BUSINESS TODAY

There are five pirates who have to split 1,000 bars of gold. They all line up and proceed as follows: the first pirate in line gets to propose a way to split up the gold (for example: everyone gets 200 bars). The pirates, including the one who proposed, vote on whether to accept the proposal. If the proposal is rejected, the pirate who made the proposal is killed. The next pirate in line then makes his proposal, and the four pirates vote again. If the vote is tied, then the proposing pirate is still killed. A proposal is accepted if and only if a majority of the pirates agrees on it. The process continues until a proposal is accepted or there is only one pirate left.

Assume that all pirates want to be alive; they are very greedy; being pirates they want to see other pirates dead; and all of them are excellent puzzle solvers. What proposal should the first pirate make?

At a Barista outlet opposite their Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus in the leafy south Delhi borough Hauz Khas, Thomson Thayil and Nitin Arora pore over a well-thumbed paperback copy of The Great Book Of Puzzles and Teasers, looking for clues to put the pirates out of their misery. Oblivious to the chatter emanating from the milling evening crowd at the coffee pub, Thayil and Arora scribble on a scrap of paper, in what looks like a sporadic burst of ideas. One scratches his forehead with the pencil butt, and the other detachedly sips his Espresso. The stare-scribble-scratch-sip routine continues, only to be disturbed by the arrival of friends who share their knowledge of newer puzzles doing the rounds in the "circuit".

Thayil and friends are not part of some secret geek society that's into cracking puzzles just for kicks. They are bona fide job seekers. And increasingly, Indian companies, especially in the information technology (it) sector, are using analytical puzzles as a recruitment tool to mark out the brainiest. And being final year students, this group of IITians is keen on making the cut.

"Academic record is not necessarily the best measure of a candidate's ability. And since the interview time at campuses is very limited, we go in for these puzzles," says Vivek Govilkar, Head of human resource (hr) and training at i-flex Solutions. The puzzle test is usually administered along with the technical test, and flunking it usually means goodbye.

Every puzzle doesn't have a straight numerical answer. Some might even be too enigmatic to have anything resembling an unfuzzy answer.

Then there are the trick questions, the active use of which was popularised by that repository of grey matter, Microsoft, in its quest for creative talent. The questions that Microsoft uses are often open-ended, with assorted answers deemed acceptable (for instance, 'What is the quantum of water that flows through the river Mississippi each minute?'). What do Microsoft's riddles do? More than suitability for geekdom, they test nascent leadership skills.

Are Indian recruiters following Microsoft? Well, as competition for jobs stiffens, and it firms try ascending the so-called value scale, you can expect the brain-wrackers to go up the curve as well. Already, there are signs that the top Indian it companies like Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and i-flex-which do more than plain vanilla coding-are on the lookout for whizkids who aren't just nerdy number-crunchers, but are also equipped with the ability to think beyond algorithms.

As Infosys says, logical faculties alone are never enough. "We look for the ability to deal with context invariant abstractions," says a company spokesperson, "arrive at linkages and create logical constructs which can be used to solve unfamiliar problems. Various tools like puzzles and riddles are used to determine these abilities."

Most of the puzzles used are devised by specialised international agencies, and since the same set of questions (with a few tweaks) is used on multiple occasions, the companies prefer to keep it all confidential. But engineering students have their own way of staying a few steps ahead of the system. "As soon as someone takes a test," explains Sumit Nain, a final year IITian, "he informs friends and contacts across several campuses by putting the questions up on the internet." "Even if you get to know the broad pattern of the puzzles, it becomes much easier to solve them," he adds. As job interviews near, puzzle books written by George Summers and Shakuntala Devi are something students swear by.

And if the pirates' booty is still bothering you, this is how they split it: the first pirate keeps 997 coins, gives none to the pirate next in line, one to the fella after that, none to the fourth pirate and two to the last man in line. Believe it or not, it's the best outcome for three of the five. Go figure.

Sure it is sooo personal, sure it's your choice-but you could still do with help.

Selecting soul sustenance, that is, at a good music store. So don't growl off the pesky guy peering over your shoulder. The assistant might actually be DJ-just-my-thing, given a few hints. Says Deepak G., Manager (hr), Music World,

"We recruit young, enthusiastic people who have an intrinsic love for music and have thorough knowledge of at least one genre-Hindi or western movie soundtracks, pop, reggae, rock, western or Indian classical and so on. Then we train them on the rest." What do they earn? Rs 3,000-4,000 per month, plus millions more-in kind.

Indian companies, specially IT ones, are using analytical puzzles as a tool to mark out the brains.

I am a software engineer with a specialisation in embedded technology. At present, I'm working at one of the very few semiconductor companies in India, but my growth prospects look far from promising. Since chip-designing is still a thing of the future in India, there are few job opportunities in the area and so I am finding it hard to make a job-switch. Emigration to major chip-designing hubs like Taiwan or USA is also not feasible for me, and my qualifications will come to naught if I quit this line. What should I do?

Chip-designing is a nascent field in India. While not much has happened in the past, it is quite possible that the profession rises exponentially in the future. However, for now, you must realise that very few people do jobs that are directly related to their formal academic qualifications; sometimes because of a change in interest, and sometimes because circumstances demand a change. You need to decide how passionate you are about your specialisation. Is there any other field that interests you and also has more opportunities to offer? If yes, make a switch. But if you do not want to change, accept the reality of your circumstances. Either way, you need to make a decision and stop whining.

I work as a senior supply-chain executive on a tea estate. I've been in the tea industry for the last 15 years and joined this tea estate about four years ago. The prospects are good here, but I feel lonely doing the job. Life on a tea estate is monotonous, and despite all the clubs, pools and the so-called 'good life', I yearn for some excitement. Are all old-world institutions so boring? How can I break the monotony?

Sometimes, when we make a career choice, we do not realise the implications of that choice. Life on a tea estate is suitable for a few, while it is not so for others-you being one in the latter category. Having said that, I must warn you that with the kind of specialisation you have acquired over the years at tea estates, it is going to be difficult for you to change. However, you would do well to look for opportunities in the supply chain management of other food products. This will not only break the monotony, but would give you a different kind of experience as well.

I am a microbiologist working for a leading liquor company. There is demand for people like me in this industry, but when it comes to compensation, I see an increasing number of salesmen from the FMCG and consumer durables sector flocking in and getting paid huge salaries. As a microbiologist, my role is more technical and I look after the R&D wing of the organisation. Despite putting in substantial time and effort in the job I'm assigned, I take home a pay-packet that's much lower than what the marketing and sales people get. Why is there such disparity?

Traditionally, marketing and sales have been handsomely rewarded in competitive industries because they are seen to be bringing in the revenues. However, there are many factors that influence compensation-supply and demand, perception of criticality of function, industry practices, hours or hardship, decision-making, and contribution to the bottomline, being some of them. You have chosen a particular profession and a disparity between your profession and others is natural. And that is the reality you have to accept. Else, switch to a higher-paying function.

I teach botany at the university level. Over the years, I've gained useful insights into the corporate sector while working on projects for some pharma companies. And since herbal care is also emerging as a major growth area, I've been approached by a few beauty and cosmetic companies to take up various projects. I feel shifting to the corporate sector may not be a bad idea after 12 years of teaching experience. What kind of avenues do I have for moving to the corporate world? Is it the right decision?

You could apply for jobs in the R&D departments of companies in industries like pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. Another viable choice for you could be a job in the chemical industry. Choose a job that would be relevant to the kind of research you do. Moving to the corporate sector surely isn't a bad option, but you must keep in mind that the autonomy that you may have had in academia may not hold true once you are in a company with an organisational hierarchy. If you are willing to adjust, go right ahead.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055.

Actuaries are grim people, you'd think. These are the folk entrusted with the task of counting the dead and estimating the probabilities needed to price insurance deals. Or, as the 2,500-member Actuarial Society of India (ASI) puts it, "Experts who assess the financial impact of tomorrow's uncertain events and enable financial decisions to be made with more confidence by analysing the past, modelling the future, assessing the risks involved, and communicating what the results mean in financial terms."

We don't know about grim, but busy they most certainly have been. When Indian insurance was thrown open to competition in 1999, demand for actuaries was projected to explode. And so it did, as number-crunchers (grads and postgrads) swarmed in for training. "The industry is in an expansionary mode," says Liyaquat Khan, President, ASI, adding that 2002-03 saw some 800 wanting to sign up. The pay? A monthly Rs 25,000-30,000 to start with and perhaps Rs 1 lakh-plus, five years into it. But it's not just numbers. "We hire for attitude," says V. Rajagopalan, Chief Actuary, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which has 10 actuaries, "and train for skills."

But surely, demand must be saturated now. Isn't it time for a bust? No, say actuaries, hopeful of opportunities in other fields. "Globally," says Khan, "50 per cent of the actuaries are employed in insurance, while the rest are in pension, social security and financial services, particularly asset liability management."

Retail Thinks Again
It's the people-equations, silly

Moment of truth: set that example

First came the snazz and granite, the retail hardware. Now comes the customer interaction bit, the software. And retailers need customer service professionals, not shopboys who leer at your wife headed for the changing room.

"Nowadays customers want to be treated special," affirms Navneet Trikha, Deputy Manager (hr), Shoppers' Stop, "They come in not to just buy and be off with it, but for a shopping 'experience' as we call it here. And therefore, the best bet for any store to succeed is to employ customer-service professionals- who can convince the customer that it is a pleasure for the store to have him as a visitor-and make the product sale merely 'incidental'."

And who make good conviction artists? Trikha looks for four attributes: positive attitude, ego moderation, humility and "a natural smile". The big hurdle is that people who could charm customers tend to shy away from such 'salesman' jobs. The challenge is to dignify it, the way network marketers have done so admirably, and that could mean the CEO having to set a 'moment of truth' frontline example. Starbucks' customer care model could serve a lesson too.

-Ananya Roy