"Home" Page!

"Aa ab laut chalen...."

Mukesh's mellifluous voice hypnotizes you while listening to this number from thespian Raj Kapoor's 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behthi Hai'.

The magic of being 'at home' is a pleasure indeed! And I do not intend to say this as an antipathy to the idea of staying in a land that is over a thousand miles away from one's own.

Nothing can take away the days that you fought the pain of moving away from your loved ones and all the warmth, to pursue your dreams of making your mark where it mattered most! Nothing can take away the initial struggle that you successfully overcame in coming to terms with working against your disposition to adjust to a new timezone, and to live amongst a new ethos. Nothing can take away the triumph you felt overcoming the initial tribulations, both emotional and physical. And finally, nothing can take away your stupendous success against all these odds! If you honestly feel that you have a lot more to achieve, and perhaps give back to the host country, nothing should stop you from rolling on. Period!

On the other hand, if there is a budding thought that is dormant in your mind about returning home ...well, nothing should stop you from brooding further! Again, it is understandable if one would like to take a holistic view of the whole idea. Chucking something that has been fantabulous all along, and moving back to a scenario that might need a bit of 'catching up' would take a lot of deliberation. It is not just about you; your family has to be comfortable with the idea too. Losing out on a well-knit network of colleagues and friends is another prospect that could tug at your heart. In other words, the whole process is quite a roller-coaster ride. If, however, the determination to return to India gets the better of all these, then what next?

I would like to steer clear of all the hype that surrounds the neo-persona of India Inc. Enough material would rain on you at the click of a mouse! It would make sense to judge your career options back home that would give you a close similarity to your current lifestyle in the US, if not all. The usual destination picks for returning Indians would be the hot metros. Bangalore and Hyderabad are no less favored. Of these, Hyderabad is where I would like to point to at the moment....

A decade ago, Hyderabad was just another non-descript capital, going about its business with a late start and an early finish every day. The earliest risers would be the industrious milk vendors with about a dozen of their overflowing milk cans tagged on to all available space on their two-wheelers rushing in to the city from its outskirts to ensure retail distribution. Of course, there would be the vegetable vendors on their way to pick up their stock for the day, and the morning walkers / joggers. Late nights were for the odd businessmen returning after an extended day's sale or a stock check, folks returning after the midnight movie show or a marriage, and a few others. Traffic at any time of the day would be far and between. That's not the scene today!

Far from the laidback milieu, Hyderabad is now a vibrant (greater) city, with all the trappings of a metropolis. There are the concrete high-rises jostling for space with residential apartments - with every vacant space or dilapidated building being eagerly lapped up to accommodate yet another construction venture - cineplexes, pubs, frequent traffic gridlocks, convenience stores, convenience products, et al. Every day sees yet another multinational corporate entity opening its office here. From retail to biotechnology to embedded infotech, jobs abound, and every major player boasts of a facility in Hyderabad. There are placement facilitators too, eager to co-ordinate every level of job requirement.

Lifestyle, though not comparable to a cosmopolitan city, can still be rated good. Cost of living is on the higher side of moderate. Yet there is some magnetic charm to this city. So, welcome to Hyderabad!

**For expert guidance on your plans to return to India, please check with Achyut Menon who is an authority on career Options for returning Indians!

Dreaming IT and realizing IT....

Today we look at opportunities in the Information Technology industry. If you said, "Easier said than done...", you are probably right! The sheer intervention of IT into the lives of each and everyone on this planet today (aliens are probably feeling the heat too...), has taken careers in IT to phenomenal levels. The spread of careers in IT, or niche areas, has far outbeaten the evergrowing specializations in the field of Medicine or Engineering. So you have the Software jobs and the Hardware jobs further demarcated into domain experts (in different fields, of course...), programmers, developers, analysts, hardcore skill experts, testing experts, designing experts, embedded technology, networking, x, y, z...

Careers in the IT industry are much sought after, for many reasons. Primarily because most software companies are big and growing. Apart from the aura of being employed with one of them which inherently means that you are considered one of the best in the industry, most people move in for the great opportunities that abound to showcase their talent, get recognition for their worth, and to move up the heirarchy with relative ease (since talent does get recognized pretty fast around here). Also, for the pleasure of getting to work in a team and sharing best practices. Since each of these companies is willing to give what it takes to be heads and shoulders above their competition, one is assured of being exposed to the latest in management techniques, avenues to enhance one's current academic achievements with sponsored study programs, peer knowledge transfer, and most of all - a professional work environment. The icing on the cake is the fabulous salary package with perquisites that may range from performance-linked incentives to stock options, and opportunities to travel to different parts of the globe on on-site assignments. Not to speak of the tremendous social impact it creates about you, on your circle of family and friends.

IT as an industry, caught up in its initial years in the developed nations. Today, India has emerged as a key player in the IT industry. A good amount of Indians form a majority of the IT workforce worldwide. Indian software majors such as Infosys and Satyam are household names in the global market. With the onset of globalization and the concept of a 'global village', India is now the most favored destination for most IT majors to set up their off-shore development / technology support sites. For the jobseeker, this is a major plus, as each one of these IT majors are looking to recruit and retain the best of talent!

The pertinent question relevant here would be as to how does one successfully manage a career in software. The latest technology in IT gets outdated even before one could blink. So, essentially one needs to be in tandem with the 'in' things. Keeping up with the pace of technological advancements, a diligent worker in the IT industry, as with any industry, is a precious asset to any employer. In other words, this would mean being a 'seen' member in some very good projects, where your contribution can be assessed or spoken about in tangible yardsticks. Even if your contribution was just a part of one of the modules in the whole project! Your interpersonal relationship with your peers and your Team Lead / Project Lead do matter a lot. After all, you would want some of them to speak good about you when your new employer checks on you!

Ciao, and more on this in my next entry. In the meantime, I thought you would like to check out some very interesting openings at http://www.optionsitjobs.blogspot.com (You could also mail your career programs or queries to jyothish@optionsindia.com or sridhar@optionsindia.com who will be glad to help)

Retail India

We are all aware that the retailing industry has been around in India right since the days of Maharajahs and elephants. Back then, you could stroll into the market square, perhaps on designated days, and buy anything as varied as vegetables, slaves, and diamonds. All for a couple of copper and/or gold coins!

With evolution of civilization and the onset of a democratic and free India, retailing meant everyone from your ‘friendly neighborhood’ tiny grocery store reeking of a mix of odors from its jam-packed collection of spices, detergents, flour, and so on, right up to the strategically located showrooms of the shoe giant, Bata India. A strong network of wholesalers, C & F agents, and distributors with their proactive sales paraphernalia ensured that multinational giants such as Unilever, ITC, Pharma majors, et al, reached their target customers with absolute ease through the retail outlets. Some of the retailers either branched out to different locations, or upgraded themselves to larger spaces in a new avatar – the supermarkets.

So, what if someone wanted to have a career in retail back then? Well, no one really did! They either set up their own little store hoping to close the day, everyday, with a nice bundle of cash to take home. The not-so-lucky ones would join up as shop assistants, attending to customers at the counter, and to the owner’s errands with equal panache - all with the hope of owning their little shops one day into the future! And then, of course, there would be blink-your-eye-and-you’d-miss-him accountant showing himself for a couple of hours to catch up with maintaining the day’s accounts.

Gladly, the situation is dynamically different today. We have almost all the global retailing majors such as Metro, Wal Mart, Foodworld, etc., coming in (apart from our very own pan-Indian groups, Aditya Birla, Bharti, Reliance, RPG, Spencers, Vishal et al) to set up their ambitious retail chain of superstores and hyper stores through every possible town and city in India. With their proven expertise in sales and management of retail chains in other parts of the globe, they hope to tap the world’s most growing economy with the simple mantra of ‘giving more than the customer expects’. So you have the whole gamut of marketing skills being employed from wooing customers with discount coupons, quantity discounts, freebies, and sometimes, free tickets to the latest blockbuster or a celebrity event – to name a few. Now herein lies the tale that is of equal interest to us recruiters, and you, the jobseeker, alike! Of drooling interest, if I may add…

Never before has the average jobseeker have it so good. In fact, this is the next best thing that could happen to them right after the BPO influx, which re-defined recruiting parameters in customer service. The booming retail industry offers as many interesting options in terms of a career, and I am talking of a well-defined career here, for those who seek it. They could be anyone from the front-ender store help, serving the crowd of customers across the floor sections, to the unobtrusive retail outlet manager…and up across the hierarchy ladder.

With practically a zero number of retail chains to source a battle-ready workforce, the mega-retail ventures are picking people from those just into the employment market, and for critical positions, from across sales departments in other industries. We have observed these developments with interest, and would highly recommend this industry to those who would love to ride a stallion across the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to eventually have their pick of Mackenna’s glittering gold! So, here’s wishing you all success………

Check this out for some great openings in Retail, in the following departments:

Retail operations, Logistics, Supply chain, Cash, Maintenance - Store, Buying (Food/Non-Food), Merchandising (Food/Non-Food), Imports Agent, Construction, Finance, Legal, Marketing, Quality, Administration, Communication, and Human Resources.