Talent in textiles
Cora Gotemann

Designing is one of the most sought after professions in the new millennium. Consumerism has led to the rising demand for designers in every field and there is no dearth of work for them. The apparel and textile industry has witnessed the fastest growth in the last couple of years.Indian Textile Industry is one of the leading textile industries in the world. The opening up of economy has given much-needed thrust to the Indian textile industry.

The current domestic market of textiles in India is expected to be worth $ 60 billion by 2012. The textile export of the country was around $ 19.14 billion in 2006-07, which saw a stiff rise to touch the $ 22.13 billion mark in 2007-08. 

The share of exports is also expected to increase from four to seven per cent by 2012.

With fashion trends changing almost everyday the need for newer designs becomes imperative for the apparel or fashion industry.

Textile design courses are currently among the most sought after study programmes. Candidates with an inclination for fine arts and fashion trends find this course extremely beneficial. Students with a degree in textile designing are recruited by fashion houses, textile designers, and apparel manufacturers.

Textile design forms the core of the whole business of fashion. The rapidly expanding activities in the export and domestic sectors of the Indian apparel and home fashion industry demands professional inputs in design and development of textiles and raw material, which is responsible for 60-80 per cent of the cost of the product.

Textile designers always work in tandem with fashion designers and both complement each other.

World of design

Textile designers develop new design concepts through experimenting with yarns, colour, fabric finish and texture. They develop designs by drawing two-dimensional designs which can be translated into woven, knitted or printed fabrics for clothing or interior items such as carpets or tableware or home furnisgings. A good sensibility for colour, form, dimension and texture as well as drawing skills and interest in design aspects are necessary to become a successful textile designer.

Textile designers need to keep abreast of the latest developments in designs and production techniques and textile technology and ensure that projects are completed on time. A textile designer needs to have good observation skills and understanding for current trends in fashion and lifestyle in order to be able to develop marketable fabrics.

Textile design as an integral part of fashion industry is a promising and remunerative career option today. As a creative career option, it offers all one wants — glamour, money and popularity. With growing market potential for textile products there is a wide range of career options for textile designer. Textile designers work within and alongside industries such as fashion, interior design, and textiles. They may also work under professional designers or as freelance designers working with a client base. Many candidates having qualified as a textile designer could also create a boutique chain.

The other career options in textile designing are embroidery designers, dying & printing consultant, fabric analyser, textile lab manager, fabric resource manager etc.

Job prospects

With growing market potential for textile products there is a wide range of job prospects in this field. The candidates, after the successful completion of the course, can find excellent placements in garment, leather and jewellery industry as merchandising executives, fashion designers, illustrators, fashion co-coordinators, etc. Export houses, textile mills, garment store chains, boutiques, leather companies, jewellery houses, fashion show organisers also look for such candidates. 

With many big names in the apparel and textile field, job prospects are good for trained professionals. Opportunities exist in design studios, in textile dyeing and printing units, knitwear-manufacturing units as well as in fashion houses. There are also growing opportunities with government sponsored and private silk, handloom, khadi, jute and craft development organisations, and with hundreds of hosiery and home furnishing export units largely centered around Panipat in the North and Tirupur and Coimbatore in the South. With some experience, textile designers can work as freelancers offering their designs to different organisations.

Textile design jobs in India are offered by leading garment designers and apparel manufacturers like Reliance Industries, Garden Vareli, and Binny Limited. Openings are offered in capacities of textile designer, senior fashion merchandiser, textile design specialist, and junior textile designers.

Candidates passing textile design courses in India might also find attractive job openings abroad. USA, UK, and Australia are large recruiters of textile design professionals.

Eligibility

Textile design requires special skills and imaginations to create innovative designs. There are many different formats of the courses available in this area. Depending on the nature of training, the qualifications required may also vary. Minimum qualification required for admission to undergraduate degree programmes in Textile Design is Plus II or its equivalent from any recognised board. Most of the institutes providing courses in textile designing conduct an entrance test along with an interview.

Duration of courses

Courses in textile design can be pursued at the undergraduate as well as post-graduate level. Some institutes also offer certificate/diploma courses in Textile Design.

Undergraduate courses — Three / Four-year duration

Post-graduate courses- Two-year duration

Certificate courses — One week/ Two weeks/ One month duration

Diploma courses —1-year duration

Remuneration

Textile designing is a highly remunerative career option. Fresh pass outs may get Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month.

With some experience their salaries are bound to go up. In export houses experienced textile designers may draw Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 per month. Freelance textile designers also have good earnings depending upon the nature of their assignment.

(The writer is a Fashion Design Professor from Germany and is currently teaching at Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi).

MY FIELD
Weaving success
Arupjyoti Gogoi

What is the status of textile design industry in India at present?

Sakshi Babbar: It is a vast and diverse industry. We have a rich cultural heritage of textile design and great resources of traditional and contemporary fabrics with tremendous design inspiration. There are tremendous opportunities that one can explore whether its printing, weaving knitting or embroidery in garments or home textiles.

Atul Sangwan:Textile industry plays an important role in our economy. It is the second largest job providing industry in India after agriculture. There is tremendous demand for designers, merchants, production people at the same point of time. I would say more than designers we need educated production people and merchants. Today Indian designers, merchants, producers are in high demand in every part of the world. Indians are good designers and product developers, but there is an acute shortage of qualified production people. Today India's GDP is 12th largest in the world (in terms of volume), and in the next 10 years we are looking forward to be among the top five economies (by the scale of GDP). It is a tremendous leap for us during the past 15 years. 

What are the challenges existing in this industry?

SB: Textile industry is too segmented and antiquated with each area working individually without much connection or relevance to each other. We need synergy and more collaborative structured efforts to move ahead. We badly need a sustainable textile revolution as well, one where buyers, designers, retailers and consumers fill our closets and home with clothes and products that are more durable and less harmful.

AS:Right education is really the need of hour in every arena of textile industry. I, being in to this industry, feel that there is an urgent need to educate our youth and turn them into a work usable asset for the industry and country. It is easy to get education but a bit tough to get the right education and find the right vision to lead the national youth to a conversion which would make them useful for the country as a whole. The government should help by reducing export duty and making exporters life easier. SEZs are a good initiative but would require time to show its actual effect.

What are your future goals?

SB: A Through my designs and end products I want to reach masses and inspire consumers to protect the planet and people. With my passion and energy of design I want to make consumers aware of the fact that eco friendly products too, look and feel good. It not only holds materialistic value but emotive qualities and efforts to save our planet.

AS: I have set a target of turnover of Rs 5 crore for our company by the year 2012. We also intend to launch our stores in a couple of years, but that would really depend on the market circumstances. At this point of time ABHIVYAKTI intends to stay at the designing, production business only.

Sakshi Babbar

Armed with a masters degree in Textile Design from London and specialisation in sustainable and innovative research and design (2008-09), she has set her goal to become a globally renowned textile designer in the future.

She enjoyed her research on sustainable yet innovative design and created collection on multifunctional furniture using recycled flip flop material. Along with that she carries valuable experience at retail brands like Monsoon Accessorize (UK) and Karen Millen (UK) working as sales adviser and fashion stylist respectively. Progressing in her career as a green designer and researcher, she wants to share her knowledge and spread importance of sustainability through products she designs for her clients. Inspired by simple shapes that undergo transition, her creations are aimed towards producing 3D structures that are multifunctional, adaptive and unconventional.

Atul Sangwan

Quitting a lucrative job at Floreal Knitwears, leading knitwear manufacturer in Mauritius, Atul Sangwan a native of Rohtak, Haryana, started his own venture Abhivyakti with one of his friends in October 2008. At Abhivyakti, they design and produce garments made out of natural materials. Within 18 months of its establishment, Abhivyakti has touched the psychological benchmark of turnover of Rs 1.5 crore.

Intelligent marketing campaigns and quality product ensure that their customer base is well maintained. They introduce new products in the market keeping in mind the requirement of the customer in blend format. Within 18 months of its establishment, Abhivyakti touched the psychological bench mark of a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore, out of which the entire business has been done after May 2009 only. 

Better vision

Q. Could you please tell me something about Optometry and the nature of work in this field? What is the difference between ophthalmology and optometry?

— Jeevan Baxi

A. Often confused with an ophthalmologist, an optometrist (also known as ophthalmic technician) is a professionally qualified primary eye care provider — akin to your family doctor for eyes. In India optometrists usually assist ophthalmologists or recommend patients to specialists for secondary and tertiary treatment. An optometrist tests the visual acuity and prescribes corrective lenses. Adept at handling eye-testing equipment to examine a person’s vision, the optometrist also fabricates lenses to prescribed specifications and fits them and other low vision aids to suit individual requirements.

Hi-precision machines are used to polish and harden lenses.

With an increasing aged population and the growing incidence of macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy – optometrists can be an important part of the primary treatment. Besides the need for spectacles and contact lenses, low vision aids and co-management of eye disorders spells good news for optometry as a profession.

Optometrists usually work in eye hospitals, clinics and opticians’ outlets or with multinational vision care companies. You may also specialise in particular types of vision disorders (i.e. infractive errors like presbyopia, squints, colour blindness). After gaining experience in a private establishment or with a lens manufacturer, you can start your own business.

You will be surprised to know that optometry features among the top 10 income-earning professions in the US. This 700-year old profession is perhaps one of the nearly extinct breeds of jobs that offer regular work hours. Flexibility in practice and myriad choices in geographic location form the icing on the cake.

Just look at the figures: every third blind person in the world lives in India, 75 per cent of whom can be ascribed to preventive blindness (cataract, refractive error), underscoring the need for timely detection and treatment. Whereas, India needs at least 40,000 optometrists, the figure stands at a measly 8,000. Approximately 1,000-odd students pass out of the 20 optometry schools as against the 17 million people being added to the population during the same period.

Moreover, with most people over 40 (and even earlier) requiring glasses/lenses, a skilled and experienced optometrist is always in demand. Faced with rising incidents of unqualified optometrists prescribing lenses in two-bit optical shops, of late there has been a demand for some sort of regularisation to prevent such malpractice. Besides, most of the courses are still not recognised by the Ministry of Health. There is a shortage of faculty as well.

So make sure you enrol into a reputed institute.

Also log onto: Indian Optometric Association: www.indian-optometric-association.com

Education loans

Q. I will be taking my Class XII boards this year, and will appear for entrance exams for engineering courses. However, I will need to take an educational loan from a bank to get into some of the better private colleges. Please suggest which bank I should opt for and also their rates.— Tanishq Verma

A. For one, the State Bank of India has reduced interest rates on education loans by up to two percentage points (200 bps). The rates have been cut for loans for new customers for the admission session between May and September 2009.

Interest rates for loans up to Rs 4 lakh, between Rs 4 - 7.5 lakh and above Rs 7.5 lakh will be reduced to 11.5%, 11.25% and 11%, respectively from the 11.75%, 13.25% and 12.25% at present, respectively.

What’s more, being a female student you will have the advantage of receiving a further concession of 0.5%. So, the EMI on a Rs 7.5 lakh loan, to be repaid in seven years, will come down to Rs 12,940 from Rs 13,740 earlier.

SBI extends loans up to Rs 10 lakh for studying in India and up to Rs 20 lakh for studying abroad.

During the moratorium (in this period you have an option to skip servicing the loan and pay the EMI later), you will be charged a simple interest rate.

You also get a concession of one per cent for promptly paying the interest during the moratorium.You get five to seven years to repay the loan after the moratorium.

Study loans up to Rs 4 lakh are collateral-free.

Third party guarantee or other collateral is only required if the loan amount exceeds Rs 4 lakh.

Interest rates are linked to the prime lending rate (PLR). A reduction in PLR will cut both the existing and new rates from their respective levels.

However, existing customers won’t be able to avail of this opportunity and will be charged the old rates.

So far, SBI has given loans to over 3.56 lakh students for pursuing higher studies in India and abroad. I hope this information would be of help. Good luck!

Destination HarvardQ. I’m very keen to do MBA from Harvard. What kind of GMAT score will get me in? As I will be taking my GMAT for the second time, can I list only my best GMAT score? Are there any chances of getting a scholarship? How many years of work experience are required? 

— Bijoy Das

A. The full range of GMAT scores being very broad, there is no “minimum” score requirement. However, 50 per cent of the Class of 2009 scored between 700 and 740 on the GMAT. Moreover, the GMAT is just one piece of data among the many (your essay, interview, work-ex, transcripts, recommendations etc), which are used to evaluate an application.

And yes, only the score from a single test sitting that you present in your application will be reviewed.

While no specific duration of work experience is mandated, HBS believes its MBA programme can be impactful for students with as little as two to three years of work experience.

Although students are encouraged to draw on personal resources wherever possible, approximately 75 per cent of Harvard Business School students with a demonstrated financial need receive some form of financial assistance, which is composed of a combination of fellowships and loans. Incidentally, nearly 50 per cent of the Class of 2009 received an average $22,000 p.a. in need-based HBS Fellowships.

Distance learning

Q. I am working as reader (history) in inter-college. I had completed my B.Ed in 2008. Now I want to do M.Ed through correspondence. Could you please suggest some recognised universities?

— Kavita Dua

A. Working teachers who have completed their BEd can now opt for MEd through distance learning offered by various institutions/universities approved by the Distance Education Council (DEC).

The DCE and National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) have jointly developed a national-level curriculum for the M.Ed programme that is used by several universities as study material.

Nearly 30 universities offer M.Ed (DE) courses. I am listing a few of them in these parts, for you:

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (www.ignou.ac.in)

Course: M. Ed programme (at all-India level)

Designed jointly by the Distance Education Council (DEC), IGNOU and NCTE the two-year M. Ed. Programme is offered through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system.

Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal (MP)

Himachal Pradesh University, International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning, Shimla 171005 (http://hpuniv.nic.in)

Vardhaman Mahaveer University, Akelgarh, Kota (Raj) (www.vmoukota.com)

Kurukshetra University, Directorate of Distance Education (www.kukinfo.com)

Mahrishi Dayanand University, Directorate of Distance Education, Rohtak 124001 (Har) MEd (two-year correspondence)

Nalanda Open University, Patna

Panjab University, Department of Correspondence Studies, Chandigarh 160014 (www.puchd.ac.in)

Punjabi University, Department of Correspondence Studies, Patiala 147002 (www.universitypunjabi.org)

Destination Harvard

Q. I’m very keen to do MBA from Harvard. What kind of GMAT score will get me in? As I will be taking my GMAT for the second time, can I list only my best GMAT score? Are there any chances of getting a scholarship? How many years of work experience are required?

— Bijoy Das

A. The full range of GMAT scores being very broad, there is no “minimum” score requirement. However, 50 per cent of the Class of 2009 scored between 700 and 740 on the GMAT. Moreover, the GMAT is just one piece of data among the many (your essay, interview, work-ex, transcripts, recommendations etc), which are used to evaluate an application.

And yes, only the score from a single test sitting that you present in your application will be reviewed.

While no specific duration of work experience is mandated, HBS believes its MBA programme can be impactful for students with as little as two to three years of work experience.

Although students are encouraged to draw on personal resources wherever possible, approximately 75 per cent of Harvard Business School students with a demonstrated financial need receive some form of financial assistance, which is composed of a combination of fellowships and loans. Incidentally, nearly 50 per cent of the Class of 2009 received an average $22,000 p.a. in need-based HBS Fellowships.

Be a trendsetter
Usha Albuquerque

Where would the latest designer collection be without those funky bangles? Which college student will like to be caught without the latest design of mobile? And who hasn’t heard of Svorovski or Tiffany?

Fashion is nothing without accessories. Jewellery, watches, bags, shoes, scarves, belts and broaches have become necessities today. Your accessories can, without exaggeration, make or break your outfit, and your image. From earrings and beaded necklaces to handbags and shoes, accessories catch the eye and make the clothes more appealing. Fashion accessories used by both men and women add a distinguishing detail and style to an outfit. It is no wonder that accessory and lifestyle design is an integral part of fashion design.

In India, jewellery has traditionally been the essential accessory. But today although jewellery continues to be a big attraction, new designs, costume jewellery and a range of other accessories have also entered this field. Lakme Fashion Week, India’s most prestigious fashion event has even introduced an Accessory Designer show to showcase designs of different accessories like costume jewellery, hand bags, headgears, shoes, belts, scarves and stoles.

There are many kinds of accessories, from fashion items to lifestyle goods. Fashion accessories can include jewellery of all kinds, as well as watches, handbags, shoes and scarves in all kinds of materials. Today lifestyle accessories like giftware, glassware, silverware and other lifestyle products have been transformed from mere utility based products to a fashion statement, integrating aesthetics values with practicality. Leather, too, is a major accessory product, maybe even bigger for accessories than for clothes. Footwear design and technology is also coming up in a big way.

On course

Several undergraduate, diploma and certificate courses in accessory and lifestyle designing are offered in India. The minimum qualification for these courses is Plus II pass with any subject. The course duration varies between one to four years depending upon the courses and institutes which offer it.

Some premier institutes offer several courses in accessory and lifestyle designing. While some like NIFT and NID offer accessory and lifestyle design courses, there are those that just cover jewellery, or only accessory design.

Accessory Design course offered by the Department of Fashion & Lifestyle Accessories at NIFT covers the entire spectrum of accessories and lifestyle products, precious and costume jewellery, leather goods, footwear, watches, giftware, tableware, silverware, other lifestyle products and visual merchandising. Students can take up the preferred specialisation.

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad also offers a PG diploma in lifestyle accessory design. Appeejay Institute of Design, New Delhi, and IILM School of Design offer jewellery design courses.

Raffles Design Institute in Delhi and Mumbai also offers courses in jewellery design. Arch Academy of Design, Jaipur, Design & Innovation Academy (DIA), Noida South Delhi Polytechnic and several others also offer courses in jewellery and accessory design. Institutes specialising in jewellery design include Jewellery Product Development Centre, New Delhi; National Institute of Jewellery Design and Technology, New Delhi, Gemological Institute of India (GII), Mumbai and Indian Diamond Institute, Surat.

The Footwear Design Development Institute FDDI at Noida set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, offers undergraduate and post-graduate diploma courses in leather and accessory design.

Opportunities

With training in accessory design you can work as a designer, brand manager or product manager, or in visual merchandising in the broad areas of precious and costume jewellery, leather goods, giftware, tableware, watches, footwear, handicrafts and lifestyle products. An accessory designer has a variety of work areas in the fashion industry to choose from. You can work with a known accessory designer or with a company manufacturing fashion items like watches, scarves, buttons, broaches, hairclips, etc. With many international brands of jewellery and watches such as Swarovski, Tiffany, Michael Aram, Frazer & Haws making an entry into the country there is an increasing demand for trained professionals to work in marketing and display of products, as also designing with many of the domestic companies such as Hidesign, Liberty Shoes Ltd., Gitanjali Jewellery VIP Luggage, Tanishq, Titan, and many others.

If you are interested in jewellery design you can work with a jewellery manufacturing house. Even traditional jewellery houses are now employing trained designers, especially for the export-oriented items. Those specialising in leather or footwear can take up employment with manufacturer or marketing of handbags, belts, wallets, etc., or in a footwear manufacturing company. With some experience you can also start a design studio or a manufacturing unit of your own.

Skill set

Not everybody can be a designer, though. There are certain personal attributes that you need to before you decide to become an Accessory Designer. You must have natural talent and a flair for sketching and designing; creativity; sense of colour and an eye for details

There are certain personality traits that you can also acquire and these involve, being computer-friendly, aware of international fashion trends, and of course, a keen interest in fashion and styling.

So if you think you have the talent, accessory design can bring you solid work, good money, big names, and, of course, certified glamour, that comes along with the hard work.

Many faces of design

Jewellery Design: Jewellery houses and export companies employ accessory designers to recreate old designs or, of course, create completely new ones. Jewellery designing is undertaken for costume jewellery and for precious jewellery. As costume jewellery can be made of any material or stone, it requires great imagination and innovation. Precious jewellery is valued for the quality of the gems, such as diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphire, their rarity and appearance as well as the design of jewellery. Designers therefore need to be knowledgeable about the raw materials and their handling. Jewellery designers today also design other accessories such as watches, broaches, badges and bracelets.

Leather Design: Leather designers create and develop new patterns. They ensure that the texture of the leather is good and that there are a variety of colours. In fact, with the growing demand for leather goods, the computer aided design (CAD) system is being widely used in some of the prominent leather and footwear design institutes. Technical qualifications are needed for this aspect of design since designers need to work with leather technologists and marketing specialists.

Footwear Design: Work involves creating new styles of footwear, and sometimes new uses for particular designs. They develop patterns and grade them, according to which samples are made. The entire design process has now become highly mechanised, involving the use of computer aided design systems. There are many kinds of footwear… leather and rubber, synthetics and plastics and assorted others, including canvas and jute that are designed in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Lifestyle design: The entire spectrum of lifestyle products, including glass products, giftware, tableware, silverware and many other lifestyle products, are designed and created keeping in mind the customers tastes and requirements. Lifestyle designers often create a demand around a product or design by the ingenious use of different materials and imaginative and aesthetic products. Small workshops and firms usually work for orders linking the products to fashion houses or for particular wholesalers and retail outlets. Lifestyle accessory designers also work as in-house or freelance designers who design and craft these accessories. 

Women more resilient

Corporate leaders around the world believe women employees possess more resilience than men, when it comes to overcoming challenges and turning them into opportunities, a survey by global IT consultancy Accenture says.

The survey of more than 500 senior executives from across 20 countries including India stated that showing resilience has increasingly become the key to retaining a job".

“More than two-thirds (71 per cent) of corporate leaders reported that resilience was very to extremely important in determining who to retain,” it revealed. About 53 per cent respondents said that women were “very to extremely” resilient, while 51 per cent said the same about men.

Interestingly, about 60 per cent of the senior level executives in various companies said that they are providing women with career enhancing assignments. About 40 per cent are preparing women for senior management roles, it added.

“Resilience — combination of adaptability, flexibility and strength of purpose — may be the new criterion for professional advancement. In the current world of economic uncertainty and intense competitiveness, firms that instill resilience in their up-and-coming leadership will have a clear advantage,” Accenture Chief Leadership Officer Adrian Lajtha said. The Accenture survey stated that despite the economic downturn, many corporate professional development programmes specific to women remain intact.

“Just under one half (48 per cent) of all respondents reported making no changes in the past year to leadership programmes for women, and 48 per cent did not alter coaching and mentoring programmes specific to women,” it found.

The survey also asked respondents what actions their companies have taken to support women’s career development, and almost five in 10 said they provide internal mentors or work-life balance programmes. — PTI 

Check your NET worth
Yogesh Bansal

What’s your status on Facebook or Orkut? How active are you on social networking sites? These are some of the questions nowadays are asked by companies during the interviews for recruitment.Yes, gone are the days when you shall be asked about your future plans and your reason for joining a company. In today’s time an employer would like to know about what all information is shared by the candidate on social networking sites.

 This has emerged as an important criterion for selecting or rejecting candidates. As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more and more employers are utilising these sites to screen potential employees.

According to the findings of a survey conducted by CareerBuilder India, 73 per cent employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. Another 15 per cent plan to start using social networking sites for screening.

The findings of the survey are as follows:

Road to rejection

Forty-two percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top reasons were:

l Candidate lied about qualifications — 48 per cent

l Candidate showed poor communication skills — 31 per cent

l Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients -19 per cent

l Candidate shared confidential information from previous employer – 19 per cent

l Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 12 per cent

l Candidate made discriminatory comments —11 per cent

l Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information — 9 per cent

Getting hired

Job seekers are also encouraged to leverage social media in advertising their skills and experience. Half (48 per cent) of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate. The top reasons include:

l Profile supported candidate’s professional qualifications — 59 per cent

l Candidate showed solid communication skills — 40 per cent

l Candidate was well-rounded — 38 per cent

l Profile provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality and fit —27 per cent

l Candidate seemed creative — 26 per cent

l Candidate conveyed a professional image — 26 per cent

l Other people posted good references about the candidate — 19 per cent

l Candidate had received awards and accolades — 17 per cent

Recommendations

l Do clean up digital dirt before you begin your job search. Remove any photos, content and links that can work against you in an employer’s eyes.

l Do consider creating your own professional group on sites like Facebook or BrightFuse.com to establish relationships with thought leaders, recruiters and potential referrals.

l Do keep gripes offline. Keep the content focused on the positive, whether that relates to professional or personal information. Make sure to highlight specific accomplishments inside and outside of work.

l Don’t forget others can see your friends, so be selective about who you accept as friends. Monitor comments made by others. Consider using the “block comments” feature or setting your profile to “private” so only designated friends can view it.

l Don’t mention your job search if you’re still employed.

So go ahead make the best use of the platform provided (networking sites) to create your brand and advertise your skills for the employers. It is emerging as a convenient mode of connecting with the prospective employers and creating your brand image across the internet.

(The writer is CEO of apnacircle. com)

‘Passionate’ Indians

Indians have emerged at the top when it comes to being passionate about their jobs, with a full 72 per cent employees surveyed being confident about their personal growth and future of their companies, a survey has said.

According to the survey by global HR solutions provider Kenexa, the global average for being passionate about jobs is 56 per cent, while this is topped by Indians and at the bottom is the Japanese employees with only 41 per cent of them being passionate about their jobs.

As many as 72 per cent of Indian employees surveyed are passionate about their jobs. India is followed by Brazil at 63 per cent, Canada at 60 per cent, the US and Germany 59 per cent each, says the survey.

Indians are passionate about their jobs, when their skills and abilities are put to good use, their company supports work/life balance, have confidence in the company’s future, have opportunity to improve their skills and are recognised for their work.

“Similar to romantic passion, workers won’t put up with a miserable relationship with their employers for long. As the economic outlook continues to improve, it would behove leaders to ‘play cupid’. Elevating an employee’s passion for his/her job will keep employees happy and committed, even when other attractive opportunities come their way,” Kenexa Research Institute’s Brenda Kowske said. Having passion for one’s job is defined by the extent to which an employee is excited about his/her work, feels a sense of personal accomplishment, is satisfied with the company, believes she or he has a future at the organisation and rarely thinks about finding a new job, the Kenexa survey says.

The survey covered workers from Brazil, UK, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE, and the US. — PTI

Happiness work
Gems of ancient wisdom
Get right men for the job

  While embarking on a task tougher than normal, it is vital that you choose the right persons for the job.Ravana knew humans and animals were no match for his vast strength and so did the gods. As Ravana didn’t ask for protection against them, the gods had to be born as these ‘lowly’ creatures — Vishnu was born as Rama, Sheshnag as Lakshman, Hanuman had Vayu’s strength, Sugriva had Surya’s grace and Nal was Vishwakarma’s son. These mortals with divine qualities managed to kill the mighty demon King.

As a result of a boon, only a woman could kill Mahishasura, but such a woman could not be found. So the Trinity and the gods pooled in their resources and thus emerged Devi. This 18-armed goddess had all the powers of the Trinity and weapons of the gods.

Tough tasks require the services of tough men. To temper the impact of Ganga on her descent to the Earth and to consume the Halahal poison that emerged during the churning of the ocean, the greatest yogi — Shiva — was called for.

In the sixth century BC, King Bhattiya chose his fourth son Bimbisara to succeed him. The ruler had set up a series of tests which Bimbisara cleared while his three elder brothers failed miserably.

As Valmiki sat down to write humanity’s first epic, he wondered who its protagonist could be. “Only the peerless Rama is fit for that role,” said Narada.

On their first meeting, Rama realised Hanuman was the ideal messenger. Hanuman, the first among the astute, proved him right when he conveyed the prince of Ayodhya’s message to Sita without frightening her at Asoka Vana.

Get apt men to see job done!

— Sai R. Vaidyanathan

The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com 

Fortnightly Quiz-357

1. Which bill, passed in the Rajya Sabha recently, seeks to provide 33 per cent seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies?

2. Which country’s billionaire has emerged as the richest person in the world - with $ 53.5 billion in assets - according to the US magazine Forbes’ annual list?

3. Which movie on Iraq war won six Oscars recently?

4. Who recently created history by becoming the first woman to win an Oscar in the best director category?

5. Which Indian city is the best to live in as per the Livability Index 2010, prepared by the CII and the Institute for Competitiveness ?

6. Name the youngest parliamentarian of India who figures in the list of young global leaders for 2010, prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

7. Where is Asia’s largest naval academy situated?

8. What is the full form of MCOCA?

9. Which legendary Indian all-rounder was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame recently?

10. Which country won the World Cup Hockey tournament recently?  — Tarun Sharma

Winners of quiz 356

The first prize by draw of lots goes to Harman Dang, class VII-B, St Joseph’s Convent School, Gurdaspur Road, Pin Code - 145001

Second: Vishav Kumar, class VIII-A, DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Lakkar Bazar, Shimla , Pin Code - 171001

Third: Ayush Monga, class VI-C, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, Ludhiana, Pin Code - 141001

Answers to quiz 356: Sachin Tendulkar; India; 8.8; February 28; Jaipur (Vidhyakpuri polce station); Morarji Desai; Ram Baran Yadav; Japan; Hyderabad; 414/7 against Sri Lanka at Rajkot

Cash awards of Rs 400, 300 and 200 are given to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. These are sent at the school address.Answers can also be sent at quiz@tribunemail.com