(Source: www.careerkey.org)

According to a recent survey, job dissatisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages across all income brackets. The study found that only half of all the workers are satisfied with their jobs. Worker satisfaction has declined across all income brackets over the last nine years. Surveys over the past 40 years have shown that 40% to 50% of workers would change their line of work, if they could.

Intrinsic job satisfaction is when workers consider only the kind of work they do, the tasks that make up the job.

Extrinsic job satisfaction is when workers consider the conditions of work, such as their pay, coworkers, and supervisor.

These two types of satisfaction are different, and it helps to look at jobs from both points of view. For example, if you are dissatisfied with your current job, ask yourself, "To what extent is it due to the kind of work I am doing?" and "To what extent is it due to the conditions of my work?" If it is primarily the kind of work you are doing, it is intrinsic job dissatisfaction. This calls for a different solution, than if your dissatisfaction is extrinsic in nature.

And, second, you want to recognize that job satisfaction is influenced by job expectations -- what people look for or require from a job such as job security, pay, prestige, or independence. And, that some people have higher expectations for work than others. What expectations do you have for your work? How strong are they?

What can you do to maximize your job satisfaction? Based on research and the experience of professional career specialists, here are eight recommendations:

Know yourself. Know what is important to you and what is not. What kinds of work tasks or activities are attractive to you? Be clear about what you expect from or require of a job. Write your ideas down. Then, you will know what to look for when choosing among jobs or careers

Learn about jobs that are most likely to meet your expectations. It will help you identify occupations that fit your personality and to get accurate information about each of them

Consider consulting a professional career counselor.

Do not allow your job dissatisfactions to go unresolved for long. Job satisfactions and dissatisfactions are barometers of your adjustment to work. They may lead to something worse -- job loss, accidents, even mental illness. Depression, anxiety, worry, tension, and interpersonal problems can result from, or be made worse by job dissatisfaction. In fact, job satisfaction was found to be the best predictor of how long you live . . . better than a doctor's rating of physical functioning, use of tobacco, or genetic inheritance. So, it is important to work out a solution if your job is making you unhappy.

Have realistic expectations for work. Overall job satisfaction is a trade-off (like many things in life). You should not expect 100% satisfaction or 0% dissatisfaction. There are usually dissatisfactions even in the best jobs. And, in today's work world you cannot expect your company to look out for you; you have to take the initiative yourself

Look separately at the kind of work you are doing versus the conditions of work (pay, supervisor, coworkers, company, physical working conditions). If you are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the kind of work you are doing, you should consider a career change. If you are dissatisfied with the conditions of work, you might be able to set matters right by negotiating with your supervisor or your coworkers, or by changing companies

Look down the road at your possible career progress. Present dissatisfactions might be worth bearing if you see your career progressing.

Examine your values -- what is most important to you. You have to answer this question honestly: How important is your job, your career to you? Only when this question is answered can you put your job satisfaction or dissatisfaction in proper perspective

This was adapted and updated from an earlier article by Dr. Rene Dawis, with his permission: Dawis, R. V. (1992).

MANSI ANEJA
[ THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005 04:36:32 PM]

Source: INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK

Success is 1 %hard work and 99 %public relation. All of us know this but never knew this will strike the technology professionals also. And if you thought this is just one of the tips management gurus give, here are the facts.

"The world belongs to those who are a complete package and that's true for the technology sector also," says Geetanjali Khatri, global head, recruitment for Kanbay Accurum. Companies are keener on recruiting techies with good communication skills now than ever because of the increasing client needs.

"This is the second coming of the IT sector which is propelled by real business needs. Clients and consumers are the most important and so is interacting with them," says Rajul Garg, COO and VP of Induslogic.

Garg says that given a choice he would actually recruit for a person who can interact with the clients and communicate the company's stand.

Anuradha Chowdhary who specialises in recruiting people for the technology sector says, "Clients actually impress upon candidates who are good talkers apart from having the desired skill sets."

She goes on to add: "One of the candidate who I placed in a Gurgaon-based MNC is earning more than many of his peers, just because he was able to sell himself well."

Kanbay Accurum has a well-planned group discussion and panel interview to check the level of communication skills in a candidate. "We basically test a person's ability to tackle a difficult situation in panel discussions," says Khatri. "We look for lifetime learners who can understand business goals and have skills to put them across to other people," she added.

Many technology companies actually have the position of a business analyst for someone who is a combination of a technology professional and a business manager. A technically qualified person with a decent management experience and understanding of how to drive technology to attain business goals can become a business analyst in a tech company.

The starting salary for such a rank is about Rs 7-8 lakh per annum and of course increases with experience. Software companies sure need programmers. But what will the programmers do if there no projects. To get new projects you need people who are glib talkers who can sell ideas and attract new businesses.

Hence project getters are definitely more required than project implementers. So, you could be a project getter along with a programmer.

Founder, chairman and managing director Virinchi Technologies Ltd, Vishwanath Kompella says, "You can be from any industry but you definitely require a sound and deep knowledge of that industry, network within the industry and also have above average communication skills.

With that, if you are also a top people’s person you automatically become a hot cake for the recruiters! Recruiting you would be big news for the software company. Your appointment will appear even in press the next day and you still can get away saying, ‘Java for me is an island for reclusive holidaying’.”

At some point in your career, you will experience Frustration. Regardless of how much you like your job there will come a time when you just don't feel like doing it anymore. If you could choose between being sick enough to stay home (and not just lying about being sick) and going to work, you would actually choose to be sick. It would be far less aversive than facing your boss, your co-workers, your clients, and your desk.

"exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration." Who's stressed and frustrated? Many people are making workers very nervous. Many are afraid of losing their jobs and are therefore working harder and longer hours to prove their worth. Survivors of Job Frustration have to work harder to fill the gaps left by their departed colleagues.

Then there are those who work hard and don't receive the gratitude they feel they deserve from their bosses. They go to work everyday, work hard, and don't feel they are rewarded properly. Raises aren't forthcoming, and promotions aren't either. People who seem to work less, but have more political clout, seem to do better. Sounds frustrating to me.

Being in the wrong career is also very stressful and can be frustrating. Many people are in the wrong career. They either tire of a career they once liked or they chose poorly in the first place. Others are in the right career but in the wrong job. Either way a change may be in order. It may involve a career change or simply a change in where you work. So, as you can see, there are many factors that cause people stress and frustration with their jobs. I'm sure you can name some yourself.

• This is not caused by stress or frustration, but rather by working too hard and too many hours by choice. This situation sometimes fixes itself. You work too hard and then start burning out, so you slow down. If you find yourself unable to slow down, you have to force the matter. Find out how much vacation time you can take and then take it.
• This is not caused by stress or frustration, but rather by working too hard and too many hours by choice. This situation sometimes fixes itself. You work too hard and then start burning out, so you slow down. If you find yourself unable to slow down, you have to force the matter. Find out how much vacation time you can take and then take it.
• Make a point of leaving work on time. Don't take work home with you. Start slowly if you have to. Leave work on time one day a week and then increase it to two days.
• Make sure you spend the night relaxing — rent a movie, or read a good book.
• A difficult boss is a tough one because if you work for someone who is just not a nice person, there's not much you can do to change that. However, you may consider sitting down with him or her to discuss how you can forge a more productive working relationship.
• If you have more work than you can handle because of a smaller staff, you have to learn how to prioritize. One person cannot do the work of five people regardless of how good he or she is and how hard he or she tries. You'll have to figure out what is most important and work your way down from there
• You should also stay calm and remember that the world won't end if you don't get everything done.
• If you feel you must work extra hard to avoid getting laid off and this is what's causing your burnout, then maybe you have to accept the fact that you can't do anything about what might happen.
• You’re in a career that you've discovered isn't for you. You hate doing what you do and that's causing you to experience burnout. If you can afford to quit your job then you should consider it. But you should be prepared to be out of work while you explore your options. You should not enter into a new career without careful planning or you'll wind up right back where you started. You must take the time for a complete self assessment which will help you find out what careers you should explore

Compiled by PracTeam

NAVNEET ANAND
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2005 10:05:51 AM

Source: TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: Here’s a case of killing a $5.2-billion golden goose with a stick made in 1958. The Haryana government has sent notices to Gurgaon-based call centres asking them not to allow women employees on night shifts. As women comprise an estimated 40% of the workforce, the notice can spell disaster for the offshoring business.

The instrument being used to enforce ‘discipline’ is a little-known section of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishment Act of 1958, which forbids women from working night shifts.

Notices have been sent by the Haryana labour department to BPOs, including Convergys and Saffron Global, threatening ‘‘strict action’’ against them. The very nature of the outsourcing business requires most work to be transacted at night.

BPO experts say Gurgaon generates around 70% of India’s off-shoring revenues. Nasscom predicts the sector would employ 1.2 million by 2008. The archaic provision that’s being invoked to threaten all this is Section 30 of the 1958 Act. According to it, ‘‘No woman shall be required or allowed to work whether as an employee or otherwise in any establishment during night.’’

Until now, call centres have sought exemption from this clause from the labour commissioner. But, G S Thakur, labour officer-cumconciliation officer of the circle under which BPOs like Convergys and Saffron Global fall, said: ‘‘These call centres were found violating employment conditions and hence they have not been granted any further exemption. We’ll take strict action.’’

Any destabilisation of BPO business in Gurgaon, with about 150 call centres, would hurt Haryana the most.

Call Centres Unhappy With ‘Outdated’ Law

Gurgaon call centres may have tough days ahead if the labour department has its way. Grappling with an old law, which is being used to “harass” call centres, the affected BPOs are asking why this outdated law is being invoked now and are wondering if this is plain harassment under the garb of bureaucratic compliance.

The labour department babus get their clout from Section 9 of the 1958 Act, under which government has been empowered to fix opening and closing hours of ‘‘all classes of establishments’’ and which states that ‘‘different opening and closing hours may be fixed for different classes of establishments and for different area.’’

It was the same labour department which, through its notification issued in June 2000, granted exemptions to ‘‘the establishments of information technology and software in the state of Haryana, from the operation of the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of the said Act.’’

However, labour department officials say that since a call centre is an ITES company and not an IT company, these exemptions don’t apply to them.

• This is not caused by stress or frustration, but rather by working too hard and too many hours by choice. This situation sometimes fixes itself. You work too hard and then start burning out, so you slow down. If you find yourself unable to slow down, you have to force the matter. Find out how much vacation time you can take and then take it.
• Make a point of leaving work on time. Don't take work home with you. Start slowly if you have to. Leave work on time one day a week and then increase it to two days.
• Make sure you spend the night relaxing — rent a movie, or read a good book.
• A difficult boss is a tough one because if you work for someone who is just not a nice person, there's not much you can do to change that. However, you may consider sitting down with him or her to discuss how you can forge a more productive working relationship.
• If you have more work than you can handle because of a smaller staff, you have to learn how to prioritize. One person cannot do the work of five people regardless of how good he or she is and how hard he or she tries. You'll have to figure out what is most important and work your way down from there
• You should also stay calm and remember that the world won't end if you don't get everything done.
• If you feel you must work extra hard to avoid getting laid off and this is what's causing your burnout, then maybe you have to accept the fact that you can't do anything about what might happen.
• You’re in a career that you've discovered isn't for you. You hate doing what you do and that's causing you to experience burnout. If you can afford to quit your job then you should consider it. But you should be prepared to be out of work while you explore your options. You should not enter into a new career without careful planning or you'll wind up right back where you started. You must take the time for a complete self assessment which will help you find out what careers you should explore

Compiled by PracTeam

September 27, 2005
Source: www.rediff.com

There are two kinds IT workers -- the Scotch tape variety and the Post-it note.

The first kind stick to the companies they join -- for a reasonable period of time, at least. The second, like the Post-it note, is lacking in any gum -- or gham -- when it comes to moving on to 'something better'.

A recent AC Nielsen ORG MARG survey on tech school campuses indicates that the 'Post-it' attitude is rapidly gaining ground. The 2005 Campus Recruiters Index has revealed that 64% of the engineering grads who join tech companies intend to leave within the first two years. Or less. This number is apparently up from 47 per cent in 2004 and 59 per cent in 2005.

Why? Well, to begin with, the very fact that these jobs have become so abundant makes them less attractive in the eyes of the graduating engineer. Especially if they happen to be from Tier 1 institutes or God forbid, IIT.

The attitude for many is: Company aa rahi hai, to chalo job le lete hain. Better to have one offer in hand and then 'see'. This means that many techies are joining not out of any inherent interest in a software career; they see the job as a place where they can hang out between one degree (BE) and the next (MBA or MS).

Neither does it help that companies are willing to snap up any which engineering graduate from a decent college -- civil, mechanical, metallurgical -- just because they need to add 10,000 freshers at a time.

To ease some of the pain of this mass recruitment process, Nasscom is introducing an 'IT aptitude test' on the lines of GATE/ CAT or the GRE tests. Which is a good step -- it would give a fighting chance to students from lesser known institutions which software companies don't visit for campus placements (See The truth about IT Cats and Dogs).

As in BPO, IT companies may then choose to recruit more academically average students as they are likely to stick on longer. But many basic issues will still have to be resolved.

In search of meaning

Young people are in general optimistic -- they join a company hoping to 'learn something' and make some kind of personal contribution. Yes, the salary they earn is very important. But, unlike the sarkari clerk or BMC sweeper, they don't enjoy being paid for sitting idle.

As a 2004 graduate from a premier institute in Mumbai working with Mastek remarks, "Since IT companies conform to CMM level 5 (this refers to the highest level of an organisation's ability to use its IT prowess for effective quality control), they have to keep a certain percentage of the workforce on the bench, ie idle. And it can get really frustrating."

Yes, HR departments at IT companies claim to have systems that ensure a smooth induction, training and deployment onto projects, but that isn't quite the case for everyone.

There are enough cases of freshers who complete their training and then just cool their heels for a while: come to office everyday and send e-mail forwards to each other (the only timepass available in the absence of Internet access).

Another common complaint is the lack of challenge. Even the technically minded soon discover the job is not really about programming at all. One such dude sums up the average IT career path on the popular Pagalguy.com forum:

There is not much of a ladder in S/W industry as such. For most life is quite typical. One or two years in a company. Then a chance to go onsite and see some money (dollars). Then back home. Another 2 years and then one becomes an analyst and after 5-6 years, a manager. And your engineering branch is the last thing that would matter here.

The work in s/w company is quite mundane and does not involve too much programming skills. If you have good talking skills and project yourself well to your managers, you would grow.

Not very inspiring, is it?

The long, steep climb

Managing the aspirations of thousands of 20-somethings of above average intelligence is no joke. Yes, they have fantastic campuses, an international working culture and pretty good future prospects. But when all that becomes the norm, dil still maange more and that's where the trouble lies.

These are young people of above-average intelligence who soon enough hear a voice whispering in their heads: "What am I really doing here?" Here's one techie's answer, posted on the pagalguy.com forum:

"Hmm, so you thought Windows XP was written in India? Nope, but the typing of all the HELP doc was done in India."

Cutting-edge programming? Fuhgeddaboutit.

"If you are in Mainframe stuff, wherever you work it's going to dig into some code written in 1970 and you'll be wondering half the time - how could ppl write such hopeless code? And you would need to add one or two lines into that code. Yes, not more than 20 lines!

If you are in any of those open system projects, Java, .NET etc - half the time is spent in documentation or changing and testing some crap. Only a few projects have something good.

The crux of the issue: Remember software industry is not about creating new things. It's all about client giving you work. Work that their IT team is NOT interested in doing.

But you get money $$$$ and of course work exp and a life called "White collar job".

But the Rs 15,000 that seemed like a lot when you first joined soon lose their sheen. The engineer is convinced (perhaps rightly) that mobility and big money are both possible only with an MBA or a jump overseas. Never mind if those options don't open the doors to any ultimate nirvana -- right now they certainly seem to point in that direction.

The irony is that many BEs who spurned IT companies to join an MBA programme end up taking up the same companies during their MBA placements (this is especially true at Tier 2 institutes).

Kind of like postponement of the inevitable, isn't it?
What's the solution?

The answer to 'how to stop attrition' is: you can't, whether you make people sign bonds or chart out detailed career paths. If they join your industry because it's the easiest job available to them, they're always going to be difficult to hold onto.

And if you can't provide stimulation and challenge, then even those who do join the industry out of inherent aptitude and interest will wander elsewhere.

Of course, there also exists a basic attitude problem on the fresher side of the fence.

As the owner of a small VLSI design/ consulting firm puts it, "I find that, in general, engineering grads are not well prepared -- either technically or attitude-wise -- and it probably takes them two or three jobs to kind of 'find themselves'. This is, of course, unfortunate for the first employer.

"I also strongly feel that ethics should be taught in engineering schools; I see a lot of immature/ unethical behaviour. People think that once they leave a job, they can burn the bridges. Then again, I get calls for reference when the same engineers apply elsewhere later on."

"Sigh!" the man says, tongue firmly in cheek. "It was much easier (to retain good engineers) in the USA, where H1s (the visa that allows you to work in the US) would bind people. Maybe we should hire from other Third World countries and bring them here on H1s! It would provide a stable working force, and we could all focus on product development."

Jokes apart, for the time being, companies are simply accepting the situation and taking in more and more people to begin with (luckily we seem to have a large enough population of BEs to draw on!).

Of course one could argue as to why engineering grads are being singled out -- two years is the average time most young people spend in their first jobs, whether in media or BPO or KPO or whatever. And even after an MBA.

The country is awash with jobs -- it's easier to leave and more tempting to do so than ever before. The only question is -- how long will the party last?\

Rashmi Bansal is a graduate of IIM Ahmedabad and founder-editor of the popular youth magazine JAM (www.jammag.com).

She can be reached at rashmi@jammag.com

by Barbara Reinhold
Source: Monster.com

Changing careers is never easy. Half the world thinks you've lost your mind, headhunters say you'll never work again and your mother-in-law contributes the old "I told you so" routine. But for many burned-out, bored or multitalented folks who are sitting on skills they're not getting a chance to use, changing fields is the only way to keep from losing their marbles.
Regardless of your career-change strategy, never make these 10 mistakes:

• Don't Look for a Job in Another Field Without Some Intense Introspection
  Nothing is worse than leaping before you look. Make sure you're not escaping to a field that fits you just as poorly as your last. Check out these "http://change.monster.com/archives/self_assessmentself-assessment articles.
• Don't Look for "Hot" Fields Unless They're a Good Fit for You
  You wouldn't try to squeeze into your skinny cousin's suit, so why try a field because it works for him? People who are trying to help you will come along and do the equivalent of whispering "plastics" in your ear. Instead of jumping at their suggestions, take time to consider your options. Decide what you really want to do. When you enter a field just because it's hot, burnout isn't far behind.
• Get thorough information about the fields you're considering by networking, reading and doing online research. Having informational interviews with alumni from your college, colleagues, friends or family is a fun way to get the scoop on different fields.
• Don't Stick to Possibilities You Already Know About
  Stretch your perception of what might work for you. Read some job profiles and explore career fields you learn about from self-assessment exercises.
• Don't Let Money Be the Deciding Factor
  There's not enough money in the world to make you happy if your job doesn't suit you. Workplace dissatisfaction and stress is the number-one health problem for working adults. This is particularly true for career changers, who often earn less until they get their sea legs in a different field.
• Don't Keep Your Dissatisfaction to Yourself or Try to Make the Switch Alone
  This is the time to talk to people (probably not your boss just yet). Friends, family and colleagues need to know what's going on so they can help you tap into that large percentage of jobs that aren't advertised.
• Don't Go Back to School Unless You've Done Some Test-Drives in the New Field
  You're never too old for an internship, a volunteer experience or trying your hand at a contract assignment in a new field. There are lots of ways to get experience that won't cost you anything except your time. A new degree may or may not make the world sit up and take notice. Be very sure where you want to go before you put yourself through the pain and debt of another degree program.
• Be Careful When Using Placement Agencies or Search Firms
  Do some research to be sure to find a good match. Ask those who work in the field you're trying to get into or other successful career changers for suggestions. Try to find a firm that knows how to be creative when placing career changers -- not one that solely focuses on moving people up the ladder in the same field.
• Don't Expect a Career Counselor To Tell You Which Field to Enter
  Career advisors are facilitators, and they'll follow your lead. They can help ferret out your long-buried dreams and talents, but you'll have to do the research and the decision making by yourself. Anyone who promises to tell you what to do is dangerous.
• Don't Expect to Switch Overnight
  A thorough career change usually will take a minimum of six months to pull off, and the time frequently stretches to a year or more.
  Changing fields is one of the most invigorating things you can do. It's like experiencing youth all over again, except with the wisdom of whatever age you are now

May 19, 2005
Source: www.rediff.com

There are two ways to grow the talent pool in your company: coach it or poach it. You achieve the first by hiring bright young men and women who earnestly seek a challenging career with your company. The second involves cutting short the careers of bright young (and not-so-young) men and women in the neighboring company, by offering a greater challenge at your own. This is that time of year when both -- coaching and poaching -- are most rampant. In May and June, waves of fresh B-School and engineering graduates take up their campus placement offers. In May and June, immediately post-increments, waves of seasoned employees also leave to graze in greener pastures

The Exodus Explained
Mangoes are seasonal. And so, to an extent, is job-hopping. Reasons range from Bacchon ki padhai na affect ho [let the childrens' education not be affected], if you need to relocate, to the strategic use of the increment letter as a bargaining tool. You may have made up your mind to quit a while ago. But by hanging on two months more, you can easily negotiate a higher offer. But there is a third, and more disturbing, reason for employees deciding to exit: lousy increments. Rather, bhala usko mere se achcha increment kaise mila [How did s/he get a better increment]? You may, as an HR type, argue that a poor appraisal should not come as a surprise since the Key Result Areas have been jointly identified at the beginning of the year and reviewed midway. Hence, as an employee, you and you alone are fully responsible for failing to deliver. But it is the rare one who accepts a less-than-exceptional appraisal report with grace.

Take scenario at company X, a large and well known bank. Increment announcements are just in. All, except the few who have received Grade 1 (the highest) ratings, are in a state of shock and mourning.

"&%$#@! He screwed my %$$## appraisal," fumes one fellow who has been rated in Grade 3.

Assorted references to chamchas and a lip-licking sum up the general response to a poor performance appraisal. The company is no mai-baap, whose reprimand is to be taken meekly with an 'I'll try harder next year, sir'. This is no school report card. In the jobs-to-be-had-for-the-asking environment, there are options. Plenty of them. And people do not hesitate to seek them out and seize them.

Performance Anxiety
When I first learnt of the concept of 'performance appraisal' at B-School, I thought it was extremely clever and scientific. But managing people and their expectations, I now realise, is more of an art than a science. HR types, of course, think otherwise. In an interview to Business Today magazine, T Hari, VP (HR) at Satyam Computers, explains 900 employees quitting between October 2003 and March 2004 as "involuntary attrition". Or the performance management system at work.

The 'Value Creation Cycle', we learn, is a tool which works like a scythe -- weeding out the big chunk of worst performers every year. It was first introduced at GE by Jack Welch, as the 'Vitality Curve'. A number of Indian companies from Wipro to ICICI Bank and Cognizant Technologies have embraced the idea. It is variously called the 'Capability Maturing Rating Scale', 'Performance Differentiation Curve' or 'Forced Ranking'.

At GE, there are three categories:
· A, or the top 20% of the performers
· B, or the middle 70%
· C, or the bottom 10%

At Satyam, there are five performance categories, while ICICI Bank has a 6-point rating scale, where 'not more than 5%' are allowed to be categorised as excellent; while 15% are slotted 'unacceptable' perfomers. All companies hasten to add that underperformers are given a year to pull their socks up. My point is, how many of these demoralised folks are going to bother doing that? Most will choose to find a job elsewhere. If that is the company's intention: to signal to an employee that s/he should leave, then well and good. But it is not just the worst perfomers who end up prospecting. The middle 70% -- or the bulk of your workforce -- is also dissatisfied. And quite likely to be looking for options. Can that really be a good thing?

The Power of Human Potential

A poor performance may be due to reasons not entirely in the individual's hands. Because, more often than not, the same person -- in a different work environment or work profile or simply with a more empowering boss -- can work wonders. Which is why, often, rivals and start-ups are willing to take a calculated risk and hire people who they know are not so-called top performers. In that sense, a performance appraisal can never be taken as 'absolute' benchmark of competency. It is company-specific.

In his new book, Winning, Jack Welch discusses at length how to find the right job. And, he says, it is not necessarily going to be your first . So an employee seeking alternate options is not a case of 'sour grapes', but is actually justified. The company you are quitting may be just a pit stop on your career track. The adrenaline will flow elsewhere.

Seeking Adventure
The term poaching implies being involuntarily trapped, in the traditional sense of the term. But poaching, in the corporate jungle, is quite another story. Yes, there are certain times in the life of an industry when things go boom. If five new airlines or three newspapers are launched all of a sudden, the new players will train their guns on the existing market leaders, and dangle enough carrots to tempt their bunnies away. But let us not overlook the fact that a large number of the 'poached' actually seek out the noose. The junior to middle management types do so primarily through online job sites.

Take the example of X. Long after securing a job she is fairly happy with, X has not deleted her CV from half a dozen popular job sites. She claims it is so she can keep track of the market through the various job alerts which keep coming into her inbox.
For the middle to senior management types circulating one's CV to a headhunter is the preferred option. It is a more dignified way to look around for 'options' than scanning newspapers or job sites. Besides, it is believed -- and perhaps rightly so -- that the best jobs are never advertised.

Y is an IIM grad who quit his job in a huff and has spent the last six months looking for a suitable new place to join. Since he had a specialised profile, it took more than three months to even get interview calls from the kind of companies he wanted to work for.
Today, a month into a job and role he was initially overjoyed with, calls from headhunters are still coming in. And he is still meeting some of the prospective suitors, placing 'impossible' demands (like, Double my current salary and give me a flat on Worli Seaface, Mumbai), just for kicks.

Meanwhile, Z, a star perfomer at a large multinational company, is also getting calls from a headhunter. And although not really interested, he decides to go over and have a friendly chat. "No harm in checking out the options."

Ultimately, the poaching ritual – whether voluntarily or involuntary – is all about feeling 'wanted'. The more companies that want to hire you, the more the ego massage.

If you decide to stay loyal to your company, you know you are doing so of your own free will. Not because no one else will have you.

Motivational Blues
But the reason people stick on, despite getting daily job alerts and mouthwatering offers from headhunters, often has nothing to do with morale or motivation.

It has everything to do with a primaeval human emotion: fear.

Sure, there are jobs aplenty, but there are certain highly effective habits of successful job-hopping. The first one being, thou shalt not hop too often.

X cannot consider the interview calls coming into her inbox because she is already in her third job in less than two years. She knows that unless she sticks on for at least a year at this one, it will look terrible on her CV.

Besides, she is older and wiser now than she was fresh out of B-School. There's no 'perfect' job out there and no real shortcuts when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder. You just gotta hang in there long enough.

Y is in a dilemma. One of the companies he met, just for kicks, has actually agreed to his outrageous demands. Now what? Now, nothing. The job is far too challenging, far too risky. The fear of failure outweighs the rewards on the table.

Y decides to stay put in his current job which pays less, but demands less, too. No travelling 15-days-a-month, no working Sundays. Life is good.

Status quo maintained.

Hope Floats

People may stay out of fear, but they always move on the wings of hope. Am I achieving my full potential here? Still getting a kick out of my job?

Maybe not. Maybe it is time to move on.
That's what Z, the guy who thought he would check out his options is doing. The meeting with the headhunter made him realise that, although he is doing extremely well, he is not as excited about his work as he once used to be.

This is a chance to move to another level. And, yes, the money is excellent.

As a philosopher once said, we all need "Someone to love, something to live for and something to hope for".

A new job is the tug of new hope, new love and new life all rolled into one.

Can any company, realistically, hope to fight that?

By Venkat Manthripragada
Monday, January 17 2005 17:12 Hrs (IST) -

Source: Indiainfo.com

The stories of Call Center executives facing harsh treatment from the western customers is in the news again. After some news about UK public rejecting Indian call centers because of the habits and language skills, it is now the news of abusing the Call Center workers.

If outsourcing becomes a reality and economists and business people worldwide accept it to be a solution for survival of businesses in their respective countries, they probably are committing a crime by not informing their customers about the location and staff cultures of the Call Centers.

It is very difficult to assume that one culture is higher than the other. Multiple factors influence the culture and behavioural manners in a country. It is not a right attitude to expect the culture known to us from a foreigner. The businesses looking for outsourcing their business processes to low-cost countries such as India should make sure that they do the following:

• Communicate to the customers about the possible locations of their call centers. This will not make the offering weak because they can claim the reduction of costs to the customers because of reduction of their own operational costs. This will make the customers to keep their expectations at the right level and also start respecting different cultures
• Communicate the economic benefits of the outsourcing decision to the business and the economy as a whole. Since majority of the businesses are resorting to outsourcing, it may not become a discounting factor.
• Communicate the impact of outsourcing on the employment market in their native countries. Since the outsourced business processes are normally people-intensive, the public in the countries that are resorting to outsourcing feel apprehensive about loosing their jobs to low-cost countries. Outsourcing may give opportunities to the companies to look at decent growth and thus growth in employment.

The incident of the RJs abusing an Indian call center worker indicate the expectation on the part of the RJ that such an act will entertain majority of their listeners and it is an alarming trend. The countries resorting to outsourcing may have to face unexpected results if they cannot influence the sentiments of their own citizens and motivate the employees in their call centers in low cost areas.

The other part increasingly getting popular is NRIs becoming abusive towards call center workers. The Indian Government is all set to pamper the NRIs and (may be) they deserve all that. But the Government should also provide opportunities to expose the second and third generation kids of the NRIs to Indian customs and culture

They should get a good picture about the change of culture and lifestyle taking place in India these days to remove the apprehension. In some cases, where I personally witnessed Indians abroad rather unhappy with their fellow citizens, if they are not showing the expected results because they associate it with their nationality. So they become excessively harsh when compared to their local counterparts

The important lesson for people working for Call Centers is to focus on understanding the psychological pressures of the groups accessing them for the services. The natives might be suffering from the bias that the job their fellow citizen is supposed to handle has been outsourced to a low-cost location. The Desis may feel that people employed in Call Centers should learn better culture to handle the calls more professionally.

The entrepreneurs looking for setting up the Call Center should make sure that they impart such kind of understanding to their employees as a part of initial training itself.

Since we are growing in the model of a dependent economy and the Government is also encouraging the dependent industry more than indigenous solutions, we may have to live with this situation in the years to come.