Wipro to train over 100 foreign interns in India

As the spotlight remains fixed on the issue of onsite hiring for IT firms, Wipro is planning ahead in cultivating teams of local business leaders with an Indian ethos. The company is scaling up its "India gateway" programme, through which it gives campus recruits from the UK, Europe, and Africa an opportunity to spend months at a time in its India campuses.

Launched last year, Wipro says the programme has been more successful than anticipated, and this year, over 100 employees across the world are expected to be working here.

"Going forward, the number of local hires abroad will only increase. Management also has to come from local talent more in the future. Keeping that in mind, we felt it was important to have locals immerse themselves in the culture of the company. Having them train here is a great way to do that," says Sourabh Govil, senior vice president - Human Resources, Wipro.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/education/Wipro-to-train-over-100-foreign-interns-in-India/articleshow/24702441.cms

US tech giants face uncertain future

Outsiders often think of Silicon Valley as a constantly changing landscape, a place where fortunes rise and fall with the next great idea. Now some of the technology industry's biggest names are finding out that once you fall behind, it is pretty hard to catch up. 

Hewlett-Packard announced several significant personnel changes, along with sharply lower revenue and narrower operating profit margins. It was the latest in a string of disappointing earnings news from big technology companies that has some asking if the industry, after at least five years of growth, is finally slowing down. 
Click here to Read more. 

Corporates cutting jobs to to save costs: Study

Faced with a tough economic scenario, corporates are cutting jobs and rationalising manpower to save on costs and the situation is likely to get worse in coming days, according to an Assocham study. 

"Alongwith the increasing number of corporates rushing to banks for debt restructuring, scores of them are also being forced to go in for manpower rationalising, reducing the headcount to save costs which they are unable to bear in the face of a difficult economic environment," according to the Assocham report on on Impact of Slowdown on Employment. 

The sad part is the situation is likely to become worse, rather than improve, in the weeks to come and the pain would only increase, it said. 

The companies resorting to rationalisation of manpower belong to sectors like infrastructure, gems and jewellery, educational solutions, realty, non-banking finance companies, especially in the gold-loan segment, media and public relations. 
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/corporates-cutting-jobs-to-to-save-costs-study/articleshow/21939363.cms

Adaequare plans to hire 150 professionals by March end

Data engineering and analytics solutions provider Adaequare plans to hire 150 professionals by end of this fiscal. 

The Hyderabad-based company is also looking to acquire small-sized companies with niche tools to drive growth. 

"Adaequare is looking at a good mix of organic and inorganic growth to continue staying ahead of the curve in the Data Engineering and Analytics space. We plan to hire 150 professionals by end of this fiscal," said Raju Bhupati, who has been elevated to the position of COO, said in a statement. 

"We are also looking at acquiring small firms with 30-50 people in areas such as testing. A few firms are on the radar. We are evaluating them," he said.

Tata Technologies inks MoU with BITS Pilani

Tata Technologies inked an agreement with Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, to design and implement specialised educational programmes for skill development of engineering professionals, students and faculty.

Tata Technologies would support the existing Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) industry interface programmes, while the latter would run specialised programmes created with expert industry perspective and inputs from Tata Technologies, according to a release.

This will lead to specific degrees of BITS through its off-campus Work Integrated Learning Programmes (WILP), it added. 

India's 5 Best Tech Companies To Work For

A hefty paycheck and huge employee compensation won’t necessarily define the ‘desirability’ of a company in India’s star-studded IT sector. Being one of the most sought after fields by grads, these companies always hold something special to retain talents. From amazing work culture to perks, let’s check out what makes these 5 IT companies the best places to work for in India based on a survey by The Great Place To Work Institute.

#5 NetApp India
Business Description: NetApp provides integrated data storage solutions that enable customers to leverage virtualization, cloud computing and storage efficiency to improve their business
Location: Bangalore
Employees: 2,011
Gender Ratio: 1:4.22

NetApp is yet another company like Google, whose international facilities are well known for the best work culture. The company has a cross-functional team of employees called the Global Workforce Council (GWC) which keeps an eye on the talent issues globally. This council makes recommendations to the executive staff.

The NetApp office in India has ‘Wall Of Fame,’ which recognizes the employees who have filed a patent, awarded patent or recognized in any other way.

#4 SAS Institute – India
Business Description: Data warehousing solutions, BI solutions, analytical solutions, visual analytics engine, consulting services, customer support services, sales, marketing & alliances
Location: Mumbai
Employees: 593
Gender Ratio: 1:3.39

SAS might be the only company using ‘Optimum Reach’ model to train its candidates. More than 60 percent of the workforce is senior talent and hence anybody who had spent more than three years in the company will train the juniors.

#3 Tavant Technologies
Business Description: IT solutions
Location: Bangalore
Employees: 689
Gender Ratio: 1:2.7

Tavant Technologies is an IT Services and Solutions company founded by four Indians, after quitting Amazon. The company headquartered in California has its India headquarters in Bangalore.
Tavant has been recognized globally for its innovative solutions, people practices, growth and for its contribution to the open source forum.

According to Economic Times, the company has an interesting work culture. It allows employees to applaud for the work of others irrespective of team or geography.

#2 Intel
Business Description: Microprocessors, chipsets, motherboards, adaptors for desktops, laptops
Location: Bangalore
Employees: 3,472
Gender Ratio: 1:3.9

Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker is ranked second in the list of best IT companies to work for in India. The interview process in the company is not merely focuses on the knowledge part but also checks whether the candidate is a perfect fit.

According to Economic Times, there is a strict rule followed in Intel, which is ‘a new hire should never feel isolated.’

#1 Google India
Business Description: Search, YouTube, Gmail, apps, mobile, enterprise, social
Location: Bangalore
Employees: 1,503
Gender Ratio (F/M): 1:1.21

The Indian wing of international search giant Google, clocked in first on the list of best IT workplaces. Globally, Google is best known for its work culture, employee perks and the generous pay.

According to Google, the engineers at Bangalore office have worked on Ads, Enterprise, Geo and News products, search infrastructure and products for users in emerging markets.

Google’s Map Maker is a product of the Bangalore facility. Adding to the Bangalore, Google has offices in Hyderabad and Gurgaon.

Credits: http://www.siliconindia.com/news/technology/Indias-5-Best-Tech-Companies-To-Work-For-nid-149591-cid-2.html

Apple hiring smartwatch talent

Sources claim Apple is looking for help in getting its first wearable technology device ready for a 2014 launch. An article in the Financial Times claims that Apple has been encountering "hard engineering problems that they're unable to solve" and as a result is set to start recruiting new blood with wearable technology experience in order to get the so-called ‘iWatch' project back on track. According to sources quoted by the publication, Apple is aiming to get the product out by the end of 2014.

Most rumors surrounding the highly-buzzed device have pointed to a 2013 launch date as have similar reports focused on Apple's closest competitors, i.e., Microsoft, Samsung, Google and, to a lesser extent, LG, all of which have been officially or unofficially confirmed as developing similar devices for a 2013 launch.

If the report turns out to be accurate -- and the FT has a pretty good track record, being one of the first publications to report on iTunes radio and the obstacles it was encountering -- Apple will also have the benefits of seeing what the competition is up to and tweaking its device to suit. However, with the current rate of consumer technological advances, the wearable computing may already be mainstream by the time the iWatch launches.

BlackBerry plans more layoffs, fired U.S. sales chief: report

The ailing smartphone maker is eyeing additional layoffs beyond the 5,000 announced during its previous fiscal year, says The Wall Street Journal. BlackBerry is eyeing another round of layoffs as part of its ongoing restructuring, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal said Wednesday that the job cuts would affect middle management across the sales and support divisions. The new layoffs would come on top of the 5,000 cuts planned during the company's last fiscal year.

One person already hit by a job loss is Richard Piasentin, BlackBerry's vice president of sales in the U.S. The Journal's sources say the U.S. sales chief was fired in June. A BlackBerry spokesman confirmed Piasentin's departure to the Journal but declined to comment about any layoffs.

How to prepare for a video job interview

Discussing your qualifications for a new job via a video interview sounds easy enough and even appealing. No worrying if your palms are clammy when you shake hands, since you won't be shaking hands. You don't have to travel farther than your own home. As long as you look presentable from the waist up, you could even skip a shower and interview in sweatpants.

But interviewing over video and doing it well can take more preparation than an in-person meeting. After all, if you are not looking at the camera properly, you may come off as distracted or unhinged. If the video set-up is poor, you appear technically incompetent. Your smudged walls or home office clutter may suggest things you do not wish to convey about your work habits.

Read more @ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/how-to-prepare-for-a-video-job-interview/articleshow/20929438.cms

Firms target social, professional networking sites for hires

Companies are increasingly tapping the social and professional networking websites to find right talent in India and abroad, says a new survey.

Further, more than half of the talent acquisition leaders in India surveyed by professional networking site LinkedIn are planning to hire more people in 2013 than last year.

The findings are based on 'LinkedIn Recruiting Trends' survey that covered 3,300 talent acquisition leaders across 19 countries. From India, there were about 274 respondents.

"Since 2011, there has been a 20 per cent increase in recruiters considering social and professional networks as a key source to find quality talent; at 41 per cent in 2013 compared to 21 per cent in 2011," LinkedIn said today.

Globally, one of the key trends in the eyes of recruiters is that social professional networks are increasingly impacting quality of hire.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/firms-target-social-professional-networking-sites-for-hires/articleshow/20987048.cms

IT industry will grow 13-14%: Som Mittal

Software industry body Nasscom expects the country's information technology (IT) services sector to grow 13-14 per cent in the current financial year and to touch $225 billion (Rs 13.22 lakh crore) by 2020. Speaking to reporters after addressing Nasscom's EmergeOut Conclave here, the industry body's president, Som Mittal, said the sector had been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12-13 per cent till two years earlier, and reaching the $225 billion target was not impossible.

The first main driver will be new geographies. At present, the US, the UK and other European markets contribute to around 90 per cent of the total business, while other markets, including India, China and Latin America, contribute the rest.

"Only three per cent of the business we do in China and Japan, which shows there is plenty of opportunities in those markets," said Mittal. Many small companies have now started focussing only on these markets. "Our estimate is that around 20 per cent of the business would come from new geographies by 2020," said Mittal.

Australia's new visa restrictions to hurt Indian IT companies

Australia has followed the United States and Canada in tightening up its work visa programme, hurting Indian IT firms who now cannot place workers using the visas at client sites and must advertise in Australia to prove there is a genuine skill shortage.

Nomura expects the new rules to affect Indian IT companies' time and materials contracts and increase the amount of planning and time taken to obtain a visa. The companies will have to justify the number the number of visas required and provide workers on the visas with employment terms and conditions similar to those offered to Australian workers.

Infosys and Satyam, owned by Tech Mahindra, have the highest exposure to Australia, with about 8-9% of invoices coming from the continent, Nomura analyst Ashwin Mehta said in a note to clients.

Tata Consultancy Services has also been dragged into a visa row in Australia. A former employee was quoted by a local TV channel ABC as saying that TCS abused that country's work-visa scheme by not making an honest attempt to hire qualified local citizens, and instead bringing in Indian engineers on visa. TCS said those allegations were "completely false and inaccurate" and that it was fully compliant with the visa rules. 

Best Job Search Websites In India

There are many websites in India that caters to the people in need for a job. They do more than just provide a database of job listings to search however. Many of them host your résumé and try to make it as visible as possible to employers looking for the perfect staff. Some even take advantage of social networking to get your foot in the door. So which one will you select? To help you out, here is the compilation of 7 best websites that differ from others on the very base of credibility.

Robert Hellmann, the author of Your Social Media Job Search, in an interview with Forbes, recommends that your job hunt consist of 80 percent personal networking, 10 percent talking to headhunters, and only that last 10 percent for online searches and applications.

Read on to know the list as compiled by PCMag.

#7 Glassdoor
Glassdoor is a free jobs and careers community that offers the world an inside look at jobs and companies. The site offers "employee-generated content" – anonymous salaries, company reviews, interview questions and more – all posted by employees, job seekers and sometimes the companies themselves. Now with nearly 3 million salaries and reviews, you have all the information you might need to make your next career decision.

With Glassdoor's proprietary JobScope technology, job seekers have a new way to browse job listings and get instant, in-depth details for any job listing. It also offers detailed information about specific jobs at specific companies – all free.

#6 Simply Hired
“Looking for a job shouldn't be a full-time job! That's why we built the biggest, smartest job search engine on the web. We search thousands of job sites and companies, so you don't have to,” the site states. Besides making things easy, Simply Hired also connects your social networks with job search. Its “Who Do I Know” feature allows you to discover your friends and personal connections at each company alongside your job search results.

Similar in look and feel to Indeed, Simply Hired pulls listings from thousands of sites across the Web, including job boards, company career sites, newspapers, non-profit organizations, government sites, and more. Creating an account allows you to name, save, and manage searches; manage email alerts; revisit jobs you've already viewed; rate and save notes about jobs you've viewed; and block specific companies or sites from showing up in your searches. Simply Hired's frequently updated blog offers excellent advice for job seekers.

#5 LinkedIn
This largest network of professionals in the world sure is a place to hunt for a job. As a LinkedIn member, you'll join 225 million other professionals who are sharing connections, ideas, and opportunities. So your profile is essentially your résumé, listing all your work experience and skills, and connecting you with contacts. Employers can list jobs on the site to recruit the best candidates, the listings are available for you to search, and of course, it's a great site for investigating potential employers. Some companies will let you apply with nothing more than your LinkedIn profile. If you see one of your LinkedIn connections is LinkedIn with someone at a company you're applying to, you can ask them to introduce you. LinkedIn's ability to connect you to others in your field (and beyond) makes it arguably the strongest job search weapon in your arsenal.

#4 Craigslist
The site hosts local classifieds and forums - community moderated, and largely free.Jobs, housing, goods, services, romance, local activities, advice - just about anything really. Though you can't sign up for email updates or post your résumé—but Craigslist certainly has plenty of jobs to offer and it specializes in finding openings in your vicinity. Listings aren't pulled in from other aggregator sites; they're all individually posted by employers. Jobs categories can be pretty broad though, so the downside is you may have to look harder to find that perfect position.

#3 Monster
It is the oldest of all job search engines in the world, and was launched almost 20 years ago. Internationally known and highly regarded, it lists hourly, part-time, and full-time jobs in practically every career field. But it's more than just a search site; Monster also provides tons of articles with advice for getting the most out of your job search, your résumé, interviews, and your career. The privacy feature that blocks specific companies from seeing your résumé is a lifesaver if you don't want your current employer to know you're looking for a new job. Monster is also the owner of the BeKnown service/app for Facebook, which puts your job search front and center on the world's biggest social network.

#2 CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder is one of the India's fastest growing online job site. It has more than 23 million unique visitors a month. It reaches top job seekers across India, including: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Calcutta, and Hyderabad. It is based on the motto “Employee-Driven. Customer-Focused.”

You can store up to five résumés and cover letters publicly or privately, and create up to five personal search agents to receive emailed job listings daily or weekly. If you're unsure about where to start, upload your résumé to CareerBuilder and the site will scan it and match jobs according to your experience. If you don't have a résumé, simply search for jobs within CareerBuilder and the site will recommend positions based on your experience.

#1 Indeed
Indeed is top job site in the world, with over 80 million unique visitors and 1.5 billion job searches per month. Indeed is available in more than 50 countries and 26 languages, covering 94 percent of global GDP. It is based on one motto “One Search. All Jobs.”

The site is totally free to join and has listings aggregated from thousands of company websites and job boards across all fields. If you're not sure where to start, Indeed has tips to help. You don't even have to keep revisiting the site; it will help you set up searches that arrive in your inbox, or you can paste a URL for search results into an RSS reader for a constant feed.

India, China to have most software developers by 2019

According to the recently released Evans Data Worldwide Developer Population and Demographics Study, the total developer population worldwide is expected to increase to 26.4 million by 2019, up from 18.2 million today.

The strongest growth is expected in the APAC region with India and China leading all countries in expected developer population growth.

Russia is also expected to provide strong growth and dominate the Eastern European region. Slower growth is predicted for North America and Eastern Europe, while Latin America is expected to continue on a moderate growth cycle.

"APAC has shown the strongest growth for several years," said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data. "India is, of course, the main powerhouse that's driving such a strong surge in developers in that region, but China is also starting to come online and we expect that once it hits its potential China will become a rival to India on sheer numbers of developers," added Garvin.

The Worldwide Developer Population and Demographics Study is the result of exhaustive secondary research from respected sources including the World Bank data center, CIA World Factbook, US Census, Mobile World Congress, International Monetary Fund, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and numerous other regional and country-specific sources.

These data inputs are combined in a proprietary computer model to forecast population growth in the coming years. Additionally, Evans' Global Development survey is over-layered on the population model to predict number of developers using a particular platform or language or adopting a particular technology.
Source: http://www.ciol.com/ciol/features/191456/india-china-software-developers-2019

IBM’s new Morocco centre to create 400 jobs

IBM has announced a new Global Delivery Center in Casablanca that will create up to 400 IT roles in Morocco over the next three years.

The center will enable IBM to deliver a range of innovative technology services to clients in Morocco and across French-speaking Africa. It will also offer IBM clients in the region high value application development, application maintenance and systems integration services.

It will address the increasing demand for flexible software capability to harness the benefits of emerging technologies such as big data, cloud and mobile. IBM is working closely with the Moroccan government and local universities, and the Center is expected to help stimulate economic activity in the country.

Narayana Murthy effect: Infosys plans high salary for top performers

Infosys is drawing up plans to tilt the scales in favour of top performers, part of efforts to revitalise the workforce after NR Narayana Murthy returned as its chairman on June 1.

According to company executives briefed about Murthy's thinking, the emphasis on employee performance as a vital differentiator is linked to a broader effort to revive a culture of meritocracy in the company that has underperformed the industry for two years. "The differential between high-performers and non-performers will increase. Variable pay will be one mechanism through which this will be achieved," said a person aware of Murthy's plans.

Murthy, 66, returned as executive chairman of Infosys following a request from the company's board, which was under pressure from investors and analysts fretting about the company's troubles. Infosys grew at half the pace of the broader industry in 2012-13 and has admitted that it will lag rivals this year too.

At present, employees with the top ratings receive 50-90% of their variable salary while the lowest-rated ones get only up to 30%. Typically, 10-25% of an executive's compensation can be variable, depending on seniority.

Besides individual performance, the relative performance of the business unit also becomes a key deciding factor.

1.4 crore people joined workforce as on Jan 2012

India added nearly 1.4 crore people to the workforce as on January 2012, up 3 per cent from the same month in 2010, official data showed on Thursday.

"...the workforce at the all-India level, was about 45.9 crore as on January 1, 2010 (NSS 66th round) which increased to 47.29 crore on January 1, 2012 (NSS 68th round), indicating a growth of about 1.39 crore of the workforce at the all-India level between 66th round and 68th round," a release by National Sample Survey Office said today.

The NSSO data was based on 68th round survey conducted during July 2011-June 2012, it said. Of the 47.29 crore people employed, 23.46 crore were rural males, 10.18 crore rural females, 10.92 crore urban males and 2.73 crore urban female, it said.

Google voted best workplace in India, followed by Intel and American Express

Flying in from all corners of the country, braving monsoon rains and traffic jams in Mumbai, the HR chiefs and CEOs of leading companies queued up at a suburban hotel last Friday, with one question in mind: How had they fared in the coveted list- India's Best Companies To Work For.

Given that India Inc is in the throes of a slowdown, talent management has become crucial as industries marshal resources against the tough times. So this year's The Economic Times and The Great Place To Work Institute study had special importance. For some years, the study has provided the industry with a much-needed barometer to judge how companies fare on the people front.

The 2013 study, one of the largest in the world, covered 550 companies spanning 22 industries, surveying 98,998 employees. So it was but natural for the 60 CEOs and some 300 HR chiefs to wait with bated breath as the list was read out. In the end it was Google which once again took the top honour of being the best workplace in India.
Source: EconomicTimes

Firms seek grads who can think fast, work in teams

They can get good grades, earn a diploma and breeze through that campus rite of spring, the job interview. But college graduates still might not land a decent job.

The world's top employers are pickier than ever. And they want to see more than high marks and the right degree.

They want graduates with so-called soft skills _ those who can work well in teams, write and speak with clarity, adapt quickly to changes in technology and business conditions and interact with colleagues from different countries and cultures.

``Soft skills tend to differentiate good college graduates from exceptional college graduates,'' says Joseph Krok, university research liaison at Britain's Rolls-Royce.

To find out what employers are seeking from university graduates around the world, The Associated Press talked to dozens of corporate recruiters, university career counselors, economists and students. What's clear is that companies increasingly want skills that don't show up in a college transcript or a sit-down interview.

``What the employers want is a well-rounded student,'' says Jean Manning-Clark, director of the Colorado School of Mines' career center. ``The ones that get 10 to 12 job offers are the ones who have strong soft skills.''

And companies are going to ever-greater lengths to identify the students who have the right mix of skills by observing them in role-playing exercises to see how they handle pressure and get along with others, relying more on applicants who have already proved themselves in internships and co-op jobs in which students work while attending school, and organizing contests that reveal how students solve problems and handle deadline pressure.

``It used to be that the interview itself was where you made or broke your chances with a company,'' says Dan Black, head of campus recruiting in the Americas for the accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young. ``Now the assessment is a much longer and broader process.''
Read More at : EconomicTimes

47% graduates in India are unemployable for any job: Report

At least 47% of graduates in India are not employable for any industry role, according the latest report by employability solutions firm Aspiring Minds.

The report is based on a pan-India study of 60,000 graduates across colleges.

According to the report, 47% graduates are not employable in any sector of the knowledge economy. The employability of graduates varies from 2.59% in functional roles such as accounting to 15.88% in sales-related roles and 21.37% for roles in the business process outsourcing (BPO/ITeS) sector.

A significant proportion of graduates, nearly 47%, were found not employable in any sector, given their lack of proficiency in English and cognitive skills.

Since a graduation degree is considered a pathway to a job in the knowledge economy, substantive intervention at the school and college level is needed to improve basic skills of students. A renewed focus on vocational training should be re-emphasised, said the report.

The employability varies from role to role based on varying degrees of proficiency required in language and cognitive skills.

For an analyst's role, close to 84% graduates were found to lack the right levels in cognitive ability, while 90% graduates did not have the required proficiency in English communication. As a result, less than 3% of India's graduates remain unemployable across different job profiles. These numbers change dramatically for a teaching role or a sales or support role in the industry.

Over 40% employable graduates are beyond the top 30% colleges and have no way to signal their employability to potential recruiters.

41% of graduates employable in accounting roles hail from colleges beyond the top 30% colleges, whereas for the IT services sector this percentage is 36%.

Despite being employable, these students have no way to signal their employability to recruiters who end up recruiting only from reputed colleges and universities.

"This study is a first of its kind for three-year degree graduates across India evaluating employability for major roles being offered by industry. The alarming statistics of nearly half of the country's graduates not being employable in the knowledge economy needs great attention with interventions at both the school and higher education levels," Varun Aggarwal, co-founder, Aspiring Minds said in a statement.
Source: Aspiring Minds