What does an employer look for while hiring a profile ?
Looking at the advertisements one gets a feeling that most of the organizations are involved in Skill based recruitment. Most of the engineers focus on acquiring skills on specific platform and periodically cross train themselves to acquire more skills.
However when an employer looks to employ an engineer he tends to look for more than mere skills.
Most of the employers execute projects for their clients overseas
Since most of the projects require a high degree of client interaction it is imperative that an engineer knows to communicate very well. Good command of Spoken and written English is a big advantage in enhancing an engineer's career.
Employers live in an age of compressed history and therefore are conscious that change is constant. They look for people who can be flexible, who can learn fast and people who can adapt.
Much as it is important to be technically skilled it is equally important to have the right attitude the ability to take initiative, have a high degree motivation, ability to adapt, and transact smoothly with people. It is people, people and people all over the place. People skills and People Management are critical in an engineer's journey of growth in the IT Space.
Do you really require a change ?
The environment in India and the job scenario in Information Technology continue to be one of irrational exuberance.
Gone are the days when people used to be working in a single job throughout their lives. People change multiple jobs and benefit out of change.
However it is important to weigh the pros and cons before making the change.
It is important to understand your compulsions for change. Change must not be an impulsive decision. Many engineers change jobs many a times to teach their immediate bosses a lesson. Change is a very serious business and should happen after serious introspection and not as a result of a knee jerk reaction on the basis of some unsavory incident at the office. Neither should change be as a result of peer pressure or herd mentality.
It is critical to understand if you have exhausted all your options within the existing company you are working. Please be conscious of the fact that there is no company in the world where there is no problem. Only the manifestation of the problem differs.
It is important to note that only long stints in any company can help you understand the nuances of the field you are specializing in and achieve excellence in you chosen field. Stability in any job is seen as a big virtue by many an employer. Not only it helps you to achieve some depth in your chosen field, but it also helps you to enjoy the other aspects of life and achieve a certain balance in life.
Frequent job changes can take you places but will not help you make a mark. Enhanced monetary rewards alone do not make for a satisfying job change. You must remember that when you may get a markedly higher compensation, the expectation from you will also increase proportionately.
When you decide to make a change
- Analyze your strength and weaknesses
- The recognition and respect you enjoy in your current job
- The relationship you enjoy with your boss, because no matter what the company may be, it is the immediate boss who makes a major impact on your fortunes.
- Future prospects of growth within your existing division as well as your company
- Opportunities to learn, Quality of your work and the consequent enrichment in the company where you seek employment
- If you would get a significantly better Compensation
- Analyze the pros and cons of the impact of relocating to a different city.
How to write a resume ?
Resume is the most important weapon in the job seeker's arsenal. A well-prepared and well-presented resume is a pre-requisite.
Apply WHAT, HOW, WHERE, WHEN and WHY model.
a) WHAT:
The engineer needs to detail the role and responsibility and contribution in the project.
What activity the engineer was involved in and in what part of the project, role like team lead, Programmer Analyst etc., responsibilities like guidance, supervision of team members etc. tasks like code walkthrough, unit testing, integration testing, customization, implementation etc.
b) HOW:
The approach to solve the particular problem, the analysis done, choice and features of the tools used constitute this.
c) WHERE AND WHEN
The 'Where' is normally covered in project details or project definition. The Project Start date and End Date should be given.
The Resume should also reflect or account for the gaps, if any, in the entire span of Work Experience.
d) Why
The 'Why' is covered in the Project description. The project description should be short and simple to understand. It should clearly elucidate the Project Objectives, types of project (Conversion, Enhancement, development, migration), challenges of the project and Specific Job/Tasks/Responsibilities of the candidate.
e) Team Size, Hardware and Software Environment has to be clearly spelt out for each of the projects.
Interviews: Points to be considered
While writing a good resume helps you fight half the battle, performing well in the interview helps you to win the rest of the battle.
Before attending the interview it is very important to understand the objective of the interview.
A lot of people attend interviews to check their market value. Unless you are interested in a change you may not want to take an interview. Introspect and find out if you really want to change before you decide to attend the interview.
Interviews can be at various levels, it could be a HR interview or it could be a technical interview. Understand the objective of the interview. Find out if it is telephonic or direct.
If it is a direct face-to-face interview make sure you get the directions very clearly to reach the place.
The first step to make an impression in an interview is to arrive at the venue at least 15 minutes in advance. The punctuality indicates the seriousness you have about securing the job. Make sure that you are well dressed for the occasion. It is important that you are dressed in formals and wear a neat pair of formal shoes. It is important to be conscious if you have body odor or bad breadth. Apply deodorant in case you have body odor. Get help from a physician if you have bad breadth. Overseas clients could view these issues very seriously.
Before attending the interview, you must make pains to read about the company. IF you know somebody in the company get additional details. You may want to read the web site and understand their operations. Try to understand from the HR and/or the recruitment consultant the role that you will get to perform in the company. Try to correlate the role, which the company has to offer, and the operations of the company. The role that is offered should have the potential to grow as the company expands its operations. There must be a clear-cut growth path for you.
When you attend an interview
- Take efforts to refresh your knowledge on the particular skill and domain area where you are to be interviewed.
- Be wary of the tone of your voice. It is important to appear modest.
- Keep your answers brief and to the point, nothing less and nothing more.
- Beware of your body language. Humans communicate 55% of the time thru their body language.
- Look into the eye and talk
- Avoid shaking your legs
- Listen to the questions carefully
- Incase you do not understand, the question, seek clarifications.
- Incase you are not able to answer the question, it is better to tell upfront that you do not know the answer
- Be prepared with a list of questions that you may have and seek answers from the interviewer after he is done with the interview. This will help the interviewer understand you better.
- When it comes to discussion of compensation, your expectation should be reasonable. Unreasonable expectations will reflect on your personality and can be detrimental in getting the job.
- Be very clear about your notice period times. Any unrealistic time frames committed by you can put you as well as your prospective employer, current employer and you in trouble. Remember that it is important for you to honor client commitments. It is part of your professional responsibility.
Understanding the offer
It is very important to understand the offer that you receive from any organization.
Take time to understand the offer and seek clarifications.
Understand the components like Performance Bonus, Organization bonus, variable Pay, Flexible Pay, ESOP, Joining Bonus etc. etc.. Understand when these components would become payable. Understand the associated clauses with each of the bonuses that are being offered. Understand how an ESOP would be administered and when it would vest.
Take a piece of paper and pen and write down the your current break up of salary and the salary which your prospective employer is making and jot them down besides one another so that you can make an apple to apple comparison. This will help you understand the offer better.
Seek clarifications if you do not understand. Understand the implications before you accept.
Once you accept the offer after weighing the pros and cons you must never look back on the decision.
Do not use an offer to wheel a deal with your current employer.
Role related certification
Why is Certification Useful?
The certification process rewards both the employer and the individual earning the certification. It can do this because certification can serve more than one purpose.
For the person who earns the certification:
- credentials skills an individual already holds
- serves as a blueprint for learning a new technology or furthering skills in a familiar technology
- acts as a way to increase individual marketability, and evidence suggests earning potential increases along with that.
- can be an ego boosting thing - a way to challenge oneself
For employers:
- certification improves employee performance as they learn more while preparing for certification exams
- can be used as a marketing/credibility tool for the company
- in some cases for vendor-specific certifications certification can translate directly into increased reseller status
- it often serves as an incentive to employees - demonstrating that the company is interested in their continued professional development and willing to assist in attaining that. This can help reduce attrition.
