Monday, August 4, 2014

Google most attractive employer among Asia-Pacific graduates

Internet giant Google is the most attractive employer for graduates from the Asia-Pacific region in a list of top companies which figures no Indian company.

According to global employer branding firm Universum's 2014 Most Attractive Employers in Asia-Pacific Ranking, Google has emerged as the most desirable employer among business, as well as engineering and IT students in the APAC region.

Read More at Times of India.

IT professionals may get double-digit hike this year

Riding on the back of better operational performance, tech companies are likely to dole out higher wage increases for employees in the current year. After an average 8-10% hikes last year, the IT staff can expect a double-digit increase in emoluments this year, industry body Nasscom said on Wednesday.

The assessment, based on an internal survey of Nasscom members, indicates that attrition levels and lateral hiring will also increase.

Read More at Times of India

Heads rolling at Beats as Apple eliminating redundant positions, Ian Rogers & Trent Reznor to stay on

As Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music nears completion this financial quarter, the Cupertino and Culver City, California-based companies have begun work on transitioning select employees and technology resources from Beats to Apple, according to sources briefed on the transition. Apple executives have visited Beats’ Southern California headquarters this week and last week to offer groups of employees positions at Apple and to notify some members of the Beats staff that they will not be included in the transition.

Read more at http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/30/heads-rolling-at-beats-as-apple-eliminating-redundant-positions-keeping-developers-and-creatives-in-la/

2014 July Job Cut Report: 46,887 Job Cuts Announced Boosted by Microsoft

The unexpectedly large layoffs announced by Microsoft helped push July job cuts to the second highest level of the year. In all, U.S.-based employers reported plans to reduce payrolls by 46,887 during the month, according to the report released Thursday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The July total was up 49 percent from June’s 31,434 job cuts, which was the fewest number of cuts announced, year to date. It was 24 percent higher than the 37,701 cuts recorded in July 2013. The only month to see more job cuts so far this year was May, when job cuts reached 52,961.

Employers have announced 292,921 job cuts, to date. That is 1.3 percent fewer than the 296,633 job cuts announced in the first seven months of 2013.

Read more at http://www.challengergray.com/press/press-releases/2014-july-job-cut-report-46887-job-cuts-announced-boosted-microsoft#sthash.3IlGfNFj.dpuf



Microsoft layoffs hit D.C. office

Microsoft’s massive layoffs have hit the company’s Washington policy office.
Five policy and government relations staffers were let go in a restructuring process that hit both Microsoft and its subsidiary Nokia.

Read more at Politico 

Broadcom winds down baseband unit, cuts 2,500 jobs

Broadcom on Tuesday said it is winding down its money-losing cellular baseband chip business and cutting one-fifth of its total workforce, instead of selling the unit.

Chief executive Scott McGregor told analysts on a conference call that after Broadcom said in early June it would exit baseband and then tested the market for a possible sale, the company decided to shut it down.
Source: Times of India

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

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Top global IT firms have more staff in India than home nations

It's a measure of India's strength in software services and the number of engineers it produces that some of the world's largest IT companies have more employees in India now than in their home countries.

And increasingly, these foreign companies are shifting their consulting base to India, thanks to the talent coming out of the country's business schools.

IBM, the biggest in the business, has been steadily reducing its US employee numbers and has simultaneously increased sharply its Indian ones. The company does not officially break up its employee numbers by geography, but the IBM employee organization Alliance@IBM puts the US figure for 2012 at 91,000, down from 127,000 in 2006. The last time IBM provided figures for India was in 2007, when it said it had 73,000 employees here. Since then, all estimates suggest that the company has added another 50,000 to 60,000 employees, taking the total count to about 1.3 lakh.

That puts the India number at more than 40% of the US figure. It also means — given IBM's global headcount of 4.3 lakh — that one in almost every three IBM employee is in India.

Read more at TimesOfIndia.

Panasonic to cut chip division workforce by half: Reports

Panasonic is set to cut its chip division workforce in half, axing thousands of jobs as the electronics giant overhauls its battered balance sheet after record losses, Japanese media reports said.

The plan to shrink Panasonic's money-losing semiconductor business could also see it sell off some chip manufacturing plants, the leading Nikkei business daily said, without citing sources.

Panasonic, which has chip factories both in Japan and overseas, would axe 7,000 jobs from the unit by March 2015 from a total of 14,000 employees, through an unspecified number of layoffs, early retirements and moving workers to other divisions, the Nikkei said.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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10 Most Difficult Tech Firms For Interviews

Interviews can be hard for anyone, but several companies tend to make the interview process difficult in order to separate the wheat from the chaff. Technology companies are particularly notorious for making the interviews tough, posing difficult questions to assess how applicants fare on various criteria.

Professional networking website Glassdoor has released the list of companies with the most difficult interview processes. We bring to you the technology with the toughest interviews, as well as details like average span of the interview process and the kind of experience that the interviewees have. Click to find out the 10 tech companies with the most difficult interviews:

1. ThoughtWorks
ThoughtWorks grabbed the top spot among technology companies when it came to the most difficult interview process, with an average difficulty rating of 3.9. Seventy three percent of the interviewees surveyed by Glassdoor reported a positive experience, while 14% had a bad experience.

The typical interview process at ThoughtWorks lasts 43 days, with interviewees giving it an employee satisfaction rating of 4.1 out of 5.

2. Google
Google has an average difficulty rating of 3.6 out of 5, with a typical interview lasting 37 days. Sixty four percent interviewees had a pleasant experience, while 23% had a negative experience, with the company getting an average employee satisfaction rating of 3.3.

3. Hubspot
Software maker HubSpot has an average difficulty rating of 3.5 and employee satisfaction rating of 4.1 out of 5. The interview process takes 20 days on an average and 62% people had a good interview experience, while 27% had a bad one.

4. Avaya
Avaya takes the fourth spot in the list, with average difficulty rating of 3.4 and employee satisfaction score of 2.9. Eighty six percent interviewees had a good experience, while 10% experienced a bad time, with the average process time being 30 days.

5. Microsoft
Software titan Microsoft secured an average difficulty rating of 3.4, while its employee satisfaction score is 3.7. The average interview process lasts 29 days, with 70% respondents having a positive experience and 14% reporting a negative time.

6. Sapient
With an average difficulty rating of 3.4 and employee satisfaction score of 3.8, Sapient takes the sixth spot in the list. Average interview process at Sapient takes 12 days, with 76% respondents having a good experience and 13% having a negative time.

7. Citrix
Citrix grabs the seventh position in the ranking, with an average difficulty score of 3.4 and employee satisfaction rating of 3.8. The overall interview process on an average takes 29 days at the company, and 56% people report a positive experience and 26% have a negative time.

8. Nvidia
Nvidia gets an average difficulty rating of 3.4 and employee satisfaction score of 3.8. The company on an average takes 22 days to complete an interview; 81% people in the survey had a positive experience, while 7% had a bad one.

9. Informatica
Informatica scores 3.4 in terms of average difficulty of the interview and 3.9 in employee satisfaction. In the survey, 83% of the respondents said they had a positive experience, while 11% had a negative time; average length of interviews at the company is 19 days.

10. Facebook
Facebook has a difficulty score of 3.3 in the survey and employee satisfaction rating of 3.9; interview process goes for 30 days on an average. Seventy two percent of the respondents reported a positive experience and 14% had a bad time.

Old list:
Below is  Glassdoor’s list of the 25 Companies That Give the Toughest Job Interviews(as per Aug 2013):

1. McKinsey & Company

2. ThoughtWorks

3. The Boston Consulting Group

4. Gartner

5. Bain & Company

6. Rolls Royce

7. ZS Associates

8. Google

9. Stryker

10. HubSpot

11. Paycom

12. Vistaprint

13. Teach For America

14. Procter & Gamble

15. Avaya

16. Microsoft

17. BlackRock

18. Sapient

19. Citrix

20. Nvidia

21. Informatica

22. Facebook

23. Guidewire

24. Caterpillar

25. Rackspace
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8 hottest IT skills for 2014

Wonder what are the most-sought after IT skills for 2014. ComputerWorld's annual IT skills survey uncovers the skill-sets that IT managers will be looking for in 2014. From 'Networking' to 'Project management', here is a list of the hottest skills that will work in your favour in 2014.

1. Programming/application development
Topping the ComputerWorld's hottest skills for 2014 list is 'programming/application development'. The skill ranked at top position in last year's Hot skills survey too. According to the survey, 49% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the coming 12 months.

As per the survey, developer and programmer job openings are the most difficult to fill. The hottest specialties within this category are mobile development expertise and experience building secure applications.

2. Help desk/technical support
Ranked at no. 2, help desk/tech support has moved up one position from its last year's ranking. According to the survey, 37% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the coming 12 months.

The fact that many companies are bringing help-desk functions back in-house is contributing to the rise in demand for this skill, says the report.

3. Networking
Another sought-after IT skill in 2014 will be 'networking', ranked at no. 3 in the survey. As per the study, 31% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the coming 12 months. 'Networking' ranked at no. 8 in last year's ranking.

The spurt in demand for wireless connectivity is probably behind the interest in networking professionals, claims the survey quoting Scot Melland, CEO of Dice Holdings.

4. Mobile applications and device management
The fourth hottest skill for 2014 is 'mobile applications and device management'. Some 27% of survey respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months. The increasing proliferation of mobile devices seems to have catapulted the skill to no. 4 from its last year's position of no. 9.

According to the survey, mobile expertise is the third most difficult skill to find, after development and BI/analytics skills.

5. Project management
'Project management' is next on the list of hottest skills for 2014. Some 25% of respondents surveyed said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months. While project management fell from its no. 2 position of last year, it still continues to be among the highly sought-after skills.

The demand for project managers is second only to that of software developers/engineers, says ComputerWorld report quoting Dice's CEO

6. Database administration
At no. 6 on the list is 'Database Administration'. Some 24% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in coming 12 months. The growing enterprise interest in Big data appears to be fuelling the interest in the demand for 'Database Administration' professionals.

7. Security compliance/governance
Security Compliance/Governance ranks next on the list. Some 21% of respondents surveyed said that they plan to hire for this skill. The growth of ecommerce and increasing cases of malware and cyberattacks globally has led to a sharp rise in the demand for security professionals.

The demand for 'Security Compliance/Governance' professionals is up 23 percent according to the survey.

8. Business intelligence/analytics
Business intelligence/analytics ranks at no. 8 on the list. Some 18% of the respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months, as per the survey.

One of the fastest-growing skills, the demand for business intelligence/analytics professionals has seen a 100% jump, says the report quoting Dice's Melland. BI professionals are also often reported to command high salaries.

Note: The results are based on the responses of IT executives who responded to ComputerWorld's survey.

Source: ComputerWorld
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US says Infosys blatantly flouted immigration laws

Federal prosecutors have alleged that IT major Infosys indulged in blatant violation of immigration laws by not only bringing its employee inside the country on a visa which does not permit work, but also issuing specific directions to its workers to mislead the immigration officials on their point of entry on their nature of work.

"To circumvent the requirements, limitations, and governmental oversight of the H-1B visa programme, Infosys committed visa fraud by knowingly and unlawfully using B-1 visa holders to perform skilled labour in order to fill positions in the United States for employment that would otherwise be performed by United States citizens or require legitimate H-1B visa holders, the US Attorney, John M Bales said.

Read more at TimesofIndia
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Yahoo laying off 500 under-performing employees: Report

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has begun firing as many as 500 under-performing employees, All Things D's Kara Swisher reports. After joining the company in July 2012, Mayer instituted new employee performance reviews one year ago.

Now, Swisher reports, Mayer is planning to let go any employees who were rated "misses" or "occasionally misses" at least twice during the past five quarters.

Swisher says as many as 500 employees could eventually be effected. She says that some Yahoo employees are already being let go.

Yahoo has many thousands more employees than many industry experts believes it needs to have.

Before Mayer took over Yahoo, top executives there had plans to cut headcount from approximately 15,000 down to 4,000 -- though that would have involved spinning out Yahoo's search business.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/job-trends/Yahoo-laying-off-500-under-performing-employees-Report/articleshow/24980658.cms?intenttarget=no
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India's Best Small & Startup IT Companies To Work For

Bonus, travel allowances, sales commission, incentives all were the talk of the town in job market. Today, the game has completely changed and focus has shifted from monetary view point to complete engagement of the employees in the development of organization and themselves. Workplace recognition and revenue growth are not coincidental and is a reflection of one's belief that treating employees well is a good business. This has become a key driver of innovation in most of the organizations.

Companies are spending heavily for employee training, may it be onsite or offsite training, to provide them a better understanding of their core work functionality. With such huge investments being made on the employees, retaining them are one of the top priorities for any HR. Thus, different companies come up with various HR policies to not only retain them but to keep them motivated at all the touch points possible.
See the list here



Sunday, October 27, 2013

Infosys inducts 12 executives into management team

In perhaps the biggest ever expansion of its leadership team, Infosys has inducted 12 new faces to the executive council (EC). This takes the total strength of its highest decision-making body to 30. With this, the EC's strength has almost doubled since the end of 2012-13, when it had 16 members. In comparison, rival Wipro has 23 members in its management team. As EC members, the new Infosys inductees will be entitled to an allowance of $150,000 each per annum pro rata for the period as member. "We have strengthened our executive council to help us drive focus on key growth areas," the company said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/job-trends/Infosys-inducts-12-executives-into-management-team/articleshow/24678879.cms
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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

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Educomp starts cost optimisation; cuts 3,500 jobs

Education solutions provider Educomp Solutions today said it has cut 3,500 jobs in the last three months and has also initiated measures to spur growth.

"Educomp has announced a slew of measures aimed at putting the company back on a growth trajectory at a time when market sentiment is adversely impacting bottom lines across industry and has pushed the education sector into negative growth territory," it said in a release.

The plan entails modifications in structure, systems and sales strategies to return the firm to profitability in the current and following fiscal. Within this transformational plan, a series of tactical steps have been identified to fast-track the correction, it added.
Source: IndiaTimes
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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. 
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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
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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.
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Indians third largest immigrant group in US: Study

Indians have emerged as the third-largest immigrant group in the US behind Mexicans and Chinese, with nearly 1.9 million of them living in the country, a new study by an American thinktank has said. 

Indian population in the US has grown to over 150 times its size since 1960, when the slightly more than 12,000 Indian immigrants represented less than 0.5 per cent of the total immigrant population of 9.7 million immigrants, a study by Migration Policy Institute has found. 

Till 2011, Indian-born immigrants accounted for almost five per cent (1.86 million) of America's 40.4 million immigrants. 

Almost one-third of all Indian immigrants resided in just two states- California and New Jersey. More than a quarter of them lived in three major metropolitan areas- New York, Chicago and San Jose. 

Two per cent of all unauthorised immigrants in the United States were also from India. 
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/indians-third-largest-immigrant-group-in-us-study/articleshow/22003774.cms
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Dell may lay off 1,000 employees in Mohali

About 1,000 employees of American multinational Dell may lose their jobs in India over the next six months as the Texas-based computer hardware, software and services provider plans a significant rightsizing exercise for its international services business here, according to sources with knowledge of the development.

Sources say the company is planning to shut down its international services operations in Mohali which employs about 1,300 people. When contacted, a Dell spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumours or speculation. 
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/job-trends/Dell-may-lay-off-1000-employees-in-Mohali/articleshow/21995694.cms

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

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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. 

LinkedIn study reveals why people hate their jobs

More or less everyone has a grudge or two against their job. LinkedIn has brought out some reasons as to why employees may be hating their job, the Huffington Post reported. A recent study by Dale Carnegie Training showed that nearly 75% of workers are not fully engaged at their jobs.

One of the major reasons is that an employee's friends are having an amazing experience at another company, which makes them envious. The transparency of employee benefits and perks at other companies can sometimes lead them to dream about working elsewhere.

Another reason could be that the workers believe that he/she is not valued.

A person also feels dissatisfied with his/her job if they find no room for advancement. Many workers feel stuck in their company, which often leads to job hopping.

Being paid less than what is deserve also leaves employee disenchanted with their work.

Rules can also ruin a team, as it becomes frustrating when an employee is not able their own decisions.

The passion's also vanishes sometimes, as there is a huge difference between living to work and working to live.

One of the primary reasons why people hate their job is that their boss sucks. Poor management can make even the most passionate and well-paid workers hate their job.

Indian techies bag first prize at Microsoft competition

Software giant Microsoft today said it has awarded India's Y-Nots the first prize in the Windows Azure Challenge at the 11th annual Microsoft Imagine Cup.

Imagine Cup is a competition for student technologists to create innovative projects and ultimately bring those ideas to market.

The winners were announced at the Imagine Cup Awards ceremony in St Petersburg, which was attended by over 800 students, judges, awards partners, among others. The ceremony was the culmination of a four-day competition, it said in a release.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

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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.
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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
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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
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Infy, iGate others in queue for Rs. 1,00,000-cr govt IT contracts

While visa restrictions and business slowdown pose challenges in their traditional strongholds, such US and Europe, upcoming mega government projects seem to offer a degree of comfort for the Indian IT companies.

Indian IT service companies TCS, Infosys, HCL, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and iGate and multinational companies such as IBM, Accenture, HP and Dell are vying for a sizable pie of various e-governance projects, the total cost of which would run into anywhere between Rs. 80,000 crore and Rs. 1,00,000 crore.

“For Indian IT industry, the government continues to be the major source of business,” said CN Raghupathi, vice-president, India business, Infosys. “With various e-governance initiatives at its nascent stage, the opportunity is enormous.”

“The rollout of Aadhar itself provides a lot of opportunities,” said Apporva Ruparel, head, India business, iGate. “There are 17 categories of direct cash subsidy… to be rolled out in 643 districts. In value terms this would throw up a huge number.”

Apart from Aadhar, various Central and state e-governance projects, such as digitisation of land records, implementation of smart-grids in electricity distribution companies and the computerisation of state treasuries will result in sizable contracts.

Tamil Nadu has finished bidding process for computerisation of its state tax department. Other states including Maharashtra are soon expected to come up with bids. For the smart-grid implementation, eight bids are underway.

All this does not necessarily mean a smooth flow of business for IT companies. "There is a fair degree of unpredictability as these are government projects," said a senior executive, who wished to be not identified.

The government is expected to play a major role in the future of the Indian IT market.

India’s IT market is expected to grow from $10.3 billion (Rs 61,800 crore) in 2012-13 to $13.4 billion (Rs 80,400 crore) this year, and to touch $20 billion (Rs 120,000 crore) by 2020.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/SectorsBPOs/Infy-iGate-others-in-queue-for-Rs-1-00-000-cr-govt-IT-contracts/Article1-1092418.aspx