or online. Resume Writing Services are quite popular, because these professional resume writers got generous talent on writing Executive resumes.

Cognizant is No. 3 IT Company. Cognizant’s net profit jumped 20.83% to $208.04 million in the April-June 2011 quarter, up from $172.17 million in the year-ago period.

Cognizant said to the press on Tuesday that its revenue rose 34.4% to $1.49 billion in the quarter ended June, and in the process displaced Wipro Technologies as India’s No. 3 IT firm in terms of revenue. Wipro reported revenue of $1.41 billion in the quarter.

Cognizant said it is expecting revenue of $1.57 billion in the September quarter. Wipro’s guidance for the quarter lies in the range of $1.39-1 .42 billion. Cognizant has also narrowed the revenue gap with Infosys to less than $200 million. Infosys earned $1.671 billion in June quarter, and its guidance is $1.73 billion for September quarter.

The NASDAQ-listed firm, which has more than 70% of its software developers in India, has also been destructive on the recruitment front. In the June quarter, Cognizant net added 7,200 professionals as against Wipro’s 2,894 and Infosys’ 3,041. Only TCS recruited more, with a net addition of 11,700 people in the quarter.

Cognizant ended the quarter with over 1, 18,300 employees globally. The company added 76 new clients and closed the quarter with 721 active clients.

Geographic composition of revenues shows Cognizant earned 77.8% from North America, 18.6% from Europe and 3.6% from Asia Pacific, West Asia and Latin America.

Analysts had expected profit earnings of 66 cents a share, on revenue of $1.46 billion. The company reported profit earnings of 67 cents a share on revenues of $1.49 billion.

President and CEO Francisco D’Souza said to press reporters that “We believe that our ability to attract the world’s best talent and our unique global delivery model infused with deep consulting and domain expertise are among the reasons why we see continued demand for our services that deliver both top line and bottom-line value to our clients, and continued industry-leading growth for Cognizant”.

The company forecast a strong third quarter (July-September) at a time when rival Indian IT services exporters have warned of slowing technology spending. Infosys reported quarterly profit that missed expectations and warned it could face slow client spending. TCS flagged concerns about economic uncertainty, and Wipro said the uncertain economic environment had resulted in volatility in business, but it was not seeing delays in the IT spending decision-making process by customers.

Cognizant has projected third-quarter earnings of at least 76 cents a share, on revenue of at least $1.57 billion. Cognizant has also revised the guidance upwards to at least 32% for the full calendar year 2011 (from at least 29% announced last quarter and at least 26% at the start of the year).

President and CEO Francisco D’Souza said to press reporters that “We continue to see stronger than anticipated demand for our increasing range of services across the industries we serve. Over this past year, we have seen clients seeking our services not just to drive operational efficiencies, but also to transform their businesses to adapt to next generation technologies and to a new generation of ‘born digital’ workers and consumers.

What is the difference between two equally qualified candidates where one gets the job and other wonders what went wrong. the difference is in the habits of effectiveness they might have developed while looking for a job. What might seems to be very good habit for successful jobseekers may not always be like that. If you are a candidate who is starting your career you tend to forget some of the basic but effective job seeking habits. In this post we would like to highlight seven of the most effective habits of the successful Job Applicant Candidates.

Here are the seven basic yet very effective habits for career success recommended to become Highly Effective Job Applicant Candidates:

1. Plan your Career
2. Be Organized
3. Manage your time effectively
4. Create a Positive Image
5. Keep Learning
6. Be ready with your next step
7. Maintain work life balance & be healthy

There are good habits and there are bad habits – in all of us. We have to ensure that good habits are practiced more by new jobseekers. They must look for reaping the benefit by internalizing the good habits.

You know the noted author Stephen R Covey has written a book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. We acknoledge that we have taken inspiration from the concept of seven habits from there.

Share your views about these habits by writing in the comments below.

Which is the best IT services company in India to work? Many of our readers want to evaluate and want to know the best IT services company in India to work. If you are working with on of these companies and want to switch – the first question that comes to your mind will be – will this company be better than the present company?

CareerCola is conducting a poll on which is the best IT company in India work work for. Take some time and poll your vote to decide the best IT services company in India.

If you have some suggestions regarding the names of the best IT services companies that we are missing – write in comments below.

Jobs are back with new financial year! In India and in many parts of the world where business follow the April to March Financial year, the jobs are back. The number of job posting on the job sites are increasing, the number of pages in the employment section of newspapers and magazines are getting more and more and so are the call that job seekers get from consultants. Jobs are back folks! Really Jobs are back.

Most of the large employers freeze their recruitments towards the end of financial years in a bid to show better financial results. Even the critical positions are not filled and existing employees are asked to double up for the new requirements. Most of these positions suddenly open up after the new financial years is started.

But this time around the new positions are not only the held up positions but also the growth positions. That is why I am terming it as – Really Jobs are back folks!

Jobs are back? so what?

Jobs are back so tighten up your belts, but do not rush to the jobs. In my opinion the initial flood of offers will not be competitive for the job seekers. Best is that you play a wait and watch game for few months. Test the waters and if in the past one year or so you have not taken any interviews – take a few with lesser companies for few months.

For the experienced professionals the jump start in the salary will start from June end onwards. in about three months time the companies will realize the market situation and will come to the negotiating tables. That is when the experienced job seekers will be able to make most of the killing – say in second quarter of the year. The third quarter will be more competitive as gold rush will see many new candidates turning the tables. Candidates should try to land up into a new job during the second quarter.

If you are a entry level job seeker on non campus market – you may have some tough competition and unemployed’s from last two years are now well trained and roaring to jump on the jobs.

This time go prepared ..

This time when you go to job market – go prepared. Go prepared with a killer resume, go prepared with the skills to negotiate and go prepared to get inside your dream employer. There are many resume writing services who will be helpful. Take help of professional consultants to prepare yourself for your job search. Bud my advise is that this time go prepared to market to see the difference it makes.

Tips on How to get into a Job in a different industry

Looking for some expert tips on How to get into a Job in a different industry? Help is here if you want to change the industry you are working in and make a career in a different industry.

When applying for such a position in an industry different than yours keep in mind some important tips …

Changing Industry is a well thought process

Identify Industry: If you are looking for a job in a different industry – First, see what industries are most portable with your skills.

Do your research: We advise you to do your research and based on public research you will be in a position to demonstrate some basic insight into that industry. However be cautious and upfront indicationg that you have a thin knowledge which is just based on publicly available information. Make sure you do not project yourself as know-it-all fellow.

Do not oversell in resume: Do not oversell by relating your experience in minute details with their industry. All you need to do is to cleverly indiacet key similarities in your cover letter and remain silent on the rest. If your résumé indicates that you are a solid management asset, you will sure get a call-back.

Make a case: If you are interested in making a transition to a new industry you must understand how to make a strong case for such a move. You must be able to make a connection between their current industry and a new sector and demonstrate their value proposition to prospective employers. Identifying transferable skills is the first step in building that connection from one industry to another.

During the interview: You need to help the hiring company see how well you understand their customers, products, business norms, metrics and processes. You must relate your level of understanding about their business and indicate how you would contribute to their personal (hiring manager’s) and organization goals. Then, show the interviewers you understand the applications of the knowledge you bring to the table and that you can help them monetize that knowledge. Finally, make sure you understand the gaps you don’t fill well and speak to those in a positive way.

Do you have any experience in changing the industry? If yes share your experience by writing in the comments below.

Here is a presentation on impact of Social Media & Mobile in your Job Search. How to tweet your way to job? The must do’s of Social media for a modern day job seeker

Read on:

Here is a presentation on The 10 Commandments Of Job Search – the ten must do things for every job seeker

Read on:

Here is a presentation on Using LinkedIn For The Job Search by Maurene Grey who is New York, United States based IT industry analyst/consultant; Job seeking at Grey Consulting

Read on:

This is a presentation on Job Search Attitudes that will Get You More Interviews by Brian Massey who is Austin, Texas, United States based Conversion Scientist at Conversion Sciences

Read on:

Here is a presentation on Effective Job Interviewing for emplyer and employee by Andy Lester who is McHenry, IL, United States based Author, web programmer at The Working Geek. Read on:

According to market reports Indian employers have started hiring. Although at slower pace but they have started saying bye to recession and layoffs and are now shaking hands with new employees. Here are some prominent hiring plans of Inc India:

Retail

• Shoppers Stop: Raheja Group retailer Shoppers Stop will open 12 flagship stores in the next three years. It will also start 4-5 new Crossword book stores this year. Owing to this, Shoppers Stop will generate job opportunities for around 1,000 people in this fiscal.
• Aditya Birla – More: Aditya Birla Retail, which runs supermarket and hypermarket chains under the More brand, will launch 18 More Megastore (hypermarkets) in two years. It will hire about 200 people on front-end for each store.
• Spencer’s RPG: RPG Group that owns Spencer’s Retail is also looking to expand over the next three years and will hire new staff for the stores.
• Pantaloon Retail India, Provogue and Titan Industries will also hire new staff as they expand their number of stores.

BPO

• Teleperformance global BPO major is to Ramp Up India Headcount in a bid to make India one of its important operation centres. Teleperformance will increase its Indian headcount to 8,000 by 2010 from current strenth of 4,500 people in India. Teleperformance has also moved to Jaipur – their third location after Gurgaon and Indore.

Other sectors

• Domino’s Pizza is planning to hire up to 1,800 new employees during this fiscal to service its new restaurants.
• Volkswagen AG plans to increase headcount from 1000 to 2,500 workers in India over the next two to three years as the company boosts production at its factory in Chakan near Pune, where it expects to reach full production capacity by 2012.

Recession is out folks – start increasing your rates …

Mahindra Satyam has Reinstated the Employee Benefits according to reports. The Mahindra Satyam which went into problems after the startling revelations by earlier promoter Mr. Ramalinga Raju and was later aquired by Mahindra group in a Government conducted auction.

Mahindra Satyam is in the process of reinstating all employee benefits which include

Variable portion of staff salaries
Employee stock option plans (ESOPs)
Promotions
Slary hikes

Based on performance parameters, all associates who handle the full lifecycle of a business are being issued ESOPs as per reports. The company has also announced that it would re-introduce a staggered cash bonus for a select set of junior associates, along with some reward and recognition programmes.

Good for Mahindra Satyamites!

Leading IT companies including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL have declined to participate in Dataquest Best Employer Survey. It seems the companies are afraid of downfall in employee morale in the recssionary times – and negative feelings against them due to recent layoffs.

The top four Indian IT firms — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies, Wipro and HCL Technologies have all declined to participate in the annual Dataquest IDC Best Employers Survey. This is for the first time in eight years history of this prestigious survey.

Here is a list of IT best employers in 2008

IT Best Employers: The Top 20
Rank Company Empex
1 iGate Global Solutions 82.5
2 RMSI 81.8
3 HCL Infosystems 81.1
4 Rolta India 80.8
5 Microsoft India 76
6 Tata Consultancy Service 74.9
7 SAS Institute 74.6
8 Synechron 71.8
9 Tavant Technologies 70.7
10 Span Infotech India
11 Hexaware Technologies 70.3
12 Intel India 69.9
13 Datacraft 69.9
14 Infrasoft Technologies 69.3
15 Fulcrum Logic 68.6
16 GlobalLogic 68.5
17 Ness Technologies 68.4
18 Tulip Telecom 68
19 Sun Microsystems 67.6
20 Nagarro Software 67

Source: Dataquest

Now in the absence of these bigwigs who used to be among top 20 in the HR survey the Best Employer survey will have no meaning. In our opinion there should be an informal survey and these companies should be rated on that.

Write your own career path

Want to write your own Career Path? Here is some help from CareerCola.com on writing Career Path.

Why write your own Career Path?

Career Path or Career Planning are much abused words in HR lexicon – many times used by HR practitioners to fulfill their agenda. You can not leave the important aspects of YOUR career in the hands of some “HR practitioner” whom you barely know and who may not even know anything more about you except your name and designation. You have to take control and write your own career path.

Never accept the paths given to you – make your own

Yes – organization have set paths based on concrete hierarchy. This makes the options available to you limited. Organizations also are lazy – late to react to changing demands and hence they are always late to change the career paths, roles and organization structure – most of the times unless they are forced to do. If you accept the paths given to you by Human Resources or your supervisor – you are doing injustice to yourself. You have to make your own – based on your goals and dreams. If later you find they match a path in organizations book – OK. If or if not – you have your own path.

How to write your own career path?

Here are few recomemnded steps – if you dont like them find your own..

Start with end in mind – what is your goal in career? What you want to achieve?

Identify where you are

Note down various paths to reach that goal

Select the best scenario and make it your plan A

Select the second and third best to make Plan B and Plan C (life is not predictable always)

Now check if your plans have any similarity with organizations Career Path

Discuss them with your mentor, supervisor and HR and formalize

Remember – you have to write you career path otherwise someone else will write it!

Want to know – how to be Happpy at work place? Being happy at work will help you in becoming more productive and perform better. We have devised one survey to measure Workplace Happiness Quotient. Click here to take the Survey for Workplace Happiness Quotient.

I have seen many of the employees that I interact with rating badly their workplace happiness. That is the reason I have created an exclusive Workplace Happiness Quotient Survey for readers of CareerCola.com. This will help our readers to gauge how happy they are at work.

If you have taken this survey of Workplace Happiness Quotient you can evaluate your results here. Now that you have answered the fifteen questions in YES and NO – you can count the YES you have marked and read the analysis below:

Less than 5 YES: You are totally dissatified with your work and not happy with most of it. Either you are in wrong job or have chosen the wron career. You must consult a career advisor to identify the right job and career for you.

6 to 9 YES: You did not like your work but there is a hope that with positive changes at your workplace the situation can improve. Check the answers where you have said ‘NO’ in the survey and try to identify the areas for improvement.

10 to 12 YES: Well you mosly like your work and can be said that you are almost happy about your work. There is still scope for improvement though and from here you can easily reach the blissful stage of complete work happiness.

13 to 15 YES: Yes you are Happy at work. Now it is up to you to spread this happiness by being a happiness giving boss, subordinate and coworker. Keep it up

Your Workplace Happiness Quotient which measures how satisfied you are workplace can be found from this survey. Those of you who have taken the Workplace Happiness Quotient survey can write in the comments below to share with other readers of CareerCola.com. You can also write about the tips for other readers on how to happy ate the workplace.