Muhammad Yahya

Interview with a Job Hopper

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:42:00 +0000

Got this interesting interview (don't know whether it is original or fake but it's worth reading) in inbox from some yahoo group (which I never signed in and they keep sending me daily emails). So here it is:

Interesting. .... [Don't miss last 2 Questions...]

Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the ‘job hopper’ (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it…. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the ‘company loyal’ employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys – the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:

Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?

A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.

Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?

A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.

Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.

Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?

A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying ‘employer loyalty’. But I was an idiot.

Q: Why do you say so?

A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ‘permanent’ job, so I need not worry about ‘what will I do if I lose my job’. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.

Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.

A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ‘company loyal’ and not ‘money earning and saving loyal’. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving – I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.

Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?

A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me – can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.

Q: What have you gained by doing such things?

A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.

Q: So you decided on your own hike?

A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a ‘debt-free’ life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.

Q: So are you debt-free now?

A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.

Q: Who is complaining?

A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me – why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.

Q: What is your advice to professionals?

A: Like Narayan Murthy had said – love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.

Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?

A: When a company does well, its CEO etc. will address the entire company saying, ‘well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you.” But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO Etc will say, “It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go.” So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.

DatePicker

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:58:00 +0000

I have been finding some smooth and reliable javascript component for calendar control. I know there are many, but couldn't find a control with rich UI, customization ability and cross browser compatibility.

Then I came across Mootools, which is a compact javascript framework. Mootools is great!

The first result I got from google was http://www.electricprism.com/aeron/calendar. But the problem with this sample is that it does not provide complete source (read: css, images etc)

Then I found http://www.monkeyphysics.com/mootools/script/2/datepicker which is definitely a complete sample for DateTime picker using Mootools.

Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:49:00 +0000

Welcome to the world!

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Welcome to the world to our baby girl. Thankyou Sabrina for adding a cute angel to our family. Thanks to Allah, Who made everything happen normal. And this is our new year gift :)

Coming soon...

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:21:00 +0000

Coming soon...Our new year gift from Almighty Allah.

Try out

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:23:00 +0000

Try out this in C#

   double result = Convert.ToDouble(7) - 5.3;
   if (result == 1.7)
   Console.WriteLine("No Bug");
   else
   Console.WriteLine("WHAT!!!!!!!!");
   Console.ReadLine();

Test it and post me in comment what result did you get.

To the woman I love...

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:45:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to my dear wife Sabrina!

New ASP.NET Charting Control:

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:51:00 +0000

Got to know this morning about charting controls that Microsoft is providing for asp.net 3.5, from here. Great! For sure they will provide great support and examples to cover most types of charts. Interestingly, these charting samples look inspiration from Dundas. Another news is that Microsoft is going to use Dundas (www.Dundas.com) in SQL Server 2008 reporting.

What other options do we have? Dundas, Infragistics...who wants to buy license? Go for OpenFlashChart. A free flash based charting tool with support on all platforms. I have used OFC in one of my projects and without much pain we got awesome results.

Alternative to Crystal Report?

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:57:00 +0000

A couple of days back, I faced a problem deploying my asp.net web application. The application uses Crystal Reports, and there is no support for Crystal Report at the hosting (Our hosting company does not provide Crystal reports anyway).

After finding around for some free reporting tools I found LogiReport (support?) and then I gave up. And finally thought to use Reports provided by .net (RDLC), after ignoring it for a long time. Who wants to buy Crystal Report redistributable license?

If you have been working with Crystal Reports, you will find it difficult to us! But it worths it.

So my answer to "Alternative to Crysal Reports" is "Reports provided by .net"

I am Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 07:10:00 +0000

P.S.: Title says it all.

New Year Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 14:44:00 +0000

Something which has more worth than "php5 running IIS"

Beginning with no end in mind is a road to nowhere so mission statements are like a tree with a deep roots …once planted at new years …would be ready to give the fruit by the time it ends……and from the past year experiences I have learnt that there are those hard moments in which there is a conflict between doing the right thing and doing the easier thing so my this year's resolution would be prioritizing my work according to the most important things that matter to me and then setting my targets to achieve them whether it be learning php during the regular university chores….setting out my plans for my final year projects or the love and care my family and my friends expect from me time to time ….I will be willing to get out of my COMFORT ZONE and jumping into the CONTROL ZONE of my life car as someone once said "its not the mountain we conquer but ourselves so this year I plan to conquer it all.

Credits : SGM

Long time no see...

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 08:35:00 +0000

My last post was on Eid day, i had been thinking to post something but did not find anything special to post here.

Exams finished 2 weeks back, and right after that my Internship at PSO started.

Did 9 projects at RAC, the 9th one i did last night and it was pretty simple one.

Started playing with php. I will post "Installing php5 running IIS" right after this post. I started php with Zend enginer, which is not doubt the best php IDE, but I decided to do it on my own, and uninstalled Zend Engine. Tried few times following steps given on various websites. Only the last one worked perfectly.

Eid Mubarak !

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 02:37:00 +0000

Eid Mubarak !

Friday, November 04 2005 - 7:41AM ;) few minutes in EID Prayers and i am blogging for nothing :D

Using Windows Fax Service

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 04:48:00 +0000

I didnt get chance before to try Windows Fax Service, today i got to use it, actually my fax wasnt working and Haroon bhai was waiting for the fax. So i asked him to hold a minute. I installed "Windows Fax Service" from Windows XP CD (its an additional component and doesnt get installed automatically).

I had been trying to send the scanned document from a wrong way. I always ended up on sending only the cover page.

And finally, i found the correct solution to that. All you need to do is, whatever your document / image is right click on the object and select Print. In the Printing Options, select FAX, instead of a printer :) and you are done. Write the Name and Telephone number of receiver, [optional] attach Cover page, SEND !!!

One thing i didnt mention, you definitely need a working telephone line connected to your modem ;-)

So now, i can send / receive fax through my Computer.

Yahya Panday

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 04:48:00 +0000

Yahya Panday

12 October 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 21:06:00 +0000

1 Down ! 10 more to go. Todays paper, MPBS, went fine. Nothing special, it was average.

One thing i finshed writing today, is the user manual for Van Management System i developed. And i am really happy with that.

Will start LCS by tomorrow, LCS is quite tough, but the good part is that there is 4 days gap before LCS paper :D

The Big Boss

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 11:24:00 +0000

It is when we start thinking that we are invincible ----
that He shakes us up to remind us who's the boss.

credits : http://lifemeansdrama.blogspot.com/

PakHero (CNG) AutoRikshaw

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 16:22:00 +0000

yeh rikshaw hai toofani
Pak Hero Pakistani
____ sab ki jani
yeh hai 4 stroke
na machaey ziyada shor
na koi dhuan na koi dhool
na yeh piyay petrol
yeh hai CNG se chalta
na hi lagay ga koi jhatka
...

great naa ???

misunderstood...

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 20:13:00 +0000

it's all good if i m not understood, but its bloody annoying if i'm misundestood... :'(

Credits: http://lifemeansdrama.blogspot.com/

to my dear NED with Love ...

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 19:57:00 +0000

Being almost for 3 years in NED , i found out that

"NED aik aisa bargad ka darakht hai, jiske neechay saray gadhay bandhay hain"

The problem (i think) with NED is, that we have good courses - but not good teachers to teach those good courses.

I want to tell you my Dear NED, that your yearly examination system Sucks. Not to mention, this is one of the things which i hate about you.

One of the thing that happened this year and i liked it most, other than last day festiv :P was Silent Polling ( dont know whether it will have some effect or not)

- your lover

Transporter 1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 21:32:00 +0000

Rule 1 : Never change the deal
Rule 2 : No Names
Rule 3 : Never look in the package

Rule 4 : Rules are made to be broken

Yahya.Age.Years.Count++

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:00:00 +0000

19th September 2005 - Happy Birthday to Me

Kashif wished me first through hi5 !! :) though it was too early (18th Sep). Then i got an e-card from Sabrina ( after few minutes of Kashif's msg )

Faisal and Fahad were with me at 19th September 0000 hours :)

Yahya.Age.Years.Count++ ; //Optimistic
Yahya.Life.Years.Count--; //Pessimistic

Welcome Back

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 20:05:00 +0000

After a long time, i am blogging - reason ? nothing special, my internet + busy schedule + lack of interest + (add whatever you like, i wont mind)

Moonsoon rains are back in Karachi. Heavy rains in past few days, but today was a Sunny day, really burning hot
Awesome Annual Dinner - 3rd Sep
Great Last Day festiv - 10th Sep
Shani Strawberry Drink's Birthday and Treat - 10th Sep
4th anniversary of GroundZero - 11th Sep
Started working on Software Engineering Project ( will post details sometime later)
My internet has been down :(
I think there are still many things left which need to be in this list....WHATEVER !!!

INETA Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 10:01:00 +0000

After long time, INETA Pakistan [dot] org is up. And you can find me there at profiles section.

The website is cool, but some features are missing. Signup is not working, it is actually the beta version.

Adnan Bhai did great work. I liked the outlook of website very much.

Muhammad Saqib Ilyas (MVP) ;)

noreply@blogger.com (Yahya) — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 19:55:00 +0000

a must see blog