Jobs are back; upsurge in hiring as slump eases

Jobs are back and India Inc is witnessing an upsurge of 15 percent in hiring trend, thanks to the improving economic climate. However, experts say it is too early to say that the situation has returned back to 'normalcy'. 

"We see the movement happening across the sectors and it looks like worst is over. But the current scenario can not be considered as normal but it is better than bad," executive search firm GlobalHunt India professional leader Sunil Goel said. 

If everything goes fine then it will take a year to reach to a normal situation, he added. 

In last two quarters (January-March and April-June), hiring was almost 0-5 percent across industries but in current quarter, average hiring has increased 5-15 percent across industries. 

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/Jobs-are-back-upsurge-in-hiring-as-slump-eases/articleshow/5064753.cms

US firms plan to re-hire former workers

With the economy showing signs of recovery, American firms are looking to re-hire employees they laid off in the past, mainly in the finance and manufacturing sectors, says a latest report. 

According to a report by global career transition and coaching firm OI Partners, about 40 per cent of employers are planning to re-hire some former workers they laid off as either full-time employees or as consultants and freelancers. 

The reason behind hiring former employees is that their skills are known to the employers and they consider former employees fit into the company's culture and environment. The employers think that re-hiring a former employee is less risky than recruiting a new one, the report said. 

It noted that nearly half of financial services firms surveyed are planning to recruit some laid-off employees, 47 per cent of manufacturing companies and 42 per cent ofservices companies plan to re-hire some laid-off workers. 

"Financial services and manufacturing were among the industries affected most by the recession, and made the deepest workforce cutbacks. That is why they may be more ready than other sectors to re-hire some employees they had to let go," OI Partners Chairman Tim Schoonover said. 

Apart from employers' confidence about an ex-employee, the other reason behind hiring is that there is shortage of experts in speciality areas such as information technology, marketing, and finance. 

On the other hand, government agencies and non-profit institutions are least likely to re-hire laid-off workers, followed by health care employers. 

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/US-firms-plan-to-re-hire-former-workers-/articleshow/5061868.cms

Animation, gaming jobs set to double by 2012: Nasscom

The animation industry is likely to have the going good in respect of jobs. Nasscom’s projections suggest that employment in this sector will double from 14,700 now to 29,500 by 2012. Similarly, the gaming industry too will create a huge number of jobs in the next three years, with the projections being 10,700 jobs by 2012 from a meagre 2,300 people now. 

Responding to a ET questionnaire over phone from Delhi, Sangeeta Gupta, vice-president of Nasscom said: “The animation and gaming industry in India has immense scope to grow. Given the financial meltdown, many western countries are actively looking at destinations like India to develop animation content within moderate budgets. The increased interest of Bollywood and the regional cinema industry for animation, has boosted growth also. The Indian animation industry has moved from a pure offshore model to co-production model. While the domestic sector contributed with manpower and infrastructure, international producers helped with marketing and distribution.”

Ms Gupta said that according to Nasscom therefore, animation and gaming companies will witness a significant growth by 2012. “At present, there are some 250 animation companies in the country. By 2012, we expect the number of such companies to swell to around 400. The number of gaming companies will also double from around 50 now to 100 by 2012.”

The Nasscom vice-president estimated that the turnover in the animation sector could cross $1 billion by 2012 from $492 million in 2008. Similarly, turnover in the gaming industry stood at $167 million in 2008, but is likely to go up to $830 million by 2012.

Ms Gupta said Nasscom was keen to provide quality training to those, who want to pursue a career in animation. It has already approached the IT ministry for setting up a formal accreditation board for the animation industry.

“The board will come up with a curriculum, which will be taught by all animation training institutes. We feel that there is an immediate need to standardise the courses that existing institutes offer,” the Nasscom vice-president said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/Animation-gaming-jobs-set-to-double-by-2012-Nasscom/articleshow/5063402.cms

70% students do not want cos to use social networks for hiring

Amid the growing importance of social networking sites in corporate hiring process, as much as 70 per cent of students are not in favour of companies using sites like Twitter or Facebook to offer them jobs, a survey says. 

According to a survey by hiring solutions provider TMP Worldwide and Targetjobs, 70 per cent of surveyed students did not want businesses to use sites like Twitter or Facebook to "sell" jobs to them as they believe "employers should not exploit social media" for their own benefit.

However, the survey revealed that 79 per cent of the respondents consider social networking sites were key to employers engaging with them.

The research found that students actively use social media to research companies and validate whether employer brand messages live up to reality and almost half of students use social media sites to chat with peers about recruitment process.

In addition, about 30 per cent of students chat with current employees to check if their expectations of a particular employer were met after being taken on.

"Employers have been saying for some time that they use social networking sites to 'check up' on potential candidates, but they must now be aware that the tables have turned," TMP Worldwide Head of Planning and Research Neil Harrison said.

"Today's students use these sites as trusted places to not only communicate with friends but to also investigate potential employers; so businesses simply cannot underestimate the power of social media when it comes to brand building and engaging with undergraduates," Harrison said.

The report, which was based on the study of penultimate and final year students, also found that 42 per cent of students think social media is the ideal platform to communicate employer brand and 56 per cent agree social networking sites allow candidates to get feel for company's culture.

"Employers must not however, approach social media half heartedly. They must be consistent with their brand and maintain the values they promote online throughout the recruitment, selection and ongoing retention process," Harrison said.

The survey also serves as a warning to employers that the instant nature of social networking means negative candidate experiences especially during recruitment and on boarding can quickly be communicated between peers having a potentially damaging effect on employer brand.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/70-students-do-not-want-cos-to-use-social-networks-for-hiring/articleshow/5068764.cms

Cost of right to education: Rs 1.78 lakh crore

After the euphoria comes the real test. The cost of implementing the historic Right to Education Act over the next five years by Centre and states works out to a whopping Rs 1.78 lakh crore. 

The new law will come into force from the next academic year and since right to education is now a fundamental right, it is mandatory on the part of the government to provide what is demanded.

HRD ministry sources say the total demand of Rs 1.78 lakh crore when finetuned will only work out roughly to just one-third of the staggering amount. They said that nearly Rs 50,000 crore can be provided to the kitty by the Centre and states from the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan fund. This brings the demand down to Rs 1.28 lakh crore. The ministry expects that in the 12th Plan nearly Rs 60,000 crore will be allocated to SSA. But this will still leave the effective demand to Rs 68,000 crore. Then again, Centre will have the tough task of persuading the states to step forward to share the cost of fulfilling the commitment.

On Friday, HRD ministry sent the proposal to the finance ministry and a copy to the 13th Finance Commission for early perusal. But sources expect a long winter of discussion and negotiation with states, finance ministry and Planning Commission before it can be finalised. The focus of discussion will be the funding pattern of RTE. Currently, SSA is funded by the Centre and states in the ratio of 60:40. It will be 50:50 by the 12th Plan.

In case of RTE, chief ministers are already gearing up to do a collective bargaining. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has written to PM Manmohan Singh demanding that the funding pattern for RTE should be 90:10 between Centre and states. He has circulated the letter to other CMs as well. Earlier, Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik had demanded a 75:25 funding pattern for RTE between Centre and states. Bihar has also said it cannot bear the extra burden since it is already shelling out 25% of its annual budget on education.

The demand for additional Rs 68,000 crore will go towards improving the infrastructure in schools, student-teacher ratio and in hiring more teachers. While SSA has a student-teacher ratio of 40:1, RTE stipulates a ratio of 30:1. The RTE law stipulates that from class one to class five, if a school has 60 children there should be two teachers, for 61 to 90 children there should be three teachers, and for 91 to 120 children there should be four teachers. There are similar stipulations in case of buildings, working days, play material, games and sports equipment.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Cost-of-right-to-education-Rs-178-lakh-crore/articleshow/5065682.cms

Recession is good for health: Study

Economic downturns may not be good for your bottom line but they might be a boon to your health, according to a study on health trends during the 20 years around the Great Depression.


Researchers from the University of Michigan found US life expectancy increased by 6 years between 1929 and 1932, from 57 to 63, with the increase occurring for both men and women and for whites and non-whites.

The number of deaths from disease, accidents and infant mortality during the Great Depression also fell.

"The finding is strong and counterintuitive," said researcher Jose Tapia Granados from the university`s Institute for Social Research. "Most people assume that periods of high unemployment are harmful to health."

The findings, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, add to previous research showing correlations between economic woes and health improvements in various countries.

This study, which covered the period from 1920 to 1940, found the health of the population generally improved during the four years of the Great Depression and during recessions in 1921 and 1938.

But mortality increased and life expectancy declined during periods of strong economic expansion, such as 1923, 1926, 1929, and 1936-1937.

The study did not look at the reasons why this was the case but Tapia Granados suggested that it may be because times of economic expansion have been linked to increases in smoking and drinking, as well as less sleep and more stress.

"During expansions, firms are very busy, and they typically demand a lot of effort from employees, who are required to work a lot of overtime, and to work at a fast pace. This can create stress, which is associated with more drinking and smoking," he said in a statement.

Also as the economy picks up, so does road traffic which also means more traffic deaths and fatal workplace injuries show a similar increase as companies take on more inexperienced workers during boom times.

Increased industrial production and road traffic also create more air pollution, Tapia Granados said, with studies showing that deaths from heart disease tend to spike on days marked by heavy air pollution.

The researchers found that deaths from five of the six top U.S. killers remained stable or decreased during the Depression with the one exception being death from suicide.

Tapia Granados said during recessions there was less work to do, so employees can work at a slower pace.

"There is more time to sleep, and because people have less money, they are less likely to spend as much on alcohol and tobacco," he said.


Source: http://spicezee.zeenews.com/articles/story42228.htm

Why people love where they live

Residents are most attached to their communities when they have fun places to gather, there's a welcoming atmosphere and there are beautiful and green spaces to enjoy, according to the "Soul of the Community" survey. The study looked at 26 communities and surveyed a random sample of more than 10,000 people earlier this year. 

Read more about the study at SouloftheCommunity.org.

"While the pain from the recession is deep, other factors far outweigh economics when it comes to determining how emotionally attached people are to their communities," said Warren Wright, managing partner for Gallup, in a news release.

Positive feelings about a community, however, do have a connection to local GDP growth over a longer-term period, according to the report.

The study, in its second year, explores the connection between economic growth and residents' emotional attachment to their communities. Gallup has shown that increasing an employee's emotional connection to his or her company leads to better financial performance of the organization; this study works to see if the emotional connection to a community similarly drives economic growth.

Why people love where they live

The report also is meant to help local leaders and residents identify what people want out of their communities, and how to create desirable environments.

"Have you ever gone somewhere and said 'I could live there?'" said Katherine Loflin, lead consultant on the project, in a phone interview. "It has to do with the welcome-ness, and if it's nice to look at," not "because they're building new business complexes or there are tons of want ads in the paper."

What keeps residents passionate about their communities are some of the things they'd show off to visitors: elements that make for a fun social life, beautiful features, or the historic town square -- things that root people in a community, she said.

The research also found:

• A perception that a place is open and welcoming to college graduates is important in order to prevent "brain drain" that can occur when students graduate and leave a place to seek employment.
  
• New residents are the least attached to their communities of any demographic group, even less attached this year than when the survey was conducted in 2008.
  
• Residents more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to have an emotional connection to their community.
  

Engaged residents

Bradenton, Fla., Grand Forks, N.D., State College, Pa., Long Beach, Calif., and Aberdeen, S.D., had some of the highest percentages of engaged residents, or those who felt highly passionate about where they live. Areas with some of the lowest percentages of engaged residents were found in Gary, Ind., Detroit, Mich., Macon, Ga., Akron, Ohio and Wichita, Kan.

While Detroit was in the bottom five, the city does have some momentum building to change that, especially with growing enthusiasm of residents between the ages of 18 to 34, Loflin said.

"People think a certain thing about Detroit and the area," she said. Residents are trying to turn that around. "They're saying we're not done with this community."

In Tallahassee, Fla., social offerings -- having fun places to gather -- were the No. 1 driver of community attachment. There, the Knight Foundation funded the first Tallahassee Film Festival and the Get Gaines Going project, to revitalize a main thoroughfare. Residents of the area are working to create a sense of place, in an effort to get local college graduates to stay and build a career, according to the release.

"A creative and diverse workforce is the key to Tallahassee's future. With guidance from the Soul of the Community study, we can continue to find ways to get there by attracting new talent and keeping our local college graduates in town," said Mike Pate, Knight Foundation's Tallahassee program director, in a news release.

Other communities studied were: Biloxi, Miss.; Boulder, Colo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Duluth, Minn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Lexington, Ky.; Miami, Fla.; Milledgeville, Ga.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Palm Beach, Fla.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Jose, Calif.; and St. Paul, Minn. 

Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-people-love-where-they-live-2009-09-29?siteid=rss&rss=1

Reliance, Airtel, Infosys, TCS in Forbes Asia's 50 Best

Washington, Sep 24 (IANS) Reliance Industries (RIL), Bharti Airtel, Infosys Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services are among the 13 Indian companies that have made it to the list of Forbes' 50 Best companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

'Our list is a mix of giant, established companies this year which includes Australian miner BHP Billiton, Hong Kong conglomerate Noble Group and Indian oil and gas heavyweight RIL - and smaller outfits such as Agile Property Holdings, Anhui Conch Cement and Digital China Holdings,' Forbes Asia said in a statement.

The Forbes list has four Indian entities - RIL(2), Bharti Airtel (4), Infosys Technologies (8) and Tata Consultancy Services (10) - among the top ten firms in terms of market value, while RIL and Tata Steel feature in the top ten league in terms of sales.

The Indian league has four newcomers this year - Adani Enterprises (46), Axis Bank (36), Jindal Steel & Power (25) and Tata Consultancy Services (10) - and among the Indian firms returning to the list include Bharat Heavy Electricals (11), Larsen & Toubro (13) and RIL(2). Other Indian companies on the list are Wipro (18), HDFC Bank (22), Tata Steel (32) and Mahindra & Mahindra (41).

China has again outdone the rest of the Asia Pacific with the most number of firms (16) represented in the league, followed by India with 13 entities. 'The mainland firms together with five from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong account for almost half of the entries, giving Greater China the biggest regional representation on the list,' Forbes said.

The list included companies that have revenue and market capitalisation of at least $3 billion and a five year record of operating profitability and return on equity.

The other criteria for being in the list include long term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation, projects earnings, quality of management and entrepreneurial skills.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090924/846/tbs-reliance-airtel-infosys-tcs-in-forbe.html

Infosys set to roll back freeze, hike pay

Going back on its earlier decision, the country's second largest software firm, Infosys Technologies, is considering giving salary increments to its over 1 lakh employees.

According to sources in the IT major, Infosys has sent out an e-mail statement to its workforce saying that the "company has decided to carry out the compensation review exercise and limited need-based promotion from October 1, 2009."

This will be the first for the Indian IT industry as other top industry players like TCS, Wipro and HCL Technologies have all resorted to salary freezes in order to save costs in the wake of the current economic downturn.

Like its peers, Infosys had maintained so far that the company will abstain from any kind of salary hikes during the current financial year. T V Mohandas Pai, director, HR, Infosys confirmed the news to FE. However, he refused to divulge the quantum of hike and if the company will dole out increments across the board. According to industry experts, the move could be indicative of the market stabilising as signs of recovery start to appear the world over though large deals are still difficult to come by.

The e-mail, dated September 18, 2009, has been sent out by Infosys' group head of human resources Nandita Gurjar and said, "...In the current severe economic downturn, our focus has been the preservation of jobs. You will be happy to know that your company has decided to carry out the compensation review exercise and limited need-based promotion from effective October 1, 2009..."

In fact, in an earlier interview with FE, Infosys' chief operating officer D Shibulal had said that as one of the cost cutting measures, Infosys will not extend any salary increase to its employees this year. The impact of the move will translate in to roughly 2.2% to 2.6% of the company's revenues which works out to be between Rs 475 crore to Rs 560 crore.

The global economic crisis and the reduced IT spending globally has reduced the projected growth of the $50 billion Indian software exports industry to 4%-7% in fiscal year 2009-10 from around 14% registered in the last financial year, according to industry body Nasscom estimates.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/241/20090924/1264/tbs-infosys-set-to-roll-back-freeze-hike.html

Goodies shine on IT employees

Mon, Sep 28 10:05 AM

New Delhi, Sept. 27 -- Things get better HCL Tech plans to hire 2,000 by Dec-Jan; considering salary hikes for top performers Infosys said it will be starting compensation review for need-based promotion starting Oct Mahindra Satyam will reinstate variable pay across employee levels starting Oct 1 Employers are talking about hiring, salary hikes and promotions after almost a year of cost cutting that involved lay-offs, lower perks and recruitment freezes.

HCL Technologies plans to hire 2,000 people over the next quarter, including some fresh graduates. It has started the process of identifying its top performers for a salary hike.

"We plan to hire 2,000 people in the next three to four months," D.K. Srivastava, global HR head for HCL Tech, told Hindustan Times. "Promotions will continue and we will reward our consistent top performers this year as well," he added, saying the extent will vary between employees, he said.

Infosys Technologies said last week that it would start a compensation review exercise for "need-based promotion" starting October 1, signalling a new employee welfare initiative. Mahindra Satyam is also trying to rebuild its corporate image and employer brand after the Mahindras took over the corporate fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services, and renamed it.

Source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20090928/1059/tbs-goodies-shine-on-it-employees.html

Genpact, Intelenet in line for Unitech Wireless` BPO job

Mumbai:Unitech Wireless, where Telenor is the majority partner, is close to finalising business process outsourcing (BPO) contracts with two vendors — Genpact and Intelenet Global Services. Unitech Wireless is looking to launch mobile services across the country.

Sources familiar with the development said the company is expected to shortly sign contracts for the North with Genpact and with Intelenet for the South. Unitech is also in dialogue with the Essar group-promoted Aegis BPO for the East, according to two people with knowledge of the deal.

Unlike IT contracts, which are given out in bulk, BPO contracts start off on a smaller scale and increase as telecom operators bring in more subscribers. Unitech has already awarded the IT outsourcing contract to Wipro earlier this year in a deal that is reported to be around Rs 2,500 crore.

Unitech’s BPO contract is likely to start off with a commitment for about 400 seats for the North and an equal number for the South, while it is expected to be around 100 seats for the East, said one of the two people quoted earlier. “Unitech, like many other operators, will have BPO contracts with different vendors for different circles,” added the person.

Aegis and Intelenet declined to comment on the matter, while an e-mail sent to Genpact met with a similar response.

Importantly, both Aegis and Intelenet already cater to the BPO requirements of domestic telecom service providers. While Aegis has contracts with Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Idea Cellular and Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Intelenet, through its domestic subsidiary Sparsh BPO Services, works for Vodafone-Essar, Idea and Aircel. To date, Genpact, however, has catered only to overseas customers.

Telecom has overtaken financial services as the top-revenue contributor to BPO firms in the domestic market. According to a recent study released by Ernst & Young, outsourcing revenues from the telecom sector in India are set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31% to nearly $2 billion in 2012.

BPO for telecom is also a huge job creator, employing over 1.22 lakh people last year — a number that Ernst & Young has forecast will more than double to almost 3 lakh in 2012.

Source:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Genpact-Intelenet-in-line-for-Unitech-Wirele

7 job search tips for 50+ job seekers

Lately I have been paying attention to people my age (over 50) who are unemployed. (including those who don't dye their gray hair!)


I recently spoke with one person who had sent out over 750 resumes in a year and received 4 responses.


I went OMG!



His response: "That’s better than some other people my age that I know, so I must be doing something right!"



We also discussed some other ideas for him to pursue as part of this mass resume mailing campaign.





Here is the plan we came up with.


1. Network in non-traditional groups (tech, social media) to break challenge age perceptions

2. Utilize non-traditional search tools. I recommended a number of job aggregators and local boards outside the big 3 - Indeed, SimplyHired, workforce50, Linkup, jobshouts, etc.

3. Consider other opportunities – contract, consulting, – look for work places like elance, Guru, Sologig, odesk, and others. Consider teaching at colleges or on-line at schools like Webster or the University of PHX.

4. Get over the idea that you have to work in a certain business sector. Stretch boundaries. Consider non-profit, etc

5. Increase your geographic reach. Consider New Orleans, for example. Relocate if necessary, and if possible. You can always move back where you left down the road if you want to

6. Increase your voice wherever possible, with relevance. people will see it. It might help, and certainly can’t hurt!

7. Spend time on new things just for you. Be assertive about your job search, but don’t let it consume you.

Photo source: http://AARP.org

Pfizer Launches Program for Newly Unemployed Americans

A reader sent me this letter on Friday.

What to do if you do not have health insurance and faced with cancer? I am trying to figure out what is important. I was hoping you might be able to give me some insight. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

These are the email messages that break my heart and motivate me to write about healthcare in America. I responded privately and offered my support. I provided a link to the American Cancer Society. I suggested that she fight for the best treatment out there, regardless of cost, and to proactively consult a bankruptcy attorney.

Such is life in America.

I don’t have many answers for unemployed and uninsured readers, but I have to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Business leaders recognize that the status quo is killing us. Literally. Carl Camden of Kelly Services wrote about health care reform here, and even Jeff Kindler of Pfizer supports fundamental change.

Furthermore, Pfizer — my former employer — launched a new program called MAINTAIN. It’s a program that helps eligible unemployed Americans (and their families) who are in financial need and lack prescription coverage continue to get their Pfizer medicines free-of-charge for up to one year or until they become insured, whichever comes first. More than 70 Pfizer medicines are offered that treat a range of chronic health conditions.

Here’s where you can help fellow readers. What other programs are out there? How have you been managing your prescription costs while being unemployed? Were you aware that a program like MAINTAIN even existed? If you’re unemployed, will you use it? How can we share resources more effectively with our unemployed family and friends? Let me know what you think.

[Editor's note: I used to work for Pfizer but I am in no way benefitting from this post. I believe that in a time of 9.5% unemployment, a program like MAINTAIN is a good resources to share.]

source:http://punkrockhr.com/pfizer-launches-program-for-newly-unemployed-americans/

Corporate India bullish on hiring: HR survey

A quarter of all Indian companies have plan to hire in October-December, up from one in five said they will recruit in the three months adding up to October, says a survey by HR consulting firm

Manpower that points to perceptions across corporate board rooms that the slowdown has bottomed out and brighter times are just around the corner.

The survey conducted among more than 5,600 companies across 30 cities shows that the government’s booster packages to lift the economy, especially the infrastructure industries

, are bearing fruit, said Manpower India MD Naresh Malhan.

A key index used for the survey, the net employment outlook (NEO), represents the percentage of companies anticipating total employment to go up against those who expect it to decline. In the latest study, wholesale retail & trade shone the brightest with a NEO of 34% while and public administration & education came close with 32%.

“With customers coming back to malls, we can say that the lull in the retail segment seems to be getting over now,” said Kishore Biyani, whose Future Group that operates retail chains such as Big Bazaar, Central, Pantaloon and Home Town stores, which will together add 2,000 people over the next one quarter.

Sectors such as construction & mining, finance, insurance & real estate, manufacturing and services have also shown improvement in hiring intentions compared to the last survey.

Transportation & utilities, which has been a laggard for four years now in Manpower surveys, came a predictable last in terms of hiring intentions with a NEO of 16%.

Within India, employers in the eastern and southern regions reported the strongest hiring outlook with NEO of 25%. Companies in the western and northern regions had NEO of 20% and 23% respectively, but showed improvement compared to the previous quarter. In contrast, the southern region of the country reported the weakest outlook by this region since the survey first began.

India also continued to be most optimistic in terms of hiring outlook internationally, having topped the global survey covering 35 countries with 25% NEO for the coming quarter. Brazil, which was included in the survey for the first time, straight away took the second spot behind India with NEO of 21%. “The strong job prospects in Brazil are being reported because of services sector, where 37% of employers expect to add employees in the next three months,” the Manpower survey said.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Jobs/Corporate-India-bullish-on-hiring-HR-survey/articleshow/4988592.cms

Top 20 Strangest Work Complaints

In the midst of a stressful employment environment, hiring managers took some time to bring a little levity to the workplace. More than 2,600 hiring managers participated in a nationwide survey from CareerBuilder, citing examples of the oddest complaints they received from employees.

Highlights include:

— Employee is too sun-tanned.

— Employee has big hair.

— Employee eats all the good cookies.

— Employee is so polite, it’s infuriating.

— Employee suspected co-worker was a pimp.

— Employee is trying to poison me.

— Employee’s body is magnetic and keeps de-activating my magnetic access card.

— Employee is personally responsible for a federally-mandated tax increase.

— Employee was annoyed the company didn’t provide a place for naps during break time.

— Employee only wears slippers or socks at work.

— Employee’s aura is wrong.

— Employee smells like road ramps.

— Employee breathes too loudly.

— Employee wants to check a co-worker for ticks.

— 8:00 a.m. is too early to get up for work.

— Employee wore pajamas to work.

— Employee has bells on her shoes and it’s not the holidays.

— Co-worker reminded the employee too much of Bambi.

— Employee spends too much time caring for stray cats around the building.

— A male employee keeps using the ladies’ room because the men’s room is not as tidy.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive(©) on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between May 22 and June 10, 2009 among 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; non- government) ages 18 and over. With a pure probability sample of 2,667 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.9 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Grasz
773-527-1164
Jennifer.Grasz@careerbuilder.com
http://www.twitter.com/CareerBuilderPR
SOURCE CareerBuilder.com

Do This 1 Thing and I Guarantee—Yes, Guarantee—You Will Get a Job

When it comes to the job search, everyone’s with the lists: how to get a job; mistakes people make; ways to ace an interview; things you need to do today.

Enough.

There is a problem with all these lists. The problem is not that there’s not some good insights in some of them. It’s that no list will ever get you a job. Ever.

Know what’ll get you a job?

One thing: action.

Let’s do an experiment:

Right now, open a new browser tab/window. Go to your social networking site of choice. Think of a friend you haven’t spoken to in awhile—someone you don’t have anything important to talk about. Take however much time you need… when you think of that person, send him/her an invite to connect and a note that reads something to the effect of: “Just thinking of you; would love to connect when you have a few minutes and hear how you’re doing.” Then come back to this page.

I’ll wait while you go do that…

OK, now let’s review the experiment: did you actually do it? What would you have learned from a list, awareness that you should call? Hey: this ain’t “life appreciation class,” this is life itself. If you want something, you’ve got to move!

Others may care, but personally, I don’t give a hoot or holler about the proper etiquette for re-introducing yourself to an old acquaintance. I don’t give a flying fish about thank you notes or emails, either. Nor do I care about how awkward this all must be for you. All I care is whether or not you act. Because when you act, messing doesn’t matter. (As much.) When you mess up in your head, you stress; when you mess up in real life, you try again and improve. It happens without thinking about it whenever you refuse to give up!

I recently called a friend I hadn’t seen in 19 years. Out of the blue, just to say hi. That was awkward… for about a minute. Then we clicked and now I’ve 200 more people in my network. I called another friend, too… that conversation didn’t go as well. So? I lost nothing on that one. Ten minutes, maybe.

Now it’s your turn again: put down the list and go make that call. Bungle it. In fact, try to mess it up. You know what you’ll find? You’ll find you can’t. No more thinking about it, go do it!

Because they only way to guarantee that you get a job is to go out and get the job!

Source: http://jasonseiden.com/do-this-1-thing-and-i-guarantee%e2%80%94yes-guarantee%e2%

What Is Your Greatest Weakness?

Have you ever received that question in an interview? First, let me apologize. Most of us in HR who ask this question don’t even know what we’re asking, why we’re asking or what we’re supposed to get out of this question. Furthermore, candidates are usually so poorly prepared for this question that it usually defeats the purpose of asking it in the first place.

I know all of the cool people in HR think the question is bogus. They have a point but there are thousands of bogus questions getting asked daily that we never address. If you aren’t preparing yourself for this stupid question, than you aren’t preparing yourself for the other stupid questions that will come your way. It is easily one of the more common questions still asked today.

Here’s what I’ve figured out from asking this question (or being in interviews where this question is asked): If you answered the question quickly, you are either well rehearsed or you are extremely self-aware. If you can’t answer the question quickly or you give me some bullshit response, you’re either ill-prepared, not at all self-aware or a liar. Well, you’re probably all liars when it comes to this question which is why I don’t ask the question much.

Even if you don’t choose to give me a straight answer on this question, your glaring deficiencies should be on the top of your mind. No matter how good you become at anything, your weaknesses will hold you back. If you are the best salesperson in the company yet you neglect your spouse, it will hold you back. If you are the best number cruncher in the government but you can’t speak to other people without stuttering, it will hold you back. If you are a great speaker but you can’t ever execute a plan, it will hold you back.

When important people in your organization are talking about you, they are using “but” statements. “He’s a great welder but he can’t get along with people.” “She’s a great CEO but she is a liability with the press.” Those “but” statements point to your perceived weakness.

My weaknesses are pretty simple ones:

Impatient - If you tell me I can’t do something now, I either figure out a way around you or I lose interest in it completely. Getting married has helped this immensely but I am sure my wife would say it still needs improvement.
Lacking detail orientation - Terrible weakness for a HR person in the current legal climate right? Absolutely. At my first job, I said I was good on detail orientation and simply made it happen. Yes, I have to work twice as hard on it but I can make the big picture stuff happen more quickly to make up for it.
Laid back - I couldn’t ever say this in an interview (because it would sound like BS) but my laid back attitude has definitely impacted my career negatively. Being approachable helps in HR but it is a pain when it is time to lay down the law and people don’t understand why the attitude has disappeared.

What I can say is that working on all three of these has made me not only a better employee but a better person. Which, you know, sounds corny.

Some people have advocated just focusing on your strengths and letting them compensate for your weaknesses. Unless you are wildly successful (like top 0.01%), focusing on your strengths to compensate for your weaknesses isn’t going to get you anywhere. Maintain (or slowly build your strengths) and focus your energy on your deficiencies instead.

What’s your greatest weakness and what are you doing to improve it?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/yourhrguy/~3/TWkMXfVCZ6Y/

Who is Responsible for Employee Engagement?

One of the forum’s at the Employee Engagement Network got my juices flowing. The title was:

Want Engagement? Hold Your Managers Responsible!

I have taken the comment I wrote and repeated it here. I thank Derek Irvine for starting the forum and Terrence Seamon for making a contribution.

My response seemed strong and I was genuinely surprised by it. I would love to hear your comment.

It has been said that meaning is in people not words so this is the meaning I carry. I believe each person is responsible for their own engagement.

Anything else potentially diminishes our personal power, can lead to helplessness while creating disengaging victim and villain stories in the workplace.

Of course, there are toxic cultures and companies that don’t contribute to engagement and we need to decide if that is the place for us to work and how much energy we are willing to engage a disengaged organization. Viktor Frankl’s living in a death camp example is extreme but demonstrates that we can engage in any circumstances!

I would slightly rephrase his statement: those who have a why to work can bear almost any how.

Even thought I just wrote this, I hate how this may sound like some kind of motivational pep talk and hope that it is seen as an invitation not some kind of injunction or imposition by someone (me) who does not fully know your unique circumstances.

Having focused on the individual we need to move from me to we. We are not alone. we are in this together. That means that I may be responsible for my own engagement while I am accountable for the other people I work with.

My approach to accountability is not about checking up on you, it is about checking in with you.

Who knew writing this little comment would lead to a bit of an engagement rant but I guess this is what happens as I turn 55 in 2 weeks!

Employee engagement for all begins with the self but it certainly does not end with the self. Our employee engagement network demonstrates this perfectly.

Thanks for posting this forum Derek, it got my juices flowing.

Engage along with me, the best is yet to be!

David

Click here to contribute to the forum.

What do you think? I welcome all voices as I strive to understand engagement and contribute to authentic employee engagement for all.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EmployeeEngagementResultsThatMatter/~3/pc1svOwTMp

Coffee Break: Working 9 To 5

I’ve been freelancing full time for about two years now and, since leaving book publishing, my lifestyle has changed quite a bit:

I’ve felt healthier, probably because I no longer construct entire meals out of vending machine snacks, and because I take the time to work out several times a week. (Not only that, but I’m avoiding the petri dish that is the corporate office.)

I’ve felt more relaxed, eschewing bras and form-fitting pants, taking lunch breaks in front of the TV with my cats curled up at my side, and sometimes even squeezing in an early morning walk around the neighborhood.

My problems with chronic depression and anxiety have lessened, because I’m no longer working at a job I had grown to hate, and because I cut from my life a pesky one-hour commute that, by the end of my time in NY, was causing me to have frequent panic attacks.

And, of course, I’ve felt far more fulfilled by my work.

But some habits die hard, among them my long-held, misguided commitment to a 9-5 work day.

A few months ago, however, I stopped setting the alarm to 7:30 a.m., having found that I continued to wake up on time without it. Living without that alarm was such a pleasure.

Then, as my work load grew, I found myself sleeping a little bit later on some days.

At first I was concerned. But then I realized: It’s not a big deal. As freelancers, we can make our own hours, manipulating our to-dos to fit into the hours when we’re most productive.

How about you? Do you generally stick to “normal” business hours, or do you find that you work best under an entirely different arrangement? Those of you who buck the trend: How do you continue to make yourselves as available as possible to clients? 9-to-5ers: Are those standard hours the only thing keeping you in line? Please share!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brazen_careerist/~3/2KENsicEdgg/coffee-break-work

Importance of Job Descriptions

The process of developing a job description helps you articulate the most important outcomes you need from an employee performing a particular job.

A job description is also a communication tool that tells coworkers where their job leaves off and the job of another starts. A well-written job description tells an employee where their job fits within the overall department and the overall company.

Well-written job descriptions help employees from other departments, who must work with the person hired, understand the boundaries of the person's responsibilities. The job description is an integral piece of the performance development planning process.

Finally, one of the chief complaints employees make about their managers is that they lack clear direction. A job description combined with written goals within a performance development planning process provides the direction employees need.