Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the ˜job hopper™ (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr.. JH the relaxing edge that most of the ˜company loyal™ employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys “ the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:
Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.
Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?
A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.
Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.
Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying ˜employer loyalty™. But I was an idiot.
Q: Why do you say so?
A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ˜permanent™ job, so I need not worry about ˜what will I do if I lose my job™. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.
Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.
A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ˜company loyal™ and not ˜money earning and saving loyal™. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving “ I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.
Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?
A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me “ can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.
Q: What have you gained by doing such things?
A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.
Q: So you decided on your own hike?
A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a ˜debt-free™ life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.
Q: So are you debt-free now?
A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.
Q: Who is complaining?
A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me “ why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.
Q: What is your advice to professionals?
A: Like Narayan Murthy had said “ love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.
Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?
A: When a company does well, its CEO will address the entire company saying, ˜well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you. But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO will say, It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go. So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.
Friday, May 14, 2010
A brilliant interview... !!!
USED -VS- LOVED
While a man was polishing his new car,
his 4 yr old son picked up a stone
and scratched lines on the side of the car.
In anger, the man took the child's hand
and hit it many times not realizing
he was using a wrench.
At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers
due to multiple fractures.
When the child saw his father.....
with painful eyes he asked, 'Dad when will my fingers grow back?'
The man was so hurt and speechless;
he went back to his car and kicked it a lot of times.
Devastated by his own actions..... .
sitting in front of that car he looked at the scratches;
the child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.
The next day that man committed suicide. . .
Anger and Love have no limits;
choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely
life & remember this:
Things are to be used and people are to be loved.
The problem in today's world is
that people are used while things are loved.
Let's try always to keep this thought in mind:
Things are to be used,
People are to be loved.
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character;
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
Note:
However in this corporate world,
People are referred as human resources,
And the resources are used by the corporate,
So at least at home, let us show the love.
Parents are precious!
This was narrated at a Seminar on
Human Relations :
Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT)
describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket
for his father, his maiden
flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made
him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all
take for granted when it comes to our
parents.
My parents left for our native place on Thursday
and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact,
my father had never
traveled by air before, so I just took this
opportunity to make him experience the same. In
spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got
them tickets on xxx Airways. The moment I
handed over the tickets
to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked
them by air. The excitement was very apparent
on his face, waiting for the time of
travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing
himself on that day and we all went to the airport,
right from using the trolley for his luggage, the
baggage check-in and asking for a window seat
and waiting
restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He
was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was
overcome with joy watching him
experience all these things.
As they were about to go in for the security
check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his
eyes and thanked me. He became very
emotional and it was not as if I had done
something great but the fact that this meant a
great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him
there was no need to thank me. But later,
thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at
my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents
have made come true. Without understanding the
financial situation, we ask for cricket bats,
dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their
affordability, they have catered to all our needs.
Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to
make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did
we ever say thanks for all that they have done for
us? Same way, today when it comes to our
children, we always think that we should put them
in a good school. Regardless of the amount of
donation, we will ensure that we will have t give
the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we
tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot
for our sake to see us happy, so it is our
responsibility to ensure that their dreams are
realized and what they failed to see when they
were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that
they experience all those and their life is
complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me
some questions, I have actually answered back
without patience. When my daughter asks me
something, I have been very polite in answering.
Now I realize how they would have felt at those
moments. Let us realize that old age is a second
childhood and just as we take care of our
children, the same attention and same care
needs to be given to our parents and
elders.Quality time and politely answering them
with out making them wait is important. Now I
realise that I must look at their eyes and answer
them pleasantly and pretend to be reading papers
and answer in mono syllables. Rather than my
dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say
sorry for making him wait so long for this small
dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed
for my sake and I will do my best to give the best
possible attention to all their wishes.
Just because they are old does not mean that
they will have to give up everything and keep
sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have
wishes, too.
Take care of your parents!
THEY ARE PRECIOUS!
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