Random Thoughts

WOULD YOUR COMPANY HIRE YOU TODAY ?

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:24:00 +0000

In my opinion, marriage is less about “finding” the right person and more about your “being” the right person. Marriage is a long term commitment and requires more than a feeling of infatuation for it to work. By the same token, hiring should be looked at as a long term commitment that requires more than a temporary or convenient set of skills.

Now, if you buy my thought that marriage is about being the right person, then perhaps you will buy the thought that hiring is about being the right person as well. In other words, hiring is as much about you as it is about whom you hire. Most of us come across colleagues whom we wonder that how they made into this Organisation and survived this long.

Regardless of the circumstances you face, your attitude is one of the few things in life that is completely under your control. So, do you posses that necessary blend of energy, humor, compassion, team spirit, boldness, and initiative that you seek in others?

Do you have those qualities which you or your company is looking in new employees ??? Do you still have that commitment?? Would your company hire you today ????

REALITY SHOWS - GREAT TALENT MANAGEMENT INTERVENTION

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:41:00 +0000

The HR guru's amongst my readers would agree that Talent Identification and Assessment are two critical pillars of Talent management. Simply put Talent Management facilities, a process and culture which ensures that the best and brightest automatically bubble to the top. If we were to believe that an organization is a microcosm of a larger society then what we are witnessing today in most Indian organizations is also indeed true for reality shows

Many years ago Anu Kapoor ran a show called "Meri Awaaz Suno" - To me it was a great Talent Management intervention .A little girl from Bhilai won the hearts and imagination of India. That little girl was Sunidhi Chauhan. The program was a process and a platform which allowed a top talent like her to get pan India exposure. Programs such as Meri Awaaz Suno heralded the beginning of Talent Management revolution in playback singing @Bollywood . Along the journey we see many such shows like Indian idol, sa re ga ma pa and many more.

While all the singers were undoubtedly brilliant, but without a process like the reality shows , these people would not have got an opportunity or an exposure that they well deserve . To put this in context, in the good old days at Bollywood incumbency was a big factor; Lata Mangeshkar remained the playback Queen for decades without any noticeable threat to her position. Was there a talent shortage in the country...???? I don't think so. What were probably lacking were platforms like the ones that we are discussing. The powers of these platforms are immense and the outcomes that they can create for an industry is what we are experiencing first hand now.

I would like to highlight two key learning's from these reality shows which could be of use to HR professionals who engage in the process of Talent Management.

Let the Soul of the Process Flourish - What happens in the name of Talent Management are generally elaborate paper exercises and assessments which kill the soul of the process. By killing the soul of the process I am hinting at the complex psychometric tools often used to identify talent (however valid the consultants who peddle them claim to be ) are fraught with errors and to put undue emphasis on the tools only is disastrous .

Use Professional Talent Spotters and Talent Managers - Spotting Talent is not necessarily a function of competency frameworks or psycometry. The Aussie Cricket Board has talent scouts who scan the country and select young players with promise. A similar process happens thought he regional and city rounds of these reality shows . In India however I have not heard of Talent Scouts in organizations. An individuals potential is often assessed in the context of his current and future roles. While I do not have a conceptual quarrel with this process, however happens that the potential assessment is left a bit too late for any meaningful development to happen, which leads to a situation where in either the top talent is frustrated and leaves the organization or even worse stays back and becomes a cynic.

While timing of assessment is important, the other critical issue is that potential assessment happens in the context of a set of Role Based Competencies and rarely on well grounded Generic Competencies. The challenge is of course to maintain a balance between the competencies required to deliver the current role and or future roles as also the ability to manage organizations and add stakeholder value. Often the second objective takes a backseat.

I would love to hear from you.

THE TALENT SHIFT

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:41:00 +0000

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” I am sure the most of recruiter will agree to this quote of Charles Darwin.

Recruiters are working faster, harder, longer and to the point of fatigue.

If we look at Indian context, we will see a great mismatch where most of employers are chasing wrong candidates or candidate chasing wrong employers. 10000 applications against a job posting still position remains vacant. The True reflections of our capability to reach job seekers, I mean the right ones.

Many companies are beginning to realize that the value preposition of the large, generic job boards is wanning…..We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the sourcing function. From traditional employment ads to e-recruitment was a true revolution which helped many organizations to reach potential job seekers at a reasonable cost and time. But the time has come to move to next era where the whole effort is shifting from push to pull. Collaborative long term virtual relationship is the key. Communities of practices of passive job seekers, social /business networks, and blogs are the future of recruitment. An era where recruiters primary job is to change whole organisation as recruiters.

If we don’t adapt, we will continue to live in the ‘age of anxiety’ , in a great part, the result of trying to do today’s job with yesterday’s tools – with yesterday’s concepts.

The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed.

OVERCOME TALENT BARRIERS TO REACH PASSIVE JOB SEEKERS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:46:00 +0000

We always face difficulty in finding the right talent for most of the positions. We always get bombarded with the wrong types of candidates. For an example, I have received 13000 applications for a vacant position but less than 0.1 % was relevant.

The questions arises that how to break this talent barrier and bridge the gap between prospective employer and the right candidates. Here are my takes on the changing face of sourcing function to reach the right guy.

Use of Social Media

Most of us are not live actively on all the popular online destinations, such as LinkedIn, Eacademy, Twitter Facebook etc. Our ability to give time and energy to comment, blog, share, and have real conversations with potential talent on the web is on very initial stage. We don’t have a social media policy in place. We are still running behind low hanging fruits though job portals.Time has come to build a real presence. Build community. Build excitement and buzz that spreads and attracts much talked passive jobseekers.

Push vs. Pull Marketing

Gone are the days of the post-and-pray mentalities for recruiting departments, dumping budgets into job boards and search firms. That is push marketing: pushing out job orders. Here now are thousands upon thousands of free resources, sites, and online communities at your disposal. Use them! We can go beyond job postings and place tailored PowerPoints on Slideshare, insightful pictures on Flickr, descriptive videos on YouTube, and select whitepapers on Scribd and Docstoc. Spread your content in key places online and make sure to provide good titles, tags, and keywords to be found. This is pull marketing, and will bring more traffic to our career site and ultimately produce a better applicant pool to work with.

Lack of a Sourcing Function

Our recruiters are overworked today with paperwork, processes, and compliance laws, not to mention the fact that they need to find and source quality candidates for their positions. Sourcers today need to be well-versed in the latest trends in social media and mobile recruiting, as well as a high proficiency in advanced Internet search techniques with Google.

The Application Process

Don’t make job seekers jump through hoops to apply to your positions. Some companies have more than 10 steps amounting to over 20 minutes to fill out. This is too long! Simplify the application process. Fewer steps equal more candidates, guaranteed!. Recruiters also need to be more accessible, more visible during the application process. Think about providing a live person via instant message or video chat on your career site, or a dedicated job applicant support phone line to guide confused candidates and do light screening. Other options such as company Twitter accounts, Facebook fan pages, LinkedIn groups, and YouTube channels that tie-in are a must.

Job Descriptions

Most employment ads online either have too little information or way too much. The information that is available usually has too much corporate-speak mumbo-jumbo and uses company acronyms and internal program names. Ads like these can be confusing and misleading. Sit down with the hiring manager and get all the facts out on the table. Uncover every detail possible. Develop a job description that really sells the job! Make it relevant to the job seeker. Make it interesting. Show some excitement. Talk like a real person. Tell people what the job will really do and the importance it plays with your company or client. Strike a good balance of information with an enticing sales pitch. Make me want to apply!

Many more talent barriers exist today. I’m interested to hear about the makeup of your recruiting team, how you find talent today, and what unique challenges you face.

THE RETURN OF THE WAR

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:49:00 +0000

If you’re involved in global talent acquisition, you already know that despite a global economic downturn, the war for talent never really ended. The truth is that top talent will always be in the minority regardless of market conditions, and that sought-after minority populations have power. Candidate centricity will prove a key battle concept in 2010.

Post recession, their is fundamental change in the relationship of employer-employee. I feel that given a stable career opportunity with blend of work life balance and flexibility, a majority of employees today would jump to your ship even if you pay around 50th %tile of market regression line.

This will lead organization to different kind of war for talent. The focus will shift drastically from attraction to retention of talent. While most of us are not ready to accept/prepared to mitigate risks caused by these rapid changes. Few may not even agree that they have done a mistake by ignoring physiological contract between employee and employer . I would say that it takes great courage for someone to accept one’s mistake and faults. But then accepting and taking ownership of ones fault is the first step towards improvement.

As an ugly turnover tsunami is just around the corner, what’s your plan? You might be hearing that market is improving but the worst is truly not behind us.

EMERGING CAREER OPTION - CCO

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:36:00 +0000

“It’s a really unique situation where most of us are at a crossroads personally and professionally.”

If living and working in this economy of disappearing jobs, tiny budgets, and little recruiting is getting a bit old, then perhaps you have arrived at your own personal crossroads.

Wise career decision taken a year back is certainly looks like foolish decision. We all are desperately waiting for the economy to “get back to normal.” Personally, I have grave concerns about this thought because no one knows exactly what the new “normal” might be, and for all we know, this aberration might be the new “normal” and will remain such for years to come.

But like all other recessions, this one has also created various new kind of jobs which never existed.

LinkedIN, Twitter and Facebook have been the most talked about websites of the previous year. But who really keeps track of these conversations that happen in these online spaces; especially when they are about companies and brands? Some forward-thinking organizations have deployed people to look after their online image.

This was previously done informally by web-savvy employees. Over the last few months, bloggers began referring on the coming of Chief Conversation Officer who will be responsible for driving conversation about a brand online, tracking what is being said, and handling feedback.

Your Perespective?

BORN AGAIN

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Life has stopped completely from last few weeks or I must say a directionless, monotonous life without a strong purpose has stopped. During this unexpected and unplanned break, I gone through or still going through some paradigm shifts in philosophy and thought (more so thought process). I have been trying really hard to look at things differently off-late, trying to remain unruffled by all the battles that I am facing personally and professionally.

It comes in a phase when I need to draw some lines.. The lines that would re-define rest of my life. The lines that would change perspectives about how I used to view life. These lines would inadvertently expose me to new battles - with no one to bank upon. The lines which would (and have) leave me lonesome and far apart from people - I called my own.

The lines where I set priorities. The lines where I choose the road less travelled. The lines when I tread alone. The lines where I need to strong mentally, emotionally and physically. The lines which would raise many questions but would still be left unanswered. The lines where I choose truth over a bond. The lines where I trust the Almighty will bestow his justice over the infidel. The lines where I shepherd the week through the valley of darkness. The lines where I forgive and forget. The lines where I'm - Born Again!

HOT JOBS @ TATA PROJECTS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Managing Director - TEIL Projects - Noida

Business Head - Oil, Gas & Hydrocarbon - Mumbai

Deputy Business Head - Metals & Minerals - Kolkata

DGM - Engineering - Mechanical - Hyderabad

Sr. Manager - Contracts - Hyderabad

Deputy Manager - Internal Audit

Please write to rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com for more info

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN YOUR BOSS ?

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Most of us think about this at least once a day. We are all having someone sitting above us in hierarchy who knows less about the business/work than we do. In meetings, he mentions things unrelated to the discussion and makes suggestions that cause others to groan and roll their eyes.

If you believe that your boss is an incompetent drone in a suit, what should you do to improve the quality of your work life without committing self-sabotage?

“Produce exceptional work, but also ask for their feedback, so it appears that you care about [your boss] and their knowledge. This is especially important for getting a reference from them later or when trying to move into a new position or company. He also advises employees against being perceived as “a know-it-all or someone who is superior to management” which can only harm a worker’s reputation.

Bad Boss Mantra - “It was not a matter of feeling I was smarter than my boss, it was a feeling that my boss could have been a little smarter in using my academic knowledge,” Chill.

Generally, all employees have something to gain in their work environment, even if they feel more competent than their supervisors. Rather than fighting the situation and getting frustrated, i suggests taking a backseat and looking for other people in the office to learn from. An employee can learn from the supervisor as much as the supervisor can learn from his or her employees. The work environment is a constant give and take.

Important to mention that if employees feel like they’re smarter and know more than others on the team, it’s a Clear sign that they should be looking for a new position. While this isn’t always an option for many people, it’s always a good idea to realize your own potential within the confines of a very limiting work environment.

Because in the end, if there is absolutely no opportunity for growth, why waste the energy proving your smarts if it can land you in hot water? Inadvertently, or within a heated conversation, we often say things to the boss that we know we will have second thoughts about on that long walk back to our cubicle.

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS ?

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:35:00 +0000

“It’s a really unique situation where most of us are at a crossroads personally and professionally.”

If living and working in this economy of disappearing jobs, tiny budgets, and little recruiting is getting a bit old, then perhaps you have arrived at your own personal crossroads.

Wise career decision taken a year back is certainly looks like foolish decision.We all are desperately waiting for the economy to “get back to normal.” Personally, I have grave concerns about this thought because no one knows exactly what the new “normal” might be, and for all we know, this aberration might be the new “normal” and will remain such for years to come.

Now we all have two choices. It’s really a privilege to have some choice in this recession :-)

Expect Less. It matters little that what industry you are working, what designation you are carrying and what increments and promotions you are due for. The face and very composition of work is changing radically. As such, the rewards normally tied to work will probably change as well. Consider the work-a-day existence of your past and acknowledge that it is probably going to remain in your past. Perhaps benefits will disappear. Perhaps the concept of “full time” will be based upon organizational need as opposed to “employee” legal standing. Perhaps you will trade value for money to be paid every Friday with both parties reevaluating the relationship every few months. Either way, expect less and smile.

Expect More. This is an opportunity for the cream of the crop to do great things. I must say that it is also an opportunity for those who are not yet the cream to get there.Organizations will always need to hire great people in order to do great things. The time to get creative is now.

Please lower your price, because as cost goes down, value goes up Change your thinking because it will certainly not help your cause, your career, or your wallet.

BUILD CANDIDATE PIPELINE FOR JUST-IN-TIME HIRING

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Everywhere we turn we hear about how “The Economy” is causing everyone to tighten their belts and hold off on making any decisions that may seem too risky. It has quickly become the catch-all answer for almost every difficult question that the corporate world is facing.

Of course, not being able to afford to make a purchase is always a good reason to reduce spending, but there are always those necessities that no matter how tight our belt gets, we will find some way to get them.

If companies keep this in mind, they may very well find themselves in a position to make significant gains during this time. For hiring managers and recruiters this could mean finding a stellar candidate who may have otherwise been unavailable.

Hiring freeze, layoff and retrenchment are more of mental block than anything else. Especially for companies who believe in Lead-Lag pay policy and does pay close to market regression line, recession is the best time for capability enhancement. Some may definitely disagree that the moment market will recover; all this birds will start flying.

But on the other side, there is nothing wrong in initiating a dialogue on various possibilities of association with your organization. The worst can be a healthy pipeline of candidates. And you will definitely agree that a good candidate pipeline can make wonders. At least I will definitely buy this idea. If worst situation is so useful that I would not like to mention the benefits.

Pipeline development is part of their growth strategy. Start identifying candidates who are equipped to be a part of your company’s success. I believe that long-term hiring success requires a process. It is a lot easier to keep a fire going than it is to start one, so we should maintain an ongoing dialogue with candidates with the intention of making an offer when the time is right. A developed candidate pipeline removes major competition from the equation. When the time to hire arrives, we should be ready with the offer or at least have top of the candidate’s mind. This reduces the chances of a salary war as well.Having healthy candidates on hand minimize delays. Sometimes unforeseen events can cause the ball to be dropped. A developed and managed candidate pipeline allows these companies to rebound quickly and efficiently.A company that is actively recruiting is considered a strong company. By continuing to engage prospective candidates, we can strengthen our own company brand among others in industry and remain aware of other trends within their market segment.

Use this or loose this opportunity. Just-in-time concept is definitely applicable to recruiting as well. :-)

EMERGING CAREER TRENDS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:58:00 +0000

In today’s uncertain economic environment, setting a career goal effectively has become increasingly important, and difficult.

Each recession gives rise to hundreds of new careers and entirely new job functions as old ones are made obsolete. Car assembly people, for example, are a dying breed, and not many will survive this recession. Other jobs that are at the end of their life cycle include ordinary bank tellers, cashiers and checkout clerks, and even many call center jobs and may be us as well.

But, on the other hand, I strongly feel that it will bring hundreds of new career as well. Already I can envision the time when everyone will have their website, recruitment firm with expertise in placing laid off employee and many more. It’s need which gives birth to creativity which can be commercialized under the umbrella of innovation. The whole idea behind several jobs, the way they are structured and they way they impact other will change. Technology shall be the prime driver. Technology makes stability impossible, and anyone who is in school today had better be able and willing to quickly adapt and learn new skills.

Academic institutions are very poor at identifying emerging careers, and most academic majors are traditional. This lack may be for the best, as the best preparation for skills that are not yet known is a broad and basic education.

Some of these emerging careers will require cross-functional multi-skilling.

I’d love to hear from any of you who have ideas about this or see emerging trends, careers, or occupations.

BADBOSSOLOGY

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:55:00 +0000

You're weary. You're frustrated. You're unhappy. You're demotivated. Your interaction with your boss leaves you cold. He's a bully, intrusive, controlling, picky or petty. He takes credit for your work, never provides positive feedback and misses each meeting he schedules with you. Or he caves immediately under pressure and fails to support you in accomplishing your job.

Some Bosses bully , intimidate , and belittle others. Underlings are expected to endure abuse that is condemned in other settings.

Every working adult has known one - a boss who love making subordinates squirm, whose moods radiate through the office, sending workers scurrying for covers, whose voice causes stomach muscles to clench and pulses to quicken.:-(

One of my close friend working with a reputed MNC describes his boss as: dash dash dash..... " like a dog barking at you for hours...He just yelled, ranted, and raved. He was condescending, belligerent, and disrespectful."

Another friend experienced that women are as likely as men to be the aggressors. His Boss(Beautiful Boss) is no more beautiful . She has developed a reputation for demoralizing employees by publicly dressing them down for missing sales and profit goals or for simply displeasing her...often the attacks were personal rather than professional, and infrequently laced with crude reference to sex , race , or ethnicity.

Unfortunately, what would be considered abusive behavior in families and other social relationships is accepted and even lauded in work situation more frequently than many of us admit

Fortunately, I have not experienced any :-)

What about you. ?? Think in case you are the one ????

I WORK HARD BUT......????

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:14:00 +0000

I have completed one glorious year at work and legacy left by me will definitely be remembered forever :-) .

But there was one very disappointing observation i made that people are working harder than ever but accomplishing less and less. I am thinking on this from quite a while now. when i look around any organization, everyone is busy, working very hard and staying very late to get work done. when i look at results then there is a mismatch between all the work done and result attained.

Earlier i thought that people are unchallenged, unfocused, and having no fun in their work. They never think about the results and just try to finish the task assigned to them. I guess i was wrong to some extent.

There was several occassions when i came across people who hate theire jobs. In spite of working very hard they could nor able to contribute any thing.

When i went deep into this then i realized the root cause of this observation. There was no understanding of goal concurrency with organization by employees. They never understood importance of their contribution into the success of their organization.

To understand it more clearly, employees never understood their own job, they never recognize the finish line and never able to focus & prioritize. The importance of understanding the people around you was also well misunderstood.

I will also like to blame few bosses(in silent voice) that they were not able to communicate the right thing to each of their team members. As a result the team members never understood the clarity and drive strategy from top to bottom.

If i dare to go deep into this that i will take advantage of WEB 2.0 to blame few head of departments as well who never able to make understand the execution managers that alignment to strategy is must before execution.

To summarize my thoughts, i call it a culture of fake work where people work harder and results are .....well , you are intelligent.

Let me know in case you are also working hard for fake work or you also hate your job in spite of working very + very HARD ???

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…….

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Yesterday in San Diego, the winners of the 2009 Recruiting Excellence Awards were announced

Congrats to this year’s winners:

Best College Recruiting Program - Ernst & Young
Best Corporate Careers Website - Yahoo
Best Diversity Program - Microsoft
Best Employee Referral Program - Accenture
Best Employer Brand - Ernst & Young
Best Retention Program/Practices - American Cancer Society
Best Strategic Use of Technology - Microsoft
Recruiting Department/Function of the Year - DaVita

I always believed that technology in HR goes hand in hand. If we really analyze the award winners then one thing was common with everyone.

· Technology

· Response Management System

· Strategic alignment of HR with Business

Most of the Indian companies still do not understand the importance of recruiting program, career website, and referral program. Few who understand and make some investment in these lines are too busy to manage the response in real time. I call it strategic suicide by HR. knowing everything and doing nothing.

Most of the companies are concentrating on attraction while retention is left on employees and market opportunities.

Employer brand is highly correlated with the capacity of the company to pay well.

Was just wondering whom are we fooling..???

Ourselves?????

IF YOU CAN DATE, THEN YOU CAN RECRUIT AS WELL

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:34:00 +0000

I believe that if you are good at dating than you can be a good recruiter as well. The reverse is also true. Dating and recruiting have a lot in common. Let see that how we can improve our recruiting efforts by applying the most common dating rules.

Dating rule #1
First impressions are critical.

Recruiting application:
Differentiate yourself. Resist the “I have a great position for you” especially if you have never spoken to them.

Dating rule #2
Don’t believe everything you see. We have all heard stories from people that signed up for an online dating service and were shocked when their date was two feet shorter and 10 years older than the profile.

Recruiting application:
Candidates exaggerate their strengths and skills and down play their weaknesses. Do not assume anything. Prescreen, interview, administer assessments, and call the references before you present the candidate to your hiring manager.

Dating rule #3
Play hard to get. Desperation is the world’s worst perfume.

Recruiting application:
If you make a huge fuss over the candidate and beg them to interview, you will diminish your negotiating power.

Dating rule #4
Be selective. You can not change people.

Recruiting application:
Look for the red flags; don’t avoid them. It is better for you to uncover any candidate weaknesses or issues than your hiring manager discovering them. Your name and reputation is all you have in this business.

Dating rule #5
Prepare for the date.

Recruiting application:
If your candidate has spent 20 minutes on the phone with you and takes time off work to come to interview, and then you ask them “so, tell me what you want to do?” — you are wasting the candidate’s time. You should have notes on the candidate’s resume that you want to clarify.

Dating rule #6
Don’t talk too much. People who express the “enough about me, what do you think about me?” attitude sit home alone, a lot.

Recruiting application:
The candidate should be doing most of the talking. Assess what the candidate has to offer, what they need, and then set expectations of how you will work together. Let the candidate talk about the interview before you disclose the hiring manager’s view. If you blurt out “they love you, you are the best candidate they have ever met!” — what do you think happens to the candidate’s salary requirements?

Dating rule #7
Follow up with your date.

Recruiting application:
As an industry, one of the biggest complaints we get from candidates and hiring managers is the lack of communication. No news is still considered news to the candidate; make sure you keep your candidate in the loop.

Dating rule #8
Don’t be afraid to end the date early.

Recruiting application:
Prescreen carefully, ask the hard questions, and always tell the candidate the truth. If they are not going to fit into your recruiting focus (skills, salary expectations, location, etc.), coach or make suggestions regarding who may be able to help them in the market.

Dating rule #9
Improve your odds by hanging out where (like) people hang out.

Recruiting application:
If you are recruiting technology talent, sign up and participate in technology activities in your market. Volunteer at association meetings to check members in: you will meet every attending member, every meeting.

Explain to people you meet that there are two types of people you would like to be introduced to: those who are leaders in their field and are looking for an opportunity and those who are leaders in their field and are not looking for an opportunity right now. You are an expert in your market, so people who are not looking now would still benefit from knowing you and the people in your network.

Dating Rule #10
They will not buy the cow if they are getting the milk for free.

Recruiting application:
When you agree to represent a candidate, you are entering into a business agreement. You need to set clear expectations of how the process must work. If the candidate will not agree to the terms, they are not committed to you, so turn them loose.

Final Piece of advise: -Concentrate on controlling your own situation, without controlling everybody else

The disagreement with these tips will be highly appreciated . write to me at rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com

RECRUITMENT & ANALYTICS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:50:00 +0000

Analytics is a hot idea that will likely be topical for a decade more, much like competencies and employment brand were (and are). The term “analytics” — if you want a really sophisticated definition — just means “let’s crunch some numbers.” One of the reasons it’s topical is that our internal systems are capturing far more numbers than ever before.

I believe that in recruiting, to the extent analytics have been used, the focus has been on internal recruiting processes. HR departments want to reduce cost-of-hire and time-to-fill and thus may apply some number-crunching to find where they can make improvements.

If I try to relate this with my experience where much of the recruitments are done in project based environment, the big payoff comes when recruiting can affect operations by improving quality of hire. The recruiting function needs to make the effort to shift its focus from the comfortable world of its own operations and instead spend more time in partnership with the strategic business units to see how recruiting can make a difference there.

Nowhere is analytics more important than in the recruitment of front-line workforces. In many industries the number of front-line workers is so large that you can easily get enough data for sophisticated analysis, and even small improvements add up to very large savings. The recruiting function is a particularly important part of HR for the front-line workforce because these workers typically don’t stay that long(if not managed properly). The organization is counting on recruiting to get people who hit the ground running and fit sufficiently well that they don’t leave after the first few weeks. If recruiting fails at this then it creates a huge cost for the organization.

There are many ways analytics can help recruiting functions improve the quality of front-line workers. For example

Number of candidates applied for job in a year

Number of Hits on career section of your website

Number of ex-employee initiated dialogue to come back

Number of people left within few weeks of joining

Number of employees left after working for more than 5 years

Its not just number but the analysis of these numbers which can help the HR department to align its recruitment strategy with business strategy. Also, such analytics will help us to understand the difference between strategic recruitment and recruitment strategy. (this is highly misunderstood as same)

A simple analysis of retention by source of hire can show recruiting how they should aim its sourcing efforts and even lead to quantifying how much extra value one source creates compared to another due to higher retention. This analysis might completely overturn conclusions of a typical cost per hire analysis since retention can be so valuable to a company that it overwhelms the different in cost in using a particular source.

Some have already started the analysis and some are on their way. WHERE ARE YOU ????.

Write to rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com for more inputs.

INTERNET SOURCING SERIES: ASTERISK

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:36:00 +0000

Lately, the word Boolean has become very popular among web sourcers and recruiters. For some, “Boolean searches” seem complicated. Others wonder what the big deal is since Boolean simply means AND, OR, and NOT applied to keywords.

Google syntax does, of course, implement Boolean logic, though in a limited fashion. It’s not what I want to talk about here; I’d like to talk about the additional, “non-Boolean” part of Google. Google syntax contains much more than an implementation of Boolean logic.

There are operators and special characters that instruct Google on how to use keywords in a search string. One doesn’t need to learn about all of the operators to become successful in one’s searches, but adding a few operators to your search will help quite a bit. Here I’ll cover some operators that I think are a must for a serious web sourcer’s toolbox

ASTERISK

Asterisk * is a very mysterious symbol in Google. Though it formally means “some words,” in reality (or is it better to say in practice?) it stands for “one word or very few words.” (The symbol * does not stand for a part of a word on Google as it does elsewhere.)
Here’s a quick example showing how it works. Search for “Oracle * Administrator” (plus keywords) and you will find Oracle Database Administrator, Oracle Discoverer Administrator, etc.
The asterisk * is actually a very powerful tool. Here are some uses.
If you are looking for an email pattern for a company or are trying to collect email addresses, you can use
“email * companyname.com” or
“mailto * companyname.com “
Since the symbol * typically stands for one word, you can add more asterisks to these strings and get different results.
(”email * * companyname.com” etc.)

Please note that since Google ignores special symbols, including the symbol @ in your strings is not necessary.
Here’s one of my favorite sourcing “tricks.” You can look for phrases and land on blogs, forums, and homepages, not resumes, but this may put you ahead of the competition if they only look for resumes.
Here are examples of Google searches for phrases. This would bring up pages written by people who work or used to work for or have something to do with TATA Projects. (Replace TATA Projects with your target company name.) Add your keywords to these strings to narrow down the searches:
“I work * TATA Projects”
“I am * TATA Projects”
“when I *TATA Projects”
etc.

You can use phrases as a research tool. You can be really creative!

HELP PEOPLE IN TRANSITION…

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:03:00 +0000

The global turmoil and domestic slow down has corrected the increasing trend of fancy designations and inflated salaries. I am sure that you will come across someone you know, respect and admire who might be in transition and was hoping if they can submit their resume to you. In the past, we were much more able to help, and at times, some resumes that came our way were absolutely great matches to some of our requirements.

But things are different now. The openings are few and the calls from candidates are multiplying. We are now hearing more from our own friends, ex co-workers, relatives, neighbors and people we really care about. How can we help when there aren’t any openings? It’s a new game out there, but we still can make a difference, if we take a bit of time. Even though we cannot directly hire these people there are still many things we can do to help tip the scales in their favor with their search.

* Try to respond to each person you hear from, if not by phone, at least send an email. Being ignored is the worst part of being in transition.

* Ask the candidate if it would be all right if you sent their resume out to your network. Send out a bcc email to those you know and introduce the candidate to them. I believe most hiring that will happen now will be ‘quiet hiring’ — not necessarily openings blasted over the job boards, but careful and quiet gathering of candidates.

* When giving leads to a candidate, suggest they use your name in their cover letter. Cover letters and resumes have a better chance of being read, with your name as the introduction.

* Write a recommendation for the candidate on their LinkedIn page, and if they aren’t yet on LinkedIn, send an invite. Adding a recommendation as a co-worker, a co-member of a group or as a client / vendor will help the person to complete their profile, and can add valuable information. Be generous with your comments.

* Put the candidates in transition in touch with each other. Many informal groups are created this way, and sharing leads and information is very helpful to the candidates. They don’t have to be searching in the same field either to be a help to each other.

* Forward articles and blogs; sharing information is a great way to help. Some people who have left their company and thus have left behind their company email address lose the link to information we get everyday. Forward it over so they can start getting connected again.

There are so many things we can do to help, even if we can’t directly hire those who come to us. This list of ideas cost nothing but a bit of time, and can make a world of difference. All the help we give others will come back to us someday, so build the bridges, make the connections, and help if you can. Today’s candidate could just be tomorrow’s hiring manager.

If you think that candidates experienced in Power , Transmission & Distribution of Power, Oil Gas & Hydrocarbons, Metal & Minerals, Water Projects, Railways projects then please refer them to rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com. Your referral will be always be acknowledged, appreciated and never forgotten.

DO YOU HAVE ANY STRATEGY BEHIND RECRUITMENT ?

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:10:00 +0000

It’s hard to believe how fast time goes by when our days as recruiting professionals are easily filled with overwhelming amounts of day-to-day operational activity. As the days, months, and sometimes years pass, inevitably the dreaded question will come — “What’s our recruiting strategy for this year and the years to follow?”

The usual recruiting leader response: “Hmmm … let me get back to you on that!”

The more the global recruiting landscape continues to change and shift, the greater the need for recruitment planning. Recruiting strategy is probably one of the most misunderstood and misused terms tossed about in our industry today. Try asking your clients and colleagues to define the term, and we guarantee that you will get very different responses. Recruiting strategy means entirely different things to different stakeholders (line managers, hiring leaders, HR professionals, recruiting professionals). Try Googling the term or searching through respected and trusted recruiting industry resources. Good luck … you won’t find much of relevance or interest!

Whenever we get the chance, we put the recruiting strategy definition and conversation to test with industry experts and leaders. We usually spend a good hour or two talking about the tired-and-true recruiting hot buttons:
1. Recruiting processes and policies
2. Recruiting programs
3. Candidate attraction and sourcing techniques
4. Recruiting technology (Job portals )
Few can also talk about LinkedIn, blogs, communities of practices etc

These things are most definitely enablers, tools, or drivers of your overall recruiting strategy, but are not in themselves an organization’s recruiting strategy. So what exactly is a recruiting strategy then, and how do we as recruiting professionals create one for the organizations we work for? I don’t claim to have all of the answers, but ....

“An organization’s recruiting strategy is a blueprint consisting of levers or enablers (structural and organizational delivery design, strategic programs, policies, and technology) that drive desired recruiting outcomes (quality of hire, world-class hiring leader, and candidate experience, etc.). “

Think of an organizational recruiting strategy as a framework or model — a blueprint to drive desired outcomes. A great place to start in creating your organization’s strategy is to define the desired outputs of recruiting. These outputs should be closely linked to your organization’s unique mission, values, and goals.

Your organization’s desired recruiting outcomes will most likely touch on some common themes:
1. Better fit hires who are more productive and stay on the job longer (quality of hire)
2. World-class hiring leader and candidate recruiting experience
3. Ability to meet peak demand of recruiting cycle or reduce costs and overhead during slower periods
4. Key recruiting metrics and reports are readily available

After you have successfully outlined your organization’s desired recruiting outcomes, start outlining potential drivers of these outcomes. Some common drivers are:

1. Structural delivery options (in-source, outsource, hybrid)
2. Recruiting organizational design (centralized, decentralized, hybrid)
3. Recruiting talent level and competency
4. Hiring leader and other stakeholder recruiting capability
5. Recruiting processes and policies
6. Recruiting programs
7. Candidate attraction and sourcing techniques
8. Recruiting technology

Get the business side of your organization actively involved in the creation of the recruiting strategy. The recruiting strategy should be presented and approved in the same fashion as any other critical organizational strategy, the sales and marketing plan, the financial plan, or the overall talent or human resources strategy.

As successful recruiting leaders, we need to be as focused on the big picture plan and objectives as we are on the details of our day-to-day accountabilities

THE 3 E’s OF SUCCESS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:21:00 +0000

There are many things we do to achieve success in our work. Lots of planning and less execution often leads to bitter experiences.

The adequate level of energy and enthusiasm within ourselves and those around us might solve our problem.I will propose the three E’s i.e. “Energy, Energize & Edge” which can help us in achieving better results for our effort

Be that catalyst with boundless drive that constantly fills teams with optimism to compete & execute .Individuals who lack energy as well the capability to energize others would eventually find it difficult to sustain growth.

BOUNDLESS ENERGY, BOTH

Physical- (number of hours) put to work &

Intellectual (ideas, ideas, ideas!!) are core to professional success.

KEY AREA'S TO CONCENTRATE

1. Have restlessness & enthusiasm in everything you do.

2. Have that infectious energy & vigor which make team members truly believe in what they are doing.

3. Additionally, have a unique & “special edge” in your style & skill sets which will be difficult to copy.

Eat well, Take time to think, workout and stay healthy to achieve these 3 E’s of your success.

LEADERSHIP ROLE IN TEIL PROJECTS LIMITED

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Company Name: TEIL Projects Limited
(A Joint venture of TATA Projects Limited and Engineers India Limited)

TPL-EIL JV has envisaged operating in the area of EPC Projects in India mainly in the Oil & gas sectors, Fertilizers, Steel, Power and Infrastructure Sectors.

Develop a strategic plan promote revenue, profitability and growth as an organization. Oversee company operations to insure production efficiency, quality, service, and cost effective management of resources.

Approve operational procedures, policies and standards. Review activity reports and financial statements to determine progress and status in attaining objectives and revise objectives and plans in accordance with current conditions. Evaluate performance of executives for compliance with established policies and objective contributions in attaining objectives.

Represent the company (JV) at various forums and at formal functions. Actively promote CSR activities. To Direct and lead planning and policy –making committees.

The Right Person

1. A visionary leader experienced in strategic planning and execution.
2. Good exposure to downstream Oil and Gas Projects, refineries, petrochemicals, piping etc
3. Expertise in contracting, negotiating and change management.
4. Skills in examine and re-engineering operations and procedures.
5. Experience in formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures.
6. Ability to analyze and interpret financial data.
7. Ability to develop financial plan and manage resources.
8. Knowledge of public relation principals and practice.
9. Ability to identify and secure funding/revenue sources.
10. Highly networked with officials at all the levels in government and private business partners
11. Ability to motivate teams and simultaneously manage several projects.

Qualification PG: Masters Degree in Business Administration
UG: Engineering (B.Tech/B.E)

Experience: - 25-35 Years

Location - NCR (India)

Please write to me at rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com

STRATEGIC ROLE IN MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Designation - AGM - CORPORATE AFFAIRS (Mergers & Acquisitions)

Job Description - To coordinate / understand Group / board’s directive and implement in company’s operation. The key responsibility will be mergers and acquisitions. This position will also oversee activities like project monitoring and internal audit. Business strategy and financial analysis/valuation is desirable.

Key deliverables will be M & A , strategic planning, annual operating plan, capital budgeting, policy matters, overhead budget of the company Desired Profile The candidate should have expertise in business strategy, issues related to M & A, Financial analysis and business policies. The overall knowledge of corporate area covering all the departments is essential. The prior experience in similar role in EPC industry is preferable.

Experience - 12 - 20 Years Industry Type Oil and Gas/ Power/Infrastructure/Energy Functional Area Top Management Education UG - Any Graduate - Any Specialization
PG - Any PG Course - Any Specialization

Location- Hyderabad / Secunderabad

Keywords - M & A , strategic planning, annual operating plan, capital budgeting, policy matters, overhead budget of the company

Please write to me at rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com

THE STORY OF JOHN..OOPS.. POOR JOHN

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Here is a beautiful story of the character John, which many of us play in life. Read the entire story - forget the grammar and the sentence formation - be interested in the content and the meaning and more important the learning from it.

POOR JOHN

John did not get his raise but it's not his fault because he did not get his promotion because he did not get all his work done on time because they gave him too much to do and because he was late yesterday because he had to stop for gas because he didn't stop for gas the night before because he was late coming home because he was working late because he came in late that morning because he had to iron a shirt because he had nothing clean to wear because he forgot to pick up his shirts from the cleaners on his way home the day before because he was rushing to get to his softball game and he had to stop and get air in his leaky tire because he forgot to get it fixed last weekend because he had to answer the phone all day and watch the game on Sunday because the guys would all be talking about it on Monday and he did not want to feel left out because that happened before when he missed a game and the guys laughed at him because he didn't know about it and that whole day he could not get anything done at work because he felt so badly and he spent the entire day speaking with his co-workers asking them if he was really being treated fairly because he always tries to please other people first because their opinions of what he should be doing are more important than his own because even though he has the tools and techniques to better control and manage his time and life they are uncomfortable to use because it is so much easier to drift and spend the day responding rather than take the initiative because, after all, "What would THEY say?" if he tried to achieve new goals that he never reached before because a lot of what John really wants is not what he is entitled to and can qualify for because others have what it takes to succeed rather than John because they got the lucky breaks in their lives and hit it just at the right time while for John, without having bad luck he would have no luck at all because that's what's true for his family and always has been and always will be because we cannot change who we are or where we came from or the luck and bad fortune we have because we have to learn to accept what life gives to us and ask for no more because that would be impolite and selfish because John already tried that route once when he went to his boss and asked for a raise and the boss said that, "You have to do more now than what you are already being paid for to qualify for a raise. To ask for what you do not deserve and for what you have not earned is to be selfish and impolite," but John did not like what he heard and looked for another reason why he did get his raise and he found it.

John did not get his raise but it's not his fault because…
Friends, Lets check ourselves too are we also behaving like John...?

LEADERSHIP ROLE IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

noreply@blogger.com (RISHI RAJ SINGH) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:06:00 +0000

COMPANY - TATA PROJECTS LIMITED
POSITION - VICE PRESIDENT(SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT)
LOCATION - HYDERABAD

Strategic Management of SCM aligned to company objectives, guidelines and policies and to manage all operations effectively relating to procurement, transportation and stores with a view to achieve overall competitive position for the Organization through SCM.

Major Deliverables

Vendor Development, Timely ordering and reduction of lead time, Cost savings: Budgeted Vs Actual, Compliance, Performance Management System and Talent development.

Knowledge:

Specialized & updated knowledge of project procurement systems & procedures, e procurement and reverse auctions, global sourcing, knowledge of engineering equipments and their sources, knowledge of EPC and other contracts, BOQ, rate analysis, Knowledge of present market rates for basic materials, fuels, freight rates, Knowledge of VAT, excise duty, CST, WCT, custom duties, Knowledge of latest INCOTERMS, EXIM policies, import procedures. Skills: Planning & Organizing, Negotiating skills, Analytical & Decision making skills

Cross functional competence requirement:

Knowledge of Finance & HR Mgmt, Knowledge of Basic Engineering & Project Management, Knowledge in Project construction activities, Labor laws, and Safety knowledge in Contracts Mgmt. Behavior (Soft skills): Drive for results, integrity beyond doubt, ability to handle multi tasks.

Experience

An Engineering Graduate with more than 25 Years of Experience in project procurement.

Write to me at rishirajsingh@tataprojects.com