Innovative Job Ads

Today's front page of TOI Bangalore edition yelled "Grab IT:1 lakh jobs on offer for u". The article mentioned what I had noticed so many times while travelling on Hosur Road - HTMT hiring advertisement. On display outside its swank office is a vertical banner reaching out to the onlookers saying "WE ARE HIRING". This according to HTMT has yielded rich dividends for them. The hiring spree and the competition for good human resources was evident I turned to the Ascent section which holds all kinds of fancy job advertisements. A few advertisements caught my eyes.



One was by amdocs which said "The easiest way to earn frequent flier" referring to the onsite (abroad) opportunities present with the company. Sure to catch an eye or two given the increased offshoring focus by local IT companies which have drastically reduced onsite opportunities for software engineers in last couple of years.



Other interesting one was that of Tech Mahindra. The catch line was "Come home to the opportunity you looked all over". Tech Mahindra guys have surely identified the longing of north Indian softies for companies close to their houses as a sure bet for retaining and attracting talent. It therefore emphasises the rapid expansion plans at its Kolkata,Noida and Bangalore. Note that Kolkata and Noida centers are east and north cities and there lies the USP of MBT for the homesick North Indian softie. Also quite dramatic is the picture which apparently potrays a softies sentimental homecoming to old parents verymuch in need of their son's support. Emotional blackmailing huh!!!

Pre interview moments

I followed Gaurav towards his room, making sure I had a good look at the hostel as I passed by those strange looking closed doors which I had expected to emanate some kind of radiance . To my dismay there was no such emanation and it looked like the awe for IIT was slowly wearing off. I had met lots and lots of IITians after I passed out of my college and the more IITians I met the more the awe rubbed off. I had realised by now that IITians are very human, just like us and the reason why they are such a hit every where is because of their self-confidence and positive attitude. Being in top 3000 out of 3,00,000 IIT aspirants would fill one up with all these rare qualities. Intelligence wise i had realised that apart from top 10% iitians rest are pretty good and just most of other bright people. But the above mentioned qualities is what made them invincible where ever they went. And i had come across many exceptions to this rule. Nevertheless sans the exceptions they are genuine best breeds.
The alleys of the hostel were dark and silent quite unlike my UG hostel which was always teeming with guys discussing whole gamut of issues from the that day's menu at girls hostel to the domestic problems in the principal's house to why WTO is sure to bring about demise of India to why Pentium is good for multimedia as compared to 486 processors. This surely smelt like a pure PG(post graduation) hostel where the occupants have long been tortured by the academics and have come to believe that academics are insurmountable and its better to give them enough importance by going for a PG. I entered gaurav's room after passing by a maze of rooms and corridors. His room was a typical students room. Lots of thick books (surprisingly all seemed frequently used as there was no dust on anyone of them) an assembled computer with speakers, a cot, clothes hanging on the wall and a mirror which believed in divide and conquer theory as it would show you at max only one quarter of ur face so that you provide enough attention in grooming that quarter.
It did not take me long to realise that gaurav kumar had transformed into an internet addict and a computer geek as he kept on searching web of all kinds of information while we chatted away. His nonchalance about what others in the world were doing had always amazed me and now with added dose of typical IIT confidence and +ve attitude it made a deadly combination. As we discussed our lives i noticed a poster on one of his walls. It said - "Thirty years from now, it won’t matter what shoes you wore, how your hair looked, or what jeans you bought. What will matter is what you learned and how you used it". This immediately catapulted me into deep thought as I put my life in context. My resolve to do a post grad had taken a beating after two years of consecutive efforts at belling the CAT. The last time I had missed it by a whisker. This time by a mile. But nevertheless i decided that i got to make it to IITB by hook or by crook, whether to join or not will be decided later. Gaurav noticed me and he understood what was running in my mind. He again in his typical nonchalant way assured me that i would make it. He had given up a plum job after graduation and had settled for a rigorous 1 year preparation at Delhi, where he stayed away from his family in a single room, studying day in and day out hoping to make it to IIT, while his batch mates kept on opting for one of the abundant IT jobs and got used to easy going life. He kept his concentration steadfast on his aim and he made it finally. Quite maverick like i would say.
Well he had justified every bit of his decision and was reaping benefits now. After some more chit chat which lasted till about 3 a.m. we slept. I got up @ 7 a.m. and as usual indulged in some day dreaming as I moved about in the corridors getting a good view of the hostel and the surroundings. Had a sojourn at the toilet which looked to be too clean for college guys or may be its just that PG guys are all to expended to ruffle any feathers anywhere. Noticed a washing machine in the bathroom and immediately my age old wish came back to life. During my UG days we had quite a celebration for Saraswati Puja and Holi. These were the days when there was a mass production of bhaang at the hostel mess. It had always occurred to me ,everytime I saw the bhaang being prepared, that one of the innovative uses of the washing machine could be preparation of bhaang/lassi in large quantities. It would serve as the best stirrer available and would take hardly 5 minutes to prepare. I thought that if I happen to be here again I would definitely try to experiment with bhaang production idea. After a few more day dreams I realised its already 8.00 a.m. and I need to get ready fast to reach the rendezvous point for all the aspirants to be interviewed that day. Again an image conjured up in my mind. This time that of a swayamvar. I immediately related my state to that of Ramji and Co. when they were out to prove to Sitaji that they are the best guys in business. Today I had to prove to the panel that I am the best candidate from them. And just like in good all swayamvar days ,I will be asked to show what I am good at and why I should be selected.
I hurried back to Gaurav's room. He was still asleep. I took out my bathing apparatus* and headed towards bathroom all the time feeling like a new software which has been delivered by some Indian IT company and which will undergo rigorous testing to see if it matches the quality and functional requirements expected by the clients. I was just hoping that the testing is done with due care .Lots of horrifying interviews narrated on Pagalguy came to my mind and i even considered sticking up a note on my file saying 'Fragile candidate - handle with care'.
I was all dressed up now in the new shirt and shoes that I had purchased the day before. I prayed that the IITB panelists had a strong belief in "All that glitters is gold". I was late by 15 min when I reached the auditorium. "Good start!" i said to myself. Luckily nothing much had happened till then and the presentation by the IITB students was about to start. I looked around at all the softwares lying around in the room, hoping to meet the requirements of IITB. All of them were impeccably dressed and looking smart. I cursed all those people who had contributed to the huge population of India which had made getting into a B-School so tough. Top in my cursing list was Mr. Dhritarashtra who centuries back was able to produce 100 sons and he pulled out the feat even after being blind. Just imagine if he had normal eyesight I m sure he would have done better and the combinatorial explosion of the future generations of his sons would have been responsible for at least some 10 million kauravas in present india.
The present students started with the presentation and with it self-glorification. I made a few mental notes so that I could blurt out some flattering reasons to join IITB for MBA. In between I managed to get a view of a pretty dame sitting in the last row at the other corner. I hoped she makes it to IITB with me and lend some buoyancy to the NSP (Nayan sukh prapti) index of our class. Later after the presentation was over, to my dismay I came to realise that she was married thanks to her sindoor. Thanks to all those guys who gave this helluva indicator of marital status. The giveaway almost always helps to streamline your potential choices and efforts. I realised that having her in the class would be like the BMW cars in the showroom close to my house, the cars can be seen but not within my reach and looking at it continuously would do me no good. as I conveniently shifted my loyalty to the next best looking girl in the room, though unfortunately the opportunity cost for the change in patronage was very high for my liking.
Anyways we were asked for some documents etc. for verification. I decided to avoid talking to guys around as all the conversations around was about the past IITB interviews and about how they are fond of grilling u technically. 2 yrs of work @ infosys had already killed my technical appetite and had made sure that I was at best mediocre at technical stuff. Though I was pretty confident about the work I was doing I hoped they didnot dig the mental archives of course study at college. I had forgotten most of them. Mean while I tried to relax by catching a view of the married dame and started analysing her with the keen eye of Sherlock Holmes. Red and white bangles showed she was newly married. Shit I was late by a month or two!!. The white bengali bangles gave away her bengali origin. She was in typical business formals and was not flashing her latest mobile or anything which can be remotely classified as geeky gadget, so I thought she must be in some industry other than IT. She would be an engineer or a science post graduate as these were the eligibility requirements for taking the JMET entrance for admissions into IITB...before I could find some more clues my registration no. was announced and I was supposed to join the queue of 10 people which would be driven out for GD. This time I felt like a member of a herd in a cattle fair, to be presented before prospective buyers who would check if we are a good bet for them. The difference is if we get selected it is we who pay for the selection not them. That’s the irony :(.

*This is one of the things i picked up at good ol' hostel days when one sage by the name of Deepak Tathod had referred the razor as shaving appratus during one of the ragging sessions. What followed is history.

Reservations - My thots

This one seems to top any "Worst political decisions ever made" list. Our education minister, a very old hand at politics, has tried to come up with a very innovative idea to give a fillip to his party in the coming legislative elections in the five major states of India. True to the demeanor of a true Indian politician he has conveniently set aside all the concerns about the repercussions of his fancy idea. Well what is more important than a few votes to ensure his party is in power in as many states as possible, when its time to go for next elections at the centre. With left already flexing its muscle ( it has decided to review its support to the central government after the impending state elections) its all too prudent to demonstrate the strength of congress by winning assembly elections.
The Supreme Court decision has limited the reservation percentage in the educational institutions to <= 50%. The government with full respect to the decision plans to implement 49.5 % reservation in the government aided institutions. The plans are on the drawing board to introduce around 27.5% reservations in the premier schools in India. To follow are the reservations for the OBCs and SC/ST etc. etc. in the private companies also. For reasons beyond my comprehension the two premier indian companies - Infosys and TCS - have expressed support for the idea.
It is clear that congress still suffers from the quota raj of the past. India now is a changed country. Repercussions are difficult to gauge. It might be anything we have not thought about yet. Medha Patkar's non violent fast has not ruffled any feathers of the government. Looks like non violence is out of consideration. If the reactions to reservation controversy turns violent God save us. Students in France have taken to streets. May be it’s our turn now.
The government has dispatched orders to state to frame laws for reservation in state educational institutions, in the light of 104th amendment which allows state governments to frame laws to ensure upliftment of socially/educationally backward classes. Basically no avenue is being left for the meritorious students who do not belong to the lower castes.
Various predictions are being made, a few of which might be true. A strong social divide between upper caste and lower caste people which might become bloodier than what it is today. Bihar is the hotbed of this kind of rivalry. May be now it will assume national proportions. A Few say the quality of students coming out of IITs and IIMs will take a beating and so would the reputations of these colleges. The list of possibilities is long.
My opinion about this issue is somewhat different. Reservations is the worst harm that a government can inflict on the backward classes. Firstly the benefits of reservations would be lapped up by the kith and kin of already well off bureaucrats, government officials etc. while the more deserving ones would be deprived of it. Secondly it would be a mad rat race to the top for the students of upper castes who would have to work tremendously hard to get admits into the renowned institutions. These intense competitions would definitely make them smarter and better individuals as compared to the people who would put in moderate efforts secure in the knowledge of the ample seats reserved for them by some god father at the Centre. Thus the students of upper castes would continue to outshine everyone else every where while the guys into the institute because of quotas would have to settle for lesser. IITs already have a one year foundation course for students who have come in through quotas. Thus the usual engg course of 4 yrs stretches to 5 yrs. This shows the usual lack of competence in the quota students. Thus there would be a huge divide between the accomplishments of non quota guys and the quota guys. This would lead to further frictions between the two categories.
The reservation of jobs in private sectors might also be a boon in disguise for the people of upper castes. While the lesser accomplished quota guys would swarm these plum easily available jobs, the non quota guys will have to slog to get them and therefore would be able to make it to the top more easily than the non quota guys. Therefore it is easy to see that social fabric would be infested with casteist feelings all around. The majority of non quota guys might also opt for setting up their own ventures over teeming for a job. The entreprenual fillip that the upper caste community will get would transform the face of Indian society. The power mongers would be the business class i.e. the upper caste people while the quota guys would continue to suffer bliss in their easily acquired jobs. Thus while the upper castes would better their competency and position in the society the lower castes would continue to be at the lower end of the spectrum. The service mentality would crush the budding entrepreneurs in the lower caste society as they would continue to pick up jobs with ease. All hopes of upliftment to become equals to the upper castes would be erased.
The upper castes would have to look beyond India for survival and education. They would go on conquering the world while lower caste guys would be enjoying the bliss of Indian jobs, ignorant of opportunities beyond it. This had already happenned in form of brain drain during the closed economy era.And India suffered hugely because of that.
The upper castes are bound to feel disappointed at this hour but more so should be the Indian society which would lose lots of engineers to foreign firms and bright students to foreign university who would continue to believe that merit is the best leveler.
The reservations are therefore the sure recipe for the end of hope of upliftment of the backward classes. Though it might be a sure shot way towards glory for the upper caste people.

According to me solution to whole hearted upliftment of the society can be tackled in two ways:

1. Get the castes out of the way. Give the reservations to the economically backward classes. Now this again is dangerous. It would be very difficult to find out the income of non salaried people. This might also act as an incentive for tax evasion as people would show income lesser than actual to garner this benefit.
2. Give reservation to only one generation. For example if X and Y are siblings they can avail reservation only if no one in their ancestral hierarchy has availed reservation. This may be made flexible by segmenting reservation into many levels like reservation at primary school level, secondary school level, +2 level, graduation leven, post graduation level and job level. Now lets take an example to see how it might work . Suppose A is grand father B is father and X and Y are sons. A took advantage of reservation at primary level. B can therefore take advantage of reservation at any level apart from primary school level. Suppose he opted for reservation at +2 level. Now his sons X and Y can opt for any reservation except at the level of primary school level (availed by A) and +2 level (availed by B). This would ensure that the people make best use of the opportunities available to them and that next time the reservation is availed by other people in the backward classes who have not availed it. Else generally these reservations benefits only a closed loop of people who continue to enjoy these reservations while the more backward are never able to use them.

Hope someone is sane enough to do the right things.