Going the extra mile: Blog # 54

Going the extra mile

* My first write up as an HR Professional for a University's Magazine

            Next time you visit a public transport terminus, look around. Invariably there will be one rundown, dusty public telephone booth. It was in the not so distant past that telephone booths were a thriving source of employment for many people. The emergence of the cellular phones forced these booths to shut down in a time period of just under two years. All those people had to seek an alternate source of employment. If the need to have an open mind towards new challenges is prevalent in those strata of employment, the importance of it in the higher echelons of corporate scenario is never over emphasized.

  In this day and age of intense competition, having a degree can take you only as far. Gone are the days where having a degree ensured a job. Today, a degree is just a qualifier, not a differentiator.

Today’s students are expected to explore various horizons of learning. The objective of learning shouldn’t be confined to the academic curriculum alone. A student should extend his/her mind map to include the ever evolving demands of macro environment too. They should traverse the extra mile. Only then shall one become ‘employable’ in today’s world.

            The term employability in its literal sense describes those competencies which equips a person to secure a job with an organization. But it doesn’t stop there. In a broader sense, it is about constantly evolving and updating oneself. It is about being competitive and remaining in the race. The core of it lies in learnability which is one of the key skills any organization looks for in an employee. Learnability depicts the urge to keep oneself informed and move ahead.

            Let us look at the ways to attain Employability. Keeping oneself abreast with the happenings in the macro environment can be the flag off for the long looping lap ahead. Being aware of the ongoing events in one’s immediate social environment enables a person to obtain a holistic perspective. This translates to a clear understanding of where to focus one’s energy on and in which direction should ones dedicated efforts be expended.

            Being employable requires prioritising. One needs to understand what skills are sought after in the current situation. Again, it is not a stagnant process. The requirements keep on evolving and changing. A person seeking employment should acquire skills as per the situation demands.

            Equipping oneself with employability also means inculcating the ability to unlearn. To deconstruct the older methodologies either by incorporating newer ones or by adopting a newer process altogether.

            To keep up with the changing times and its demands, it is important to look and think ahead. The best way to do this is to push oneself in to attaining better than what is expected. Always take up tougher assignments which push one out of the comfort zone. That is the closest which one can reach to tomorrow’s needs.

            In a nutshell, making oneself employable is to not resist change and allow oneself to get moulded by the forces of evolution – be it of technology, skills or life at large.

Arun Babu

           

The Month that was… June 2012 : Blog # 37

The Month that was…June 2012

*A monthly column on Business

          It was during an FB chat that Bala and I discussed about the idea of a column for the ASB magazine, 'Kaleidoscope'. We both agreed on this topic which gives an aerial view of previous month’s happenings. It is not a formal list down in the chronological order, but a look back at the events which are of interest, mostly from the world of business. Hope you enjoy the read.

                 The first week of June saw the television screens being inundated with Ads of Randstad. They have taken over India’s premier HR consultancy firm, Mafoi. The first Sunday’s ‘Satyamevjayate’ was discussing inter-caste marriages and the atrocities of Khap panchayats. If we continue to turn a blind eye towards these barbaric practices, vision 2020 will remain confined to cricketing format alone! Even now, the policy paralysis and the indifference that has inflicted our nation have brought down the growth rate from a 9% to a measly 5.3%. The rating agency, Fitch has followed S&P and downgraded us from Standard to Poor.

     Rajat Gupta, the poster boy of Indian Diaspora in the US and in a way, the world over stands tainted convicted of insider trading.

               Adding to the list of Global M&As by Indian conglomerates, Sahara group is buying out New York’s plaza hotel. In this time of a rumoured slowdown, IT behemoths are vying for the second phase of MCA21(Ministry of Corporate Affairs) project.

            It was interesting to know that a cola drink got the much sought after ‘Foshu’ label of Japan’s food regulatory authority. It is ‘Kirin mets’ cola that bagged this highly stringent certification.

   In a bid to increase the reach of ATMs in non-urban areas, Government is going to allow White Label ATMs (licensed for private sector ownership) as against the existing Brown label ones (licensed in the name of a commercial bank).

  Retailers are targeting loyal customers big time in order to beat the slump. Some operators like Shoppers stop derive as much as 75% of their revenue from loyal customers. The decision as to whether or not to allow or FDI in multi brand retail still hangs in thin air.

 Reliance Industries seems to be looking for a suitor for their much acclaimed brand, ‘Only Vimal’. It is also said that it might be the beginning of the end of the company’s presence in textile sector.

 Amidst all the negativity, there is a ray of hope. The Swedish retailer, Ikea is entering the Indian market in a big way.

           After much mudslinging, there seem to be a consensus on the candidature for country’s highest civilian post. But what needs to be watched is how things are going to change in the north block.

                                                                                                                       

Arun Babu.