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Job
seekers are in for a stroke of midnight-hour luck. Their New Year
celebrations this time will not be a case of willing suspension
of disbelief. Lots of jobs are headed India's way in 2005-a key
year for globalisation.
The big 'O' in the story here is 'outsourcing',
which is projected to gain momentum as it envelops the entire world
of business (instead of just leading-edge globalisers). But even
domestic jobs could grow rapidly if India's economic growth spreads
more evenly across sectors, and business shifts gears from cost-efficiency
to true market expansion.
Palpable Optimism
Listen to professionals in touch with recruitment
trends. Says Arun Tadanki, President and MD, Monster.com Asia: "The
job market in the private sector in 2005 will be the strongest in
the last 10 years." He even calls it a "hotter job market
than in the tech boom in 1999-2000".
Adds R. Suresh, MD, Stanton Chase International:
"I expect a 50 per cent increase in top-level jobs compared
to last year. And top-level appointments will happen across sectors,
from infrastructure to automobile and auto ancillary to healthcare
and financial services."
Trend Acceleration
The youth-hog of the country will continue
to be the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which is expected
to take in 1,50,000 fresh people next year. Also, as BPO units scale
their way up the value chain, they want people for more and more
sophisticated jobs. Basic entry-level process recruiting will continue,
but at least a tenth of the new jobs would demand analytical skills.
Remember, software exports are also part of
the larger outsourcing phenomenon, and this sector is experiencing
a boom. According to K. Pandia Rajan, MD, Ma Foi, an hr consultancy,
the boom will extend nicely into 2005, unless there is a government
policy goof-up or some international shock. A recent Ma Foi survey
(see Minor Surprises later in this section) points towards information
technology (it) and it-enabled services (ITES) as the hottest recruiter
in the immediate future. Monster.com's Tadanki, for his part, expects
2005 to generate some 1,20,000 new software jobs in India.
The resurgent manufacturing sector too promises
thousands of new jobs, especially in the auto ancillary sector that
is joining the global outsourcing chain, even as the local auto
sector thrives. Oil and gas, and power are also expected to recruit
many more people. Then, in organised retail, an estimated 30,000
direct recruits would be needed, in addition to many more indirect.
The hot specialisations: merchandising, buying, sourcing and supply
chain management. Of course, the letting in of foreign retail chains
could give the entire sector a huge fillip, thanks to the stimulus
of fresh competition.
Don't forget the insurance and private banking
sectors; both have big expansion plans. Private banks vying for
larger asset bases of retail loans, for example, would need additional
manpower to cover new territory. In the reckoning of Atul Vohra,
md, Transreach India, lots of new people would be needed just for
retail banking to increase its geographical coverage, with some
analysts predicting that some 25,000 may be added this year.
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Many of the new
jobs in 2005 will be on account of the scheduled changes in
the pace of globalisation
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New Opportunities
Many of the new jobs will be on account of
the scheduled changes in the pace of globalisation. World trade
in textiles and clothes, for example, will follow regular rules
of competitiveness once the big markets of the rich world phase
out their import quotas. In anticipation of a larger global market
share, India's big textile and apparel companies have already started
ramping up operations and taking in people.
The other big 2005 event is the shift to a
product patent regime for pharmaceuticals, which is expected to
reload the sector's recruitment dice in favour of research. Biotech,
another hot emerging sector, will also be busy recruiting researchers
and scientists, though not in vast numbers. A related opportunity
lies in turning India into a global medical care hub, which could
spell large recruitments made by healthcare chains as they prepare
to treat the rich world's patients at a fraction of the cost in
their home countries.
So, what else to expect this year? "The
attrition rates in sectors like software will rise to 15 per cent,
affecting productivity and profit margins for the industry. The
wage inflation will be close to 20 per cent, and the job seeker
will be the new king," concludes Tadanki. Sound the bugles,
unfurl the streamers. There's quite a year ahead.
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| NIFT grad Vandana Gupta: Designing a
success story |
SPOTLIGHT
Apparel Designers
Becoming an apparel
designer is not about joining India's air-kissing glam set. It is
about India's export competitiveness, according to Vandana Gupta,
29, Head of Design for the India office of a UK-based apparel retailer.
"Design," she says, "will play a big role in scoring
over China." A graduate of NIFT, she recommends formal training.
"Creativity alone is not enough. To stand out from the crowd
today, one needs a solid base, which only a good institute can provide."
Success, then, is about "very hard work and being able to deal
with all kinds of people, from customers to kaarigars". An
export house job would help pick up the threads on everything from
customer sensitivity and fabric feels to costing and embroidery.
The money will rise with India's export share.
-Payal Sethi
COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!
I am a 26-year-old working as a salesman for a private organisation.
Owing to lack of fluency in the English language, I am unable to
reach my targets within time. This has affected my performance severely.
I have attended several spoken and written English classes, but
that has not made much of a difference. My self esteem has taken
a beating because of my inadequacy. Please suggest how I can improve
my English, and my standing in my job, without spending a fortune.
Do not feel dejected; your problem is a universal one and is faced
by many people. If you have already attended English classes, it
implies that you have been introduced to the language and its fundamentals.
The best way to improve is to continue to practice one's verbal
skills. Friends and colleagues can help you in correcting your mistakes.
Keep speaking and practising and learn from your mistakes. Also,
try and evaluate the reasons for your non-performance; are there
other issues besides language? Apart from working on your fluency
of English, focus on enhancing your communication skills as it could
play a vital role in being successful, especially in a job like
yours.
I am a 29-year-old MBA with specialisation
in marketing, and am currently working as an assistant sales manager
in a company based in Lucknow. My company is shutting shop. Therefore,
we are all left with only a month's notice period. Though I do have
five years of experience, being a graduate through correspondence,
I feel that I would be unable to find another job of the same profile
and pay package within this time period. What should I do?
Your main focus at this point in time should
be on finding a good job that allows you to learn and grow. While
you may not find the same role and remuneration, it would definitely
help you if you applied in cities other than Lucknow since opportunities
there may be limited. In case you have the resources at your disposal,
you could also consider doing a full-time mba programme, which would
be a definite asset. Alternatively, try doing an evening marketing
management programme, which would also improve your chances of finding
a job.
I am a business administration graduate
with more than 20 years of experience in marketing. I had to leave
my job a couple of years back due to medical reasons. Though marketing
is my area of specialisation, my true interest lies in counselling.
I had applied for jobs in HR but due to my past professional exposure
to marketing, prospective employers feel that I may not be suitable.
I even thought of starting my own bureau, but this would require
references. Is it too late to hope for a switch? Please advise.
You have not mentioned if you have acquired
any qualification in the HR/behavioural science field. An interest
in a subject is not enough to make a switch. It is unlikely that
anyone will employ you on the basis of your interest. Then, if you
enter the field of counselling without training, you could give
wrong advice. Spend time in learning and training, and then apply
for jobs in consulting firms and hr service companies. You may not
start at top levels and might have to work at mid- to junior-management
levels before developing a significant experience base and exposure.
I am a 36-year-old electronics engineer
with over 11 years experience. My problem is that I have not been
getting my due at my workplace because I suffer from a hearing handicap.
I do use a hearing aid and have no problems in inter-office communication.
Lately, I have been planning to change my job, but when I mention
my hearing handicap in my resume, I instantly get rejected. I am
contemplating withholding information about my hearing handicap,
but that would be tantamount to cheating. What should I do?
It is imperative that you are honest with your
potential employer. Your problem is not an uncommon one and if you
are using a hearing aid, you are surely not on very shaky ground.
However, if the problem is coming in the way of effective performance,
you must realise this and try to work harder to achieve your objectives.
If your achievements are visible, then your problem will not come
in the way of finding a good job. Further, professional companies
usually don't discriminate on the basis of physical challenges of
an individual, so you may like to apply there.
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..
Minor
Surprises
Hot sectors as identified
by Ma Foi's survey.
Did
you think of healthcare-largely state-dominated still-as the sector
most confident of fresh hiring in India? That's among the minor
surprises thrown up by an employment survey just conducted by hr
consultancy firm Ma Foi across a sample of 3,295 varied firms, its
fieldwork done by Taylor-Nielsen Sofres (TNS).
The thing to track is the Ma Foi Employment
Index (MEI; see chart), which is the 'prospective net percentage
growth in employment over the present levels and is based on the
absolute number of jobs being created in the quarter', as the consultancy
words it. The topper on this chart is information technology &
information technology enabled services (IT & ITES), with a
figure more than twice the second most hiring-happy sector, exports
and imports (Exim). But watch out for the latter, says Sangeeta
Sabharwal, Executive Director (Search Business), Ma Foi. With falling
trade barriers and growing outsourcing, "the employment index
for the Exim sector would further shoot up", she expects. Analysed
by ownership, PSUs are expected to reduce staffing, while public
listed firms hire the most. By way of size, it's the smaller firms
that are the most gung-ho on recruitment.
-Ananya Roy
Trading
Salaries
Bringing in dollars
and raising employment too.
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| Hot! Exim sector promises
increased hiring in 2005 |
With
India set to double its share of global merchandise trade ahead
of its targeted deadline of 2007, things are hotting up on the export-import
(Exim) front. Naturally, this would translate into increased hiring.
And for some good professional jobs too. The days are long gone
that being in the 'import-export' business-often disclosed in a
conspiratorial whisper-was shorthand for something too underhand
to find out more about.
India's college leavers have more than an inkling
about all this, as it seems. For just 120 seats in international
business, the prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)
got 30,000 applicants this year. And where would these professionals
head? To high-opportunity zones. Suddenly, there appear to be many.
"We expect the textile business to grow, particularly when
the quota regime goes off," says Saurabh Dixit, President (Group
HR), Adani Group, a major exporter, "Exports of agro commodities
will also rise on the back of good monsoons resulting in a bumper
foodgrain crop. Considering the coal mining constraint in India
and developments in the power sector, trade in energy products will
also get a substantial boost."
-Payal Sethi
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