INFOCUS

Bharat Gopalan

Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.
I am looking out for a job. The internet has so many ways to write a resume and its pretty confusing. Could you suggest a format that I could follow? - Thaigarajan K, Chennai
Yes, I agree, there are myriad ways of putting together a resume. But essentially, formatting of resumes can fall into two or at the most, three broad types: the functional format, where you emphasize on your specific skills and accomplishments in the order of relevance and importance to the position you are applying; second is chronological format, where you list your experience and education along with details preferably, in the reverse chronological order starting with the recent one first; and the third type of format is a hybrid of the first two. Choosing the right format should depend to a large extent, on your career history vis--vis your target job. If you have breaks in career or have diverse work experiences that dont align to a clear career path, then the functional format comes in handy. Since this format focuses on competencies and accomplishments, the career discontinuities get conveniently camouflaged. Chronological format is probably the most commonly used one. Since there is complete transparency about the career history, most interviewers prefer this over the functional type. You can also use a combo or hybrid type, where you can highlight your specific skills and accomplishments as in functional type and follow it with brief listing of jobs held with dates as in chrono format. Though there is no hard and fast rule for formatting your resume, you must remember that all your resume can do is to take you to the next stage of selection process. Most recruiters, who end up scanning hundreds of resumes everyday hardly spend about a minute on each of the resumes. So, it is important that the right words pop up from your resume before they decide to hit the delete key. So, it would do you a lot good, if you keep in mind the good old dictum of communication: accuracy, brevity and clarity.

How much value does an MBA have these days? -Kumaran, Chennai
Your question sounds like if an MBA is worth considering at all, a natural apprehension probably arising out of the mushrooming of all kinds of B-schools with different kinds of management degrees. The value of an MBA would depend largely on what you expect out of it, which apparently is dependent on the present stage of your career. If you are looking at a full-time MBA option for getting a head-start in your career, then you should be choosy and select a handful of probables that enjoy a good placement record and brand name with due consideration for other factors like affordability and your confidence to slog through the selection grind. If you want to derive the value you expect from your MBA, you should compulsorily do the necessary research and introspection before jumping in to a B-school and be rest assured that any and every MBA cant take you to where you want to go. If you are already in a job for some years now and wondering whether an MBA could hitchhike your pay and position, then it would depend a lot more on you than on the MBA you acquire. If you do a bit of survey around, you maybe surprised to find a good number of seniors who have failed to salvage their stagnating careers with their add-on MBAs. Your employer will be ultimately interested in seeing how your new degree can contribute to the bottom line. So, any which way you get your degree, be it on-line, part-time or distance mode, all that matters is not what you get but what you do with it. So, pursue a course which is not just another tag to your name but one that can help in building your capabilities that can manifest as visible performance in your work.

INBOX 1305 | MARCH 2010 | 41

Photo Courtesy : Yos Wiranata

INFOCUS

WORK WISE
SHOULD I FIND A NEW JOB? IF THEY ALREADY HAVE MY RESUME, SHOULD I STILL TAKE A PRINT OUT TO THE INTERVIEW? WHATS A FIRM HANDSHAKE?
If one of the best techies on my team decides to leave, how should I deal with it? Should I let him go (in this case for a better pay) or should try to convince him to stay, even though I cannot pay him well?
Though you do not want to lose a good performer, I find an element of comfort in saying, He is leaving for higher pay, and not for reasons I could have helped. If you glance through the exit interviews, the most cited reason would be higher pay or for a better position. Do you know why? Because, its non-controversial. But there are deeper reasons, which the leaving employee may not like to divulge openly for various reasons. If you are serious about retaining him, then its not about trying to convince him, but genuinely listening to him, knowing what he wants and how you can help him. Maybe, you can fix a rendezvous with him in an informal setting, where you can engage in a one-on-one conversation. All you need to do is to be open and friendly; ask and listen rather than talk; shed the guard and be ready to confront feedback, however harsh and unkind it might sound to you. This tte--tte could throw up the deeper things, which, possibly, could be changed and could change his mind on leaving. Even after this, if you lose the employee, you would have gained a lesson or two, for life.

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

Formal wear for women in the Indian context could be salwar kameez or saree. The company, you are joining, may have a written-down dress code and it is better to check with the HR guys of the company and clarify your doubts so that you are able to present yourself professionally and confidently when you report on the first day.

During a business presentation, if a person from the audience looks obviously bored and disinterested, how should I tackle it? -Sushsini Ramachandran Chennai
It can be a very putting-off experience to find that one or a few of your audience have switched off themselves or worse, have gone into snooze mode. It is not unusual and I have faced similar situations. What is most important in preparing a presentation is knowing your audience, why are they there and how you can make a connect between their existing knowledge and experience with what you are going to say. Make your presentation interactive by posing open-ended questions to brainstorm the audience in anticipation of the next point. While presenting, display energy and sound enthusiastic about your topic, you will notice, it can be very infectious. Remember, it is difficult to stretch the attention span of audience beyond 20 to 30 minutes, however hard you have prepared to make it interesting. If you have longer presentations, then you must pre-plan to intersperse them with some activity or exercise to involve the audience. If you have not planned any, then give an impromptu break before the boredom catches on with the rest.

When an appointment letter says, 'Formal Wear on All Working Days' what exactly do they mean?
Dressing protocols are back in vogue with corporates. Dress codes vary greatly from company to company, as different work environments demand different styles of attire. The objective of establishing a formal dress code by companies is to project a professional image without compromising on the individuals work comfort. The dress codes are usually mentioned as formal, semi-formal/ business casual or formal. Casual, as the word suggests, may mean a slack shirt or a T-shirt with denims, Semi-formal or business casual could mean a full-sleeve shirt with an optional tie and good quality trousers and Formal is a tailor-made suit and conservative tie. But remember, these definitions can vary greatly from company to company and country to country. But given the climate in our latitude and locale (I mean both weather and work climate of Chennai), formal wear may denote business casual i.e. formal shirts in light hues either plain or pin-stripes with a tie and trousers with leather shoes and a belt.

How to make a lasting impression at an interview?

Creating a positive first impression is more about your exteriors like your appearance, dress, your smile, handshake, manners etc, but making a lasting impression is more about your inside. An impression is an effect, feeling, or image retained as a consequence of experience. How are you going to create that experience? Do you have a personal story that connects with your purpose? Can you share it with others in an emotionally gripping way? How do you stand out from the crowd? As you introspect on these questions, you develop deeper insights into you. Its not just for impressing in interviews, but for developing your influential power, an essential quality of successful leaders. So, never be afraid to take the road less traveled; be creative and differentiate from the rest in a positive way.

INBOX 1305 | APRIL 2010 | 40

INFOCUS

WORK WISE
Please define RSVP. Does it imply that without an RSVP I should not and cannot participate in the event?Bala V, Chennai
RSVP is an abbreviation used for the French words 'rpondez s'il vous plat'. This phrase literally translates as 'Respond if you please' or to put it simply, 'please respond'. This tradition was started by the French, who are well-known for their etiquettes. When you find this phrase on the invite, it is expected of you to respond, irrespective of whether you are planning to attend the function or not. It helps the host in planning out the event and it is always good manners that the invitee responds. So next time you see RSVP on an invitation you receive, please call your host and respond promptly.

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

I could also find some inspirational closures like Driven by Purpose Onward and upward Shine on Blissfully yours

I run a business in the hospitality industry. I need to hire staff for all levels and the salary expectations are really steep. Just to save costs, is it advisable to hire freshers and interns? Kumaran Thangavel, Chennai
Whether you should hire freshers or veterans would depend largely on how crucial the industry-specific skills sets are for the success of your business. As long it is not something of rocket science, you certainly can have a good proportion of freshers to the experienced. But this talent blend has to be conscious strategy rather than a mere cost-cutting measure. Identify the critical roles that can impact the results a great deal and for such positions, hire competent people with right skills sets, who will serve as role models for freshers. It is important you handpick them carefully to ensure that they share your business vision and values and are capable of coaching and nurturing fresh talents. Here dont try to be penny-wise for if you throw peanuts, you will only get what peanuts can attract. For the rest, you can go whole-hog for freshers. You must have heard of the oft-used quote hire for attitude and train for skills. I dont think there can be anything truer, since what matters most in the hospitality industry, is the warmth and hospitability of your people at work. Skills can be taught and what cannot be taught is how someone feels about the job/ role, his/her motivation for putting out quality work, feeling the pride of being on a successful team, pleasing the customers, etc. So hire the candidates with spring in their toes and fire in the belly and then groom them to win the hearts of your customers.

In formal letters, should I sign off as 'Yours faithfully' or 'Best regards'? Or is there anything more contemporary?- Shlini Nathan, Chennai.
With email becoming a predominant mode of communication, formal closings like yours faithfully/yours sincerely etc, seem to have all gone out of vogue. I find a variety of innovative ways in which the mails are signed off. The kind of phrase you use for closing can help you create a personal touch or add a tinge to your personal brand. But while choosing the closing, you need to ensure that it is in line with the degree of formality in the salutation as well as the tonality of the contents. While respectfully yours is a very formal close, sincerely truly yours, are less formal and cordially yours is a friendlier one. Thanks for this question. This made me browse through my Inbox for novel mail closings and I thought I would share some of the interesting ones. Though they are bit out of the norm, closing can be a good place, where one can try being different from the crowd, albeit in a safer way. Warm regards & best wishes, With happy regards, At your service Your colleague To your success Wishing you the best Enthusiastically With kindest regards In Gratitude

What's a firm handshake?- Malini Menon, Chennai

The one that is neither too supple to be deciphered as diffidence, nor too stiff to be seen as dominance.

INBOX 1305 | MAY 2010 | 46

INFOCUS

WORK WISE
Could you give me simple tips or methods to improve my spoken English skills and pronunciation while I'm at work.- Prabhu R, Chennai.
Havent you heard of the good-old saying in Tamil, Drawing comes with practice of hand and the language with that of tongue? So practice is the key. What comes in the way of practice is the fear of making mistakes. But there is no other way to learn swimming than jumping into water. There may be quite a few like you, who would like to develop fluency in spoken English. Please form a support group who would mutually help each other. This is a great way to learn. Honestly, that was the way I built my repository of my vocabulary while in school. Each of us used to pick five new words from dictionary daily and deliberately force-fit them into our conversations.

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

What I want to be What I want to do What I want to have

achieved. So your questions should be in the order of 1. what I want to be? 2. If I want to be that, what I should be doing? 3. When I excel in what I do, will I get what I want to have? If not, should I compromise on my inner aspirations and do something different? This is a conscious choice one has to make.

Pursuing the path of inner calling may not always lead to the material haves, but is sure to give a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life.

I have completed my MBA and am on the lookout for a career. What are the few essential things I should look for while choosing a career, apart from the tangible factors like good salary and designation and of course, the companys brand? - Rajesh, Coimbatore
Though I do not undermine the importance of the tangible factors like pay and position in making ones career decision, it is better to start with a more primary question what you would be doing in your job day in day out? If you let the pay and perks decide what you want to do in your life, you might end up doing things which are not intrinsically satisfying to you. To drive home the point, I would take an extreme example: Supposing, you get a job that meets your criteria of good pay, good brand etc, say CEOs chauffer, you keep driving that gets your needs and you become nothing but a driver. So what you want to have drives what you want to do which in turn determines what you are. I would call this outside-in focus. Inside-out focus is the other way round. You first try to find out what you are- what interests you innately-what are you passionate about, when you have discovered yourself, you start doing what you want to do passionately and constantly strive to excel in it and eventually, achieve what you want to have in your life. This is inside-out approach and can work wonders for anyone. Look at the biographies of great people and you will know. For instance, Sachin Tendulkar discovered the cricketer in him quite early, and then the passion with which he pursued it is now history. And we dont have to talk of what material ends he

I am PR executive and I have been offered a job in an 'all women' office. Except for one or two office personnel, the main decision makers are women. I've heard that 'all women' offices are more gossip and confusion. Is that true? - Preeta K C, Chennai.
It would be very opinionated to jump to any judgment of that kind. Neither have I worked, nor could I possibly work in such an organization to venture into airing my views. But if you seek my suggestion on whether you should join an all-women company as PR exec, my answer is a blunt No. If I were you, I would consider a lot of other career-related factors that a gender-bias company can impact. The crux of a PR job lies in ones people skills and the people you work with matter a lot in terms of gaining this expertise. If you are going to work in an all-women outfit, it can restrict your exposure and could probably create a comfort zone, which would, later, become difficult to break out from. I had always considered my short stint of working with a lady boss as significant, since it was a new experience for me and new experiences bring new learning.

INBOX 1305 | MAY 2010 | 40

IN FOCUS

WORK WISE
Has the practice of calling people "Sir", "Madam" or "Miss" in the corporate world become redundant?Soumya Srinath, Chennai.
I wish it were. Though calling people by their first names is commonly seen in knowledge-based sectors like IT, the companies I know of that operate in conventional sectors are still holding on to the sir-culture strongly. Yes, there is more to this simple word than what meets the ears. The way the bosses are addressed, I feel, reflect the culture of the company and it gives a false sense of authority to the I-say-you-do type bosses. I still remember the first day on one of my initial jobs as supervisor during early eighties, when one workman asked me after introducing himself, do you want to be addressed like the British did on conferment of knighthood or can I call you by your name?. Highly overawed by the euphemism of his expression (rather deeply humbled by his erudition), I simply replied call me Bharath. But since then, I have worked in quite a few companies in the manufacturing sector and I have always had this dilemma as to whether I have the right to allow my people call me by name or should I stick on to the established sir culture, lest I upset the prevalent system. If an organization is serious about dismantling the false-authority structure that comes from the way the people-in-power are addressed, then it has to start from the top leadership like the way Sam Pitroda pioneered it at c-dot.

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

like to spend your time by yourself when you no longer need to work. If you want to find them out, I would recommend that you work through the Mission Statement exercises suggested by Stephen Covey in the Appendix of his book First Things First. Taking an unplanned sabbatical from work for a while can help you find out the ways in which you can engage yourself meaningfully and at the same time enjoy your life. Some employee-friendly companies offer sabbatical to their employees as part of their policy and I recently read that Infosys employees were given the option to take one-year sabbatical to engage themselves in philanthropic activities, which was intended to promote volunteerism among employees. This can help people find new meaning in their life beyond work and could prove to be of great value in post-retirement life. People, particularly those holding high offices with power and pomp or whose social circles are limited to their workgroups (like those living in company townships) tend to live their designations even off their work and this can pose to be a big peril. It is important that one learns to shed the designation as one walks towards retirement, as otherwise, the moment we retire we might feel that we have been stripped of our identity.

Can you suggest ways to make 'orientation' for my new employees more interesting? Murali Krishna, Chennai
Employee on-boarding is a serious exercise and a well-thought out orientation can have a significant impact on the employees morale and motivation. While it is important to transmit to the new employee the organisations culture, vision, values, philosophy etc, it is better done through some non-formal interactions rather than though a series of sermonizing lectures. An experienced and senior employee who is other than the direct superior is attached to the new employee as mentor to help the novice to learn quickly and effectively without the anxieties usually associated with hierarchical learning. Some organizations have buddy system where the new employee is put along with a peer-level employee who has been into the system for sometime and this hastens the learning and comfort level of the new employee.

Retirement comes as a jolt to many people even for those who are financially well-off and whose children are well-settled. How should one mentally prepare oneself for retirement? -K R Srinivasn, Retd SBI Officer, Salem
I am glad this column has readership of diverse age groups. I remember having read somewhere that retirement is the point in life when you stop living on your work and start working on your life. And if we have to start working on our life, we need to prepare ourselves long before the d-day arrives. As we live our day-to-day life, we become too busy handling urgent matters irrespective whether they are really important or not. For instance, you rush to attend a ringing phone only to find that its just a cold call trying for a frantic sale. It is urgent, but not really important. But, preparing for retirement calls for looking at things not so urgent but important like how you would

INBOX 1305 | JULY 2010 | 50

IN FOCUS

WORK WISE
I got a call for an interview from an MNC and I am told it will be a behavioural interview. What do they mean by that and how should I prepare for it?
Unlike a conventional interview where you get patently-routine questions like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "Why are you interested in change? etc., the behavioural interview questions will be based on how you acted in specific job-related situations. The basic premise of behavioural interview, also known as Behavioural Event Interview (BEI) is past performance predicts future performance i.e., how you behaved in the past will predict how you will behave in the future. In a BEI, the interviewer will ask questions to find out if the candidate has the skills that are required for the job he/she is being interviewed for, by asking questions focused on past behaviours where the candidate exercised or exhibited such skills. Instead of asking how you would behave, they will ask how you did behave. The interviewer will want to know how you handled a situation, instead of what you might do in the future. Some examples of BEI questions are: Give an example of a goal you have set and tell us how you achieved it. Have you ever had difficulty getting others to accept your ideas? What was your approach? Did it work? Give me an example of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty. In a BEI, the questions, posed by the interviewer, will provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and abilities (competencies) by giving specific examples from your past experiences. Best way to prepare for a BEI is to review the job description, if you have one, or to look into the details in the job posting and try to get a sense of what kind of skills and behavioral characteristics are required for the job. Refresh your memory and consider some special situations you have dealt with or projects you have worked on. Prepare stories that illustrate times when you have successfully solved problems or performed memorably. Remember the acronym STAR, which can help you in framing the sequence of your response: Specific situation you were in Tasks that you needed to do Action you took Results you achieved
INBOX 1305 | AUGUST 2010 | 56

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

To prepare for your future interviews, you can start maintaining a journal to record such events as they happen so that they come as a handy reference.

Why do they call it 'Friday Casuals'? Who started this tradition and why do corporates follow it?
Casual Friday connotes to dressing casually instead of the usual busniess attire, as warranted by the corporate dress code, and was probably used as way of setting the mood for the weekend. This is known to have originated from USA during the dotcom days and has later spread to other parts of the world as well. Friday dressing is mostly seen only in MNCs as well as companies operating in IT and finance sectors. Some Indian peers with six-day week have also started emulating it with casual Saturday. What was initially set out to bring in a relaxed mood had gradually moved to such a state that companies had to start issuing dress code for casual wear as well. Now Friday casual is not that causal that you can wear anything (like bermudas, round-necks etc) and get away with. Casualness has, now, got strictly defined in most companies that rushed in for Casual Fridays, a decade or so earlier. In some companies, collared t-shirts and jeans define the limits of informality and in some others, it is nothing short of slack shirts (of course without neck tie), trousers and covered shoes. As it is said you are what you wear, casual dressing cannot be taken lightly and your image could become a casualty if you start dressing too casually.

Generally how long should internships in an organisation be, 1 month, 3 months or more?
An internship is a way of engaging a student in an organisation with an emphasis on on-the-job training. Internship, apart from fulfilling the academic requirements laid down by the curricula, provides opportunities for students to gain experience in their field, determine if they have an interest in a particular career and create a network of contacts. Hence, the period of internship should typically depend on the nature of the work/ field. Internships may be part-time or full-time; typically they are part-time during the academic year and full-time in the summer. Full-time internship can range from one to three months where as duration of a part-time internship can go up to a year. Intership is an effective tool for identifying and recruiting talent.

IN FOCUS

WORK WISE
Should I follow the British or American spelling when I am writing official letters and documents?- Sri Latha, Chennai
On the question of which spelling to follow, I leave the decision to my laptop, since I have set the language in my system as English(India). Whenever I tend to use different style of spelling, my computer alerts me drawing a red wavy line below the word (e.g color) and suggests alternative spellings. You must have noticed that most of the formal writings in our country, both in print and internet media, use the British spelling. However, the usage of American spelling is also seen in less formal writings and emails, probably because it is simpler and easier. Think who your target audience are and that could give you an idea of what style to use. Some organizations may have a style guide for formal writing to set a standard for formal communication. Irrespective of whether you use the American or British form, I feel, what is more important is to aim for consistency, which means you use the same style of spelling throughout your content.

Bharat Gopalan
Bharath Gopalan specializes in Learning & Development and works with Madras Cements. He holds master degrees in Human Resource Management as well as in Psychology. He is deemed as a national resource person by Training Division (DoPT) of Government of India for conducting Direct Trainers Skills course.

facilitation skills, apart from meticulous preparation, if you want the team members to derive the learning from the game.

I have changed three jobs in the last four years. Will this be considered as a negative factor on my C.V.?Kumaran S, Chennai
Before considering whether job-hopping is a negative factor or not, you should try to look at it from the employers angle. Every employer would like to have long term contribution from their employees for the simple reason of costs involved in hiring and retraining. So he would naturally look into the job history of the prospective employee from that perspective and see if they have a long term candidate in him. When you get that, you must be able to review your C.V. and see whether yours tells a story of a job-hopper, who just keeps jumping jobs for a few bucks more or is he systematically building his skills in the chosen line of career. If your job changes indicate a logical progression in your career path and if you are able to substantiate it with sound rationale at the time of interview, then you stand a good chance of being considered for selection. However, if you have had too short a stint in some odd job spanning less than 3 or 4 months, then it would be sensible to omit it in your C. V, but be prepared to explain the gap at the time of interview.

Can you suggest a quick team building activity I can do before or after a team meeting? We have 15 members on our team.- Krishnakumar A, Chennai
It is a good idea to have some teambuilding activity as part of regular team meetings. When you do it in the beginning of the meeting, it can serve as a good ice-breaker and an energizer. You have a vast number of activities and games to pick from and you need to choose depending on the space and time available, the familiarity level of the group members and many other factors. If you want some energizer, you can form teams and play dumb charade or anthaakshari. One popular energizer which is a lot of fun is where members stand in a circle and are asked to start counting 1,2,3, but with a condition that persons getting the numbers which either end with 7 or are multiples of 7, should clap their hands instead of shouting out the number. The defaulters are eliminated from the circle and the game restarts. If you want the game to go beyond mere fun, then you should have some purpose tied to it. Team games could be used for a variety of purposes ranging from mere getting to know each other little more intimately to getting an insight into the dysfunctional behaviours of the team. After the game, its important to spend some time to help the team members reflect on their experience and share their insights. It calls for good

MANAGE YOUR IMAGE

Image management is not just for celebrities and PR executives. One needs to manage ones image well to enhance ones reputation as an effective and competent professional. People do tend to form strong and persistent opinions of each other within seconds of their first meeting - opinions that are, often, difficult to change. I find the following Five Cs helpful in orchestrating those critical few seconds that create first and lasting impressions: Context Communication Credibility Clothing Composure/Confidence If you invest in conveying a positive image the first time, you need not concern yourself with repairing a poor image later. Just remember to maintain that positive image.

INBOX 1305 | SEPTEMBER 2010 | 50