"Rat Race" alias "Quarter-Life Crisis"

The spark in the eyes has gone. The sense of humor has fazed off. The feeling of growing up sooner and sooner that was there during childhood now looks like a dim-witted one. Today that the teenage is history the present looks like a big mountain to climb. Jobs are ON, some have got married, some are abroad, some are back home with family, some have started their ventures after running out of chances, though ALL…. almost all are not happy for a reason that probably even they themselves don’t know.

Why? Why? Why is this feeling haunting our minds??? We never could live a moment with our friends. We always wanted to be like them. We always were jealous of high fliers in our vicinity. We broke friendships, we made friendships. We flirted. We had; wat… probly n number of crushes!!!!!!!!!!! Today the same friends we parted away with look like were the ones we actually should have hold on with. It’s not long back that we thought like our friends but today we have different goals and we realize that our interests lie in something different and we have no company to walk with to achieve those interests and dreams. We also realize that the job we are doing is the one that we would have never done in the entire life of ours, but we are still sticking with it. Not far back did we stop playing cricket for soccer, soccer for basket ball, basket ball for volley ball, volley ball for something else. We loved change. We loved to experiment.

Where has that spark gone????? Where has that risk taking ability gone???? Getting job was a dream. We achieved. Getting a good profile was a dream. We probably achieved. Now that job was there guys got married and bought home. Because home was bought leaving the job was now next to impossible because of the fat EMIs. Now that’s the result that ppl have lost and today are clueless of what they are doing.

The life was so different some years back. There were no boundaries. There were no limitations. There were several sweet fights amongst friends. Life was so selfless. Movies, Masti, More Masti and even More Masti was the mantra of the life.

Well!!!!!!!!!!! Things have changed and the life has taken a 360º turn and as Robert Kiyosaki says this is called as a “Rat Race”. Another definition for this problem is “Quarter-Life Crisis” (inspired from a mail from my good friend Theo).

This mail is meant for all those who are in their 20 something. And hence the definition “Quarter-Life Crisis”

One interesting thing is that everyone who reads this will relate himself/herself with this article but only a handful will work forward to not to fall in this race or this crisis.

Indian National Anthem and it's Meaning

Jana-Gana-Mana

(Thou Art the Ruler of All Minds)

The Indian National anthem, composed originally in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by the Constituent Assembly as the National Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was first sung 27 December 1911 at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. The complete song consists of five stanzas. The lyrics were rendered into English by Tagore himself.

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF INDIA

" Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya He

Bharat Bhagya Vidhata

Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maratha

Dravida Utkala Banga

Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga

Ucchala Jaladhi Taranga

Tubh Shubha Name Jage

Tubh Shubha Ashisha Mange

Gahe Tubh Jaya Gata

Jan Gan Mangaldayak Jay He

Bharat Bhagya Vidhata

Jaye He ! Jaye He ! Jaye He !

Jaye,Jaye,Jaye,Jaye He "

Playing time of the full version of the national anthem is approximately 52 seconds. A short version consisting of first and last lines of the stanza (playing time approximately 20 seconds) is also played on certain occasions.

Translation of The national anthem- Jana Gana Mana In English

Thou are the ruler of the minds of all people, dispenser of India's destiny. The name rouses the hearts of Punjab, Sind, Gujurat and Maratha. Of the Dravid and Orissa and Bengal. It Echoes in the hills of Vindhyas and Himalayas, mingles in the music of Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the waves of the Indian Sea. They pray for your blessing and sing thy praise. The salvation of all peaople is thy hand, thou dispenser of India's destiny. Victory, Victory, Victory to thee.

For all those who are in hunt of their first job

First job probably (yes….. probably and not definitely) architects our future because though we move out fresh from college with loads of talent and exuberance, couple of fancy degrees in our hand, the ability to take head strong decisions we are not aware how much the corporate life plays an important role in deciding our future. We can get away with an overloaded pocket at the end of month but then it is of no use if you are not into the job that you do not like. In today’s world, getting a job is not tough, sustaining in the job is. And it is increasingly tough to do so if you do not like your job even if you are taking away a fat six-figure cheque back home.
I would like to pen down some points that a fresher should consider while hunting his/her first job.

1. The 5 important parameters while applying for a company.
a. Brand of the company
b. The Sector in which the company operates
c. Salary offered
d. Location offered
e. Profile offered
These are possibly the 5 most important points (not in the sequence that I have noted them) to be considered while looking for a job in any given company. Now, you need to rate every parameter according to your priorities. It’s highly improbable for all 5 parameters to be fulfilled. So while applying for any company you need to consider above parameters. If at least 3 of them are fine with you, then I would suggest going ahead and giving a try. For fresher I would suggest to rate profile and industry above everything because as I said earlier, the work you do in first two years will probably be the base of your future work.

2. Importance of a good CV; not a Resume or Bio-data. (Know the difference between them? No!!!! Click here)
The contents of a CV are and should be written in following manner
a. Objective: Objective should include
- the job you are applying for
- why you would be great in this position
- what assets will you bring to company if hired.
Never copy-paste the objective of others. Create one of your own. It will be easy for you to justify it if questioned for the same.
b. Professional Details: You need to bullet down the important facets of work done in the internships. Try avoiding following ways of writing;
- I covered the Western Mumbai region
- My work was to handle the Western Mumbai region.
- Never write I, Me, and We in your professional details
Instead, write in this manner
- Covered the Western Mumbai region and was responsible for….. etc etc
c. Work Duration: If you have work experience, try avoiding following ways of presenting it;
- XYZ tech (25th July ’07 – 24th Nov ‘08)
Instead, write in this manner
- XYZ tech (July ’07 – Nov ’08)
Note: The contents of your CV should be entirely written by you and they should not be copied from anywhere else. I small point that you have copied be it objective or a weakness, if you are asked to justify the same, it will be really tough for you to do so. The reason being, whenever we write specific details about ourselves we actually think about it while writing which is enough for us to justify while facing the interview.
You should know every single word in your CV and should be in a position to explain the reasons behind it.

3. Group Discussion
I will write down the basics of a GD and not what topics to prepare on. That is something that needs no guidance at this point of time when you are about to apply for a job.
There are certain myths involved around Group Discussions. Following are the points to be considered.
- Speaking first gives you advantage: A highly wrong notion that we all carry. Just to speak first we concentrate more on that rather than thinking constructively about the topic. Instead spend the time in constructive thinking and listen to what first 2-3 candidates speak about. You may then get an idea and accordingly you can guide the entire discussion (provided your preparation in the initial time given to you was good).
- Concluding first gives you advantage: Again a wrong notion. Same things written above apply here. Never be in hurry to do so. Conclusion is that part of GD where no one will interrupt you. Effectively this is the most important point in GD where you can create the maximum impact with a good conclusion.
- Speaking more and in high tone works for you: Guys, it’s a GD, a corporate is examining you. So try and maintain composure, don’t be soft but be firm enough in while speaking to create impact and it also looks sensible and decent. Speaking more and in high tone will land you in wrong place and possibly in wrong job.
- Stats and Figures: What of the following sounds good?
a. Indian organizations acquired many MNCs in USA in last two years.
Or
b. At least 143 MNCs in USA were acquired by Indian organizations in last two years.
I don’t think there is need of further more explanation on this point.

4. Personal Interview: Some important points to consider
- Be yourself. Do not try to pretend. If you are not good at something you are not good at it. As simple as that.
- Admit if you are nervous. The interviewer is a human being and won’t eat you up if you try to hide it. In fact, he may then go a bit easy in your case.
- Be thorough with your objective, strengths, weaknesses, scores in all the examinations, justification for low scores, reasons to join that specific company, industry study (stats and figures), company study (key executives, revenue details,)

If freshers follow these steps I am sure they would be better prepared to get the right job and not a job that they are not interested in because as I said in the beginning of the article, "Getting the job is easy, sustaining in it is tougher".

I will like to wrap up the article here though would keep on updating it as and when I get some more points to add to it.

For anymore queries mail me at sumeetkiranshah@gmail.com

Difference Between C.V, Resume & Bio Data

People use the words RESUME, CV, and BIO-DATA interchangeably for the document highlighting skills, education, and experience that a candidate submits when applying for a job. On the surface level, all the three mean the same. However, there are intricate differences.

RESUME
Resume Is a French word meaning "summary", and true to the word meaning, signifies a summary of one's employment, education, and other skills, used in applying for a new position. A resume seldom exceeds one side of an A4 sheet, and at the most two sides. They do not list out all the education and qualifications, but only highlight specific skills customized to target the job profile in question.
A resume is usually broken into bullets and written in the third person to appear objective and formal. A good resume starts with a brief summary of Qualifications, followed by Areas of Strength or Industry
Expertise in keywords, followed by Professional Experience in reverse chronological order. Focus is on the most recent experiences, and prior experiences summarized. The content aims at providing the reader a balance of responsibilities and accomplishments for each position. After work experience come Professional Affiliations, Computer Skills, and Education.

C.V CURRICULUM VITAE
C.V Is a Latin word meaning "course of life". Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) is therefore a regular or particular course of study pertaining to education and life. A C.V. is more detailed than a resume, usually 2 to 3 pages, but can run even longer as per the requirement. A C.V. generally lists out every skills, jobs, degrees, and professional affiliations the applicant has acquired, usually in chronological order. A C.V. displays general talent rather than specific skills for any specific positions.

BIO-DATA
Bio Data the short form for Biographical Data is the old-fashioned terminology for Resume or C.V. The emphasis in a bio data is on personal particulars like date of birth, religion, sex, race, nationality,
residence, martial status, and the like. Next comes a chronological listing of education and experience. The things normally found in a resume, that is specific skills for the job in question comes last, and are seldom included. Bio-data also includes applications made in specified formats as required by the company.

A resume is ideally suited when applying for middle and senior level positions, where experience and specific skills rather than education is important. A C.V., on the other hand is the preferred option for fresh graduates, people looking for a career change, and those applying for academic positions. The term bio-data is mostly used in India while applying to government jobs, or when applying for research grants and other situations where one has to submit descriptive essays.

Resumes present a summary of highlights and allow the prospective employer to scan through the document visually or electronically, to see if your skills match their available positions. A good resume can do that very effectively, while a C.V. cannot. A bio-data could still perform this role, especially if the format happens to be the one recommended by the employer.

Personal information such as age, sex, religion and others, and hobbies are never mentioned in a resume. Many people include such particulars in the C.V. However, this is neither required nor considered in the US market. A Bio-data, on the other hand always include such personal
particulars..

Thanks...... Do leave your views about the content.

T20 World Cup Loss!!!! What can we learn out of it????

It’s really hard to digest the ouster of our team from the ongoing world cup. We are living in an emotional country and as a result understanding the vent of the on going anger against the team is very obvious. But I fail to understand the logic of this mind. When we are wrong we seek compromise and we speak judgment when others are wrong. I would agree to the fact that even I am one among you all and together we all, I think are making an issue out of the loss. Effigies are being burned around in the country, our cricketers are being cursed for the loss. But then why are we forgetting that this is the same team that won us the world cup last time around. Has any one ever expected the same out of himself/herself? Had we been there in the same position we would have compromised by giving petty reasons but because it was someone else involved we got angry and started passing judgments. And to encourage them we have our media who is nothing less than a hopeless crap, creating nuisance each and every time. Can anyone explain me why should Dhoni be fired from captain’s role???? He is the same guy who won you the cup last time.

Our life is a cycle. Ups and down are part of it. Till the time you don’t face the downs how are you going to grow. He took charge of the team after being knocked out of 2007 ODI world cup. That was even big a disaster in Indian terms. In last two years Indian cricket team and Dhoni in particular have seen a complete cycle. He enjoyed the success in 20-20, Australia, England, New Zealand and the loss in recent world cup.

Instead of sitting and crying over the loss we should find out what all can we learn from it?

Optimum use of resources: Several times did Dhoni err by not using the resources up to their potential. Example: Couple of our specialist bowlers did not get their quota to bowl. Yusuf’s power went under utilized.
Right people in right place all the time: Yuvraj being sent lower down the order did not help his cause because his arrival was at the time when he could not set his eye in before unleashing. Another example being Jadeja.
Discipline: Though bhajji bowled brilliantly he will not forgive himself because somewhere within he knows that even he is responsible for the loss against England. He bowled 5 wides twice in that match.
Importance of Basics: Never did Ishaant or Irfan try to use the conditions to their favour. Ishaant was too full most of the times.
Respect your adversary for his Strengths: Rohit Sharma under rated the bowlers and got out twice in same fashion against W.I. & England.
Teamwork: Not once did our bowling attack looked to have any vigor. It takes two to tango. Had there been a spell of good bowling from both ends we would have done better.
Accountability: In today’s world you just cant get through by doing your amount of work. It doesn’t mean you need to do others work but you need to compliment and be accountable for the output. You need to make your team mates feel comfortable in tough situations


These are some points that we can learn out of the loss and try and implement them in our day to day lives. 1 big thing I have learnt in life is “Caliber of a person is not how well he prepares for everything to go right but how he stands up & moves on after everything has gone wrong.”

So, I am sure very soon “Team India” would bounce back and would be causing tremors in every opponents psyche.

I will keep adding to the points mentioned above. So keep a track of it.