A Repository Of My Articles Featuring In 'The Hindu - OPPORTUNITIES'

FOOTWEAR DESIGNING - THE NEW AGE CAREER

2012-02-10T03:19:00.000-08:00

Published on February 1, 2011 Footwear has evolved from a mere necessity and comfort to a chic style statement in today's ultra fashion-conscious world. Everything from flats, sandals and stilettos to boots and sportswear rule the roost. In fact, what we wear on our feet matters as much as the clothes we adorn! With the burgeoning demand for fresh designs and interesting concepts, the time

WHAT HOLDS WOMEN BACK?

2012-02-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Published on February 1, 2012 Be it leadership roles, corner offices or corporate boards – the top echelons still seem to be primarily male-dominated bastions. I can see the argument coming: What about Indra Nooyi (CEO, PepsiCo), Vinita Bali (MD, Britannia) Chanda Kochhar (MD, ICICI Bank) and Shikha Sharma (MD, Axis Bank) who have reached the top? Well, these are obviously just a handful

Extend common courtesy at work

2012-02-10T02:53:00.000-08:00

Published on February 1, 2012 Professional workplace etiquette has all but disappeared in the workplace. The fast-paced business environment renders us aggressive, ill-tempered and discourteous towards one and all. Indeed, common courtesies take a backseat to more ‘pressing' things like being productive, meeting deadlines and getting ahead at work. In the flurry of activities, it genuinely

CARVE A CAREER AS A PROFESSIONAL CALLIGRAPHER

2011-12-10T02:58:00.001-08:00

Published on October 5, 2011 It can't get more offbeat than this! Calligraphy – the art of beautiful writing – opens a unique career option to write words in different stylish and creative ways. Creating fancy scripts with various flat and oblique nibs is at the least, a very expressive profession that offers a chance to unleash your artistic potential. “The physical feel of writing is

ORGANISATIONAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS PREGNANT EMPLOYEES

2011-12-10T02:52:00.001-08:00

Published on November 16, 2011 The Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 explicitly prohibits discrimination against women employees due to pregnancy, childbirth or other related medical conditions. Any contravention before or after childbirth is expressly punishable with fine as well as imprisonment! Accordingly, most organisations adopt the politically-correct stance of facilitating an inclusive

TOWARDS A PREGNANCY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE

2011-12-10T02:52:00.000-08:00

Published on November 23, 2011Why do women still have to choose between having a career and having a baby? Why are they left with little choice but to opt out of the workforce or at best, scale down their ambitions? Unsympathetic organisations do not realise that not only are they doing female staff a disservice, but also losing out on good employees! What's more, discriminatory practices

BEING PREGNANT AT WORK

2011-12-10T02:50:00.000-08:00

Published on November 30, 2011A pregnancy is the time to rejoice as a woman prepares to welcome her baby into the world – in fact it's probably the most exciting event of her life. Yet, a sense of foreboding overshadows the unbridled joy, i.e. for working women at least. Work-related issues like when to inform the employer, how colleagues/managers will react, maternity leave, job security

COMING BACK TO WORK AFTER THE BABY

2011-12-10T02:47:00.000-08:00

Published on December 7, 2011 The maternity leave is up before you know it and very soon its time to return to work. And after weeks of nursing and diaper-changing, you are most probably looking forward to the adult company and normal duties even while dreading leaving behind the baby. But if you thought working during pregnancy was tough, you don't know what it's like to return to work (be

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

2011-09-01T01:49:00.000-07:00

Published on August 31, 2011 Female emancipation is touching new highs with more and more women entering the workforce. But this comes with its own woes as sexual harassment is an increasingly common occurrence in almost all offices.Men – employers, superiors, colleagues, subordinates, clients, routinely take advantage of unequal relative terms and positions of authority and consider women

LICENSE TO HACK

2011-08-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Published on July 27, 2011 Information theft has reached terrifying proportions - computer-savvy criminals maliciously attack network security systems and steal confidential information, intercept data transfer, hack email accounts, spread viruses and even commit identity theft. All that hackers need is an infinitesimal loophole to breach the most secure corporate, bank or even government

STAYING UP-TO-DATE

2011-08-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Published on July 27, 2011Working women do have their work cut out for themselves. Anything they can do, the men can ALWAYS ‘do it better'! Fight it all you want to but let's face it, the working world often does get stereotypical and gender-biased. Women have to work all the more harder and about the only way to survive and make it to the top is to keep yourself current and up-to-date. Know

Beware, Internet abounds with fraudulent job offers

2011-07-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

Published on March 16, 2011 The World Wide Web has emerged as a powerful job search tool. Job aspirants upload their resumes on job portals, apply to job ads and respond to job emails hoping to land that dream job. Indeed this has proved providential for many a jobseeker. Yet every good thing is riddled with some hitches.The web is home to numerous online scammers who use every trick in the book

When people pour cold water on your ideas, be cool, reply firmly

2011-07-05T03:10:00.000-07:00

Published on Jan 5, 2011 You are super-excited about a novel plan to help your team move forward or eagerly offer a suggestion to solve a looming problem. Else, you are absolutely gung-ho about successfully winding up a tough project or closing a monumental deal.Just as you begin to express your passion and enthusiasm, round comes a co-worker brimming with negative comments that disparage your

Negotiate pay before signing job offer

2011-07-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

Published on Jan 5, 2011So, your job interview goes superbly and the recruiter closes the offer by stating a salary figure. What is your reaction – aren't you more than ready to lap up the job and excitedly say yes!Most people are desperate for a job and snap up the first price named by the interviewer. Negotiating for more never even crosses their mind. In fact, even suggesting the same evokes

The science of self-discipline

2011-07-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Published on March 2, 2011 One thing common to almost all workplaces is an endless list of rules, regulations, policies and protocols. Every employee manual is overflowing with ‘Do this…', ‘Don't do that….', ‘If you do this……' and so on. This control mechanism imposes fines, penalties, demotions, transfers and even dismissals based on the degree of violation. Yet, the strict, threatening and dire

Who should have the deciding vote?

2011-07-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

Published on April 6, 2011Very many individuals today are working in professions they don't like at all. This is because of a wrong career choice – not by them but by their parents! Alas, many fathers and mothers still force their offspring to become doctors, engineers or now computer engineers. Still other sons and daughters are compelled to carry forward their parent's ‘lineage' – and so its

Know manager's expectations from you to excel at job

2011-05-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Published on March 30, 2011 As soon as an employee starts working, he begins to think in terms of what he expects from his job, his boss and his company. But ask almost anyone as to what the boss expects from them and you will only get vague, generic or even baffled responses. Don't most of us either overlook such ‘nitty-gritty' things or just assume we know what is expected of us? Yet, the

Interviewers must have strict conduct code

2011-05-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Published on April 13, 2011 Reams have been written about how candidates should behave in an interview – right from how they walk and sit to how they think and answer. But what about etiquette rules for the other side of the interviewing table? Can the interviewer get away with nasty or even ill-mannered behaviour just because he holds the trump card when it comes to the hiring decision?

Decisions that work come from disciplined thinking

2011-05-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Published on May 18, 2011 Sometimes we make good, informed decisions. At other times they turn out not-so-good, irrational or downright bad. But can we leave the right decision to chance, especially when it often is irrevocable? After all, success does depend on consistently making high-quality decisions!Choosing and implementing the best course of action from various alternatives is not

Dealing with difficult colleagues calls for patience, tact

2011-05-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Published on May 25, 2011It is often said that you will not find as many varied ‘characters' anywhere else as in the workplace! And with a mottled assortment under one roof, personalities are bound to clash all the more at work. Some can be mildly irritating or unpleasant while some others may be frustrating or offensive or even get under your skin and leave you fuming with anger.Well, it

Create a clear ‘line of sight' between team, organisational objectives

2011-05-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Published on May 4, 2011 Many a time, teams do all the right things – they work diligently to get things done, are eager to create results and even truly committed to achieving success. Yet, they never really emerge successful…..So, what is the problem? Well, the team members are working from their own perspective, doing what they think is right.Alas, their activities are unwittingly misguided

Co-creating with customers is the way forward for innovation

2011-05-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Published on May 11, 2011All companies small and large swear by ‘The customer knows best' philosophy. But now they are actually willing to put their money where their mouth is by inviting the customer force to join them in the innovation game.Yes, organisations have actually started tapping their largest resource – the customer base - to harness their enormous wisdom, insight, creativity and

MANAGING 'IT' CALLS FOR TACT, PATIENCE

2010-12-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

Published on December 22, 2010 GEEK – The very mention is enough to drive any manager up the wall. Repelling images of arrogant, egotistic, hot-headed, anti-social, overpaid know-it-alls agonise the best of leaders. Moreover, they seem to hate managers and fight management decisions at every turn. Managing them is a nightmare; forget about getting the best out of them. Then again, techies play

RIGHT YOUR WRONG ATTITUDE FOR SUCCESSFUL JOB HUNT

2010-12-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

Published on December 22, 2010 You have tried all the tricks in the book, yet your job search is coming up zilch. You wonder why you can't land a job, where is it that you are going wrong? May be it is your attitude that is doing you in! And before you shake your head all too vigorously, think back on some of your job interview answers. Interviewers love to indulge in some subtly leading

Use action words in resume to pinpoint talent

2010-12-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

Published on December 15, 2010If you are in the market for an executive-level job and thinking of simply sprucing up your age-old resume, think again! It's a fact that for openings in the upper echelons, employers review resumes with a more discerning eye. In fact, the higher the position, the more cynical are the decision-makers. What you need is not just a good, but a superior quality resume to