40 Things to Do When You're Fired!

Who said being fired was the end of the road. Your life may well have just begun!

1. Go for a walk A long walk. Preferably barefoot on a very long strip of beach. Imagine you're leaving the past job and past life behind you with every step you take. Throwing pebbles and large stones into the ocean optional. Avoid swimmers even if they resemble old colleagues.
2. Make a list of everything you hated about your job Keep referring to it when you feel like screaming.
3. Make a list of everything you hate about yourself Burn that list in a little bonfire in a midnight ritual - you are now ready to resume life as a new, improved YOU.
4. Go to your favourite restaurant Order everything you've ever wanted to eat there and eat it all at once. Then order some more.
5. Go for a long swim in the ocean Pretend you're never coming back - but make sure you can. Alert lifeguard on duty before you embark on this exercise.
6. Go for a cruise in your car blasting your favorite song at full volume Then sing along at the top of your voice and don't mind the stares you get from scared or concerned motorists. If your boss sees you, all the better...
7. Take up kickboxing in the evenings A great way to vent your anger and frustration and at the same time network with other angry overworked, underpaid or unemployed professionals.
8. Go somewhere you've always wanted to go Whether it be that 5-bedroom motel in a neighbouring village, a riverside shack in Thailand or a 5* hotel in Switzerland now is the time to indulge. Make sure you stay long enough to unwind without depleting your hard-earned savings.
9. Get your finances in order Make sure you are on a sustainable budget and that your savings are invested at the optimal risk/ reward ratio given your age, state of unemployment and expenditures.
10. Buy a trashy novel and read it all in one go Comfy pillow and assorted junk food items need to be at hand.
11. Call your best childhood friend Cry to her/him about the injustice and degradation of it all
12. Go window-shopping in the most expensive part of town Make a mental inventory of all those items you will buy when you land the next job.
13. Open a cook book and make a lavish dinner for 20 Invite everyone you can locate at short notice. Tell them all when they come that you're looking for a job.
14. Go for a manicure/pedicure Whine to the manicurist about the perils and boredom of unemployment.
15. Go for a long massage Then have them remove you supine, on a stretcher.
16. Go through your old photographs Remember what it was like when you had your whole life ahead of you and the world seemed plush with opportunities. Stay in that mind-frame.
17. Buy all the flavours of your favorite ice-cream brand Then invite one friend to a comedy movie night.
18. Organize all the cupboards in your house Purchase fragranced tissue lining paper, line your clothes closets and put one fragranced tissue paper on top of each meticulously folded item of clothing. Colour code your closets and tissue paper for an added sense of achievement.
19. Put fresh flowers in every corner and crevice of your house Nothing like that fresh scent and the sight of live blooms to lift your spirits.
20. Take up a new hobby Now is the time to discover and nurture the nascent Botticcelli or Tchaikovsky in you. Make sure to offend. Practice musical overtures on anyone who will listen (or won't) and make sure your artistic endeavours grace everything from the milk bottles you hand back to the milkman ev ery morning to the t-shirt your best friend lent you, the window that most overlooks the neighbours' living room and the dining room ceiling your husband took pains to plaster.
21. Go to Disneyworld Regress to that time in your life when only the important things mattered. Local variation on Disneyland will do if finances/ visa requirements/ state of nervous breakdown don't permit travel.
22. Learn a Language Buy a beret and enroll in an intensive French course or pick up German to go with your newly found infatuation with Beethoven. Make sure the course is a daily one and that you take pains to immerse yourself in the language and the culture.
23. Buy a Goldfish Name him after the manager who fired you. That way when the goldfish is deceased - and they have a horrible habit of doing that - your grief will be short-lived. In the meantime, admire the miraculous peace and serenity of this life form in your house. This is NOT a recipe for sushi.
24. Enrol in a Charity Nothing like doing good things for other people to lift the spirit and give you a sense of achievement and fulfillment. You don't need to feel very strongly about the charity - just do something that unselfishly puts you out on a limb for someone else's sake.
25. Open a stock trading account and try to beat the indices Move aside back issues of Cosmopolitan and Archie and start collecting finance and trade literature. You will also need spectacles (rectangular brown tortoise shell), a coffee maker and a computer in the bedroom. Can be done in your Tintin pajamas but make sure you only put your bowling money on the line at this stage.
26. Take up Photography Then redecorate your hallway with a series of bleached wood framed black-and-white photographs of your favorite person or scene.
27. Find a Friend with a Baby Nothing like spending time with a candy-wrapped bundle of innocence and laughs to recharge your batteries and remind you of what matters most.
28. Read Proust's Remembrances of Things Past And console yourself with dreams of buying a French chateau, complete with bubbles, when you succeed in your next job.
29. Do a thorough self-analysis Who are you really? What makes you tick? What do you really like and enjoy? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Where would you like to be? Put this self-analysis down on paper and use it to plan your next career move.
30. Take a Course Hone your skills whether they be business, finance, marketing or other by enrolling in the best course available, in or out of town, and giving it your all.
31. Start polishing your Job Search Skills Sift through job hunting articles on a major site's Career Center and read everything you can get a hold of on job hunting skills.
32. Learn to bake bread An endangered skill and one that is a conversation-stopper in cocktail parties and a sure winner if you are inviting your other half to an intimate dinner for two at home.
33. Exercise your body back into shape Who says you can't look like you did when you were twenty? Join a gym and attend daily for an hour; you should see results within 3 weeks.
34. Post your CV on the best regional internet job site Then lie back while the site's Saved Search does all the work.
35. Practice your interviewing skills on anyone who will listen Read Interview Tips and Interview Don'ts in Bayt.com's career center.
36. Don't waste time No time like the present to network, research companies you want to work for and apply to all the positions you find attractive on a regional job site.
37. Spread the grief Join a Workstyle Community Forum where you can share your experiences, ideas, hopes and aspirations with other professionals
38. Plan for Success Repeat 100 times:- You WILL succeed in your next job, you WILL succeed in your next job, you WILL succeed in your next job... envisioning yourself as a high flyer in your field. Then pick up a pen and paper and plan in intricate detail for that success.
39. Read industry literature Now is the time to catch up on all those trade magazines and periodicals you haven't had time to read on your job. Bringing yourself up to speed on the latest developments in your industry is sure to impress in your next interview.
40. Remember, the sky's the limit You will work hard, play fair and be good to those around you. In short, you will SUCCEED wildly, extravagantly and beyond your wildest dreams. You just need to get started...

Source: http://www.bayt.com/en/career-article-61/

Making HR Human Removers

The Global Slowdown - India Inc's Response and Its Cost to the Indian Worker

As the news of global slowdown perched on the Indian Economy, India Inc was quick to react to ensure that they were well insulated against "all the evils" of recession. And how did they go about doing it?

1. By Chopping their Workforce indiscriminately and making Performance the trump card for retention and separation.
2. By Freezing all Hiring activities - for all positions irrespective of importance.
3. By Shelving most of their investments and postponing all planned capital expenditures.
4. Delaying or moving out of moderate and high risk projects.
5. Renewing their focus on Productivity across the organization.

A careful look into the above measures show that most of these had a negative connotation, except of course the last one!. Years of rapid growth in some of the Industry Sectors had made us believe that we were on a long and swift journey towards economic progress - a journey that no force could stop or hinder. The Indian Economy exhibited such Confidence ( or arrogance if we look at it now) that no one had seen before. The world began to stand up and take notice. Welcome to the New and Strong India.

But Alas! As it always happens in romantic love stories, there arrived a villain - a brute force which was determined to play spoilsport with the emerging romance. Recession. Taken aback by the sudden onslaught of a never before seen force, India Inc. decided to act. And these acts were not anything unique or innovative - nor were they suitable to the Indian scenario. Most of the actions that followed were a typical copy of what their American Counterparts were doing. So, Whats the call for HR here? and Where did India Inc and the Government miss out?

Unlike in the US, where social security is provided to most workers, here in India such a social cover is virtually absent or totally inadequate. So that meant that when thousands of workers/ employees were asked to leave overnight, the burden of providing such security fell on the government's shoulders. I suspect if at all any of the Indian employers ever looked at alternative ways to cut labor costs?

Improving Productivity became the watchword for many companies, with several of them taking bold steps to enhance their output at all levels. But this effort seemed to be too little and too late for them to face the global crisis. This lack of focus on Productivity by India Inc during the good times should be attributed as one of the primary reasons why such massive layoffs were needed.


I was going through an interesting article which professed on why American Companies embrace Layoffs as the Best way of cutting labour costs. Click the link below to access this article.


Why is it that in a recessionary economy, employers primarily use layoffs to cut labor costs? Why don’t they look for alternatives?

Other related articles

• More than 5 Lakh Jobs would have been lost due to the slowdown - Business Standard

• Indian HR good at Cuddling and Poor in Chopping…- By Dr. PVRMurthy on the NHRD Blog
  

Effective Interviewing - A Guide for Recruiters

Of late I attended a few interviews for positions in some reputed Indian companies. The anticipation was indeed very high on my side since I believed that I was fortunate enough to be called for an interview amidst this global economic crisis.

But after the interview, I was more dismayed and disoriented by the whole process; with the Interviewer shooting questions that seemed to have little relevance to my profile! As the interview progressed I became aware that the interviewer had not done her homework of going through the Resume' in advance.

At the end of the interview I was disappointed on not being given an opportunity to discuss more on my qualities and fitment for the position!!!

Overall It seemed that the interviewer was content with completing a formality than to really assess the candidates' skills, ability and attitude. I believe that the interviewer was neither adequately trained on interviewing skills nor was she prepared in any way to manage the process.

Since then, I had been searching for some relevant material which would help interviewers conduct more fruitful interviews for both the interviewer and the interviewee.

Check out this Document by the American Management Association which talks about the THREE ESSENTIAL STEPS to be undertaken by the INTERVIEWER before the Interview. Besides it also discusses about the other Fundamental aspects of HRM such as Recruitment and On boarding Programs.

Download Here!

Also Check out the Basic Interviewing Tips from the Employee Perspective

Employee Engagement in Uncertain Times

Employee Engagement in Uncertain Times

Employee Engagement in Times of Uncertainty - An Article from Mercer Consulting.

This is an interesting post from Mercer Consulting authored by Padmaja Alaganandan and Anuradha Ozha. With most companies going for cost cutting through one stop solutions it also has shown that it might perhaps be the best time for Organizations to re-look at themselves and the way in which they approach their workforce.

Employee Engagement is today becoming a buzz word with new age organizations.

Read ahead to know more....

All Credits to the authors and Mercer Consulting.

Download Here!

Labour Law Resources

Presenting Some of the Key Labor Legislations for your Reference, presented in PDF Format.

These documents would serve as an easy reference to both students and practicing professionals. Only the salient features of the legislation have been handled here.

Incase you want the same in WORD Format please mail me at giri7int@gmail.com

• Labour Legislation - Consolidated Checklist
  
• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
  
• The Employement Standing Orders Act
• The Maternity Benefit Act,1961

The Truth About Corporate Social Responsibility

Hi Folks,

I have always been intrigued by the sudden love of India Inc towards Corporate Social Responsibility! (CSR).

I had believed that CSR was more of a Social Volunteering by Corporates; a result of their moral guilt born out of their insatiable lust for Natural Resources and their inability to give back in quality and quantity what they have exploited.

CSR has today become a a very powerful diversionary tool which shifts the focus from problems caused by corporate mismanagement (of the environment) to so called pressing social issues!

While most CSR Reports from Business Houses mention of the good things they have done, almost none of them cite the harm they have done to the people and environment around them! The Social Economic Costs of Industrialisation is something that most Corporates and the Government have willfully ignored.

In my search for contradictory views on CSR, I found one such voice in a leading portal http://www.amrc.org.hk/. The article is blatantly true and brings to the readers views that have so far being muted by the innumerable conferences and seminars sponsored by India Inc. in support of their own CSR programs.

Check out the link to download the Critical Reflection on CSR.

Download Here!