Interestingly most of us today view that education is merely the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to students , And to attain this skill we have forced ourselves and our children  to go the best possible schools and colleges and have paid a huge amount as fees . With the steep increase of joblessness across various countries, we need to question ourselves if we and our next generations are getting the correct education , is it self sufficient , is it helping us to define our goals , helping us to identify our gaps ,  in Swami Vivekananda’s word “Is Education helping us to manifest our perfection ?”

One of the main challenges in delivering quality education is the huge cost factor , there is infrastructure cost, teachers cost and course materials cost. Good news is that this is all about to change ,  Thanks to the sudden boom in the Free Online Education System and the birth of the Open Education movement we are going witnessing a huge focus on inclusive education. When Salman Khan , of Khan Academy started creating few courseware for his cousins who would have imagined that that will result in 3,200 video lessons, crossing 168 million views as of today. When I started my  Probabilistic Graphical Model course in Coursera and Technology Entrepreneurship course in Venture Lab , little did I imagine that I am part of the half a million student across the globe registered for this. Today we have Academic Earth, Open Courseware Consortium,Open Culture, all promoting free Education . Hats off to Sebastian Thrun for founding Udacity . Today we have a growing list of universities, like M.I.T., Harvard and Stanford, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, all coming together to provide this free education. Prof Daphne Koller, Prof Gautam Kaul are now a more popular name then they were few months back.

Coursera is one of many organizations offering online educational courses after entering into partnerships with various universities across the world to offer courses to their students. These courses are based primarily on online video lectures and instructional videos. Students attending the partner universities  have the option of receiving a certificate and university credit for taking part in the courses. This agreement has been an exciting development in the world of online education.

However critics may argue what is the use of this? Will this replace schools and education system prevalent for decades? The answer to this is “No”, while schools and college cannot be substituted, what this will help is that it will mainly increase the accessibility of the education system.  Online education gives you the opportunity of studying at your own pace and time and pause and review and replay if things are not clear for you. Also you have the option of setting up your own study groups at your locality and clarify doubts and progress on removing your knowledge gaps through online discussion forum. Obviously appropriate checks have to be made to make sure that the quality is not compromised in delivering Online Education and the contents are improved regularly.

While we see world education market forecasted to grow exponentially, with India alone to grow to USD 40 billion in next 5 years, Free Online education will act as a catalyst in this revolution.  We hope that we can improve the process of cognitive cartography, mapping one’s experiences and finding a variety of reliable routes to optimal states of mind when one find oneself in non-optimal state of mind. To put in simpler words, this will help us to achieve our true goals and aspirations by selecting our own needs and identifying our own gaps to progress – which is the very essence of Universal education.

Author:

Rajat Pal,

Editorial Team

Career Opportunities in Franchising – For Law Students

By Aditya Singh,

NALSAR University of Law,

Hyderabad.

The Growing Importance of Franchising

Growth is life – how true! The Reliance Industries motto has never been more correct. In an era of intense competition, frequent price wars and endless quest for quality, Growth in business has been achieved primarily in two ways – inorganic and organic. While organic growth is through Greenfield expansion, inorganic growth is through Mergers and Acquisitions. However, a third dimension has come into the spotlight in the 21^st Century – Growth through Franchising.  Thus, Franchising, a form of business by which the owner (franchisor) of a product, service or method obtains distribution through affiliated dealers (franchisees) in return for a fixed fee and share in profits, has come a long way since its conception by Issac Singer in the 1850s, growing into a third route of expansion for corporates around the world.

Careers for Law Students

Franchise law is going to gain prominence in the coming years. This is primarily due to two reasons – the entry of foreign brands into India and the national expansion of native brands. Indeed, any business that is successfully run and high on cash flows is a potential franchise candidate. The legal dynamics of franchising are considerable. Franchise agreements have to deal with multiple issues as they seek to establish win-win legal relationship between a Franchisor and Franchisee. Some of the essential traits of a good franchising lawyer are:

1. Dynamism in Drafting

Thus it is evident that the work of a franchising lawyer will not be limited to the desk. It will be dynamic – involving a considerable amount of travel in order to determine compliance levels by franchisees, understand the local business conditions and how they may affect the nature of the legal relationship between the Franchisor and Franchisee. Indeed, it would be foolish to have the same Standard Form Contract at every time and place. The franchise lawyer will have to be dynamic to sense the feelings, attitudes and customs of a place and prepare his legal strategy accordingly.

2. Effective Negotiation Skills

One of the prime traits of a lawyer, the ability to negotiate will be a major factor in securing a win-win situation between the franchisor and franchisee. A good negotiator is not one who squeezes out the most from the other party – that would lead to damage in the long run. On the contrary, in today’s world, the best negotiators are those who can lead to a mutually agreeable win-win situation between the Franchisor and Franchisee. The importance of this cannot be overstated because Franchising is a long-term business activity. Every franchisor would want the Franchisee to be enthusiastic about the business and not feel as if he got a raw deal.

3. Other Qualities – A Sound Business Sense

Last but not the least, no franchise lawyer can ensconce himself with the cozy domains of specialization. He cannot limit his knowledge only to the legal aspects and leave the rest to the MBAs. He must have a sound understanding of the business of his client – who for the purposes of this article is the Franchisor. A franchise lawyer with knowledge of business will know what are the trade customs. This way he will not constantly harp on petty contractual clauses, which he thinks are important but matter little to the business. Moreover, a sound understanding by the franchise lawyer will help him to appreciate the ‘trust factor’ in business. In a country like India, trust perhaps plays a more important role than the written clauses. While a contractual clause can deter a franchisee from defaulting, only trust can encourage him to drive the business to prosperity, benefitting himself and the Franchisor in the long run.

Thus, it is about time that students in India’s premier law universities consider taking up Franchising as a career option. Anyone who can create a sound business relationship between parties can enter the world of franchising. Moreover, there are numerous organizations such as Franchise India (www.franchiseindia.com), which can assist people interested in this sunrise sector. For further advice, please post comment or write to me.

Recommended Readings:

“The Science of Reproducing Success” by Gaurav Marya

“Franchise Times Guide to Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise” by Julie Bennett

“Street Smart Franchising” by Joe Mathews

While 2011 was the year for recovery from recession for the industry, year 2012 saw the birth of new types of jobs never heard of before.  If Arab Spring, Global Economic meltdown, Eurozone Crisis, Occupy movement, Anti Terrorism, donned the headlines in 2011, then one of the striking similarity in all of these roles is perhaps the deepening influence of Social media. With the filing of Facebook IPO last week , FB crossing 800 millions users , twitter crossing 100 million active users, Google Plus crossing 50 millions (within few weeks of launching),  the message is loud and clear , Social Media is here to stay as a part of mainstream in Industry. Today there is a huge race among organizations to stay ahead of their competitors; the result is that we get more and more services in Social Media. Today we see hospitals engaging with patients and customers to understand more of their problems and fine tune their processes , we see automobile manufacturer discussing with their customers even before the product is designed, also we see in third world countries social media is extensively used to eliminate the world poverty problem , $67 millions were donated to support the Kenyan drought victims just by usage of social media by one journalist Julie Gichuru. While there are numerous examples, each grabbing our attention, it is important to know the impact this has created in the job market. Today Social Media is dominating the job market, there are new roles being created every day. GSG Team have listed few of the more popular ones as below.

Fundamental skills needed for any of these jobs:

Excellent written and verbal communication, Strong analytical, organizational, time-management, and problem-solving skills.

Apart from the basic requirements, the following are the other Special requirements for the specific job :

1.     SEO Social Marketing Specialist – This role focuses on coming up with a SEO/SEM strategy, increasing visibility in Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook and other social media sites, On page and offsite optimization, coming up with Viral content strategy, Keyword research/analysis, Link building (campaign driven / manual outreach), Social reporting and analysis, Agency Management, Landing page and new page recommendation strategy, Understanding the social Media Channels , SEO content strategy . Understanding of online analytics metrics and related statistical concepts, Experience with web analytics platforms such as Coremetrics, Omniture and Google Analytics as well as Salesforce.com, Experience with Google Webmaster tools, SEO technologies and reporting.

2.      Manager of Social Marketing - The Manager of Social Marketing will help define and manage the strategic direction for utilizing social media channels to accomplish awareness, thought leadership and demand generation marketing objectives of an organization, The ideal candidate will be a marketer by trade, a social enthusiast by habit and a leader that thinks progressively, tests new ideas and has a record of driving to objective results. Development and enhancement of Organization’s presence on key social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), Develop and oversee social media campaigns including sponsored conversations, ads and organic influencer outreach

3.     Senior Web Analyst – to support the analytic needs of the business by analyzing web traffic using click stream tools such as Omniture, Google Analytics, Coremetrics, LivePerson, SalesForce, Eyeblaster/Mediamind (ad server) and providing insightful recommendations , Analyze visitor behavior from a variety of traffic sources and helps to optimize the site to harvest new business opportunities, Manages the companies PPC strategy, coordination with various  search agency and optimization of keywords, ads, categories etc., Develop excel based analytics models to measure the attribution of social marketing campaigns,  Creating holistic dashboards for senior management.

4.     Data Scientist – to help identify opportunities using advanced analytics and work with the necessary teams (business, Enterprise Data Warehouse and Software Engineers) to implement the full analytical solution, Perform data mining and exploratory analysis to identify opportunities ,Present analysis to business sponsors via data visualizations, white papers, power point presentations, etc , Develop predictive models for operational use , Select tool generated algorithms for expeditious solutions or, when necessary, develop custom algorithms via necessary means. To demonstrate working knowledge of statistical tools such as SAS, SPSS, etc. Strong SQL skills , Expert knowledge and ability for mining structured and unstructured data, Experience with leveraging technologies to allow for efficient data processing via distributed computing and data storage .

5.        Traffic Manager -  to act in an advisory role for sales regarding inventory and forecasting campaign delivery and using the available tools to achieve so, Advising sales on product functionality and helping with unusual customer requests for the use of company specific Ad Formats, Acting as controller to make sure all corporate Ad guidelines and procedures are followed. Daily traffic and management of campaigns to ensure they run and deliver a 100% of the time in a consistent way. Approving creative assets and uploading them into the Ad-System. Report back to sales representatives and clients on performance per campaign and work proactively with both to optimize the delivery and results. Making sure that products running in our service and internal systems work as expected.  Experience in Traffic Management is a plus. E.g. previous contact and knowledge of work-flow and tags with different vendors. (Mediamind, Doubleclick, Flashtalking).

6.        Content and Label Analyst – The key skill which are being looking for is intellectual curiosity and the ability to understand and solve not always well-defined problems and come up with relevant answers to guide the companies business decisions. However this needs to be combined with a passion for numbers, statistics as well as strong business and financial acumen. To be able to work with a very large datasets and solve the problems, programming skills is a must. Experience with modeling in Excel, have worked with large data sets before, the larger, the better. Experience with Hadoop and MapReduce is definitely something which is value.

7.        User growth, conversion and retention analyst – The ideal candidate should be experienced from working with acquisition, conversion- and retention-analysis at a consumer-oriented company in the digital space.  The key skill which is being looking for is intellectual curiosity and the ability to understand and solve not always well-defined problems and come up with relevant answers to guide the business decisions. However this needs to be combined with a passion for numbers, statistics as well as strong business and financial acumen. The incumbent should be able to work with very large datasets and solve the problems, programming skills is a must and also be experienced with modeling in Excel.

8.        TV Creative Partnerships Analyst – The ideal candidate needs a deep experience in TV production or programming, knowledge in TV marketing a plus, Knowledge of how TV is made, how it’s marketed, and who’s watching, Knowledge of all about SOTs, TRTs and EPGs—this is your world and your language.  Practical, intuitive understanding of Twitter as a platform for engagement is needed. You’ve live-tweeted a TV show and you know what makes a good hashtag. You’re fascinated by the warp and woof of conversation on Twitter, and you can explain why one official show account succeeds while another doesn’t.  Drive, deepen and manage Twitter’s numerous creative relationships within TV, from programming executives (cable and broadcast) to producers to audience engagement teams to leading production companies, Identify and execute scalable new integration opportunities; act as creative consultant to partners; ensure that TV networks use Twitter best practices and abide by Twitter guidelines; Ensure TV shows and talent are pursuing tweeting best practices, Support TV networks partners with data, reporting and best practices,  Produce large-scale, innovative TV integrations––working on-the-ground with the partner team––that move the entire industry forward, Coordinate relationships between TV networks and Twitter’s third-party application ecosystem, Provide guidance to third-party ecosystem products and offerings, Generate case studies, data-driven analyses and document best practices, Coordinate with the media business development team on joint efforts, key deals and partner communications.

9.        UI Designer - to translate requirements into concepts and elegant user experience design, Create interaction models, user task flows, screen designs, and UI details that promote ease of use and optimize the user experience , Collaborate with other designers where overlap between product areas and features naturally occur, Partner with Design Research to inform and improve design recommendations, Develop and maintain design wireframes, mockups, and specifications,  Visualize complex sets of data in ways that are easy to comprehend, Extensive experience developing consumer and/or commercial web application interfaces, Proven track record and a passion for designing compelling, user experiences, Solid intuition of best practices and tools used in user-centered interaction design, Strong visual design skills, including an eye for good typography, composition, and use of color, Fluid ability to design in Photoshop, OmniGraffle, and Illustrator, Experience in creating various prototype methods and knowledge of best practices, Ability to prototype your work in HTML/CSS/JS, Ability to multi-task, prioritize projects, and communicate progress and expected milestones, Active Twitter user Desired , Experience in online game or social/mobile app design, Prior experience designing and building applications using APIs.

10.     PHP Games Developer – 2+ years of experience in developing object-orientated web apps using PHP , An understanding of the techniques used for building high performance, scalable, maintainable software, Familiarity with good development practices including source control, testing & automation, passion. It could be able the potential of online gaming or web development in general. There is a demand for someone who genuinely cares about the quality of the work they produce. The other requirements also include knowledgeable in Building backend game APIs & frameworks, Building front-end, client side web applications in HTML5 / Javascript, etc; optimizing applications for extremely high volumes of traffic; actively suggest, design and develop new systems to accelerate companies dev process , Constantly exploring and learning new technologies. Knowledge in Android and iPhone Apps development is an added advantage.

In conclusion,  it can be said that the influence of Social Media is undisputed, interestingly, each of the experts in the  roles above are capable of setting up their own startups and perhaps become the next Facebook. There are no huge entry criteria for these kinds of jobs, rather the key criteria’s are ability to hard work and creative thinking. Over the next coming weeks GSG team will endeavour to provide a sneak peak to our readers about the various job roles and how one can setup a career in Social Media.

Quotes to Quote: Social Media Trends in 2012

• “Social commerce will happen. People will start buying real products via social media channels; it will start to become standardised behaviour.” – Jim Dowling, managing partner at Cake
• “Following Moshi Monsters in 2011, social games and worlds for children will continue to grow in 2012, with a greater focus on narrative.” – Matthew Warneford, CTO of Dubit
• “2012 will be the year that business people start to embrace online content, conversation and professional networking as vital parts of the B2B marketplace.” -  Kieron Hannon, head of enterprise consulting at eSocial Media
• “2012 will be the year of the Total Digital ROI model, where social realises its true value.” – Paul Mallett, managing partner at Brass
• “A trend we see is a more comprehensive use of data inside Facebook to drive direction for content development along with better (more targeted) advertising campaigns.” – Jason Cormier, co-founder of Room 214
• “2012 will be the year of the consumer. Brands need to use social platforms to listen to their customers and provide a personalised experience. No matter how you use it, the integration of social with local and mobile (So.Lo.Mo) will be key to engaging consumers “wherever and however they choose to communicate with you.” – Peter Gandy, CCO of Rockpool – - Peter Gandy, CCO of Rockpool

Further Reading: Social Media Salary Guide in US

(Source : Rackspace Hostings, Spotify, HeyCrowd and other Social media organizations .)

Compiled by,

Rajat Pal,

Editor GSG

A Career in Real Estate Brokerage – An Indian Perspective

This rot has occurred largely because real estate brokerage is unregulated. In India, any Tom, Dick and Harry can become and Estate Agent. This is unlike the USA, where a license is mandatory for anyone wanting to open an Estate Agency. The absence of regulation of  has resulted in the proliferation of fly-by-night operators with a get-rich-quick mentality. Consequently, consumer perception of brokers as middlemen and over chargers has solidified.

However, times are now changing. Just as Organised Retail took the consumer retail sector by storm, organised real estate brokerage is quietly setting shop here. Global real estate networks like RE/MAX, Caldwell Bankers and Century 21 are eyeing an Indian Presence. RE/MAX has associated itself with over 140 Estate Agents in India. Companies like RE/MAX have extensive self-regulation mechanisms prescribed for their agents, who operate as franchisees of the parent company, RE/MAX USA. Thus, while Government regulation is yet to establish a foothold, such private initiatives are already in operation, taking the first few steps towards restoring the tarnished image of the industry.

Indeed, white collar professionals can consider Real Estate as a career option in the near future, within three or five years. Self regulation, as in the case of companies like RE/MAX and industry associations like NAR (National Association of Realtors) is gradually intensifying, with the setting of strict service quality standards and laying down of severe penalties like fine and expulsion from the association in the event of any malpractice.

Moreover, the introduction of technology has made the business smoother. Today a customer need not run from broker to broker to

Also, the advent of property listing sites exclusively for brokers can provide a fillip to white collared real estate professionals. Sites like www.propertyfeast.com are revolutionary in the sense that they only accept listings from agents, not from individual property owners. If this model clicks, then routing of new property listings through brokerages will increase, making the sector more lucrative.

Moreover, renowned universities are now entering the fray with specialized courses in Real Estate and Construction Management. NALSAR University of Law at Hyderabad is coming up with a course on Real Estate Law and Construction Management in collaboration with the National Academy of Construction at Hyderabad. It is a one year long post graduate course with responsibility divided between the two institutions. While the subject of Construction Management, being a technical one, will be handled by the National Academy of Construction, NALSAR will impart instruction in Real Estate Law. Attending this course is advisable for industry specialists such as civil engineers, project managers and realtors. Law is a key component of any real estate project. Indeed, as the saying goes, with a good architect and a smart lawyer, a builder’s project is guaranteed to shine!

The Annual Convention of the National Association of Realtors held at Hyderabad drew thousands of industry professionals from all over the country. There was a uniform conviction among everyone that the industry needed reform. Government regulation would be desirable, provided that the regulation does not become excessive red tape. The speakers came from diverse backgrounds as builders, brokers, financial analysts and even spiritual gurus. Mr. Lalit Kumar Jain, president of CREDAI, the nation wide association of developers, called for more institutions to offer quality training in real estate to budding professionals. There was a unanimous consensus that the brokerage business needed to become more customer centric. Given the increasing strength of advocacy for reform, it is a matter of time before organised real estate brokerages offering host of value added services such as drafting of agreements, registration of documents, skillful negotiation of deals and advising developers on projects come to dominate the Indian reality scene. The financial rewards are huge, considering the high population density and the growing pressure on land, which is a limited commodity. It is beyond the capacity of blue collared workers to offer such services. Indeed the time is ripe for university graduates with training in property management and law to consider entering this industry. Buying a house is one of the biggest decisions a person makes in life. Mature advice from a seasoned professional is a must for such an investment to yield returns and provide happiness to the household. A good property agent almost maintains a fiduciary relationship with his client – a relationship built based on trust and confidence. Helping a person purchase property is akin to a lawyer advising his client or a doctor treating his patient. If you win your clients trust, then more referrals will follow, ensuring good customer confidence and repeat business for years to come.

Happy reading, don’t forget to post your comments !

Aditya Singh,

NALSAR University of Law,

Knowledge Manager – Legal

Hyderabad

At GetSetGrow we are always striving to make a better place for career guidance. To provide career guidance in more streams  we are inviting volunteers who can contribute articles to GetSetGrow.org. You can write articles in various streams  which is available in the below form(not limited to). Be the change you want. Contribute to GSG and help us to achieve our goals.

So go ahead and register and we will contact you soon.

One of the most common career aspiration which perhaps most of us dream of to be is be a project manager. While becoming a project manager is not a very difficult task, but to sustain in this field by managing bigger and complex projects and delivering all of them within timeline, cost and with right quality of deliverable is a rare achievement indeed. In this article we would like to share about the basics of project management and the career progression one can make in this field.

Who can become a Project Manager?

Good news is today anyone can become a project manager. Freshers can enter this field as a Junior Project Manager. However, it always helps manage the project better if you have the necessary knowledge and experience in the specific domain of work.

What qualities do you need to become a Project Manager?

• Leadership
• Good Communicator
• Personal Integrity
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to Delegate Tasks
• To remain cool under pressure
• Team-Building Skills
• Problem Solving Skills
• Good Logical Reasoning
• Ability to motivate and inspire teams.

Steps before start of a project

1. Need for a project – Based on the business requirements , investment decisions or regulatory requirements the Senior Management of the organization decides to invest in a program. The program usually comprises a group of projects.
2. Identification of Roles and Responsibilities: The Senior Management identifies a Business Sponsor and Program Manager.  The Program manager identifies and gets a project manager onboard before the start of the project.
3. The Business Sponsor along with the program manager defines the benefits and high level deliver-ables of the project.

Key Tasks of a Project Manager

1. To identify and have a kick off meeting with teams
2. To understand the high level project scope
3. To define a project plan, to secure project budget
4. To manage customer expectations
5. To manage project risks, issues and dependencies
6. To report the project progress to the customer and key stakeholders
7. To agree on a High level Design and Low Level Design
8. To finalize the tasks in the execution phase
9. To monitor the execution plan and manage the budget and quality of deliverable of the project.
10. To achieve the milestones at the start of the project.
11. To document the process and all changes after the project.
12. Once milestones are achieved, to list the lessons learnt and share it with the team
13. To award and recognize the key performers of the project
14. To adjust the budget line and close the project.

Stages of a Project

• Project Initiation
• Project Planning
• Project Execution
• Project Control and Monitoring
• Project Closure

Certifications related to project management

1. PMP managed by Project Management Institute
2. Prince 2 managed by OGC UK.

Typical Career Progression of a Project manager

1. Junior project manager
2. Project Manager
3. Senior Project Manager
4. Program Manager
5. Head of Program
6. Program Director

Click here to look at the Top 10 most expensive projects in the world.

In today’s world, for the success of a project a good project manager is a must. There have been many studies done across the world to understand on why a project fails. The industry hasn’t found an effective strategy for reducing that failure rate of projects. One of the reasons for the project failure can be the methodology used in project management – Agile, Extreme, PMI, Prince 2 etc. However, it needs to be borne in mind that at the end of the day there is no fixed solution for a particular project scenario. It all depends on how the project manager understands the situation and demonstrates his/her situational leadership using innovative tools and techniques.

India we have excellent project manager like Mr E Sreedharan, of Metro Railway fame. India needs at least half a million qualified project managers in future to finish 591 projects being carried out in the country, a research by Project Management Institute (PMI) said on . “As many as 591 projects each worth more than Rs 100 crore were being executed in the country and it required a great number of project managers in order to finish them on time “, Managing Director (MD), PMI, Raj Kalady. Who knows, you could be the next successful and most sought after project manager in the country.

Have questions or suggestions?  do post us and we will be happy to answer them.

–
Rajat S Pal
Editorial Team,
GSG

The co-founder and CEO of Zoho Corp, Sridhar Vembu, is not one of those filthy-rich high-life lovers. It had always been in him to do something  which the masses of his motherland could benefit from. He is not new to us; We’ve had the privilege of featuring his exclusive interview. Here is more on his philanthropy; Zoho University.

This post is more about this very unorthodox software company that is rebelling against many conventions, than merely being a career guidance. It is also partly about a boy named Saran Babu who is a flagship developer at Zoho. The connection between the two stories? Saran never went to college. He went to Zoho University instead.

The success story of Saran Babu started when he was 17. And as most other success stories, this one too began with a risk. At that time, Saran was on the lookout for a part-time job so that he could take over the family burden from his retiring father. He did not have much to expect as he was just out of high school. It was that time when Zoho, formerly called AdventNet, came out with an initiative. It was to hand-pick deserving high-school students  who are on the verge of dropping-out, and train them on software development. There was no promise of being recruited because this was more of a test-drive for Zoho. It is said that 3000/- was all they initially offered to these students. After 18 months of real-time training and assessments, they would be placed as regular employees.

Saran being the very first chosen one, had a tough time taking the call between a conventional college education he could hardly afford, and trusting this then-never-heard-of company. Looking back, it might be one of the best decisions he has ever made. Five years later, Saran finds himself at the heart of Zoho Creator, a star service of Zoho, and now earns nearly 40,000/-. Never mind the money; He is adored by all for his simple ways and humble attitude; Even by those few who might envy him for his technical expertise. Saran stands tall and most of his successors turn to him for guidance. He is turning 23 next month.

Of the two sides to everything, the less-seen side need not always be the dark side. Education has always been thought of as graduation from a famous and costly college. The overlooked fact is that the other side too is changing lives. Zoho plays in a market ruled by Google and Microsoft. How could it afford to employ people who never went to high-school and college? Well, that is just what they are doing, and they are doing just fine. It is 10% already, and Sridhar would love to see around 40% of his proud followers to be graduates of Zoho University. He humbly says that it is not charity that they are doing; It is a win for the company too, because these employees are the ones with the greatest vigor and passion of a young and fresh mind. The most loyal ones too.

All this sensation comes from Zoho University which is now looking to recruit it’s 19th batch of students. Here is more on how to apply.

Kids who have completed their +2/diploma (in any stream) are eligible to apply to Zoho University at univ@zohocorp.com. They would then be given a written test, followed by a series of interviews. On successful selection, the candidates would be inducted into an 18 month training program at Zoho University.

With five full-time faculty members, a curriculum that finally has relevance to reality and 18 batches of successful high-school drop-outs, Zoho University is, without doubt, more  meaningful than conventional college education.

-
GetSetGrow Editorial Team

2010 was a good year for the Indian economy, while recession had a global impact in 2009, the economy revived largely in 2010. The International Monetary Fund has forecasted the world economy to grow by 4.2% in its October World Economic Outlook report after an estimated growth of 4.8% in 2010.Inflation continues to be a cause of worry across the world. In the last year crude oil ($ per barrel) rose from 81.51 to 89.84 which is a 10.2% increase.  However the projections for job opportunities across the globe continue to be very positive particularly in India and Asian countries.

As per forecast by Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India), a skills shortage predicted in Indian service sector. Services businesses are responsible for almost two-thirds of India’s gross domestic product, with fields witnessing strong levels of growth including biotechnology, IT and academia. Assocham forecasts between ten and 15 million job positions will be generated by 2011, with 75 per cent requiring vocational training. If this is not achieved, Assocham advises, it could lead to an economic slowdown, as skilled workers are required in the IT, engineering, hospitality and insurance industries, among others.

Trends:

What can job seekers expect for the coming year? Here are six career trends to expect in 2011:

• There will be more hirings from Colleges and Campuses this year.
• Salary hikes will be modest this year.
• There will be increased focus on the soft skills
• There will be increased recruitments through social networking websites and recommendations this year.
• There will be steady job competition for key positions across the sectors, however there will be plenty of jobs.
• There will be an enhanced focus on “personal branding” . Personal branding is focusing on an individual’s brand and how it reflects them as an employee and an individual. In 2011, job seekers will continue to focus on their personal brand and look to online tools like Video CVs, linkedin recommendations etc to make them visible to prospective employers.

Key Areas for Hiring in 2011.

Though we have overcome the shadow of recession largely in 2010, it may take few more months for the total recovery in all sectors of the industry. As per recent data released by Manpower Survey India released on 7/12/10 following are the key areas of growth in recruitment  in 2011 “The most dynamic hiring prospects are reported in the Services sector, with a Net Employment Outlook of +51%, and the Manufacturing sector, where the Outlook stands at +45%. Robust hiring activity is predicted in the Transportation & Utilities sector and the Public Administration & Education sector, with Outlooks of +37% and +36%, respectively.”

Following are the key sectors and job types in which more jobs are likely to be in demand.

1. Computer systems design, Software publishers and related services,

Hottest jobs in this field: Software Developer, Software Architect, network systems and data communications analysts; network and computer systems administrators; accountants and auditors , computer support specialists, market research analysts and Mobile Apps Developer .

2. Management and consulting services

Hottest jobs in this field: Marketing research executive, communications analysts; industrial engineers; financial analysts; customer service representatives; project managers and public relations specialists

3. Sustainability and Social service sector

Hottest jobs in this field: Child Welfare Officer,  Social worker, Accounts Officer,  Program Directors, medical and public health social workers; special education teachers, occupational therapists; and social and human service assistants, Research and Documentation Officer, Administrative Officer,

4. Research and development services

Hottest jobs in this field: Research Analyst, biomedical engineers; biochemists and biophysicists; medical scientists, Agriculture Scientist, Lab Assistant,  Research Associate, Research Executive, Scientific Assistant, V.P.- Research & Development, Environment Scientist, Research Associate, Scientific Officer, R&D Executive, Scientist and Sr. Research Fellows (SRF)

5. Health care

Hottest jobs in this field: doctors, nurses, physician assistants; physical therapist aides; speech-language pathologists, physical therapist assistants and physical therapists

6. Construction

Hottest jobs in this field: heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers; septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners; telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers; purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail and farm products; and cost estimators

7. Educational services Hottest jobs in this field: preschool teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school; office clerks, general; kindergarten teachers and first-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers

However it should be remembered that these 7 fields are not the only fields where job opportunities will be available in 2011. They’re fast-growing, but jobs can still be found in many fields that are not growing as fast — even shrinking.

We conclude that while 2011 welcomes us on a brighter prospect from job opportunities perspective, the following are the key tips to retain your position and be successful in your role , irrespective of if you are searching for a job or not,

Few helpful Tips to follow this year in your organization

• Increase your visibility at all levels in your organization.
• Go the extra mile – Remember if you want to stand out from the others , you need to go the extra mile
• Make professional connections – The more well connected you are the better is your career prospect
• Commit to learning a new skill – One need to strive learning newer technologies, be updated with the latest industry happenings at all times.
• Be the gracious co-worker and an excellent Team Player – At the end of the day , it is the team who makes an organization succeed not an individual, so one needs to demonstrate a high degree of professional integrity and motivate the team and be a good team player.

Wish you a Happy New Year 2011. May you have a wonderful career growth ahead.

Best Wishes,
GetSetGrow Team

According to the Advocates Act, a license from the Bar Council is mandatory for anyone who wishes to practices as a lawyer in any Indian court. This license is given only to those who have obtained an LLB degree (Bachelor of Law)  from any recognized law college in India.

However, this should not discourage the multitude of persons working in other sectors of the industry from taking up law in one way or the other. Training as a paralegal is a fine solution for anyone who wants to participate in India’s booming Legal Process Outsourcing Industry (LPO), or take advantage of the growing demand for in-house legal talent in the country’s leading corporate houses.

Legal Process Outsourcing is a sunrise sector in India. It involves off shoring of legal work, such as contract drafting, document reviewing, legal research and a plethora of work for foreign lawyers, law firms and companies. With the increasing popularity of law as a subject, the quantity of legal talent in the country is growing, presenting greater growth opportunities for India in this field. According to figures obtained from LPOs and consultants, Indian lawyers’ billings to US firms for in-house work ranged from US$5 million to US$15 million in 2004. In fact, according to The Management Accountant, it is estimated that by 2015, the global market for Legal Process Outsourcing will be around $3 billion, with India taking a huge 60% share of the business.

The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University (NALSAR) in Hyderabad, ranked 2nd  Law University in India by India Today, provides paralegal training through the NALSAR Pro Program. The objective of this program is to provide legal knowledge to various professionals apart from Lawyers. The Post Graduate Diploma programs have been designed to meet the requirements of professionals in the field of science, technology, media and human rights.

In order to accommodate the time constraints and working needs of professionals, course content is provided in a CD and contact programs are conducted at regular intervals. Various other national law universities such as NLSIU Bangalore too offer similar courses aimed at introducing the non-legal minds to law.

Therefore, training as a paralegal is strongly recommended for any professional or employee who would wish to gain practical legal knowledge, and at the same time, avoid the rigors of the 3 or 5 year classroom programs of LLB courses. Though training as a paralegal won’t be adequate for a license to practice, it offers wide prospects in the Legal Process Outsourcing industry, as well as job prospects in in-house legal departments of corporate and as specialized consultants in law firms. In fact it is worth noting that barely 15% of LLB graduates from the premier National Law Schools join the bar and take up court practice. While IT and BPO sectors have topped career choices in the past, saturation in these sectors has ensured that LPO will be the way for the future. And training as a paralegal seems to be the apt way for professionals in IT, medicine, engineering, media and virtually every other industry sector to gain a secure footing in this flourishing area.

Aditya Singh,
Knowledge Manager – Law,
GSG

Cheese here, is not cheese as it sounds, but a metaphor that stands for things we pursue in life. A job, a relationship, money or any material for that matter. Cheese can even be an activity which we cannot do without doing. The cheese having disappeared implies change. Change of a routine which hits us right in the face when we least expect it to.

Sniff and Scurry are mice with a smaller brains than humans. Naturally, we tend to think they are less intelligent than human beings. But in reality, smaller brain implies lesser complexity; fewer rules to follow; faster decisions. Sniff is good at “sniffing out” cheese, and Scurry excels at “scurrying” after the cheese once he knows where it is. The two mice don’t really think about things. They just react to them. They find cheese; they eat cheese. They don’t find it; they go places, looking for it. Unlike us, they don’t over-analyze and waste time doing paperback calculations. They don’t plan. They act. Spontaneously act. And most of the time, it is what works well. Sniff and Scurry are ready to handle the cheese crisis. They, without second thoughts, get back to looking for more.

Hem and Haw, you could say, are a little bit too complicated than the simple mice. They can’t help using their brains more because they have them. Hem, in particular and as the name suggests, is someone who is afraid of change; One who cannot take a break from the routine. Is this not the situation in which we find ourselves most of the time? It might even be too late before the estimation and other careful planning are done. The hesitation to move on and the lame reasons we state in defense are also brought out pretty well.

The two little people, however, mope around, blaming someone for moving their cheese. They claim they don’t deserve to be in such a situation because they worked hard through the maze to find that cheese. They are not prepared to look again for more, even though it is their only source of survival. At an instance, even after Haw came over his fear, laughed at himself for being so foolish and moved on without Hem, Hem stays stubbornly put, insisting that someone will put his cheese back. Haw, on his way, scribbles on walls for Hem to know the way, just in case he changed his mind and decided to follow him. These scribblings are the goods the author wants to deliver.To make a long story short, (I know I could have done it in the first place, but still…)

Price: $8.41 in Amazon and  Rs. 109 in India at Landmark outlets.

Spellbinder
Editorial Team
GSG