Be Careful When You are on a Job Search! 5 Things to Look In For Signals

Looking for jobs itself is a walkthrough into experiences one may not have seen. Job search for most of us is the first step into the real world and the first look into its bright and dark sides. And ever since recruitment has taken the form of business as a recognized industry, the bright has got brighter and dark, darker. In countries like India, where unemployment is almost a phenomenon, the business is taking a toll on both, job seekers and recruiters. The reason being, setbacks in culture and technology, and most importantly, lack of awareness.

 As a part of the industry and access to in-depth insights, there are certain suggestions for job seekers to make it a better experience. Cause it's always better to learn from other's fall (experience) than to fall ourselves and learn. Let's break it down to the different aspects of the industry to get a better understanding of it.

 Job Portal

Commonly called job search engines, the portal hosts both candidates, and recruiters and consultants to provide an easy process for recruitment. Generally, job postings, job search are browsed by candidates with details about posts including job details, company details, contact details. From the other side, recruiters and consultants browse candidate profiles to search for prospective employees. This is how we understand job portals as the Shine.com team while making sure at least the recruiters are verified before allowing to use the database. Although, there are websites that host similar functionality but are classified websites with adverts on it generally called advertising platforms. The points to be noted here are:

·         Using Advertising Platforms require a little care since the recruiters and postings may not be verified. Look for details and descriptions, weigh the content (for grammar and composition, relevance of data, etc.) and look for company and contact details (at the right place). Most fake posts will not have contact details in proper place but in descriptions and mostly without the company name. And almost all real recruiters will provide the official email address as the quintessential contact detail, if not anything else.

·         Explore the website and go through its functionality, social media profiles (if available) to verify it is a portal and not an advertising platform. Do not upload the resume or provide contact details (except email for signing up) before making sure of it. Some features can help differentiate portals from others like recruiter profiles, company profiles, emailing and/or contacting recruiters from the portal directly, privacy settings (especially for contact details), customer support, etc.

·         Complete the Profiling with all the relevant details and keep them updated with time. Also, visit the portal regularly to see if any communication or views have been made on your profile. Provide details of the kind of jobs and its aspects that you are looking for. In short, do the formalities with a practical approach and be updated.

Example: Say you are searching for Reliance job vacancies, look for the email address with a Reliance related domain, look for the phone number for the location, cross-check from the internet. A Reliance vacancy of local scale may still not have such details but can be checked from the address and other aspects.

HR Consultancy

HR Consultancy firms are the ones that manage recruitment process for either or both, job seekers and employers. In which case, there are two scenarios that develop. One, where job seekers hire them to search for jobs of relevant nature. Two, companies hire them to search for candidates and do the initial screening for the openings. Either of the scenarios, what needs to be noted is:

·         Charges are levied for the service. If they come from the employer's end, it is borne by the employer. If one hires them, it has to be borne by them and this is where things may go wrong. On the darker side of the industry, a lot of lobbying goes on on this front. Check the credentials of the consultant, their registration certificates, billing information, etc to verify. Also, seek contact details of companies and employees they have put together and meet them. Check their contacts and relevance in your industry too.

·         Offerings by HR consultants are common, regarding professional courses, training programs, etc to enhance professional strength. If it seems important, check the affiliation and other details of the courses, verify certificate value, and look for multiple options for the same as well.

·         Be Warned, the above two are the points where the lobbyists try to make quick money out of candidates. Especially, they seek registration fee, and later, force into unnecessary training and coursework and then, leave the candidates in dark. The signs to flag them are, unnecessary interviewing and pitching for a registration fee, not disclosing name and contact of the employers, little to no knowledge about job prospectus, unverifiable bills and receipts or no issuing of them, etc.

Example: Scenario: Say you are contacted for Reliance vacancy by a consultant, if they interview on phone and send you details for further test and interview directly to a Reliance office, then it is genuine. If they ask you to come down for an interview at their own center, FLAG, possibly they'll seek registration fee as well.

Scenario: You contact (on call or revert for the email) through an advert and are asked to come down to interview at a non-official address (not of the employer) FLAG, you are being funneled for above. Similarly, you get in touch with a consultancy and they interview you directly without any lead, FLAG. Similar irrelevant happenings, suggestions, visits, communications, etc are all FLAGS.

 Referrals 

In the world of extensive networking opportunities, referrals are one of the best bets and also, a very difficult approach as well while looking for a job. Referrals are best supported through industry experts and reputed educationists, however, they are not limited to it. Working freelance or on short-term contracts are one of the best ways to network professionally and in the process, useful referrals can be found as well. Also, referrals can come from established employees as well, but networking or reach still is essential.

 The only care that needs to be taken care of with referrals is, the person should have sufficient reputation, should know them enough and be known to them enough as well to validate your professional potential. And most importantly, they should either come through a reliable channel or found by you.

Job Fairs

Job fairs are a fairly new concept, introduced to tackle the communication gap between recruiters and job seekers. It also takes the competition on standardized levels. A job fair works, with similar functions to a portal, in two ways. One, by providing candidates with information about vacancies and opportunity to apply for it in person along with meeting a representative personnel. Two, by providing companies to target their recruitment process without confining themselves, gather the database of candidates, and create their talent pool. Informed actions in a fair can get the job done, just know these:

·         Be Informed about the recruiters, companies, and other professionals attending the fair, a thorough examination of the brochure will give all the information. Plan and explore the event according to your requirements and interests. 

·         Interact with professionals, not just recruiters but other individuals with experience (never know when you land a referral). Especially while exploring industries that do not fall into your direct domain, listen and exchange information, there are always hidden prospectus waiting. Interacting with the recruiters may also provide leads other than the ones already on the table, but only a healthy impactful interaction can extract it.

·         Regulate your activities to a limit and instead, give quality time to certain prospectuses. Also, regulations should also extend towards approaching consultants representing recruiters and/or multiple employers. Such a case simply beats the cause fair stands for. There are other self-imposed regulations that one needs because they are under constant watch of many recruiters.

LinkedIn

This is currently one of the most reliable and widest network for professional networking and subsequently, job search. Unlike other social networks, it follows a rather targeted approach with features aimed at professional works only. To use linked in for job search requires a certain understanding of the network, but with it, it is fairly easy and adopted by most of the organizations as one of the go-to channels for recruitment. What you need is:

·         Share your experience, knowledge, connections, opportunities through creating or just sharing quality content on the channel. Filling in just the profile with relevant content about your experience and professional and academic prowess can give an edge in the job search.

·         Activity among and outside your connections can help build reliable professional relations. Searching for a job, you can ask your connections' permission to include them as references to give a review if asked for. Relevant and honest references are a great way to strengthen profile. 

·         An Updated Profile to give the best information on your professional life for recruiters to go through. Also, keeping it updated (and switching on public updates) will keep you active among your network. Also, can serve as a motivation towards undertakings to increase professional prowess. Also, skills backed by people among your connections validates them as well.

·         Network among the people in your industry and related industries, especially recruiters. Connecting with them provides one, updates on openings as they update them, two, send your updates among them to present your progress, three, find individuals who may be potential referrers for you. 

Doing everything together may prove to be tiring, confusing, and complicated. Use all the medium wisely and give the due time and effort they require. Job portals require time periodically to update and rest can be invested in search. LinkedIn and other networks require less but regular time. Job fairs are scheduled events, informed well in advance and are manageable accordingly. Keep an open mind with consultants but also, careful approach. In all these processes, keep an eye out for individuals who can provide referrals, learn from everyone and have healthy professional relations. And elevate your search to a good level that you can stand out among the crowd and finally succeed. Persistence, folks, is the key!

Yes, we know that Job Search could become tricky sometimes, but if you use right rules and Job Search techniques, your dream job can actually just click away from you!

HR Lessons From The Analysis of Flipkart, Snapdeal and Patym Jobs

Flipkart, for all that matters, took the nation by storm, through its first-in-the-market edge and some of the highest levels of funding raised. Toe to toe was SnapDeal and PayTM. And when looked at, they all looked pretty much the same in every aspect except PayTM's payment banking. And one of the most common subject matter they shared without any dispute was the work culture. And against them stand giants as Amazon and Alibaba, with strict corporate cultures and customer driven approach.

Before we delve into the realms of what kind of experience Flipkart jobs are or that of Amazon, let's take a quick glance at the histories first.

·         Flipkart with its decade-long run has seen some of the biggest funding, staying independent, and currently, almost on the verge of collapsing in a financial strain.

·         On the other hand, a history of SnapDeal news points towards a tough struggle against Flipkart jobs. Raising a lot of funds, it eventually went under the indirect umbrella of Alibaba.

·         PayTM again wasn't able to maintain its independence and got under the shadow of Alibaba. Although, had it got just a few years of freedom and support, the payment bank it finally is would have kept it supported, especially after the excessive market capitalization after demonetization of 2016.

Let's get back to the common grounds! So, the work culture of these organizations boasted an open and free environment with utmost levels of flexibility. And in that many thrived and many perished, many saw whole different forms of opportunities. However, there are very few cases of a general career in these organizations, the sort where people move step by step and grow consistently. It took some study to actually understand what was happening, so here is the analysis.

Openwork culture, traits, and compatibility:

·         An open work culture, in its most accepted forms, puts emphasis on depressurizing employees and giving them the freedom to work on their own terms. For the most part, it improves the general performance of individuals and smaller teams, brings out the versatility of employees, and redistributes powers. It also closes hierarchical gaps and streamlines work.

·         Creative, self-motivated individuals thrive in such environments. They get the freedom they need to harness their energies. However, those with aggressive and diplomatic attitude may pose a threat to the organizational health because of lack of hierarchical structure.

·         Individuals with calculative aptitudes and balanced behavior face problems but can be overcome with minor modifications. The changes are on an individual level and need to be identified and applied soon.

·         The ones with under-confidence and those who need guidance often find it difficult in such environment. These are the ones with shortest runs.

A · open culture is a place for ideas and innovations. They seed and bring unconventional strategies to tap into markets, like Flipkart’s Big Billion Day, which also points to lack of experience or calculations. Also, the developmental pace is fast for the organization and slower on more segregated levels.

·         Aggressively natured individuals can find it stimulating, motivating, and progressive for themselves. A general dissatisfaction may arise due to individual devaluation but are driven to drive. These are also the second to exit.

·         Strategic thinkers and cautious individuals are generally dissatisfied with work, but also find the results and the experience itself as a learning opportunity. Also, these are the ones that bring untested and innovative ideas on the table (to get them tested). They are mostly happy and also, the biggest contributors to the organization since they get to play a lot.

·         Individual with group dependencies are often the most satisfied employees and also, a strong foundation for the organization to stay up on.

·         And lastly, open work culture also gives space for socializing and inter-personal interactions. It helps build very strong teams and internal support mechanisms. It improves the learning curves of employees. It further adds to group approach and takes away individual value. Also, the general integrity of the organization is always compromised due to conflicting individual values and lack of general organizational ethics.

·         Extroverts and introverts, both find the environment a little overwhelming and conflicting to individual needs. Same goes for creative and intellectually strong. Any individual with a little too inclination on either side of any traits will be hampered.

·         People with a balanced approach, ambiverts, positively diplomatic, with traits more of managerial nature are the ones that deal with it best and are at complete ease.

Amazon's strict culture and compatibility:

The corporate culture like the one Amazon offers, is a strict set of rules, regulations, and goals. Keen eyes watch over most works, the hierarchy is well-defined and so are the responsibilities. Social characteristics of the job are minimal. Learning is slow, growth itself is a dependent phenomenon. Innovations in such culture are less and calculated. While decisions are made strategically and with foresight, meaning a lot of calculation and experience used, but less gained. Almost everything in direct opposite of open culture.

·         Individuals with the most combination of traits will be dissatisfied and will stay for short to intermediate periods. However, those who show progressive combination attitude will be acknowledged to move up in their limited period. Mostly, because of strict goals and values. Most upper-level employees are employed separately than internal filling mostly due to the same reason.

·         Very specific traits like strategic thinking, intellect, diplomacy, and so will certainly find it compatible with their nature. People with consistency, persistence, and such values may keep in too. Most traits are redundant in such a culture because only the required are appreciated, rest kept out of sight.

Comparing the environment itself shows how recruitment industry needs more data and analytics on both, organizations and individuals to get to work together. However, the most part of the downside is faced by individuals than the organization itself. Yet, if compatibility check is done properly, it may lead to higher job satisfaction and higher growth. There is still a lot to study and analyze to get such Amazon jobs in place, and the HR industry and maybe, even the organizations and individuals may need to evolve accordingly.

Career Wish list, Career Planning with Endless Opportunities!

Wish lists, they are everywhere around us. And why wouldn’t they be, after all a fragment of every human mind functions solely as a wish list. The part of us always keeps planning and influencing choices; making us question where we stand and where we could; where are we going and where we must and on and on. Much of our momentary to lasting existential crisis originates from this fragment only.

So, why not document and bring the fragment to a physical form, to keep together and our careers too. And to make sure, things are ticked every now and then. Yet the concept may seem a little vague. So just think about it a bit.

Career, what does that mean?

The whole set of professional undertaking that takes care of the following: Financial Security, Social Security, Psychological Well-being, and Miscellaneous Fulfillments alongside the experience and other gains. That's what a job is all about, right? Often the intrinsic requirements and priority order may deviate from the general understanding of one or more. Say social security may mean being recognized as a member but not much involvement into it and having a simple, uneventful life in peace, alongside an eventful career. And for the same, a career can be planned well to achieve that.

                                                                                                                             

Wishlist, how does that add up to the career?

We all have requirements; needs, wants, and desires. Needs are quintessential stuff, want is added bonus over needs to enhance our being, and desires are the topping, redundant but important for the mind. Any career will take care of the needs, hence, the needs and desires are what will direct career path(s) and thus, the concept of the wishlist.

And what will it be?

Just like any e-commerce store, a wishlist is the set of things that you don’t have now, but your intent to own them as and when possible. It is a list of exact items, particular and precisely representing the product wanted. And the funny thing is, just like the e-commerce stores, life also presents alternate choices for all (inspired by your wishlist) with slight to little extra deviations. So the wishlist must essentially be about precise things in the lines of

·         Company/Employer List: The companies, after extensive research, that one would wish to work for or with. No need to specify a reason for any but an abstract statement can be given to make sense of the lot.

·         Post and Responsibility: The different kind of jobs and the levels at which one would wish to stand at, possibly, with a tentative timeline which will eventually aid in the next point. They may be conflicting, unrelated, and/or there may be multiple sets of work profiles one would want to move along with.

·         Salary Graph: A number of earnings (along with savings) one wishes to receive in return for the works. This has to be adjusted for inflation from time to time to keep its relevance.

·         Location and Settings: The places one feels for, in terms of living, visiting, exploring, settling down, and so. Settings refer to the general setup around, that would please the mind irrespective of the locations but dependent on lifestyle and choices. Both dependent on job location.

·         Culture: The kind of societal setups one wish to spend time in and can differ for work, personal, family, and other scenarios.

·         Education and Literacy: What to learn, what to get certified in, and similar endeavors that will impart self-value and value in setups.

·         Aspirations: This is one complicated point, say you want to live a peaceful life after retiring at 40 in a seaside village, then everything above will work accordingly. Any conflicting material may pose problems here. Also, this is the only one thing that needs reality check according to above.

·         End Goals: End goals may or may not be there, having one though will help keep things clear but still it is optional. Afterall at this time, all your jobs have been successfully completed.

There may be other factors that may be included in the career wishlist, everything revolving around your career and professional life and aspects that it’ll directly affect.

 The Advantage of a Career Wishlist

For one, it is a plan in itself, one without instruction and scalable opportunities. And the plan-like aspect of it will aid in:

·         Career Wish List will give you directions and motivation to keep going.

·         It will help you take up tasks, assignments, undertaking as a well-thought-out decision.

·         It will serve as a long-term to-do list keeping you on tracks, and suggesting what to research and look out for.

·         It will keep track of your undertakings, and deviations from expectations, maintaining pure rationality and reflecting on reality.

Just bear in mind, it’s your wishlist, and just like you, it needs to be dynamic.

·         Review it from time to time, make adjustments.

·         Don’t make sacrifices (it’s a wishlist, c’mon) but do purge it as necessary.

·         Don’t be practical in it but be practical about it, as the career is your only priority.

·         The point is, it is for you and should work for you, and in return make you work on and for yourself too.

 So, get going and start a career wishlist now. Take out a nice diary or open a digital notebook and start scribbling jobs.

Work life balance - Tightrope walking - Is it possible?

If you are one of the many people working more than 60 hours a week and not seeing daylight for days. And your family sees you often but not enough, but enough to complain about it. Well, congratulations, you are amongst the class of those, who are trying to balance out between work and personal life. But is there such a thing as work-life balance? There is an answer to it, yes, but we can only show you the way to it. Your Job is not everything in this world!

 Work-life balance is not about doing a balancing act between these two places but setting your priorities for them in an attempt to be fair to both, fair enough? So, how does one decide on priorities that are the real question to ask? So far so good!

 Here are some ways to get your life and Job in order...

 Identify Your Priorities

Let me take this as an opportunity to introduce you to the Eisenhower's Work-Time Management Matrix.

Any work or event or person can be prioritized using this basic fundamental. Important (or Critical, when it comes to work) means it can not do without you and/or your time and/or your attention. And urgent is everything that can't wait for a delay (especially events that happen in specific time frames). Rest explains itself. If it is critical and urgent, do it NOW. If it is important but not urgent, make a scheduled slot for it (if you are too busy, because if you don't they will eventually become urgent too). If it is urgent but not important/critical, find someone who can and get it done (applies at work and general matters). If it is neither important nor urgent, then why are you even thinking about it. Anyway, you can still get it done if you can use the power of money to save your time. What you need to remember, somethings need you, give yourself to them in time.

Keep Premises Clear of Each Other

The only time work can interfere with your personal life is when you are driving out of your home. Same applies to your personal life. Oh, there is another (very rare) time, office party!

Unless it's an emergency, it is recommended to keep even the communications turned off (that means your phone and texts, and emails) when you are under either's roof. And leave office and home on time, always. A well-managed work-time schedule will never need overtime and would reflect positively on you. And leave you free from taking anything back home except the income.

Declare Your Priorities

If it is hidden, it is as good as non-existent! 

Make your seniors, colleagues, family members, and others clear about your priorities. It may sound a bit rude, maybe even insincere, but in the long run, the bump on the road will give you the wheel to steer clear of bigger bumps. Once it is public knowledge, how you distribute your time and what you consider considerable to make exceptions for, never breach it and you can maintain your integrity and strength in public image. Make changes and amendments from time to time, even if it means a job or career changes.

Be Sincere but Not Perfect

You don't have to be a God to get that promotion or an anything else to keep your family happy. You just have to be good enough. Seeking more than you have is the only thing that drives us to have it. But move step by step and always be only one step ahead, no more!

 Give Yourself Time Too

Make yourself a meal, take a holiday to binge watch that odd-choice series, or don't do anything. Just give yourself some time, alone or however. Be a little selfish too, and include the clause in your Public Declaration above. Balance is not everything, it is the harmony of the living with its life that is.

 And if you still can't attain it, recheck everything, including your job and the people around you. And one fine day, you will!

Career Trends' Analysis For The Last Quarter Of 2017!

India entered 2017 in a very eventful stage and things kept changing as it moved into it. But with the last quarter almost on the verge of beginning. Trends have started to make much more sense and conditions are much more stable. In the new sight, what recent trends show is a little expected and unexpected as well. There are several industries growing as extrapolated in past analysis. Several industries, however, are seeing an unexpected demand rise. What are they and what opportunities they have from the perspective of recruitment industry is a worth watch.

Infrastructure

While the real estate is looking into some setbacks, infrastructure is seeing continuous growth and has been generating ample job opportunities lately. With large-scale projects taking off and with short time-frames, an excess employment opportunity is brewing for technical and engineering background job seekers. While the number of openings and job seekers are increasing, a lot of demand remains unfulfilled for unforeseen reasons from either end.

Tourism

Recent job alerts started showing an irregular spike in the job vacancies available in tourism and related industries. The industry itself has been growing gradually for a long time in every aspect but the recent rise in openings is a little unnatural. Tourism supported sub-sectors that are looking for talents include hospitality, event management, and tourism-related marketing and sales. These sectors except for the last is seasonal and often, talent acquisition is generally low until recently.

Digital Marketing

Marketing and Sales in the digitally growing world have been speculated to and is growing fast and so is the workforce employed and subsequently, job opportunities. Digital marketing and content marketing is predicted to triple its market capitalization in India by 2020. An industry growing so fast and with that kind of potential, is also one to consume more as well. What’s more is that the industry has capitalized on many unconventional fields that were once highly competitive due to low opportunities. Writers, designers, filmmakers, photographers, and many other art-related professionals are growing with it, in it.

Healthcare

Healthcare industry, apart from the medical sciences, is showing high growth prospectus and needs of growth. With the skill and knowledge base requirements of the industry, it has always found difficulties in expanding and increasing the workforce. Which also makes a point that the industry itself is high-paying. And with recent growth requirements and training programs, it has started to put in high demands for talents ranging in all the tiers and levels it holds.

Education

One the most basic and primary industries founding the human society, the industry itself creates other industries. As the demands for the other industries increase, for the workforce and their skill levels, education industry puts forward its own demands to subsequently. Meaning when all the above and other industries are seeking talents, education needs its own talents to educate, train, and deliver the professionals to them. And it's happening, the education sector has a very high employability with high pay and respect, and most importantly, it doesn’t seek much experience but the right skills.

So if you are a recent graduate and looking for a job, then consider these industries in your job search. And what’s good is that for the most part, they seek talented and motivated individuals irrespective of their qualifications. Many have even gone as far as to acquire talents from unrelated fields and training them to make them a valuable asset. And yes, that is all they are looking for talents that can be a valuable asset.