Careers in hospitality sector

contents
46
cover STORY
jobs in
hospitality
Sector
From banks to retail demand
is growing
Front Office 50
Lot more to it than just smiles
Food Production 52
It is not just about great food. It also
means washing utensils. A lowdown
Food and Beverage Service 55

An in demand service in diverse domains
Housekeeping 60
The backbone of the way a hotel functions
smoothly
Wellness 62
An emerging niche sector in hospitality
Gireesh G.V./Outlook Group
careers and ceo speak

E Balaji, CEO
courses MA FOI Management consultants
Radiography 22
A complete guide to what a career “It would be advisable to
in radiography has on offer - colleges study your inherent traits
and prospects
and qualities and look for
Software Testing 28 jobs that necessitate these
Detecting bugs in all kinds of software qualities in abundance”
is an exciting and lucrative career too 14
2 Careers 360 January 2010

careers360
January 2010 l Volume I l Issue 10
Publisher
Maheshwer Peri
Editor
B Mahesh Sarma
66 Executive Editor
Merril Diniz
Ajit Balakrishnan Special Correspondents

Urmila Rao
Founder, Chairman and Sumita Vaid Dixit
Shalini Gupta
CEO of rediff.com
“Education is Design
Art Director
egalitarian, but in India, Anshul Sharma
it isn’t fair”
Sr Visualiser
Rajesh Chawla
Jr Visualiser
Thomas Mampilly
Research
B-School rankings regulars Dr. Nimesh Chandra

Bharti M Borah
Shiphony Pavithran
Towards a viable methodology 18 Letters 4 Business Office
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10 Questions 20 Chennai
A headhunter’s guide on what not to ask in a Teachers’ Talk 38 advt.chn@careers360.com
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Model Paper
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Letters
Dreaming in the Coaching rural India
lantern light for IITs
It was not only inspirational Mr. Anand Kumar’s work is
but eye opener also in the commendable. My only wish
sense that when a person is that after passing out from
from a remote village in Bihar the IITs, all these students
can achieve so much despite Reach out give their knowledge back to
having limited or no means
then one can imagine the
to our rural the society. I hope more peo-
ple selflessly join hands for
heights a person can achieve youth such service like Kumar. Let’s
having all means to do so, and all make individual initiatives
in totality imagine the growth and change is inevitable.
our country can do when all You cover story was no doubt very inspiring. But I do Radha
Indians can think on com- feel that those who need the inspiration most, namely
mon objectives/goals. I really India’s youth who have no access to good schools or Salute to such a great guru.
salute your spirit, determina- higher education, especially those in the rural hinter- I was pleasantly surprised to
tion and passion, which will land, may never get a chance to read these wonderful know that such idols still exist
inspire many Indians. stories. It would help them very much if they had to today. Our policy-makers and
Vivek access to such information. political system should take
Soumya Iyer, Chennai serious note. It is imperative
Unlike you, I come from a Soumya wins a brand new Parker pen. that teachers of such a stat-
fairly financially sound fam- ure should be paid well and
ily, got all I wanted but have Careers360 responds: We are committed to this issue respected for their work.
not managed to achieve even and will be addressing it in the near future. Ashwini Kumar Lenka
half of what you have. You
are absolutely right, when In this commercialised
r
you said that you become a Lette e world, such humane tenden-
of th h
fighter when you have lesser mont cies are really hard to find.
means. I wish you all the luck from a very small town. Hope after IIT, you I wholeheartedly salute this
in all your future endeavours Being a Hindi-medium may work towards the teacher! I only wish similar
and hope that all your dreams student, I was always afraid development of this sector. sentiments of this great guru
can come true. Keep up the to ask questions in English, Ghanshyam Rathi are shared by the benefici-
good work! and there was a time when ary students after they pass
I used to eat one-time meal I seriously wish our reser- out of the IITs and motivate
Grit and chemistry continuously for six months. vation system would produce them to do some thing for the
in her DNA But today, I have achieved more Sureshs. It could defi- poor budding students else-
Pragya’s story has touched more than what I wished. nitely accelerate our growth where without the thought of
my heart. It proves that diffi- Asutam with equity. cast or creed.
culties are there but the chal- Chaitanya Voolapalli T. Engineer
lenge is how you to tackle You are one motivator to
them. Her life shows “where the thousands of souls that
there is will there is a way”. I are hungry to achieve their
would like to tell you all that dreams. What sets you apart
don’t run away from difficul- is that you don’t wait for the
ties and confront it with all opportunity but create one
courage and honesty. for yourself.
Seetharam Natesh Yogesh
“India’s rich fund
Pragya, you have taught Tilling land and dreams temples, not educational originality. This is hardly to be
us to welcome difficulty and Today, agrarian society in institutions” found in Indian schools where
problems in life, face it with India is ravaged by farmer I would not like to general- education is seen solely as a
honesty. God bless you. suicides. There is an urgent ise too much with regard to means to further one’s career.
Mayank Rairkar need to fight this crisis. I feel elite/non-elite and Ameri- Neeraj Tyagi
Suresh’s background, coming can/Indian Universities. You
Sketching in the from the grassroots, can do get all kinds everywhere. Contrary to Mr. Tarun’s
coal mines justice to improve the con- However, Western education perception, I believe there are
Amit, your story reminded me dition of Indian agriculture, does seem to have orientation several temples and religious
of my own struggle. I am also the backbone of the economy. to research, creativity and institutions that run schools

There are two important with what has been working?
points mentioned in this Share your opinion, insights, bouquets and It’s time to go back to the
interview. 1. Education sys- brickbats at feedback@careers360.com old-fashioned way without
tem will change only when jeopardising more lives.
teachers have the passion to Arjun Sinha
teach. 2. The government
should set up chain of free understand that these cours- their education in India, they Negotiating your
schools across the country, es make candidates equally go and settle abroad. first salary
with free board and lodging competent. In fact, doing a N. Sabhahit In today’s day and age there
facilities, so that poor chil- part-time or correspondence is no negotiation. You just
dren get the best of educa- course along with a job adds Wither World Class Uni- keep giving in and there is
tion and can compete with to the working knowledge versities? A case for JNU no escape. Hope the youth
the rest of the society. and these candidates may be It was shocking to read the of India remember who they
Jabali practically more competent article. Singapore is such a are and which direction they
than full-timers. small country but is the proud want their career graph to
Are you a ready-to-eat Vishnu holder of the National Uni- move. Fear of losing one’s job
graduate? versity of Singapore (NUS). kills the motivation to con-
Our education system, the “I am proud to win Even Japan and Korea are tribute and take initiatives at
way it is imparted is solely gold for India” way ahead in spite of their the workplace.
focused on basic knowl- No doubt Indian students geographic size. Maybe the Parul Tayal
edge. It is not job-oriented; are bright. But still we lack higher educational system in
that’s why we feel the need action-oriented intelligence. India should collectively try Leaders are readers.
to opt for higher education We get carried away by book- to make a mark and try to be Are you?
like MBA. Most of us can’t ish knowledge and memo- placed under the term World I was a reader that got lost
afford IIMs or other Tier1 rising theory. Our students Class Universities (WCU) in in the rat race of work with-
institutes and that doesn’t should be trained on how to the near future. out ever becoming a leader.
help us when we go for job solve the problems of daily Pankaj Verma Thank you for reminding me
interviews. Part-time educa- life, rather than just showing to go back to reading. I went
tion has been losing its value very high IQ. Computer is now the and bought a new book after
and there is almost no value Bihari Babu key to your MBA reading the article. I hope I
for correspondence courses, The CAT fiasco is a clear can start by reading one new
even though the knowledge Congratulations!! It clearly reflection of adding problems book every month, on the
levels are mostly the same shows that there is no dearth in the lives of already trou- road of self investment.
as for full-time courses. Peo- of talent in India and our pri- bled students. Apart from the Anirudh
ple opt for part-time/corre- mary education standard is money issue, what about the
spondence for reasons other at par with developed coun- psychological impact of fail- Being reminded of books
than their level of grasping tries. Unfortunately, we are ure? Future of many students was an eye opener. With a
and understanding being low. not able to retain these bud- will now be left to the mercy google search giving us all the
HRs across industries must ding talents in India. After of cyber space! Why tamper answers, it’s time we revived
the culture of studying in the
library. Educational system
and indirectly help primary commenced construction of a is the government allocating in India should get students
education. For instance, Vedic school near Hyderabad less than 3 percent of GDP away from the Internet and
ISKON (International Soci- international airport, which towards education? Accord- to a library instead. There is
ety for Krishna Conscious- will provide totally free edu- ing to UNESCO, India has the hope still for the children in
ness), a Bangalore-based cation up to graduation for lowest public expenditure on our country.
Radha Krishna temple trust, 6,000 students. higher education per student Nisha Kailey
provide mid-day meal to P Kumar in the world. Is this because
over one lakh primary school Plenty of organisations in the politicians do not want The future looks right
students in Bangalore. Shri India are working towards educated people, lest they for Indian CFAs
Sathya Sai Baba’s institu- the education system, Azim start voting intelligently? I got a lot of clarity after read-
tion at Puttaparthi in And- Premji Foundation is doing Amit Kumar ing the detailed CFA Program
hra Pradesh runs schools and great work. So is a smaller story and hope to clear all
colleges providing totally free organisation called OSAAT Good, affordable educa- the levels before the number
education up to graduation run by a group of young peo- tion is the need of the hour. rises. Curiously, which sec-
level. His Holiness Sri Sri ple in US and Bangalore, Why not use it to build good tor holds hope for future stu-
Sri Tridandi Chinna Sriman- there are many more. The schools and colleges? dents to make it big?
narayana Ramanuja Jeeyar fundamental question is: why Mr Walker Nishtha Vashishth

careers NEWS CAMPUS NEWS NEW COURSES EVENTS
Some of the world’s best accelerated programmes

Student Profile
People in accelerated MBA
programmes, by the numbers
Median Age: 29
Gender: 73% are male
U S citizens: 25%
Median years of experience: 6
Median years of management
experience: 2
Median pre-MBA salary: $55,000
Median post-MBA base salary: $90,000
Percentage who said they got a
promotion post-MBA: 78%
Percentage who said they were in
the same industry both pre-and
post-MBA: 95%
Source : WSJ survey of alumni and student
at accelerated M.B.A. Programmes
T he Wall Street Journal conducted a survey on accelerated

MBA programmes. The survey was focused on questions
designed to measure the impact that schools have in shaping
survey (53 questions) and an alumni survey (48 questions).
1361 students and 735 alumni responded to the questionaire
with a response rate of 40 and 25 percent respectively. It was
and building strong careers and who can operate in a global administered electronically and all respondents were given
environment. Data was collected through a separate student private passwords. See table below for the results in a nutshell.
Worlds’ 15 best accelerated MBA programmes

School/Location Rank Student Alumni Students Program Length/ Skill Leadership Alumni
rank rank per class Total programme enhancement enhancement impact
cost*
IE Business School/Madrid 1 2 1 398 13/69,500 Top Top Top
IMD/Lausanne, Switzerland 2 1 2 90 11/73,417 Middle Top Top
Cranfield School of Management/ 3 6 3 40 11/44,800 Top Top Top
Bedford, England
Northwestern University (Kellogg)/ 4 4 7 80 12/65432 Middle Top Middle
Evanston, IL
Babson College (Olin)/ 5 3 11 87 12/54,058 Bottom Top Middle
Babson Park, Mass.
ESADE/Barcelona 6 7 4 40 12/61750 Middle Top Bottom
INSEAD/Fontainebleau, France 7 10 6 481 10/67,426 Middle Middle Top
IAE/Buenos Aires 8 8 10 40 11/26,000 Top Top Middle
Miami (OH) Univ. (Farmer)/Oxford, Ohio 9 9 9 27 14/50,000 Top Middle Top
Emory University (Goizueta)/Atlanta 10 5 16 47 12/63,600 Top Middle Bottom
Cornell University/Ithaca, N.Y. 11 13 5 41 12/74,850 Top Middle Top
Copenhagen Business School/ 12 15 12 47 11.5/50,000 Bottom Middle Middle
Copenhagen
University of St. Gallen/ 13 12 15 41 12/55,538 Bottom Middle Middle
St. Gallen, Switzerland
Durham Business School/ 14 14 13 46 12/30,537 Top Middle Bottom
Durham, England
Univ. of Oxford (Said)/Oxford, England 15 16 14 233 12/49,356 Middle Bottom Middle
* US $ Sources: WSJ survey of alumni and students at accelerated MBA programmes; WSJ research
6 careers 360 January 2010

Developing markets root for GMAT IIST – ISAT 2010

Indian Institute of Space
Science and Technology (IIST)
G oing by the number of students who

appeared for GMAT in 2009, it con-
tinues to remain the preferred choice for
invites applications to its BTech
programme. Options available
include programmes in Avionics,
MBA aspirants. The Graduate Manage- Physical Sciences and Aerospace
Engineering. The exam will be held
ment Admission Council, responsible on April 16, 2010. Visit www.iist.
for administering the test says that the ac.in/IIST/ISAT2010 or www.isac.
number of candidates for GMAT exams gov.in/iist/ for more details.
administered worldwide in 2009 would
be more than 267,000. Last year the
number was 264,700. The test is admin- ISB offers PG for senior
istered in more countries now. Numbers executives
show, between July 1, 2008 and June 30, ISB, Hyderabad launched
2009, 51 percent of those who took the its PGPMAX incorporating
test were non-US citizens. China and accumulated knowledge from
Kellogg and Wharton. This part-time
India play a large role in the increased
course, is offered over 15 months to
level with China growing by 35 percent senior executives with minimum 10
while India has grown by 7 percent. years experience, grooming them
into business leaders of the future.
Certification for banking TOEFL scholarships for

professionals Indian students MDI Gurgaon
Admissions have opened at MDI,
Training, education and learning solutions Educational Testing Service has developed for their management and energy
provider NIS Sparta will soon offer the the TOEFL Scholarship Programme to management courses. Apply before
Indian Institute of Banking and Finance recognise students with excellent academic January 29, 2010.
(IIBF) accredited training for certificate background as part of ETS’ global mission
course for Business Correspondents (BCs) to advance quality and equity in education.
and Business Facilitators (BFs). The cours- Indian students, with an overall percent- SRM, Chennai
es would provide candidates with an over- age of 60 and above can apply. Proficiency The SRM University, Chennai
all understanding of banking operations, in the English language would be reflected invites applications for its various
postgraduate programmes
and course content will comprise basics in TOEFL scores. Three $10,000 scholar-
in pharmaceutics, health
of banking operations and procedure, role ships would be granted each for the US, management, human anatomy and
of BCs and BFs, financial advising, coun- the UK and Canada. Four $ 5,000 scholar- medical biochemistry. Deadline to
selling and knowledge of various forms ships would be offered for any university in apply is January 15, 2010.
and documents required in banks. The the world listed in the TOEFL directo-
duration of training is five days. Hundred ry. The scholarship would be awarded to
percent course fee would be reimbursed by help students cover the course fee for Notifications
NABARD in 256 districts and 75 percent postgraduation study. Applicants must
in remaining districts on obtaining certifi- complete an online scholarship applica-
cation by IIBF. tion at www.ets.org/toefl/ PGDM admissions open at Institute
for Financial Management and
Research
Placement process to change at IIM-A BITSAT-2010: Online test for

admission to degree programmes
at BITS campuses
Having changed the way the entrance examinations to IIM’s
IIT Kharagpur: LLB (Hons) in
is administered, by making CAT online, The Indian Institute Intellectual Property Law
of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has plans to revamp National Institute of Fashion
placements of students. The institute is making a pioneering Technology: Admissions 2010
move from day-based placements to a ‘cohort-based’ system. School of Petroleum Management:
Based on ‘similarity of roles,’ companies across sectors would MBA focuses on Oil & Gas sector
be grouped together and each group would recruit on a par-
ticular weekend, according to Saral Mukherjee, chairman of For details on the above
placements at IIM-A. It is envisioned that though the new and more, visit
process will be longer, it would help students and firms in www.careers360.com
better decision making.

Watch out For !

Latest European Business school rankings JN Tata Scholarships - 2010
Applications are invited for JN Tata
F inancial times, the UK, has come up with the latest European Business school rank- Endowment Scholarships for higher
studies abroad. There are no limitations
ings 2009. Compiled from the four other rankings published by FT, the rankings in eligibility based on age, field of study,
take into account the number of programmes for each school and the quality of these programme, duration or selected
programmes as assessed by FT in its earlier rankings. 20 criteria from the MBA rank- study. Forms available now till Feb 15,
2010. Last date to submit completed
ing and 16 each from executive education, custom programmes, EMBA and Master’s applications is March 1, 2010.
in management were used to arrive at the end result.
Finanical Times best European B-Schools

Rank Business School Country* Full-time Executive Master’s in Open programmes- Custom pro-
2009 MBA 2009 MBA 2009 Management Executive Education grammes- Executive
2009** 2009 Education 2009
1 HEC Paris France 11 1*** 1 6 1
2 London Business School UK 1 3† 4 11
3 Insead France/Singapore 2 4 7 3
4 IMD Switzerland 5 6 1 2
5 IE Business School Spain 3 5 2 12
6 Iese Business School Spain 4 7 3 4
7 Rotterdam School of Netherlands 9 13† 9 18
Management, Erasmus University
8 EM Lyon Business School France 32‡ 28 5 16 16
8 Esade Business School Spain 7 8 9 5
10 Vlerick Leuven Gent Belgium 20 24 19 14 19
Management School
11 Essec Business School France/Singapore 8*** 4 5 8
12 ESCP Europe France/UK/Germany/ 12 2 13
Spain/Italy
13 City University: Cass UK 17 8 14
13 Cranfield School of Management UK 13 15 11 7
15 Stockholm School of Economics Sweden/Russia/Latvia 21 11 20 10
16 Imperial College Business School UK 16 14 31
17 University of Strathclyde UK 17 29 25
Business School
18 Helsinki School of Economics Finland/S. Korea/ 22 29 19 21
Singapore
19 Grenoble Graduate School of France 25 6 24
Business
19 London School of Economics UK 1*** 3
and Political Science
19 University of Oxford: Saïd UK 8 10 13
22 University College Dublin: Smurfit Ireland 30 26 35
22 Warwick Business School UK 14 16 22
24 SDA Bocconi Italy 15 8 9
25 Durham Business School UK 22 31 40
Footnotes Source: The Financial Times Ltd 2009. “FT” and “Financial
*: These data are for information only. Times” are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
**: The Cems programme was ranked number one in the Master’s in Management 2009 rankings, but it has not been included in the
European Business Schools 2009 ranking as it is a programme and not a school.
***: School participated in this ranking on the basis of a joint programme only. Underlying score based on proportion of total score.
†: School participated with more than one programme in this ranking. Underlying score based on combined scores.
‡: School was not included in the published 2009 ranking for this survey
††: School was not included in the published 2009 ranking for this survey.

Oz colleges go Down Under IIFT wins Al Gore award

IIFT Kolkata’s entry ‘Nirvana powers’
won the first prize at the 3rd Al Gore
A
sustainable technology venture
ustralian State regulator of Educa-
competition. SPJMIR’s entry
tion has closed shop of two private ‘Abhyudaya’ was the runner-up. The
colleges in Australia for failure in competition had received many
meeting basic education standards. Clo- entries of business plans.
sure of Australian Institute of Career
Education and Australian International
College of Commerce on December 8 UK University starts its
affects the future of over 100 students. Indian initiative
Mostly from India and China, a total of University of Greenwich, UK, a
129 students studying commercial cook- popular destination for Indian
ery face a dark future, some would have students has signed up an MoU
with IMT, Ghaziabad and Apeejay
completed their courses in less than two
Satya group promoting exchange
weeks. “Students who are displaced as a of students and faculty from each
result of college closures must, by law, be institution towards teaching and
found alternative colleges or have their research initiatives. The initiative
course fees refunded,” stated a report. is also being discussed with
The number of closures of colleges since MNIT, Jaipur and FICCI for future
possibilities.
July, 09 is 11 till date, affecting more than
3,000 international and domestic stu-
dents. The Victoria State government State service Exam, MP
expects further closures in the coming
The Madhya Pradesh PSC, invites
year in its efforts to “tidy up the sector.” application for the prelims of the
state administrative service for
352 avaliable posts. Apply before
Now, an MD in emergency Accenture hiring 8,000 January 31, 2010.
Accenture, known for its global technol-
medicine ogy services capability, and having 180,000
This specialised branch will be introduced employees around the world (42,000 are FOR REGULAR UPDATES ON
for the first time in India, during the 2010 based in India) is set to add 8,000 people
academic session. The All India Institute of in India alone by the end of 2010, to take New course announcements,
Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has tied up with its total headcount to 50,000. university/institute news,
the University of South Florida to create
conferences, summer schools,
an online exam. Doctors would need to
Hope for 3,500 in ICICI job announcements
clear the exam in order to get accredited
first, in order to teach at the PG level for Banking professionals can look forward Log on to our website
emergency care. “Emergency medicine is to a new recruitment drive by none other www.careers360.com
yet to receive its due as a distinct entity in than ICICI Bank in the coming months.
India, unlike in the US and the UK, where Reports suggest that 3,500 employees will
it is an integral part of the acute trauma be hired by Q1 of 2010. The new recruit-
care procedure,” expressed Dr. MC Misra, ments are a direct solution to address the
Job Alerts
AIIMS Trauma Centre chief. In addition to attrition that has taken place in the last
AIIMS, Christian Medical College, Vellore nine months. ICICI has also applied for
Allahabad Bank: Probationary
and Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati approval to open 500 new branches as Officers (880) and Agriculture
have applied to be allowed to open separate well, resulting in more job opportunities Field Officers (110)
departments in emergency medicine. in the sector. Mohanlal Sukhadia University,
Udaipur, Rajasthan – over 100
vacancies for Assistant Professors,
Health care management at ICRI Associate Professors and Professors
in various subjects
The Institute of Clinical Research (India), ICRI, invites applications for its two-year full- National Fertilizers Ltd: Mgt. Trainees
(137) - in Engineering, Management
time MBA in Healthcare Management, which offers a specialisation in Medical Tourism/
Hospital Operations Management in the final year. The course is offered in Mumbai,
Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Dehradun and Bangalore. Eligibility to apply is gradua- Get details at
tion in any discipline from a recognised university. Selection of candidates would be based www.careers360.com
on an entrance exam and interview.

CEO Speak E balaji
Customise
your résumé
and career
E Balaji, currently CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants, has spent 15 years with
the HR consultancy firm and manages a team of over 1,200 professionals across
60 locations. In an interview with Urmila Rao, he offers tips to job-seekers on a
wide range of areas from smart salary negotiation to making an impression in an
interview to attaining good appraisal review and being a star performer...
Q: What do employers look for when Customise your résumé so as to high-

interviewing a candidate? light your skills to fit the kind of job you
A: Work ethics, honesty, loyalty, confi- are applying for.
dence and problem-solving ability are Research thoroughly about the indus-
some of the traits looked for in a pro- try, company and job you are applying
spective hire. The key 4 Es here are for. Ask relevant questions (usually at
exposure, experience, expertise and the end of the interview). And prepare
excellence. A student from a reputed col- by taking mock interviews.
lege, without work experience, would Formulate your responses using the
be considered as having an exposure to STAR format [Situation, Task, Action,
certain concepts and will be expected to and Result] of answering questions; this
demonstrate those in his application. method relies on your prior experiences
Experienced people would be expect- to predict future behaviour. As regards
ed to perform with limited or no super- positioning, all interviewers have a pre-
vision. An expert is a person considered conditioned mindset of the ‘best fit’ can-
to have good conceptual understanding didate. Hence positioning yourself in the
of a wide range of subjects relevant to a minds of the interviewer that you are the
domain, and who can guide others in the best fit, is the key. Are you a person with
organisation. Finally, excellence is when unique competencies or superior skills
a person’s expertise is known beyond the for which specific companies are willing
boundary of an organisation and hence to pay a premium? And finally watch out
respected by the industry. Employers for the big P – Pressure!
look for someone who is a good fit not
just in terms of technical skills but also Q: What factors contribute to a good
the social culture of the organisation. appraisal of a professional?
A: Today, performance review systems
Q: Your job interview tips... are focused on career development
A: I recommend focusing on the thre Ps: and enhancement based on open and
Presentation, Preparation, Positioning. detailed discussions with one’s superi-
When presenting, your attitude, appear- ors. Many organisations are now moving
ance and résumé presentation carries far towards a 360 degree feedback system
more weightage than you would imagine wherein a performance review is sought
in an interview. Hence dress profession- from all sources that an employee
ally and be punctual for your interview; has an interface with, which includes SALARY TALK Accepting a company’s first offer
it shows professionalism. Your résumé is peers, team-mates and reporting sen- sans negotiation may not be the best strategy
an opportunity to sell the brand ‘YOU’. iors. For an effective appraisal you must

be open to communication with peers educational backgrounds and profes-
and reporting seniors, and have a clear sions, engineers, bio-technologists,
understanding of key performance indi- environmentalists, auditors, account-
cators. ants, scientists, economists, media pro-
fessionals and the like. Telecom was one
Q: What are the dos and don’ts of sal- of those highly resilient sectors, which
ary negotiation? weren’t too affected by the recession.
A: Salary negotiations are the most Infrastructure projects – roads, bridges,
sensitive yet important conversations and railways are gaining momentum -
of your career. Once the company has and were one of the first few to experi-
decided to hire you they will look at the ence a revival. Animation and gaming
least expensive Cost-to-Company to get is an interesting and new avenue. Even
you on board. Accepting whatever the private banking players are recruiting
companies offer may make you appear actively especially in wealth manage-
weak and not worth your mettle. Yet ment, microfinance and insurance. The
being over-aggressive and pushy at the automobile industry is also revving up!
negotiation table may leave a bad taste
in the mouth, especially knowing that Q: How can a professional identify
you have to work with these people on a the best job profile for himself ?
daily basis from here on. A: Several personality profiling tests
Being well-prepared on what would be available in the market help guide a can-
a good compensation for your experi- didate in identifying the right career
ence and expertise, goes a long way in path. Apart from this it would be advis-
able to study your inherent traits and
qualities and look for jobs that neces-
“Customise your résumé in sitate these qualities in abundance.
such a way that you highlight Q: Is it true that freshers who take up
your skills to fit the kind jobs in an economic downturn situ-
of job you are applying for” ation end up being in a disadvanta-
geous positions?
A: More than a year back, there were
unrealistic expectations on pay pack-
the negotiation. Often the compensation ages and growth rates. Freshers got
could be coupled with equity or other unbelievable salary packages. Experi-
perks. Study these well to see if they enced candidates sometimes got 200%
match what you want. Don’t accept a hikes in a single year! There’s a definite
salary lower than what you are worth correction happening in the job market.
in anticipation of future hikes. Under- The new, more normal economy will be
standing how much you need the com- seasoned with reduction in salary and
pany and vice-versa, will also give you benefits. Today, many are happy to keep
an idea of your stance in the negotiation. their jobs and retain current salaries,
Knowing when to stop negotiating can even when presented with higher sala-
be tricky. It’s not a case of who wins. If ries. However, finding good talent has
you refuse to bow down they will begin become tougher. Hence freshers have a
to think that you are a wrong choice. greater chance of finding the right job.
When you know it’s time, accept your
offer with grace, and thank the manage- Q: What can professionals do to insu-
ment for its time. When turning down an late themselves from a downturn?
offer, thank management for the nego- A: Constantly updating oneself techni-
tiation; it’s professional and refined. cally, skill upgradation and active par-
ticipation in learning and development
Q: Which sectors have potential for a programmes offered within the organi-
promising career in the near future? sations is recommended. Finally ensur-
A: Green jobs throw open several ing a sound connect with the market,
career options that are both meaning- through professional networking sites
ful and promise growth. Green-collar such as LinkedIn will add some fillip to
jobs are accessible to people from varied your job retention strategy.

Cracking Foreign education
From application to arrival

The road ahead if you have applied for admission to a program in fall 2010
by Mrinalini Batra
T
he majority of students would have
met the January 1 deadline for
admission. What are you expected
to do now? The best way to move forth is
to concentrate on your upcoming Class
12 examinations. You may think that
you fit the profile for admission but it is
entirely possible that your dream col-
lege is seeking a student of that profile
this year too but not from India . So keep
your options open.
IMPORTANT: Study for the Board

examinations as a good result would
guarantee admission.
The following calendar may be use-
ful in keeping track of your admissions Columbia still remains an attractive option for students due to its liberal intellectual space
process and avoiding surprises.
college may be different from the federal you were accepted that you will not be
January deadlines and you may be required to attending in writing so that your spot
Check your e-mail regularly to ensure complete additional forms. can be freed up for another student.
that you are not missing any communi- If you are keen to take the AP On the waiting list? Contact the admis-
cation from the schools. Some schools (Advanced Placement) in May, register sions office and let them know of your
interview the applicants and make sure for the same as the deadline is March continued interest in the college and
you have not missed the invitation.Some 1. Through AP’s college-level courses update them on your Board result and
colleges may require your grades from and exams, you can earn college credit other activities post the application.
class 12 internal examination as part of thereby saving yourself time and money
your application folder. If you have done in the long-term. May
really well, make sure you send a copy Take the AP Exams and make sure that
to the school. However, if your perform- March the grades are sent to your college.
ance does not reflect you in the best pos- Keep your focus on excelling in the Start the preparation for applying for
sible light, find out which schools want exams as some admissions offers could a student visa. Just because you have
the report and only send it to them. be contingent on your final grades. been admitted to a school is no reason to
If you have been admitted to a school in Admission results will start trickling in assume that you would be granted a visa
the Early Decision process, check with the last week of the month though some by the consulate officer. US law treats
the school if you are required to pay a colleges may start sending feelers by the all student visa applicants as potential
deposit to keep your place. And remem- start of this month. immigrants and you have to prove it oth-
ber to withdraw from other schools. erwise during the interview process.
April Now the visa is also done, you are all
February Most admissions decisions and finan- set. You will need to get some medical
Contact your colleges and confirm that cial aid award letters arrive this month. clearances before you leave. Get your
all necessary application materials have Read everything you receive carefully, paperwork in order. Send the final exam
been received. If you have decided to as some of it may require action on your transcript to your college. Shop for items
apply for financial aid, make sure that part. Make a final decision, and mail the you will need in college. Sign up for the
you have filed the financial aid papers. enrolment form and deposit check to orientation. Bon voyage!
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal the school you select before May 1 (the
Student Aid) deadlines and other finan- enrolment deadline for most schools). (The author is a New Delhi-based
cial aid application due dates for your Notify each of the schools to which foreign education consultant)

Feature b-school survey 2010
Towards a methodolo
Academic process must be given maximum weightage, assert faculty of B-schools, but
INPUTS PROCESS
Students No. of Faculty development programmes Student-faculty ratio
Number of Students No. of faculty who attended other FDPS Full programme strucutre
Cut off percentile for the entrance tests Alumni Curriculum with detailed course structure
% students with in 25% above the cut off Key alumni details Session plan for each course
Fresh Graduates/with +2 years’ experience Infrastructure Reading lists, if any
No. of applications received Residential campus/% of faculty in campus Course-wise evaluation methodology/
Marking process
Students spending a semester abroad/inward Online resources/annual investment
No. of industry-oriented projects per
Faculty List of books purchased in the last two years course/per year, last year
Additions to infrastructure (last two years) Courses entirely run by visiting/
Number of Faculty (Core/Visiting/Guest/Adjunct)
Proposed additions in the next two years adjunct faculty
PhD versus non-PhD/ No. of Foreign PhDs
Connectivity Courses entirely run by core faculty
Faculty with more than 10 years’ full-time business
experience Other details Courses that have been revamped
in the last two academic years
Funded Research Centres/Chair professorships Year of establishment/ownership
Courses dropped this year
International Faculty on board for a term Expansion to other cities and overseas location
New courses launched in last two years
Core faculty who spend a term aboard Other Programmes
No. of courses offered in abridged version
Director’s background and years of experience Executive MBA/PGDM/Diplomas
Tentative faculty load
No. of courses handled by
international faculty
Students who have spent a
B. Mahesh Sarma and Nimesh Chandra incoming data proves otherwise, aca- semester aborad
demic productivity is a more a discrimi-
N
ot withstanding their pub- nating factor for top or at best some of
lic disparaging of rankings the Tier 1 schools, which probably would
B-schools still root for them, account for not more than 20-25.
only their preferred ranker Placement: This is an important indi-
changes, year-to-year. But what needs cator but the reportage is very suspect.
to be ranked is always debated. Some The mean and median salaries hide more
like Prof. Ganesh, (See Page 38), plead than what they reveal. What is required
for an altogether academic methodology is a quartile-based average salaries, so
to rate B-schools. A few others swear by that the distribution of the cohort in
the perception rankings conducted in terms of their earning potential could
the lines of FT/ Businessweek etc. be identified.
While it is impossible to arrive at ideal The academic process: This must
methodology, scores of discussions with be given maximum weightage, since
academicians did provide us a broad this is the actual site of value addition.
directional clarity. We have so far held And most academics agree, it is also
discussions with over 100 academics the most difficult to capture espe-
spread over the east, south and north cially with quantitative indicators.
geographies, where as west is still pend- But we did get some broad direc-
ing. The following base points emerge. tions, in terms of structure, delivery
Academic productivity: Barring the and evaluation.
top 10-15 schools, faculty’s academic Alumni survey: Organised alumni sur-
productivity, in globally benchmarked veys, with the alumni database being
journals is virtually non-existent. Unless supplied by the B-school itself appears

gy to rank B-Schools
agree it is difficult to capture. A lowdown on the principles, governing Careers360 ranking
OUTPUT Ranking: In the debate between clus-

ters-based ranking versus individual
Placement details Publications
ranks, opinion is evenly divided. Both
No. of companies that visited campus Cited researchers’ data the sides argue vehemently marshalling
Interviews at the company location Publication index from citations within India enough evidence, but a majority agree
Through placement consultants International peer reviewed journals
that students go by a rank, rather than
a cluster.
No. of pre-placement offers with details Domestic peer reviewed journals
Non-participation: Some colleges do
Average salary No. of faculties who published at not participate, especially the govern-
least one paper
Minimum/maximum salary ment ones. But unless they are ranked,
Sector-wise placements
Books published (excluding edited volumes) the list might get skewed. One sugges-
MDPs/Training tion was to rank them based on publi-
Domestic/international salaries separately
No. of company-specific MDPS (Customised)
cally available data, but keep them at
Summer placement the end of a cluster. So that undeserv-
No. of open MDPS/Revenue
Stipendary ing colleges, which participate do not
Non-stipendary
PhD Output get pushed up to better ranking, while
No. of enrolled/total PhDs/in last year deserving colleges get penalised for not
Paid consulting
In-house Journal
being fully open.
No. of faculty involved
Public sector projects Origin/periodicity/back volumes Ideas for methodology
Private sector projects If peer reviewed, reviewer list Based on the above premises, we have
arrived at the following methodology.
Revenues from consulting List of contributors in the last year
We followed the ‘INPUT- PROCESS-
OUTPUT” model. Logically a B-School
has students, faculty, and resources as
inputs, the programme ( design, deliv-
to find lot of favour with the schools. ery, evaluation) is its process, and out-
The input quality: This emerged as put is the qualified student. Output also
the most contentious issue. With diver- includes publications, consulting, indus-
sity of entrance examinations like CAT, trial projects, faculty advising boards
MAT, SAT and state-level etc. We would ideally like to identify
entrances, it is almost impos- and differentiate schools at each stage
sible to assess and assign a of the process as well as collectively as a
value for the input quality. school. We also appreciate the fact that
What emerges from the dis- especially in process, the softer aspects
cussion is that only a cluster- that actually make a difference is impos-
based ranking would work sible to capture. But at least we would
here, with similar cohorts make a beginning in that direction this
getting similar rating. year. Since institutions have multiple
Infrastructure: While campuses and programmes, we thought
colleges do agree the mere we will rank campuses, but within that
presence of a resource does not look at programmes seperately. The
mean it is used, the usage statistics cluster versus individual ranking is still
are not maintained. But they all debated upon.
agree that is the way to go, with The data sets we aspire to capture is
some correlation to academic pro- published above. The final consideration
ductivity. set and relative weights are still under
debate. Comments and suggestions are
directors/Faculty interacting with most welcome. Write to us at editor@
Career360 team on ranking. careers360.com.

Advisory Job Interviews
Illustration : Gouri Nanda
10 questions that
won’t get you the job
A headhunter’s advice to freshers attending the first interviews of their careers
A
s an executive recruiter with 1. “Can you tell me something about about latest product releases, what cus-
twenty-two years of experience, your company?” tomers say about their products and any
interviewing freshers to deter- The employer is instantly put off! An awards they have won, recently.
mine if they are suitable for my aspiring candidate is supposed to visit
client’s organisation is literally a part of the company website and understand its 2. “Will you do a reference check?”
my daily routine. business model, products, services, his- Most companies use the services of a
Typically, a prospective employer will tory etc. Please read the section ‘About third party agency to conduct a ‘refer-
ask if you have any queries. Here’s a Us’ where companies provide their histo- ence check‘. The moment you pop this
rundown of those that usually don’t go ry, products, the geographies they serve question, a red flag is hoisted, as the
down too well with the client, often due etc. Also visit the ‘Press’ section of the interviewer may think you have some-
to which candidates are not selected. company, where you have information thing to hide.

3. What is your leave policy? Avoid these Topics the neighbourhood and at the bus or
Don’t ask this question. It looks like you train station.
like to relax. While most companies talk Caste, religion and politics.
of work-life balance, few practise them. You never know the sensitivity of the person
interviewing you. Hence, you should not raise
9. “Are there opportunities for pro-
this in any interview. motion?”
4. Do you work on Saturdays? Please don’t raise this question during
Avoid this question, as the employer Hiring and firing policy of companies. the interview. Once you join the com-
The employer may get the impression that you
gets a suspicion about your intentions are not sure of yourself, and hence this query pany and prove yourself, then you can
to work hard. about the firing policy. raise this issue with your boss. In today’s
job market, your priority should be to
5. When will I get my next incre- first get the job. It’s better to look for
ment? 7. “How soon can I transfer to anoth- promotion after that.
This question makes you appear ‘greedy’. er role?”
Avoid it at this stage of the interview You may have been offered a sales role 10. “When do I start?”
process. The employer thinks that you and you may be interested in a mar- Since you are not sure that you have
are looking at money all the time and keting/brand management role. Asking been offered, don’t ask this question.
hence will change jobs if offered a mar- this question has no meaning as you are The employer gets the feeling that you
ginally higher salary. literally saying to the employer “I don’t are overconfident and brash, and may
like this job”. Remember, most employ- not suit them. A better way for job seek-
6. “Do you have any other jobs avail- ers will keep you for a reasonable time ers to show their interest is to be direct.
able in your company?” in the offered role and depending upon They should tell the interviewer they
You may be offered a job, which you your performance transfer you to a dif- are very interested in being considered
think is below your aspirations. If you ferent role. further for the position and offer to pro-
feel that the job is below your ability vide whatever additional information
then say so directly at the interview. 8. “Can you tell me about the best the company might need.
You could say, “I did this job three way (bus or train) to reach the office
years ago. Last two years I have been from my residence?” Kris Lakshmikanth is the Founder CEO
leading a team. May I know the career Don’t ask this question! You can easily and Managing Director of Headhunters
progression for this position?” find out the answer talking to people in India Pvt Ltd, and an alumni of IIMC.
lim H
ite ur
is calling all Institutions to register and get a 1 year subscription of d p ry!
fe er
r io
absolutely FREE! d
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12th class to..
Executive Education,
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Career Planning
and much much more....
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Course Review radiography
X-ray to MRI:
Defining diagnostic
accuracy
These ‘technician-nurses’ play a very important role
in the medical process. What to study and how to
grow is this field...
Fast Facts
Best Schools: All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Post Graduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Dr. B.R.
Ambedkar Medical College Hospital Qualification: 10+2 for certificate/diploma/graduation
in science, postgraduation study requires previous study in chosen specialization Our Advice:
First decide on diagnostic or therapeutic radiography, then explore sub-specialisations
by Bharti M Borah But it’s not always possible to diagnose a

disease based on symptoms alone. Here
“
D
o you have any metal on radiography comes to the rescue.
your person?” A typi- Radiography is used to diagnose the
cal question asked in the problem by focusing on the internal use the equipment and adapt to new
reception area just before parts of the anatomy using X-rays, some- technology and procedures. Some
a patient is taken in for an MRI scan. times referred to as ‘X-ray photography’. important procedures include fluoros-
Remembering to ask this question is This field has had a huge impact on the copy, ultrasound or sonography, MRI
imperative; it ensures the patient’s safe- medical field as well as in industrial (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET
ty. If forgotten, the magnetic nature of applications. (Positron Emission Tomography) and
the equipment could result in a life or CT scan (See Box).
death situation. Technician-nurses Dr. T.H.S. Bedi, Consultant Radiologist
Thus the personnel in the radiology This field is a highly technical one and at New Delhi’s B.L. Kapoor Memorial
department must function in a system- the processes vary, depending on which Hospital, shared that radiographers are
atic manner. Radiologists and doctors part of the anatomy or tissue is being support staff or ‘technician nurse’ and
diagnose by interpreting images such imaged. Radiographers are trained to that the contribution of radiographers is
as X-rays, which have been created by an important part of the parcel of effec-
the radiographer, using high-end equip- tive treatment. “It’s a good job; you have
ment. Thus a radiographer has an impor- Radiographers are in fixed hours, a nice environment and
tant role to play in saving lives. you will be handling equipment worth
demand, both in India and crores,” he says. The demand for trained
What is radiography? abroad. Health care radiographers is constantly growing.
This field took birth in 1895 when X-rays
were discovered, the process evolved services and facilities Diagnostic and therapeutic
through the years to be used for diag- are forever growing, branches
nostic purposes. To provide the right A diagnostic radiographer is required to
treatment for a disease or ailment, it’s especially in our country explain procedures to the patients, help
necessary to make the correct diagnosis. prepare them for the tests, operate and

Imaging technology used by
diagnostic radiographer
1 X-Ray
Look through tissues to examine bones,
cavities and foreign objects
2 Fluoroscopy
Imaging the digestive system, providing
real-time image
3 Computed Tomography
Provide cross-sectional views (slices) of
the body
4 Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Build a 2-D or 3-D map of different tissue
types within the body
5 Ultrasound
Check circulation, largely used in obster-
ics and gynaecology
6 Angiography
Used to investigate blood vessels
>>ZOOM: 2.3. SCKROPAD, SHAID:6985475.65>>
mathematics, physics and chemistry.

The All India Institute of Medical Sci-
ences offers BSc (Hons) degrees in
Ophthalmic Techniques and Medical
Technology. A degree course would offer
you better chances for growth than a
certificate or diploma course.
ii. Certificate/diploma courses: Some

institutes conduct diploma courses
in diagnostic radiography and radio-
therapy. The duration of course varies
maintain equipment and records. Their latest equipment and qualified radiographers between three months and two years,
assistance is required by physicians in play a big role in accurate diagnosis depending on the institute and pro-
performing procedures such as myelo- gramme of choice. The Apollo Institute
grams (examinations to detect injuries, Courses and eligibility of Hospital Management and Allied Sci-
cysts or tumours in the spinal cord) and Vinod Anand Sarma, radiographer at a ences (AIMAS) offers diploma courses
also by surgeons in the operating room, government hospital in Kanyakumari in Medical Records Technology, Inten-
usually with portable X-ray or fluoro- district had pursued his degree from sive Care Technology and Operation
scopic machines. Gandhigram Rural Institute. “This field Theatre in collaboration with Alagappa
Therapeutic radiography, also referred comes under the umbrella of paramedi- University. You must have completed
to as radiotherapy is used in treatment cal studies. Typically, aspirants must Class 12 in science, to be eligible.
and diagnosis of diseases such as cancer, have a strong inclination towards sci-
tumours and ulcers. Here radiation ence subjects like biology, physiology iii. Postgraduate level: Usually, people
is used in controlled conditions as an and anatomy,” says Sarma. in this field complete a degree but it is
exact amount of radiation would help Clinical exposure, hands-on experi- not uncommon to pursue further educa-
shrink the tumour size. Their work is ence with patients and equipment in tion such as a Master’s degree and PhD.
closely associated with doctors, nurses, the hospital setup, is a must during your You must have a degree in radiogra-
physicists and others from oncology course, which includes certificate and phy to be eligible. Subject requirements
teams in treating patients with cancer. diploma programmes, graduate and would vary depending on the specialisa-
A radiotherapy radiographer’s role in postgraduate degrees. tions and institute of choice. Post Grad-
caring for a cancer patient has a broad i. Graduate level: You can pursue a uate Institute of Medical Education
range, from the initial referral stage, course at the graduate level such as and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh
giving pre-treatment information, plan- BSc in Radiography or BSc (Hons) in offers an MSc in Medical Technology in
ning process, treatment and follow-up, Medical Technology in Radiography. Radiology (also other branches such as
post-treatment. You mast have completed 10+2, with pathology, microbiology, pharmacology

Course Review radiography
Studying in India
Institute Location Website
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi www.aiims.edu/
Apollo Institute of Hosptial Management and Allied Sciences Chennai www.aherf.org/
Christian Medical College Vellore www.cmch-vellore.edu/
Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga www.aherf.org/
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College Hospital Bangalore www.bramc.org/
Dr. M.V. Shetty Institute of Health Science Mangalore www.drmvst.org/
Agartala Government Medical College Agartala http://agmc.gov.in/
Gandhi Medical College Hyderabad www.gandhimedicalcol-

legehyderabad.org/
Gauhati Medical College Kamrup gmchassam.gov.in/
Madras Medical College Chennai www.mmc.tn.gov.in/
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh http://pgimer.nic.in/
National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Bangalore www.nimhans.kar.nic.in/
and physiology). You need to participate JOB OPPORTUNITIES Hospitals, nursing homes,
in continuous education programmes diagnostic centres, all need radiographers
throughout your career to survive in
this field. as per the government norms; usually
you can expect Rs. 25,000 + other allow-
Radiography jargon ances. Research is also a crucial aspect,
In the UK, professionals in the field of big industries and companies require
radiography are called diagnostic radi- the expertise of radiographers to con-
ographers. In the US, you will common- duct their work. The salaries would vary
ly hear the term radiologic technologist. depending on the company, your area of
In India, you are referred to in accord- expertise and work experience.
ance to the equipment you handle, a
CT technician or MRI technician are How you can grow
examples for degree holders. In addi- “Radiographers are in demand, both in
tion, technicians have assistants such
as those who have done a certificate or
A radiographer must India and globally. Health care services
and facilities are forever growing, espe-
diploma in the field. be very observant, accu- cially in our country,” stressed Sarma.
Money talk
rate and have a sharp A large number of radiographers are
required in private nursing homes, hos-
Typically, the radiology department is memory, as the doctor’s pitals, diagnostic centres and, of course,
the busiest department in the hospital, diagnosis is based on the the ever growing super specialty hospi-
after emergency and OPD. Freshers with tals such as Apollo, Max and Sitaram
a degree can expect to earn between Rs. information provided by Bhartia in metro cities.
10,000 and Rs. 15,000, in a good hospi- the radiographer The broad areas that a radiographer’s
tal. It would be less if it’s a smaller setup. world comprises are medicine, research
But a good radiographer can expect Rs. and teaching. In addition, the fields of
40,000 to Rs. 60,000 within a year of A postgraduate would obviously earn nuclear medicine and photography can
two of practice. You need to prove your in the higher bracket, Rs. 20,000 plus also be explored, these avenues are open
expertise throughout to keep rising in can be expected with no work experi- to X-ray technicians and radiographers.
the profession. ence. With work experience, the salary The work spaces that radiographers
If you have completed a certificate would obviously be higher. occupy include diagnostic imaging
course/diploma, you could start as an Many opt to get into research and department, intensive care unit, operat-
assistant or aide to the radiographer/ teaching. Almost all medical colleges in ing theatre and as a team with doctors
radiologist, at a lower salary ranging India offer some certificate/diploma/ and other hospital staff.
from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 6,000, largely degree related to the field of radiogra- Radiographers can undertake most
depending on the setup you join. phy. Lecturers are required and are paid investigations but generally specialise

Studying in the UK and Australia
Institution Course Degree
Kingston University Medical Imaging/Oncology Practice/ Certificate/Diploma/

Breast Evaluation Masters
Cardiff University Radiography/Radiotherapy Diploma/Master’s/
MPhil/PhD
Bangor University Computed Tomography Diploma/Master’s
London South Bank University Medical Radiography Diploma
City University Medical Radiography MPhil/PhD
Anglia Ruskin University Radiography/Diagnostic Radiography MSc/MPhil/PhD
University of South Australia Medical Radiation/Sonography Master’s
Royal Melbourne Institute of Medical Radiation (Medical Imaging) Master’s

Technology University
University of Queensland Magnetic Resonance Technology Certificate/Diploma/
Master’s
Curtin University of Technology Medical Imaging Science Masters/MPhil
in one particular area. Thus, creating condition would need extra care during
a niche space to prove their worth and Imaging technology used by a CT scan. They could feel claustropho-
expertise, and also personal career diagnostic radiographers bic during the procedure. Be sensitive to
growth plan. the fears of the patient, and help boost
Diagnostic radiography is a continu-
ally changing profession, and long-term
1 Projection radiography
Creating images through exposure of object
to X-rays or other forms of electromagnetic
their willpower and confidence.
career prospects include management, radiation and capturing the resultant rem- Getting the technical edge
research, clinical work and teaching. nant beam or ‘shadow’ as latent image. Keeping abreast of new technology
Bone and some organs like lungs
With fixed working hours, it’s a great job and processes is also vital. You must
for all, irrespective of gender.
2 Dental radiography
The process involves a small radiation
dose with high penetration in order to
be adaptable, and upgrade your skills,
constantly. And you must also be very
Tele-radiology, a new concept view teeth, which are dense in nature. observant, have a sharp memory and be
“Tele-radiology is not an uncommon Tooth and gums very accurate, as the diagnosis will be
feature today,” Dr. Bedi says. This con-
cept comprises a radiographer sharing 3 Mammography
Involves X-ray examination of breasts and
other soft tissues. Soft tissues
based on the information provided by
you. Remember, as a radiographer, you
images with health care professionals will be part of that process that helps to
who are not present physically to view
the images that have been created. They
4 Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry
Bone densitometry or DEXA is used
for osteoporosis tests. Bones, calculated
save human lives!
could be in the same city or anywhere as T-score

across the world. A certain knowledge More Course Reviews
base and understanding of medicine is Dentistry
required, and a radiographer possesses about the frequency of check-ups of
CFA Program
these requisites. As this aspect of the their staff that are at risk of over expo-
Information Management
field becomes more common and in sure to radiation,” says a radiographic
demand in the future, the role of radiog- technician. Shipping
raphers will gain more significance. Health care
Qualities to succeed Economics
Radiation matters Sarma sums up, “Team work and Animation Industry
Exposure to radiation is a given, but the patience are a must in this service-ori- Psychology
amount of radiation is closely moni- ented field. Often your patient may be Nanotechnology
tored. There are machines that measure in very poor health, but you must be able
Legal Studies
the radiation levels present in enclosed to stay sensitive yet detached from the
B.Pharm
areas. Along with patient’s safety, the situation, in order to do your job, right.
health of radiographers based on their You must also be able to relate to people www.careers360.com
exposure levels is closely watched. “Most of every age group.” For instance, an
private hospitals are very particular elderly person or someone with a heart

Feature radiography
A radiographer’s London dreams

A daily wage earner’s son from Kerala gets a well-paid white collar job in the UK
by Meera Menon says. His future boss gave him a detailed
job description and cited examples of
R
aghurajan Maraparambil had all those recruits who had gone on to
finally arrived when he landed at greater posts despite language barriers.
London’s Heathrow airport. But “I joined in 2006. I knew no Bengali,
the journey from Kodalur, Kerala to the had very little knowledge of Hindi, the
UK was tough. When he was young, his languages I needed to interact with peo-
mother worked in the fields or construc- ple on a daily basis,” he shares.
tion sites. His father was a construction
worker and farm hand. “Feeding us was Cracking tough interviews
not enough. We also had to be educated The job exposed him to various types
(three boys, three girls). I remember the of medical equipment, involved making
entire family separating and bundling presentations and demonstrations for
paddy to be planted in the field,” recalls clients, teaching technicians how to han-
a misty-eyed Raghurajan. dle equipment and attending training
and installations abroad. He travelled to
Education, the only weapon Bhutan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indo-
“I was an average student, but I got a nesia, where he met doctors and techni-
scholarship of about Rs. 1,000 for being cians. He even got to meet Dr. Scott
among the 10 best SC/ST students in W Atlas, senior fellow at the Hoover
Std. IX. I would get the money only Institution, professor of radiology and
after being in Class 10 for six months,” chief of neuroradiology at the Stanford
he says. “Education is perhaps the only University Medical Center.
weapon that can help children win the “Some of my seniors worked as radi-
war against poverty,” he maintains. ographers in the UK. So, I got my quali-
“English was the toughest! But my Raghurajan Maraparambil fications registered there and was now
brother made me read English news-
papers, daily,” he shares. The effort paid
hails from Kodalur, eligible to work in the UK,” he says.
The interview for his UK job was a
off when he opted for PCB in Class XI, Kerala and now works three-step telephonic interview. “It was
at an English-medium school. Clearing as an MRI senior not too easy as it took me some time to
medical entrance exam was tough, so he get used to the accent!” he says. Round 1
opted for a professional diploma in radi- radiographer with a firm with a UK consultancy firm was work-
ological technology course at Thrissur in Colchester, UK related. Round 2 with the company
Medical College. “I was among the 35 managers was purely technical. Round
SC/ST students selected, but after two 3 was with the HR department.
years, only five got through.” The course most “glamourous” and there are very There’s one glitch: it’s not a permanent
made him realise that his technical skills few specialists around. The salaries are job. “Leaving a great-paying permanent
were at a par with the best in class. “I was usually good. At private firms, freshers job was a tough choice. But the possibili-
lucky to find some good teachers”. earn between Rs. 20,000-25,000.” ties are immense,” he shares. “An IELTS
Next, Raghurajan pursued a diploma His first campus interview was with clearance is mandatory. Thankfully, my
in advanced medical imaging technol- a Seimen’s general manager for CT in first try at IELTS with only five days’
ogy at the Sree Chitra Thirunal Insti- Kochi. Questions ranged from personal preparation, got me through. I now work
tute of Medical Sciences and Technol- to technical. But there were only two as an MRI senior radiographer with a
ogy. He was ranked third in the national vacancies, and his classmates made it. firm in Colchester,” beams Raghurajan.
entrance and second at the end of the Next, he met the applications manager There’s no travel but he gets to apply
course. The institute not only helped from GE. “The one hour interview was the skills he learnt, takes decisions
him shed his inhibitions, it also prepared purely technical,” says Raghurajan. independently and faces no interfer-
him well for the future. Despite being sure of his technical skills, ence. Working with doctors from several
he did not hear from the company. countries, including from Africa and the
Clinical application specialist And then a call came from GE, Kolk- Middle East, has helped Raghurajan see
“For a radiographer, this profile is the ata. “I had never been out of Kerala,” he things from a different perspective.

Career Review software testing
Hard fact: Testing is

an interesting job!
Detecting bugs in mobile phones to IT software for a living can
prove to be an exciting and lucrative career option!
Top myth: A career in testing is meant

only for engineering graduates
by Pradeep Soundararajan vibrating and continues to vibrate till the curious programmers tested their code
battery runs out! The ‘switch off’ button but weren’t specialised to do it. Gerald
I
n 2005, I worked for a company, (or for that matter any other button) on M Weinberg is known to have started
a leader in the mobile phone and the phone fails to work in such an event. the first test team in IBM that built spe-
communication space. They hired The only way to cut off power cycle is to cialised testers in the 1950s. The growth
me just as they launched a very styl- pull out the battery and put it back! of this breed was slow, but consistent
ish-looking, expensive, flip phone model Can you imagine how the neurons in till 1980.
(the kind people like to flash around my brain vibrated when I discovered this Since then hundreds and thousands
quite a bit!). bug? I was excited, and typically, all test- of software test teams have sprouted
While testing for a software update ers who detect a bug are excited! across companies that produce soft-
on the flip phone, I discovered that ware. The business value of software
when a missed call is given to a number Birth of the software tester testing as per Gartner Research of 2008
that’s switched off and again when it Software testing happened even before crosses more than 14 billion US dollars.
is switched on, the flip phone started someone was designated that way; Of this, a chunk of the testing business

is outsourced and India acts as hub for of work depends on the wisdom of our customer thinks. I think it’s a field open
such testing work. If you add businesses choices. Hence, good testing is a con- to the finest thinkers.
that thrive around software testing, you text-driven activity.
can add another billion dollars to it! Myth 3: I can be a great tester without
Top testing myths knowing programming.
What testers do In the IT boom from 2003 onwards, Though knowledge of programming is
They provide quality-related informa- several IT companies hired in hoards. not a mandatory skill, in the long run
tion to the company management to Those who could not evolve into good one realises it does help . Moreover, it is
help them take better-informed deci- testers quit their jobs or moved to a dif- also an easily learnable skill. Some peo-
sions about their products. Being a soft- ferent role, and this phenomenon led to ple need 100 hours and others need 200.
ware tester is sometimes like being able several myths about the profession. There are many jobs that don’t demand
to handle a situation such as the Chakra- testers to know programming but you
vyuha, a war strategy, first cited in the Myth 1: It’s a boring job! could be a better tester if you knew how
epic Mahabharatha. Chakravyuha was Every profession has some level of bor- to write and read code. I have personally
a strategy to encircle the enemy in 360 ing stuff and I admit that software test- found lots of problems in the software I
degrees, making it nearly impossible for ing is no exception. An example of what was testing because I read the code and
the enemy to escape. Imagine being at is boring in software testing is : executing understood the problem in it.
the batting crease when 6 runs is needed test cases. But the good news is people
of one ball to win an important match. Myth 4: Software tester salaries not
That’s the modern Chakravyuha. Let’s as good as developers’.
break down the job further: Before 2004, software testers were paid
Dealing with people less as compared to developers, but from
●● Understand the specification or There are several people looking for informa- 2005 onwards most parts of the industry
requirements of the software and question from software testers: Senior Manage- started treating developers and testers
ment, Business Analysts, Designers, Architects,
tion them. A defect found at the require- Developers, Customers, Support Staff, End on par. Today in 2009, I know testers
ment level is much cheaper to fix than users, IT Admin. Besides domain knowledge, who are paid more salary than develop-
once you have finished developing the soft skills include: ers. But by saying that I don’t mean that
product. So testers interact with busi- ■■ Communication skills – writing, reading and testing has overtaken development in
speaking
ness analysts and review the specifica- terms of money.
tions of the software. ■■ People management skills The skilled and the vocal shall always
●● They contribute to design of the prod- ■■ Body language be paid a lot in this industry. Be it a test-
uct by testing the design and reporting ■■ Issue-handling skills to solve problems and er, or a developer or a network admin-
to avoid traps
the problems with it and later reviewing istrator or a support executive. If you
the fixes. ■■ Multi-tasking want to be an average Joe, no problem,
●● Most people think that a programme ■■ Note-taking you will still be paid on par with all other
is the same as a software. It’s not! A Your credibility with all people shall depend average Joes of the industry.
tester must be able to work on software on the above mentioned skills, your technical
skills and your thinking skills.
ranging from that of a mobile phone to Myth 5: Anyone can be a tester.
that of a Merc! The question I have to people who say
●● Dealing with testing: There are more that is:
than a hundred types of test techniques, have devised methodologies, approaches ●● Anyone can play cricket but the ques-
tens of approaches to test, thousands of and techniques to get away from execut- tion is; who plays well?
test tools, dozens and dozens of tech- ing test cases and those ideas are gaining ●● Anyone can write books but the ques-
nologies and domains and millions of huge popularity. Some of the prominent tion is; who writes well?
possible tests. ones are Rapid Software Testing and ●● Anyone can test but the question is;
The challenge here is: what approach- Exploratory Testing. who tests well?
es do we apply? What techniques do we
apply? How do we know that it is a right Myth 2: For engineering grads, only! Myth 6: Software testing doesn’t have
approach and technique, what tools can Interestingly, one of the finest testers a career growth
help us, what if there are 100 tools that Jon Bach (James Bach’s brother) has Visit the Naukri or Monster website and
do the same thing, what suits our con- a journalism degree! In India, organi- search for openings related to software
text, how do we know we have tested sations such as Infosys, Wipro, CTS testing. You’d discover roles and desig-
enough, how much time do we have and TCS, recruit BSc, BCom, and nations such as the following (See Box)
to test, how many of those millions of other graduates to test software. Many plus the proposed salary packages of
possible tests can we do and how do we product companies have also provided that order.
know if we made the right sampling from opportunities for people in support to In addition to these, you may want to
those millions of possible tests?! move to testing since being in support choose to be an independent consultant
The choices are many and the quality is a wonderful way to know how the or a freelance consultant. The money

Career Review software testing
Software testing jobs and earning potential

Role Salary (per month in Rupees)
Trainee Software Tester 4000 – 15,000
Associate/Junior Software Tester/Junior Trainer 16,000 – 30,000
Senior Software Tester/Senior Trainer 30,000 – 50,000
Test Leader/Training Manager 50,000 – 70,000
Test Manager/Test Architect/Consultant 70,000 – 1,50,000
Senior Test Manager/Senior Test Architect 1,50,000 – 2,00,000
Vice President/Head of Testing/Director > 2,50,000
you earn as a freelance consultant thousand slides of how to do it!

depends on your reputation and cred- ●● Also, make sure that campus place-
ibility. Bigger the reputation, up goes ment assistance is included.
the moolah!
Onsite opportunities
How to find a job Scenario 1: Many companies in North
Campus recruitment: Many compa- America, Europe, and the United King-
nies pick recruits for the position of dom and other parts of the world who
developers, testers, support and net- outsource their testing work also need
working. If you are about to be picked onsite staff for better coordination
from one such campus recruitment you between developers and testers and
might want to specifically state your hence prefer to have anywhere rang-
request and choice to be a tester. After ing from half to entire test team on
one joins an organisation straight out site. There are lots of testers who are
of college through campus recruitment, onsite, working in several locations in
they usually provide an intensive train- the world.
ing on testing and other technologies
before being put into a project. Scenario 2: In product organisations,
there are onsite opportunities as well.
Off campus recruitment: Off-cam- Training institutes Products developed in India for the rest
pus recruitment happens either directly ■■ Pure Training : NCR region & Mumbai of the world need to be tested at several
by a walk-in or through a model called ■■ Stag Software: Bangalore & Chennai locations. For instance, in 2004, I was
active sourcing. In active sourcing, lead- ■■ Edista Testing Institute: Bangalore a part of a team that was testing mobile
ing testing institutes are hired to train ■■ Seed Infotech: Pune
phones that were supposed to work in
and deploy entry-level and mid-level 3G environments.
SQTL: Pune
testers based on requests. In 2004 India didn’t have a 3G net-
■■
Course offered: A certificate or diploma work (sadly, barring MTNL and BSNL
programme of one to six months’ duration.
Selecting an institute not in 2009, too) and some of our team
Typically, institutes offer a diploma members had to fly to Paris for Inter
or certificate programme in software Operability Tests and United States
testing, which ranges from one to six for 3G network tests and others had
months. They cost anywhere between,
Companies that hire to travel to Japan and Korea for other
Rs. 10,000 to 40,000 and some insti- testers in India kinds of tests.
tutes have an installment scheme. You ■■ Independent software testing organisations
must be a graduate to be eligible. Typi- that was founded in India include RelQ Message for tomorrow’s testers
cally those with a BBA, BSc, BCom, BE, (Now, EDS - Mphasis), Applabs, Pure I was invited by a large services compa-
Testing, STC Thirdeye and Maverick.
MTech or MBA, apply. ny to address an audience of 100+ fresh
Companies with third party testing services
■■
graduates, who were hired on campus
include Wipro, Infosys, Mindtree, Cognizant,
Smart tips TCS, Satyam, HCL, Mahindra Tech, Thinksoft and were put into testing division. I am
●● Ask for hands-on testing training and hundreds more! using the word ‘put’ because most of the
or complete practical testing training. ■■ Product companies include McAfee, graduates there appeared to be misguid-
Don’t go to training institutes that mere- Microsoft, Google, Symantec, Samsung, ed about the prospects in testing.
LG, Huawei, nVidia, and thousands of more
ly run a few hundred slides and certify organisations and start-ups. Post the talk, several graduates said
you as a tester. It’s like someone teach- to me, “Why did none of your seniors
ing you how to drive a car by running a from this company talk to us about how

Expert Speak Michael Bolton
O ne of the most skilled testers and Software tester,

a renowned coach, he travels the Consultant
& Coach,
world helping testers learn to test better. Co-author of
Michael has visited India seven times and Rapid Software
taught Rapid Software Testing to India’s Testing
leading software development houses.
An exclusive interview with Pradeep associated with either design or execu-
Soundararajan. tion tends to remain isolated in the per-
son who performs the activity. Another
Q: What skills are essential for greater consequence is that the feedback loop
career growth as a tester? between design and execution is unnec-
A: Testers need the ability to think criti- essarily long. Unskilled testing is of lim-
cally about several things, about the ited value, yet it can be quite expensive.
product that you’re testing, also about Skilled testing doesn’t have to be expen-
your own thinking and testing. The other sive, and it reveals important information.
skills are the ones associated with analy- In skilled testing--largely an exploratory
sis, science, general systems, program- activity--learning about design and exe-
ming, computer hardware and software, cution reinforce one another, because
business, and communication; these are they’re being done by the same person.
all important. But you don’t have to be That’s an organic process, rather than a
great at everything, and testing benefits linear one, and the feedback loop is very
from whatever you bring to the table. fast — it can happen in an instant.
Rapid learning is important, and that
depends on practice, not just reading or Q: What have you observed about Indi-
talk. I think, as testers, we should learn an testers? Any recent good news in
more about social sciences--anthropolo- Indian software testing?
gy, sociology, economics field sciences-- A: The good news: on each visit, I met
Job opportunities Work with testing firms, third than what we have done traditionally. many testers who are taking respon-
party testing services and product companies sibility for their own training and skills
Q: What problems do most organisa- development. I’ve been invited to give
much fun and what a challenge it is to tions that hire testers face? presentations and teach testing, and
test software and the way they have been A: We write new software to solve a new often those requests come from the test-
growing in it?” problem, and that means creating a new ers themselves, rather than from their
My response to them was, “Your sen- design. For that, the testing task is to organisations and their managers. The
iors didn’t. Now that you have asked this question and evaluate the design. That’s Weekend Testers movement (log on to
question, will you spend time for your not a rote process, but an open-ended, www.weekendtesters.com) is something
juniors, guiding them properly?” I heard investigative search for new information. that I’m very, very excited about.
a “Yes, Sir” in unison, similar to the ones It’s not about getting the right answers;
seen in military. it’s more about asking questions that will Q: Your advice for wannabe testers...
As I travelled back home, I felt that identify and defend the design’s value, A: Test! Practice. Start anywhere you
the generation that is going to reshape both to the customer and to the producer like, with something interesting or fun or
the world and reshape the way software of the software. This requires skills like useful to the community, or something
is built and tested is today’s generation analytical thinking, critical thinking, sci- that you might like to learn about. Use
that is passing out from colleges and entific thinking, systems thinking, tech- personal contacts, and use the Web to
universities. I am glad that through this nical knowledge, business knowledge, help you make them. People who are gen-
article, I could reach out to a few and writing and speaking precisely. uinely interested in their work will want to
hope they don’t do mistakes like the Many organisations have trouble find- help you if you express a similar interest.
ones of my generation are doing. I wish, ing skilled testers, so they try to do test- Watch, do, learn, teach, and repeat the
I was of your batch! ing with limited skill. They divide testing cycle. Grab a copy of Lessons Learned in
into units of activity that they call “test Software Testing, or Perfect Software and
Pradeep is an independent test consultant cases”--highly focused checks of some Other Illusions About Testing, or Secrets
who tests, coaches, consults, speaks and function or another. These checks are of a Buccaneer Scholar. Connect what
writes on software testing, careers and prob- typically designed by one person and you’re learning to stuff you already know,
lem solving. Visit Pradeep’s blog by logging executed by others in a highly linear proc- and reinforce the cycle by logging on to
on to http://testertested.blogspot.com ess. One consequence is that learning www.developsense.com.

Motivation Prakash Iyer
Persevere. And success WILL come

A
s I waited at the doctor’s clinic last
week, a framed cartoon on the wall
caught my attention. It illustrated a
patient telling his doctor, angrily: “Don’t talk
to me about improving my diet. I ate a carrot
last week, and nothing happened!”
And that set me thinking. We are all like that
patient, really. In an era of instant noodles
and T20 cricket, we are all hungry for quick
results. And when that’s not forthcoming, we
get bored. We give up. We change tracks. For
true success in life, it’s important to remember
Prakash Iyer
that we need to develop the habit of persever-
CEO-Cards, Future Group,
and executive coach ance. Consistent behaviour has its rewards.
Always.
Outlook Group
You can’t stop working hard, just because
you didn’t get promoted last year. You can’t
stop studying, just because it didn’t help your
grades in the last exam. Look around, and in life short cuts do not exist, as farming exemplifies
you will see several people who had great
ideas, and tremendous ability -- but somehow don’t necessarily behave like the farmer.
lost their way, because they did not stay the When the birds get the seeds -- when we
course. They stopped trying. They gave up, find someone else take undue advantage of
even before success had a chance to show up! our efforts or when something is amiss, we get
Perseverance pays. distracted. We shift focus to the birds, and get
In the Bible there’s a story about a farmer busy chasing them away, rather than focus on
and his seeds. The farmer is ambitious, and he our real task: sowing seeds. Farmers become
has excellent seeds. Now here’s what happens bird-chasers!
when the farmer goes out to sow the seeds. It’s good to remember that in life, some
As he scatters the seeds, at first some birds seeds will fall on rocky land, or amidst weeds.
come and get them. What does the farmer do And at times such as these, it is tempting to
then? He doesn’t go chasing the birds. He just blame our fate. Don’t bother. That’s the way
continues to sow seeds. it is. Such is life. Our task is to continue to
Some of the seeds fall on rocky land. They sow. To persevere. If you do that, success is
sprout into tiny saplings. But at the first strong sure to come.
wind, they bend over and die. The farmer Sometimes, a non-seasonal flood wipes out
would be justified in blaming his luck. “Why an entire crop. Farmers are devastated. All
me? Why do I always get rocky land?” But their efforts come to naught. What do they
If we don’t get the the farmer would have none of that. He just
continues regardless.
do? Do they give up and say they will not sow
any more seeds? No, they don’t. They realise
results, we stop Some seeds find themselves trapped between that to have any chance of reaping a harvest
weeds. As they try and grow, the weeds stran- next year, they need to sow seeds. One more
trying. Good les- gle them, and shut them out. Again, most time. And never mind the flood.
farmers would probably complain about the But in our lives, we are not quite like that.
son to remember: unfairness of it all. This farmer doesn’t. He One failure and we look at doing something
Trying does not just continues to sow the seeds. else. If we don’t get the results, we stop trying.
And of course, finally, some of those seeds Good lesson to remember: Trying does not
guarantee suc- fall on fertile soil, and the farmer is rewarded guarantee success. But not trying certainly
with an excellent crop. What happened to that ensures failure.
cess. But not try- farmer happens to all of us in our lives, all the As a new year begins, here’s wishing you the
ing certainly time. We are like him -- ambitious -- and like perseverance of the farmer. Keep trying. Keep
him, we all have excellent seeds: we have the sowing. You are bound to reap a wonderful
ensures failure raw material needed to reap a fortune. But we harvest. In 2010. And beyond.

Institute of Productivity
& Management, India
• Equivalent to MBA
PGDM-International Business
• Programmes are residential and approved by AICTE,Govt. of India

• Rated “Excellent” B-School Survey (Business India,Nov. 2009)
• Placed in “A3” Category Best B-School Survey (AIMA, Indian Management, Oct. 2009)
• Ranked 61 at all India level B-School Survey (GHRD, Competition Success Review, Nov. 2009)
• Focus on Academic - Industry interaction
• Emphasis on Personal Development Plan & Career Management
PGDM
• Advantage of distinct faculty, library, IT and placement

• Equal Opportunity for women, residents of rural / hill areas
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE PROGRAMMES

Minimum 50% in Graduation in any stream from a recognised University / Institute.
A valid MAT Score of Dec 09 or Feb 10 or May 10.
GHAZIABAD CAMPUS KANPUR CAMPUS
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LUCKNOW CAMPUS MEERUT CAMPUS

Cracking group discussions
Going beyond “I don’t
Sanjoy Ghosh/Outlook Group

agree with you”!
Bringing in new perspectives to the discussion, is a must.
Don’t get sucked into the practice of merely trying to prove others wrong
O
nce the written tests from a period of 10-20 minutes. You will be
B-schools such as CAT, MAT, English improvement tips assessed on your performance, both as
XAT etc, are done with, it’s an individual and a team contributor.
time to turn your attention to ■■ LISTEN to people who speak well From an individual contributor’s point
the next phase of the selection process – ■■ READ and turn this into a lifelong habit of view, you have to excel in both content
the Group Discussion (popularly called ■■ SPEAK English whenever you get a chance (the points you make during the GD),
the GD). In several years of my associa- ■■ WRITE articles, essays or even just e-mails and form (the manner in which you
tion as a facilitator, moderator and judge present your views).
for GDs, I have seen some perfectly
good and capable students falter at this GD from two perspectives: one, what do Team spirit
stage. While we can choose to blame the institutes look for in GDs, and two, how As an effective team player you would
environment or even question the very do you prepare yourself to improve your have a ‘connect’ with and acceptabil-
validity of this tool, the fact remains that performance in GDs. We will also bust ity by the other members of the group,
GDs are part of your life for the next few some myths that this animal has picked you will listen to and understand others’
years at least and you need to be good up over the years. points of view, contribute to the discus-
at them to get into the institutes and A typical GD comprises eight to 12 sion with your own points and conduct
organisations of your choice. participants engaging in a discussion yourself with grace in a group situation.
Let’s make an attempt to demystify the on an assigned topic or case study for Attributes like knowledge, analytical

ability, assertiveness (but not aggres- perspectives to the discussion and not
sion), clarity of thought and expression get sucked into this practice of just sup- Do it yourself kit
and decision-making ability play critical porting or countering the topic or simply
roles in enabling a superior perform- trying to prove others wrong. I call them How do you know if you performed
well in a GD? Look at the quality of
ance in a GD. passengers – people who go through response you got from the others:
So how does one prepare for GDs – GDs with a combination of ‘I agree with
■■ Did the others in the group listen to you?
can one prepare at all? The answer is a you’ and ‘I don’t agree with you.’ Good to
Did your inputs give direction to the
thundering ‘Yes’. I would divide this task know whom you agree with – but is that
■■
discussion?
into three components – improving your all you have to say? ■■ Did your peers address you while speaking,
comfort level in English; improving your and look to you for support?
levels of awareness of the environment Presentation, equally important
around you; understanding and working Form comprises structure, word selec-
on your behaviour in a group situation. tion and delivery – learn to structure performance. Your work at improving
your inputs in a manner that makes it your English should pay off here – ena-
Mastering the language easy for others to understand you. Talk bling you to use the right words.
English will remain the medium of slowly, but like a bullet rather than a
transaction throughout your working paragraph. Indians tend to talk too fast; Listening, a must
life – so a level of comfort in English is we are also verbose. No wonder then Behaviour in a group spans concepts
critical not just for success in GD but that an audience, clearly keen to make like giving space to others, listening to
also for career success. Address the four its own mark, passes our comments them, learning not to interrupt abruptly,
components of the ‘practice’ of English by. Also, use ‘soft’ words when you are treating peers with respect, appreciating
– listen, read, speak and write. countering someone’s point of view – a opposing points of view - at the same
●● Listen to people who speak well - the polite suggestion is much more effective time remaining competitive. Learn to
objective is to get used to the ‘sound’ of than a rude rejoinder. listen attentively, and learn to live with
good English. Use phrases like ‘we could’ rather than differences – the whole beauty of a dis-
●● Reading is, sadly, a vanishing pursuit ‘we should’ – for example, ‘we could cussion is that people think differently
in our country – nothing can substitute look at some other aspects of the topic’ and there are no clear rights and wrongs.
the learning that reading affords. Devel- is a suggestion – it would get you a ready How does – ‘I have another perspective
op a culture of reading - this will further audience; ‘we should look at some other on this’ sound instead of the usual ‘you
strengthen your relationship with the aspects of the topic’ is prescriptive and are wrong?’
‘sound’ of good English. the natural reaction will be – who are So how do you know if you performed
●● The only way to get better at speaking you to tell us what we should do? Words well in a GD? The best measure is the
in English is to speak more of it – espe- like ‘concern’ go down much better with quality of response you get from the
cially in groups and formal situations. the group than words like ‘problem.’ ‘I rest of the group – did the other mem-
Make sure you speak ‘correct’ English feel we are digressing’ has a whole dif- bers listen to you when you spoke – did
even in informal gatherings. Remember, ferent flavour than ‘I feel you are digress- your inputs give a new direction to the
practice of correct English is habit form- ing’ – the first is an admission, the sec- discussion – did some of your peers
ing (and so, unfortunately, is the practice ond an accusation. These small things address you while speaking and look for
of bad English). make a huge difference to your accept- your support? If the answer to some of
●● This habit should also extend to any ability within the group and hence your these questions is ‘Yes’, you did a good
writing that you may do – an article, an job. This also explains the real reason
essay or an e-mail. If you follow this behind the universal crib – “I contrib-
four-fold path, slowly but surely your
familiarity with and hence confidence
“I would divide this task uted good points but no one listened to
me.” If the points were really good and
in English will improve. into three components presented well, people would have defi-
Content is king
– improving your comfort nitely listened. So, as is the case in most
things in life, you yourself are in charge
The quality of your content will depend level in English, improv- of your destiny.
on knowledge levels, an attitude of ing your levels of aware- Work on your English, increase your
enquiry and debate and the ability to levels of knowledge and awareness,
think on your feet. Be a well-informed ness of the environment assess and improve your group behav-
person – read newspapers and maga- around you and under- iour. You will start looking forward to
zines and understand the dynamics of participating in GDs.
the industry, the society and the polity. standing and working
Support your assertions with valid argu- on your behaviour in a Charanpreet Singh is Associate Dean,
ments and data wherever possible.
Most topics don’t have easy answers– group situation” Praxis Business School (Kolkata)
and Director, Formal Education at
you should attempt to bring in new IMS Learning Resources

Oration Azim Premji
Take charge of your

Inspiring excerpts from the address by Azim Premji, founder,
T
he funny thing about life is that you realize the value
of something only when it begins to leave you. As my
hair turned from black, to salt and pepper and finally
salt without the pepper, I have begun to realise the
enthusiasm and excitement of youth. At the same time, I have
begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have learnt
along the way. As you embark on your careers, I would like to
share them with you. I am hoping that you will find them as
useful as I have.
The world you are entering is in many ways very different
now from what it was when I began my career. It was the
late sixties and India still depended on other countries
for something as basic as food. We aroused sympathy, Essentially,
not admiration whenever we went overseas. Recently,
someone told me, that when visitors came to India leadership begins
then, they came to see what they could do for India.
Now, they come to see what India can do for them. As
from within. It is
a hopeful Indian, I look at our country as one which is a small voice
rich in ethnic and cultural diversity and one that has an
effective, secular democracy which will help us build an that tells you
enduring society. where to go
Lesson 1: Take charge when you are lost
This was the first thought that came to me, when over
four decades ago, I stepped into Wipro factory at Amalner. I
was 21 and had spent the last few years in Stanford University
Engineering School at California. Many people advised me
to take up a nice, cushy job rather than face the challenges
of running a hydrogenated oil business. Looking back, I am
glad I decided to take charge instead. Essentially, leadership
begins from within. It is a small voice that tells you where to
go when you feel lost. If you believe in that voice, you believe
in yourself. When it comes to choosing your careers, you have
to take charge of your own destiny.
Lesson 2: Earn your happiness

The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally
more value than five found. In fact, what is gifted or inherited natural phenomenon. The important thing is, when you lose,
follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only do not lose the lesson.
know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.
Lesson 4: Nothing fails like success
Lesson 3: Nothing succeeds like failure The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humil-
The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every ity. There is a thin line of difference between confidence
time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. and arrogance. Confident people are always open to learn. A
You must enjoy winning. But do not let it go to the head. The recent survey of executives in Europe showed that the single
moment it does, you are already on your way to failure. And if most important quality needed for leadership success was

own career destiny
Wipro at IIT Delhi’s convocation ceremony that no matter how well we do something there has to be a bet-
ter way! Excellence is not a destination but a journey. Creativ-
ity and innovation sometimes need inspiration from other
disciplines. It is probably not a chance that Einstein’s interest
in music was as much as his interest in Physics. Bertrand Rus-
sell was as much a mathematician as a philosopher. Excellence
and creativity go hand in hand.
Lesson 6: Respond, not react

There is a world of difference between the two and in terms
of success and failure. The difference is that the mind comes
in between responding and reacting. When we respond, we
evaluate with a calm mind and do whatever is most appropri-
ate. We are in control of our actions. When we react, we are
still doing what the other person wants us to do.
You must
Lesson 7: Remain physically active
define what you It is easy to take health for granted when you are
stand for. But young. I have found that exercise not only improves
the quality of time but also reduces the time you need
values lie not for sleep. The truth is that stress will only increase in
a global world. You must have your own mechanism to
in the words deal with it.
used to describe Lesson 8: Never compromise on your core
them but in the values
Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the
simple acts windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off
your feet by the breeze. One must define what you
stand for. This is not difficult. But values lie, not in the words
used to describe them, as much as in the simple acts. And that
is the hard part. Like someone said, “I could not hear what you
said because what you did was coming out far too loud”.
Lesson 9: Play to win

Playing to win brings out the best in us and in our teams. It
Namas Bhojani
brings out the desire to stretch, to achieve that which seems

beyond our grasp. However, it is not about winning at any cost.
It is not about winning every time. It is not about winning at
the expense of others. It is about innovating all the time. It is a
Azim Premji at IIT Delhi’s continuous endeavour to do better than last time.
convocation ceremony on August 12 , 2006
Lesson 10: Give back to society
the willingness to learn from any situation. Arrogance on the All of us have a collective social responsibility towards doing
other hand stops learning. It comes with a feeling that one our bit to address them. Of all the challenges, the key to me
knows all that needs to be known and has done all that needs is education. We have a paradoxical situation, where on the
to be done. one hand we have jobs chasing scarce talent and on the other,
rampant unemployment and poverty. The only way to bridge
Lesson 5: There has to be a better way these two ends of the pole is by providing quality education
Partly as a corollary to what I have just said, we must remember that is accessible by all.

Teachers’ Talk KL Ganesh
B-school rankings are “yummy crap”!

M
any of the rankings of B-schools pro- quality and output. For example IIT, Madras
grammes in India just stop at examin- graduates a little over one research scholar
ing and presenting only the periph- per faculty member per academic year; this
eral criteria that are way beyond the core is much larger in comparison to what many
function of an institution, which is academ- of our B-schools are doing now. Why is this
ics. Most importantly, they ignore “structure not considered?
and scale”, “syncretistic”, and “age”, three
basic principles among others that ought to Students’ performance
be adopted while making any comparison. Students’ performance both during the pro-
Of course, public perception is significantly gramme, in terms of live projects, research
influenced by the “yummy crap” that charac- outputs, business plans developed, entrepre-
terises rankings. neurial projects, as well as their performance
Professor KL Ganesh
IIT Chennai at the enterprise levels after they graduate is
Academic output also not in the consideration set for evaluating
In mid-October 2009, the International the performance of a B-school.
Journal of Production Economics published
a survey of academic work done globally in Alumni performance
the area of Operations Management over the A large proportion of our MBA alumni have
last 50 years. This intellectual survey (not a earned company-wide “best employee”
shoddy market survey commissioned by the awards, honours or even promotions, some-
impetuous, undertaken by the incompetent, times even within the first year of their work!
and used by the ignorant) was conducted by In short, our recruiters are indirectly inform-
two academician-authors (globally acknowl- ing us that the human resources we provide
edged experts in the field) independent of any them are “top class”. There has to be a mecha-
agency. The Operations Management faculty nism to capture the value add a school imparts
in all IITs were rated among the best in the to its students, which is again woefully inad-
world. These kinds of qualitative content of equately captured.
research output, vetted by independent agen- I would submit that rankings especially of
cies are just not the parameter for any of the top colleges must be done with slightly more
rankings. care so that our people can justifiably and
proudly believe that India is home to a few
Curriculum design of the world’s best academicians and institu-
The nature and diversity of the courses tions, and people will learn to take rankings in
offered must ideally be one of the core fac- the “right context” and recognise well all the
tors for evaluating a B-school. As an illustra- attendant noise and distortions.
Most of the rank- tion, DoMS, IIT Chennai offers courses like My plea is that the press and media in India
Systems Thinking and Applications, Project can be of great help to all the fine institutions
ings of B-schools Management, Total Quality Management. that populate the country if the good work
Is anybody looking at these factors done by the dedicated
programmes in at all? and unassuming faculty,
India just stop at research scholars and
Doctoral students is presented
examining and programmes in a well-deserved,
Barring a cursory positive light and
presenting only the allocation of some accompanied by warm
peripheral criteria points for the avail- encouragement. We
ability or otherwise can then begin estab-
that are way beyond of a doctoral pro- lishing India steadily
gramme, no rank- as one of the world’s
the core function of ing ever looks at the best destinations for
an institution, higher education, an
NEWS CHANNeLS give tough competition effort that we can ill-
which is academics to magazines in the ranking space afford not to make.

FEATURE CHOOSING THE RIGHT CAREER
How students make or

Advice for students (and parents) on the most important decision of their lives
by Urmila Rao Delhi. He has been dabbling in theatre parents and I were pretty convinced and
for the last four years and writes beauti- I took admission.” Today, the 24-year
Y
ear 1980: Ravi Sinha from ful poetry. old regrets his decision, and feels that
Ranchi recalls, “I was very pas- Year 2005: Gautam Pandit in Delhi the exorbitant fees he paid in no way jus-
sionate about theatre but my recalls, “I saw this B-school ad which tifies the education or the professional
father coaxed me to go for com- had ‘impressive placement figures.’ It qualification he received. Working in a
merce stream so that I could get a steady talked about world-class education, retail company, he draws a salary of just
job in banking.” Today, Ravi, 47, works infrastructure and heavily publicised Rs. 18,000 per month, in contrast to his
as a manager at a prominent IT firm in its foreign academic collaborations. My friends who made the right choices.

break their careers
About the survey
Background: There is a hypothesis that Key findings
students and parents today have access to lim-
■■ 38 percent of the respondents admitted
ited information regarding career choice and are
too little information was available about
largely guided by perception created by various
courses in higher education. Respondents in
marketing activities organised mostly by private
the West (57 percent ) felt it more, followed
players in the education sector.
by North. However, in the East the picture is
Objective: The basic objective of this study slightly better because students generally
was to understand the reality and an attempt to tend to stay with a few popular courses and
validate some of these hypotheses. the options are less.
■■ Who/what influences decision regarding ■■ In the absence of adequate information, the
education and career options reliance on ads and publicity has increased.
Over 40 percent of the respondents
■■ Claims by the institute – met or not rely on publicity by the institutions. This
phenomenon is more visible in the metros.
Research methodology
■■ Institute ratings in magazines are a useful
■■ GfK Mode and Careers360 conducted face-
source. 73 percent feel that it is very useful.
to- face interviews in metro and non-metro
The usage is more visible in the West.
cities with students and their parents (taking
the fathers as a target group assuming that in ■■ Interestingly, 51 percent of the respondents
majority of the cases, since there is a financial agreed that facts and figures given in the
decision involved, the father would be actively advertisements by the institutes seemed
involved in the process ). to be an over-claim. There exists a clear
indication of a doubt on the reliability of facts
■■ Purposive sampling ensuring a good geographic
presented by the institutes in the minds of
spread within a city.
people. The West (62 percent) is the highest
among the centers
Sample size (in numbers)
Overall Sample: 915 ■■ Respondents stated from their experience
that many of the claims as published by
North: 237 (Delhi and Saharanpur) the institutions seemed to be false. This is
West: 233 (Mumbai and Solapur) highest for international placements (17
percent) and international affiliations (15
East: 208 (Kolkata and Malda)
percent), followed by assurance of a high
South: 237 (Chennai and Mangalore) paying job (12 percent).
an institution. Be it the ‘70s, ‘80s or even that the influence of parent’s advice is
today, parents play an active role in their relatively higher in the metros than in
Madhu Kapparath/Outlook Group
children’s higher academic interests. non-metros.

And advertising is increasingly mak- Interestingly, Ravi does not ‘blame’
ing its presence felt now. Delhi-based his parents, but confessed to being very
research firm GfK Mode undertook a angry at the time. “They did what was
TOUGH Choices AHEAD To be or not to be a survey to evaluate the major factors that best for me,” he admits. His story isn’t
doctor, an engineer or a chef?
govern the decision-making process in different from that of the average Indian
higher education in India including the family where a steady stream of income
the role of parents, teachers, advertise- is more important than traits such as
Then and now ments, rankings, peer advisory etc. creativity, enterprise or dynamism.
What is common between Ravi and Gau-
tam? They are both bright and intelli- What the survey indicates: The lure of advertising
gent. And they were both keen on pursu- According to the survey, in 88 percent Seemingly, there has been a shift in
ing their respective career interests. For cases, students are influenced by their parents’ stance but is that helping
Ravi, his career dreams stood butchered parents when it comes to deciding the kids towards a sensible academic
at the altar of his parents’ wishes. On on education after class 12. This is fol- choice? And what about the surfeit of
the other hand, Gautam’s decision was lowed by their teachers’ advice in 79 advertisements that inundate a young
influenced by aggressive advertising by percent cases. The survey also indicates mind day in and day out?

Business school. “After much

Even when such figures are reasonably
accurate, there is no indicator of the long-
deliberation
term worth of the B-school’s certification.
And they need not always reflect the quality
I felt that hotel
of the learning experience that a candidate
has undergone. From the student’s point
management
of view, making a choice can be difficult, was the right
field for me”
and going with “high visibility” is an easy
approach, but a dangerous one to take.
B-schools that may be spending a lot of
money on advertising may or may not be
able to spend money on delivering quality Saransh, 17,
Professor Ramesh Venkateswaran to the students when they finally reach the Class 12 student at DPS,
Director, SDM Institute for Management campus. Ghaziabad
Development (SDM-IMD), Mysore Students should make an effort to talk
to seniors on selected campuses, evaluate
E xaggerated claims in the ads are obvi-

ously an area of concern. Students are
willing to be swayed by those who shout the
B-schools on the basis of their faculty and
the quality of the learning infrastructure
and pedagogy, and then make a choice. If
loudest and the most often. The point of the programme is residential, the quality
advertising is to create awareness and per- of living and learning for a two-year period
suade, but the buyer has to be careful. With also becomes critical. While listening to
the mushrooming of private B-schools, it elders is important, with the informa-
is all the more critical that students zero in tion overload confronting parents today,
on a B-school with due diligence. Freebies students cannot afford to just pass on the
and fancy claims about placements are buck to them. They themselves must make
tempting, but students have to learn to the effort to ensure that the hard-earned
move away from using placement figures money will always go towards obtaining
as a decisive statement on the worth of a lasting value.
The survey indicates that in the very well,” says his distressed mother, dissuading Saransh.
absence of adequate information (from who has a Master’s degree in political An exasperated Saransh is aware of
credible sources) the reliance on ads and science. However, she and Saransh’s this. “I was aimless all this while,” he
publicity has increased. Over 40 percent father JK Gupta, a charted accountant puts forth his point. But just weeks back
respondents rely on publicity by institu- and chief manager with Allahabad Bank he met a visiting career counsellor at his
tions. This is more visible in the metros, and based out of Ludhiana, refrain from school, DPS Ghaziabad, who helped him
the survey highlights (See Box). zero in on this option. “After much delib-
eration I felt this was the field for me. I
5 started
Parents vs students TOP How to get will do what I want to do,” he speaks in a
Saransh Gupta, 17, is a class 12 student soft but determined voice.
who finds himself in a similar situation
as Ravi. However, even though what he The power struggle
wants and his mother wants is different,
his parents are not as imposing as Ravi’s.
1 U
se ads only as a starting point to begin
your search.
So, why do parents resist and why do
children remain so adamant? “It is a
“We will support him in whatever field
he wants to go,” says his mother. But
2 Don’t have blind faith in the claims made
by ads. An educational institution’s ad
aims to promote its product just as a
power struggle,” Sudhanshu Mishra, a
consultant psychologist points out. “Par-
certain concerns are voiced regularly. retail company would promote its hair ents, especially fathers, see themselves
Saransh’s interest in hotel manage- oil or a chocolate brand. “Education is no playing the role of a protector, provider
longer a charitable dealing but a saleable
ment doesn’t go down well with his commodity,” observes Shyama Chona.
and procreator, and any instance that
mother who does not want her son to threatens to de-stabilise this unit, tends
become a ‘waiter’. The family feels this
may not match its social status. Also, his
3 If you are not clear of your career goals
then seek guidance from an academic
counsellor, in addition to speaking to
to unnerve them,” he elaborates. “It’s
still a man’s world,” he adds. This clash
mother feels that financial investment parents, teachers and seniors. of ideologies is not due to the generation
isn’t worth a career where his son has to
wait on tables. 4 Start your research at least a year in
advance and keep updating your infor-
mation as you go along.
gap story but a hierarchal power play,
Mishra observes.
Voice of determination
“His elders sisters and their spouses
5 Involve your parents in your research. Behind the glamour
Shirin Siddiqui did not face much
are in good designations and earning opposition from her parents when she

Sudhanshu Mishra
Senior consultant psychologist
Sudhanshu was earlier associated

with Delhi Police Public School, and
St. Stephens College and shares his
insight on why parents and students
disagree and what is an amicable
solution to settle it.
T here will always be a conflict of

interest between parents and
children. It is a struggle for power When parents give academic free-
which arises out of the inherent desire dom to the child, he or she feels liber-
of parents to guide their children. ated. Some feel responsible. The tricky
The parents nudge their kids to find part is that a child may base his deci-
a career in medicine, engineering or sion solely on monetary gains. It is true
civil services as it gives them a sense to some extent that the prospect of a
of achievement. It is also to show the corporate lifestyle, the swanky cars,
society that the family has grown in large homes, a fancy wardrobe and
status from the previous generation. shopping at the best malls, indirectly
One can see pride in parents when influences a student’s career selection.
they say ‘my son or my daughter is My suggestion to students: consider
doing an MBA’. Which institution they areas relevant to your aptitude. Start
are doing it from is immaterial, but the your research early, to avoid last-
money involved in it, the projection minute panic, and keep your parents
of the future salary and the family in loop. Remember, you have the right
reputation attached with it, all of these to ask as many questions as you like
details are discussed by parents with (and there is a need to!), before taking
swollen pride. admission in any institution.
Raman Pruthi
decided to join a mass communication a choice can be difficult, and going with 10, and has slipped in his grades in class
institute in Delhi. What made her zero ‘high visibility’ is an easy but danger- 11, her worry is understandable. Ideally,
in on this particular institute? “An ad in ous approach to take,” says Professor she wants Saransh to do an MBA.
Amar Ujala,” says the resident of Modi- Ramesh Venkateswaran, Director SDM- However, according to Saransh, he is
nagar, a city located 90 km from central IMD, a B-school based in Mysore. not studious and is hence, not cut out
Delhi. The half page ad, which caught for management studies. “But I have the
her attention declared three things: 100 The admission facade required attributes for a career in hotel
percent placement, media personalities A regular exposure to adverts impact management. I am patient. I have the
as faculty and anchoring/radio jockey- people, so does the advert size says ability to solve people’s queries and I can
ing, as part of the programme. Sudhanshu. “Psychologically, a larger- also relate to people on an emotional
“I always aspired to be a news report- size ad communicates a sense of stabil- level,” he adds.
er,” says the 19-year old. Two years into ity,” he says. The glitzy ad compelled
the course and with one year to go, Shi- Shirin’s mother to make a visit to the Knowledge is power
rin is disappointed. The fee per semester campus before Shirin enrolled. And she Some students are very clear about
is Rs. 23,000, and the quality of educa- was impressed by the smart talk of the their career goals from the start. Upsana
tion offered is poor. academic heads. Goyal, a final year BA student of SSD
Girls Degree College, Roorkee wants
Reality check Bone of contention to be an art teacher. Drawing is one of
“So far we had visits from only two non- Saransh’s mother tries her best to con- her subjects and she wants to pursue
prime time anchors, after which there vince him to obtain good marks in Class Master’s degree in it. She enjoys full
have been no ‘personality’ visits,” appris- 12 so that if the hotel management support of her parents.” I have never
es Shirin. “We have to struggle to obtain option does not work out he can enrol been confused as to which line to take,”
study material even during exams. We in a B-school. she says.
are only allowed photocopies, the cost “Good marks in class 12 are crucial,” Some students play it smart and do
of which we have to bear. And classes she emphasises, yet another time. He their share of research before buying
are not held regularly. Hence, students somehow believes that class 12 marks the claims made by ads. “Students seem
hardly come to college,” she rues, feeling doesn’t hold much significance in hotel to be pretty well informed these days,”
shortchanged. management, she says plaintively. A stu- says Shyama Chona, former principal of
“From a student’s perspective making dent who achieved 72 per cent in class DPS, RK Puram in Delhi.

parent watch
“The ad looked promising, Shyama Chona
former principal,
but in reality we struggle DPS, R K Puram, New
Delhi and Founder of
to obtain study material, Tamana School
classes are irregular”
Shirin, 19,
A recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Padma
Shree awards, Shyama Chona emphasises
the need for educating parents and also honing
Mass Communication a child’s strengths early on. According to her,
student, Delhi ads should only be a tool for information-gath-
ering, a point from where students can start
further research. Chona now manages her time
between Tamana, a school for “differently-ab
led” children and Nai Disha, an organisation for
rehabilitation of mentally challenged women.
Q: Why do parents impose their will on

children?
A: Parents always have very high ambition and
an honest desire that their kids do well. We are
a developing economy and so even if you are
Rajesh Thakur/Outlook Group

a bad engineer, you will still earn better than
someone who has done for instance, an MA in
social sciences. Yet they sometimes forget that
they are giving more importance to the career
instead of being concerned if their child has the
wherewithal to follow their dreams. Ideally kids
should go through some aptitude tests to real-
ise their potential. The capacity building also
Making the twain meet has to be done at a very early age.
5 check
Shirin, the elder of the two siblings, did TOP Reality Q: How early?
not face any stiff resistance from her A: If parents have in mind that my child must
parents. But in hindsight, she feels she become an engineer then they should start pol-
should have done more research before ishing his/her analytical skills and logical rea-
deciding to join the institute. That is
why, leaving the choice entirely to a
1 A
n aptitude test in Class 10 and 12 can-
not determine the future course of your
entire life.
soning from the beginning. But by just saying
you have to be a doctor or an engineer because
it is well-paying, is not done. For parents, an
teenager may not be a sensible approach.
2 It’s a fallacy that each one of us is perfect early choice relieves them of their anxiety
But where should a parent draw the line only for one career and we get only one because once the kid is in medical or engineer-
between guiding and imposing their will chance to make that perfect decision. ing college, then they become free from the
3
on the children? Everyone’s personal values, goals,
pressures of decision making. Whereas, if you
are going for a BA or an MA, they are still sus-
strengths and weaknesses are different.
pended and anxious about the future.
Tips for parents What are yours? Identify them and excel
in your area of strength.
“If parents are deciding the graduation
4
Q: What is the fallout if parents pressurise
stream, or a college or a course for their Economies change and so do people, their kids in following a certain career?
therefore engage in periodic re-evalua-
children, then they must be updated tion of your career position to have an
A: Parents should realise that it is the individual
with the latest developments,” says upper hand at workplace.
versus the career. There have been many
deaths taking place because children feel they
5
Sudhanshu. “Otherwise let the exercise As you grow older your knowledge are displeasing or disappointing their parents
of collecting information be mutually horizon will expand and grow deeper. Re- but the parents don’t seem to consider if the
done. For instance, parents could cut out prioritize your career options, if you feel child has the capability to follow their dreams.
the need.
newspaper clippings, check the accredi- Therefore educating parents is also important.
tation status, read education surveys or
visit the campus,” he advises. An amica-
ble solution to end the parent-student Material gains factor. Youngsters focusing too much on
stalemate is negotiation in the right Money seems to be the deciding factor money bothers career counsellors. “The
manner. And the compromise happens for most students. “I will take a posting aim should be to take a job that matches
unconsciously in most cases, he says. abroad where I will earn good salary, live one’s core abilities,” the experts advise.
In a typical case, a father would let his there for a few years, save some money, Saransh and Shirin may both eventu-
son or daughter take up a three-month come back and probably open a chain of ally find their feet. But they could save
course in photography if he or she con- hotels here,” says Saransh. For Shirin, a whole lot of anxiety by taking the right
sents to take up the science stream, he glamour and the money associated with steps for a smooth sailing career, by
cites an example. anchoring and reporting, was a draw making informed decisions.

SHIVANI MANCHANDA
Career Consultant &
Director, Career Track,
Mumbai
Want a career for the past or future?

Anticipate future trends before you make your career choices
H
ave you have ever tried on shoes that are not your yourself: “Do I want a career for the past or the future?”
own? Doesn’t feel too comfortable, isn’t it? Careers Read newspapers and magazines to build your database
are a little like that. When they don’t fit your per- about future trends. If gas emissions and carbon footprints
sonality, it feels like being a round peg in a square hole. But are being discussed the world over, don’t wait for the jobs to
when they are, you feel comfortable and successful. be advertised. Do an environment course, now.
Research suggests that many students take the easy way
out and either depend heavily on their parents and teachers What advertisers claim
to make their academic decision, or get swayed by attrac- Let’s look at another big career influence - advertisements.
tive, persuasive, paid-for advertising by educational institu- About 45 percent go by advertisements and publicity
tions. So what is wrong with that? Nothing, if you want to around an institution to make up their mind. But remem-
live your parent’s life 20 years, hence. Or if the money from ber that they are designed to influence the purchasing
advertisements were to come into your pockets! behaviour of the consumer, in this case the student’s family.
By definition it is a paid medium
Why involve parents whether it comes as an adverto-
The great thing about parents is rial or an advertisement.
that they have had diverse expe- As such it needs to be viewed
riences plus they may have hope- as a marketing device with all its
fully learned from their mistakes. hyperboles. The ranking statistics
In addition, the exposure they that the adverts quote can some-
have to different careers is sometimes also be “fixed”. Just like the
times far greater than yours. All clichéd glass that can be half full
that can be a huge asset because or half empty, ranking can be used
at 20 you have a person at age 50 to prove any point.
on your side. Advertisements can be a useful
Parents also have the additional means of gathering information
benefit of knowing you intimately. about diverse courses. But just as
But while parents put some excel- eating a dozen low calorie cookies
lent resources like knowledge and will not make you slim, adverts
wisdom on the table, sometimes need not deliver a 100 percent of
they curtail choice and self-deter- what you are looking for.
mination by lack of willingness decision making needs good research, not just ads
to take a chance on unique abilities Knowledge is power
and skill set of the student. Good research is key to successful planning. The excellent
range of courses in government universities should not
Thinking ahead be ignored just because they don’t advertise. But is career
The other problem of relying solely on parents for advice is planning only about where to do a certain course? Is there
that their knowledge base may be restricted to their expo- not a more vital question to be answered? That is, how best
sure. If they don’t know any environmentalists - they might should you integrate your strengths, special skills and inter-
believe environment-based careers to be a non-starter. ests with the growing needs of the economy?
The question to be answered is, “Will environment be a One of the major ingredients in the decision-making is
hot issue when I am in the job market?” When economies your own self, your abilities, capabilities, interests, aptitude
are so dynamic, career options cannot be far behind. Ask and passion. These are the things that make you unique.

Cover Story hospitality
Rajesh Thakur/Outlook Group
friendly attitude will stand

you in good stead, says Prerna
Kapur, a first year HM student

It’s not a job
It’s a lifest yle
Hospitality sector is the in thing, with even banks, corporates, retail and
large BPOs hiring hotel management graduates in large numbers...
by Sumita Vaid Dixit Office jobs,” says DD Sharma, Head of intensive points out Mr Sharma of
I
Department, Institute of Hotel Manage- IHM. Sameer Sharma, a hotel manage-
f you love to look after people, ment (IHM), Delhi. This tilt towards ment (HM) graduate, agrees. “There
bring a smile to their faces, cook Front Office and F&B is because of the are heavy crates to be picked, sacks of
them a nice dish, and give them an ample opportunities that are present in onions and potatoes to be carted, and
experience to remember, then the the service sector. working hours could stretch to 12 to 16
hospitality industry is the place for you. Soft skills acquired by Front Office hours a day.” On the other hand, Front
Every year, there’s a need for 2.03 lakh executives such as communication and Office has regulated working hours and
professionals in the industry, says the managerial skills also double up as skills industries such as telecom and banking,
Ministry of Tourism but only 18,000 required in customer relations, business pay well.
hospitality graduates pass out, annu- development, human resource function,
ally. Clearly there’s a dearth of skilled sales and marketing. In fact, banks, hos- Where’s the money?
professionals in this sector. With the pitals, telecom and BPOs are recruiting Although chefs and general managers
Commonwealth Games in 2010 and hotel management graduates in large are paid in lakhs, a fresh HM graduate
several international hotel chains such numbers, says Anita Sharma, Senior may have to start with a leaner package.
as Carlson, Starwood, Accor and Mar- Faculty and Placement Coordinator, NS Bhuie, Director, Studies, National
riott coming to India, both opportunity IHM, Catering & Nutrition, New Delhi. Council for Hotel Management and
and exposure in hospitality is going to Over the years, hospitality has extended Catering Technology, admits that the
be staggering. beyond hotels and restaurants and has pay is average. Fresh HM graduates,
The hospitality sector is essentially become integral to the service sector. as management trainees get a stipend
divided into four broad functions: Food There’s also the incentive of better between Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 15,000, which
Production, where food is designed salaries and a less strenuous working goes up to Rs. 26,000 after the comple-
and created, Food & Beverage Serv- schedule. Food Production is labour- tion of the training at a hotel, which is
ice (F&B), where the guest’s needs are usually two years. In comparison, indus-
looked after in a restaurant or in an Where are the jobs? tries like BPOs pay a fatter take home to
office cafeteria, Front Office, that wel- ■■ Hotel & Restaurant management
fresh graduates, says a recruiter.
comes a guest and tries to make the stay ■■ Airline Catering and Cabin Services “Forty percent of students who do
as hassle-free as possible and Accom- ■■ Club management hotel management join other service
modation Management, where the ■■ Cruise Ship Hotel Management industries,” says Sudhir Andrews, dean,
staff sees that you feel at home in your ■■ Hospital administration and catering Ecole Hôtelière Lavasa, a hospitality
room. In fact, the wellness industry that ■■ Hotel and Tourism Associations management institute in Pune. Hotels
includes spa and fitness, is becoming a ■■ Forest Lodges are already feeling the pinch he says.
popular service in hospitality. ■■ Guest Houses But a senior manager at one of the top
■■ Institutional Management (supervising Delhi hotels says that salaries have gone
Front Office, in demand canteens in college, schools, in factories, up by more than 60 per cent in the past
Food Production, where chefs work in company guest houses) few years.
smoky, steamy rooms was once a big ■■ Catering departments of railways, banks,
armed forces, shipping companies
attraction for many young people want-
■■ Hotel and catering institutes
Long working hours
ing to join the industry. But now young Hospitality is a round-the-clock func-
■■ Telecom, Banking, Insurance, BPOs in
people prefer Front Office jobs and F&B Customer Relations function tion; it’s a 24x7, 365 days-a-year job.
service to Food Production. “Fifty-five ■■ Self-employment In fact, when the whole nation is off on
percent of our students went for Front August 15, the hospitality industry is

Opportunities galore
There are jobs available on land, at sea
and in the air. You could work at hotels,
organisations such as MindTree, Maruti
Suzuki, in hospitals, the retail industry,
defence establishments, banks and even
the insurance sector. Within the hotel
industry, there are options of joining
HR or sales and marketing. In fact, hos-
pitality is an indispensable function in
Atul Loke/Outlook Group

every sector, points out a CEO of a large
firm. “When I go for business meetings
to companies like Infosys, right from
transport to putting me up in their guest
house to looking after my lunch and
“Service-intensive dinner is taken care off by its hospitality
buzzing, says Ashima Sukhani, public department.”
relation executive of ITC Hotels. And
organisations like Infosys, Also, there’s a demand for outsourcing
as room service and coffee shop kitchens Citibank, Fortis Hospitals managers as most corporates and hospi-
are open 24 hours, working hours go up recruit HM graduates tals outsource their support services and
to 18 hours. But KS Srinivasan, Vice- need a person with management skills
President, HR, Taj, Mumbai, doesn’t see in large numbers” and a good understanding of the hospi-
working long hours as a drawback at all. tality industry to manage Food Produc-
“Just look at the experience you get after tion, F&B, Front Office and Housekeep-
working in this industry for two years. The only way to do it is by working hard ing. “These make for support services in
You get scrubbed and polished and after and being very good in your work; that a hospital and it comprises 30 percent of
two years you shine!” comes with years of hard work,” says the total staff strength of a hospital,” says
Srinivasan. Dr. K Prabhakar, Senior Vice-President,
Manager or waiter? The work pressure is high and there Corporate, HR, Apollo Hospitals, Chen-
While hotel management institutes pre- are occasions when you may be shouted nai. In fact, hospitality graduates are in
pare students for a managerial role, the at by a senior. “Either you look at it great demand abroad, especially in the
industry wants to hire them as waiters. as a punishment or an opportunity to Middle East and the UK where Indian
Both sides have their arguments. learn,” says Anuj Burman, an HM stu- food is very popular.
Jay Rathore, General Manager, The dent aspiring to be a chef. The same peo-
Oberoi, New Delhi, says that while he ple who shout at you are the ones who Behind the glitz
picks graduates, they start at the staff reward you as well, says Prerna Kapur, Once in the industry, you could be shak-
level. “People expect to do managerial first year HM student. “This is no ordi- ing hands with Rahul Gandhi or taking
or supervisory jobs right away, but I ask nary industry. You have to be motivated, pictures with Sachin Tendulkar and Kat-
them ‘are they prepared to manage 25 passionate and energetic and it has to rina Kaif, but don’t forget there’s work to
people?’ With no experience how can come from the heart,” says Rathore. be done too, says Rathore. Many come
you lead 25 people, how can those 25 here thinking that it’s a glamorous job.
people look up to you for career and But it’s not always so, says Kunal Pahwa,
advice?” While the industry needs peo- Manager, Bukhara, ITC. Yet students
ple with managerial qualities, it’s only seem keen on hospitality. According to
after a few years that young graduates the IHM faculty, every year more than
can step into that role. “People have to 60,000 students appear for the entrance
walk in with the right attitude.” exam. And the numbers are going up. Of
course, the hospitality industry has its
Can do, will do! own charms, says Rathore of Oberoi.
No job is big or small. Period. You must “No other industry offers such refined
have a positive outlook, always, says working environment and dignity. Hos-
Anurag, a butler with ITC. “You have to “HM graduates should be pitality is not a job, it’s a lifestyle.”
anticipate the needs of your guests and open to waiting on tables So, in addition to an overview of how
how else can you do that if you do not and where to study, we offer you a spread
love your work?,” asks Srinivasan. Both before becoming managers” of the five major areas of hospitality;
faculty and recruiters rue that young Jay rathore Front Office, F&B Service, Housekeep-
people want to jump up the ladder. “You General Manager, The Oberoi, New Delhi ing, Food Production and wellness.
cannot fast-track in this line of work. Bon Appétit!

www.amrita.edu
Ranked 13th
among the top private B-Schools
in India 'Open-Cfore' Survey Sept. 2009
MBA Admissions 2010-12

(Two-Year Full Time Residential Programme)
MBA Programme offered at :
AMRITAPURI, BENGALURU, COIMBATORE and KOCHI.
Admission Procedure
Selection based on Common Admission Test [CAT]* conducted by the

IIMs and performance in personal interview conducted by Amrita School
of Business.
Any graduate degree (10+2+3) with minimum 50% aggregate marks in Specialisation in Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations and Systems
th th
10 , 12 and degree examinations. with options for dual specialization.
Additional weightage for applicants who have industry experience. Excellent full-time faculty with qualifications from Berkeley, Cornell,
NYU-Stern, Texas-Austin, XLRI, IITs and IIMs.
Interview locations Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad,
Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. Tie-up with State University of New York [SUNY] Buffalo for dual
degree programmes offered at Bengaluru campus.
NRIs and foreigners can also submit GMAT scores instead of CAT scores
and apply directly. University Alliance partner of SAP with faculty certified by SAP.
Please send a DD for Rs1000/- drawn in favour of "Amrita School of Member of EURECA- an exchange programme between seven Asian
Business, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham" [payable at Coimbatore] for and nine European universities, fully funded by European Union.
the prospectus and application form.
'On campus recruiters' in 2009 included
Online application can also be made on our website
CavinKare, Coca-Cola, Federal Bank,
[www.amrita.edu/asb]. Downloaded and filled up forms can be Excellent Hapag Lloyd, HCL Technologies, IDBI Bank,
couriered to us with DD enclosed. Placement
Indian Oil Corporation, Leela Hotels, Oracle,
Record
ASB application packages can also be procured from select centres of Philips, Polaris, Sundaram Finance, TCS,
IMS, T.I.M.E., ERUDITE [CAT-coaching centers] and Axis Bank TVS Electronics, UAE Exchange, Vodafone,
branches. Virgin Mobile and Wipro.
Important date to remember

Last Date for receipt of completed application -
February 05, 2010
For more information contact:

Chairperson - Admissions, Amrita School of Business
Ettimadai, Coimbatore 641 105. Phone : 0422 2652122 and 099431 17777.
Fax: 0422 2656274. Email : admit2010_asb@amrita.edu www.amrita.edu/asb
A multi-campus university accredited by NAAC with 'A' grade
How to enter Know more of hospitality
Hospitality sector New concepts in hospitality

■■ Time Share
A snapshot of entrance exams and trends ■■

■■
Convention hotels
Outsourcing managers
■■ Spa and Wellness
■■ Health Tourism
Admission Info who are appearing for class 12 exams
■■ Event management
The admission to the programme is done in 2010 can also apply.
through the Joint Entrance Examination ●● Also a candidate should not be more Tips to stay ahead
(JEE). Candidates can get admission in than 22 years of age (25 years for SC/ ■■ Go to the library
21 Central Institutes of Hotel Manage- ST) as on July, 1, 2010. ■■ Learn a foreign language
ment, eight State Government Insti- ●● Selection for PG programmes is ■■ Read up food and beverage magazines
tutes of Hotel Management, 12 Private merit based. ■■ You Tube, popular website, has great
Institutes of Hotel Management affili- reference material on hospitality
ated with the National Council of Hotel Tentative dates
Management and Catering Technology ●● ate of Entrance Examination: May
D
and five Food Craft Institutes located in 2nd week, 2010 consisting of multiple choice questions
different parts of the country. There are ●● Availability of Application Forms: divided in the following sections:
approximately 6,000 seats combined in February 3rd week, 2010 ●● Numerical Ability and Scientific
all these institutes for admission to BSc ●● Last Date for receipt of completed Aptitude -30 questions
Hospitality and Hotel Administration application forms: April 2nd week, ●● Reasoning and Logical Deduction
programme. In all, there are 41 institutes 2010 -30 questions
in the country that are affiliated with the ●● Declaration of Results: June 1st ●● GK & Current Affairs -30 questions
National Council of Hotel Management week, 2010 ●● English Language - 80 questions
and Catering Technology. Please note that the dates are only tenta- ●● Aptitude for Service Sector - 30
tive and are not final. questions
Eligibility criteria There will be negative marking up
●● ass in 10+2 or equivalent examina-
P Exam pattern to ½ marks for all the sections except
tion with English as a subject. Those The paper will be of 3 hours’ duration Aptitude for Service Sector.
Dearth of trained while hospitality education has been

broadbased to include hospitality voca-
professionals in India tional courses at ITIs, polytechnics, at

10+2 stage of CBSE and introduction
of specific tailor-made skill testing and
T oday, hospitality education is a cov- professionals every year of which 66 per-

eted career and the National Coun- cent is at skill level, and 34 per cent at
cil receives four times more applications managerial level.
certification programmes.
Further, the Certified Hospital-
ity Trainer Programme aims to provide
than its fixed intake. India has nearly The Tourism Ministry has developed a employment to meritorious students
150 institutes in the approved category, master plan to increase intake in exist- at IHMs from within its system and
both in the government and private sec- ing institutes. More craft and skill-level honouring them with the best of wages
tor. And there are 25 craft-level insti- programmes have been introduced, the industry has to offer. By the end of
tutes, which impart short courses. the 11th five-year plan, the target
Hospitality institutes produce is to have 49 Institutes of Hotel
14,000 graduates, of which 4,000 “Hospitality is being Management and 31 Food Craft
are diploma and certificate hold- introduced in 10+2 Institutes, plus a tourism manage-
ers. So, 18,000 trained profession- ment centre in the south.
als are produced every year, 22
CBSE curriculum” But there’s a need to standardise
percent at the skills level and 78 N.S. Bhuie the quality of hospitality education.
per cent at graduate level. A sur- Director of Studies, National And, students must be cautious of
vey by the Ministry of Tourism Council for Hotel Management some of the hospitality institutions
indicates that there is a demand and Catering Technology in the private sector before seeking
for 2.03 lakh trained hospitality admissions in them.

Select Indian Colleges offering programmes in Hospitality
Institute Location Programme Website
Institute of Hotel Management Ahmedabad, Mumbai, BSc Hospitality and Hotel Administration Program (3 years) http://nchmct.org/
Chandigarh, chennai
Institute of Hotel Management Aurangabad BA (Hons) Hotel Management (4 years) www.ihma.ac.in
(Taj Group)
Barkatullah University Bhopal PG Diploma in Tourism & Hotel Management(1 year) www.bubhopal.nic.in
Institute of Hotel Management Bangalore MSc in Hospitality Administration ( 2 years) www.ihmbangalore.com
Christ College Bangalore Bachelor of Hotel Management (4 years) www.christuniversity.in
Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Chandigarh Diploma in Hotel Operation, Catering & Applied Nutrition (3 years) www.ihmchandigarh.org
Hotel Management
Institute of Hotel Management Chennai BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration (3 years) www.ihmchennai.org
FHRAI Institute of Hotel Greater Noida BSc (Hons) International Hospitality Administration (4 years) www.fhraiinstitute.com
Management
Institute of Hotel Management Hyderabad BSc/Msc in Hospitality & Hotel Administration (3 years) www.ihmhyd.org
Institute of Hotel Management Kolkata BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration www.ihmkolkata.org
Vardhaman Mahaveer Kota PG Diploma in Tourism & Hotel Management (1 year) (Distance www.vmou.ac.in
Open University Education)
Welcome Group (GSHA) Manipal Diploma/Msc/Bachelor of Hotel Management (3/2/4 years) www.manipal.edu
Rizvi College of Management Mumbai BA in International Hospitality Administration (4 years) www.rizvi.edu.in
Institute of Hotel Management Mumbai BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration (3 years) www.ihmctan.edu
Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai International Chef Diploma (close to 3 years) www.ihmctan.edu
George Brown College
Institute of Hotel Management New Delhi BSc in Hospitality & Hotel Administration (3 years) www.ihmpusa.net
Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Ooty BSc in Hotel Management (3 years) www.meritworldwide.com
Management
University of Pune Pune Bachelor of Hotel Management & Catering Technology (4 years) www.unipune.ac.in
Select International Institutes offering ProgramMEs in Hospitality

Institute Location Programme Website
Sierra Nevada College Nevada, USA Bachelor in Ski Business and Resort Management www.sierranevada.edu
(a 4-year degree programme focused on mountain resort industry)
The Institute of Culinary New York, USA Diploma programmes in Culinary Arts, Pastry & Baking Arts, www.iceculinary.com
Education Culinary Management (programmes with 300-650 hour
duration offering in-class training & externship)
Cornell University School New York, USA Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration (4-year programme) www.hotelschool.cornell.edu
of Hotel Administration
The Tourism Academy @ Sentosa Island, Diploma in Hospitality & Tourism Business www.tourismacademy.edu.sg
Sentosa Singapore (2-year programmes including 15 weeks of internship).
École hôtelière de Lausanne Switzerland Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management www.ehl.edu
(EHL) (4-year-programme)
César Ritz Switzerland Higher Diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Management www.ritz.edu
(2-year programme for high school graduates looking to build
a career in hotel and restaurant management)
Glion Institute of Higher Switzerland Diploma in Hotel & Restaurant Administration (a 1.5-year programme www.glion.edu
Education in the basics of food, beverage, hotel operations and administration)
IMI University Centre Switzerland Bachelor of Arts (Hons)( 3-year programme) www.imi-luzern.com
School of International Hotel Switzerland Higher Diploma in International Hotel and Tourism Management www.htmi.ch
& Tourism Management ( 2.5-year programme followed by a half-year Bachelor Degree,
awarded by University of Ulster, UK)
Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Japan, Lebanon, Certificate and Diploma programs in Culinary Arts www.cordonbleu.edu
London, New Jersey, (Basic programmes in French cuisine)
Mexico, Spain, Bankok,
The Netherlands, Sydney,
Canada, Peru, and Korea

Hospitality education
function areas. For instance, the School
of International Hotel & Tourism Man-
agement, Switzerland offers electives
around the world such as casino management, bar man-

agement and cruise line management.
“The Sierra Nevada College, USA,
offers a four-year Bachelor’s degree in
From gaming and casino management to culinary arts, Ski Business and Resort Management,
there’s an eclectic choice of courses on the menu a very niche area,” says Shivani.
Chefs may aspire to become profes-
sional chocolatiers, specialise in a cui-
by Merril Diniz the The Statler Hotel & JW Willard sine or master culinary areas such as
Mariott Executive Education Center. patisserie. Some institutions that offer
A
merican chef, the late Julia Hence, it’s like a “laboratory for stu- such courses include Le Cordon Bleu in
Child moved to Paris in 1948, dents on campus which offers state-of- France (which has campuses across the
a restless homemaker, look- the-art equipment and a real-life hotel globe), Institute of Culinary Education,
ing for a purpose in life. On to practice their skills,” says Shivani. New York and the Texas Culinary Acad-
a whim she joined Le Cordon Bleu, a Glion Institute of Higher Education emy. Specialising will help you elevate
household name in the world of culi- in Switzerland also has a very strong your knowledge and skills in your area
nary education, and eventually went on internship model. of interest, to a whole new level of excel-
to launch a cookery show on TV and lence and expertise
pen a book, which made French cooking The cost
accessible to the world. On an average, a graduate programme Internships, placements,
Would Ms Child’s culinary talent will cost between eight to 15 lakhs per extra perks
have unraveled in any other destina- year, including tuition and boarding. When choosing a programme, especially
tion in the world? We will never know. Is it worth it? “If you want to make a at the graduate level, explore if the insti-
Choosing a country, which boasts qual- specialised career of it, it’s worth con- tute offers internships. For instance,
ity hotels, restaurants and spas, will sidering for all the innovative practices the Les Roches, International School
give you an opportunity to intern with and professional competency-based of Hotel Management in Switzerland
the best places. “Singapore is an inter- courses,” shares Binita Kohli, owner of requires students to do three internships
esting choice of location, because it is in the second, fourth and sixth semesters
focusing on tourism,” observes Shivani of the eight-semester programme, and
Manchanda, a career counselor for the “Choosing a country, students intern with world-class hotels
last 18 years and Director, CareerTrack. which boasts quality such as the The Ritz-Carlton, Four Sea-
For instance, The Tourism Academy @ sons and Shangri-La.
Sentosa immerses the students in the hotels, restaurants and Some institutes offer a job-hunting
resort experience through its two-year spas, will give you an module, which includes résumé writing,
full-time diploma programme. interviewing skills and marketing your-
opportunity to intern self to the industry. For instance, EHL
Education tradition with the best places” runs an online job platform for alumni
Countries like Switzerland are tradi- with a searchable database of current
tionally renowned for their topnotch jobs in the industry, says Shivani.
hospitality programmes. With approxi- The IMI University Centre, Switzer-
mately 5,600 hotels and more than 35 Paceweddings.com, Delhi. Kohli, with land, besides offering an online alumni
million guests every year, it this has a Bachelor’s and Master’s from Switzer- database and careers fairs, also helps
ensured quality schools, here. The Swiss land, specialised in wedding planning with campus recruitments. Also, check
Hotel Schools Association (ASEH), a and event management from an Ameri- for institutional visits to hotels, resorts
major body, ensures high standards of can institute. ”Now, if you need to mort- and learning new languages. Sniff out
professionalism in the hotel schools, gage your house to afford this amount, those perks!
Shivani points out. “The Swiss have a it’s a good idea to do an undergraduate
long tradition of innovation and skill- programme right here in India, and then A word of caution
based training and this has resulted in work here for some time before you pro- “Many hospitality management institu-
the alumni reaching successful positions ceed to do a post-graduation abroad,” tions are managed by private providers
internationally,” she adds. advises Shavani. and not much benchmarking exists in it
Internship-model schools, is another yet,” observes Shivani. So, it’s a good idea
traditions, which allows a student to Hospitality specialist to check with well-established profes-
work and learn, alongside. For instance, There are several specialization courses sionals and alumni, and get their opinion
the Cornell University campus houses to be done as hospitality has diverse before joining a school.

Front office
At your service
Front Office is not just about having a pleasant demeanour,
it takes a lot more to make the customer happy...
by Shalini Gupta the head concierge. On their arrival at

the hotel, guests are greeted by welcome
I
n spite of being a science student, assistants. Reception executives take
Raja Panchal was never interested care of the check-in formalities such
Salary structure
in engineering. He wanted to do as filling up the registration card and ■■ Executive -
something different, and the hospi- updating the details in the system. They Rs.12,000-14,000
Assistant Manager-
tality industry attracted his attention, also ensure a smooth check-out. Several ■■
Rs. 16,000-22,000
specifically the glamour associated with guest service associates might report to ■■ Duty manager-
the fluently-speaking, immaculately- a reception executive. Rs. 24,000-37,000
dressed men and women at the Front The reservations department looks ■■ Assistant Front Office
Office. Today, a third year student at the after guest booking and room tariffs. Manager- Rs. 28,000-
50,000
Institute of Hotel management, Delhi, There is a separate department that
Front Office Manager-
he is all set to make his dream come true. takes care of the likes and dislikes of the ■■
Rs. 60,000 and above
If like him, you too aspire to be a part of guests and receiving feedback on the
the only department in a hotel that has service to ensure a personalised stay.
a direct contact with its guests, be pre- This is called the guest relations depart-
pared for some very hard work! ment, which is headed by a guest relation Beginning as management trainees, the
executive (GRE). Several guest relation fresh HM graduates complete one to
Getting down to the basics associates report to the GRE. Typically, two years in the domain. They then join
All hotels, be it a five star hotel, stand- Front Office personnel comprise 10-15 as guest service associates/guest rela-
alone or budget, have a line-up of staff percent of the hotel staff, says Profes- tion associates at the front desk, assist-
at the Front Office. “From the time a sor DD Sharma, Head of Department, ing the guest relation executive or the
guest walks in, till his or her depar- Front Office and Accommodation Man- reception. They could also be directly
ture, the front office department has agement, IHM, Delhi. recruited as assistant managers, depend-
to work meticulously at each stage of ing on different training programmes at
operations. Usually the staff work in Rising up the ranks hotel chains. A duty manager supervises
shifts ranging from 10-14 hours a day,” Nishant Negi started off as a manage- the assistant manager and reports to the
says Babar Khanyari, Front Office ment trainee at Jaypee Palace, Agra, Front Office Manager (who oversees the
Manager, The Imperial, Delhi. A Front after completing his hotel management entire front office operations).
Office manager heads the department course from IHM Lucknow in 1998. Climbing up the ladder requires a lot
and supervises a few duty managers Today he heads the front office opera- of hard work and experience and one
to whom assistant managers report. tions at ITC Sheraton, Delhi and has has to work up the way through a hier-
Assistant managers in turn supervise the 11 years of experience in the industry. archy. Growth opportunities are higher
various departments. since the Front Office staff often
The concierge department head- build a rapport with the customers
ed by a head concierge takes care as opposed to F&B, opines Anil
of transporting guests to and from “Aspire to wow Srivastava, HR Manager at the
the hotel to local attractions as ITC Sheraton, Delhi. Trainees can
well as assisting them with recom- a customer” earn as much as Rs. 9,000 to Rs.
mendations for restaurants, shop- 11,000. “One does need to slog it
ping and sightseeing. Bell boys Nishant Negi, out in the first few years but if
assist guests with their luggage and Front Office manager, you work with the motto that you
several of them might report to a ITC Sheraton, Delhi are here because of the guest and
bell captain who in turn reports to focus on serving them better, there

first impression Front
Office is the first contact
point for the guest
Imagesbazaar
is no looking back,” adds Ajoy Balkrish- volunteering to pick up their luggage.

na, General Manager, Grand Sarovar An innate attitude to bring a smile on
Premiere, Mumbai, who has around 20 someone’s face is very crucial. As Nis-
years of experience in the industry. hant puts it, “Aspire to wow a customer.”
Hotels might also have in-house trainers
Beyond hospitality to orient employees on various soft skills
Alok Narain, an HM graduate, who is such as telephone etiquette and groom-
now a Vice President, Employee devel- ing standards, informs C. Swaminathan,
opment, Quatrro (a BPO) was heading Director HR at The Imperial, Delhi.
HR at The Oberoi. As Narain’s profile
shows, Front Office personnel, thus are “Multitasking is the Dignity of labour
in demand not only in the hospitality order of the day in a One thing that the profession teaches
industry, but also allied industries such you is that no job is inferior. And this
as BPOs, banking, the retail sector, cor- budget hotel” is what Raja Panchal learned during
porates, says Alok Shivpuri, Principal, his six-month-long industrial training
IHM Delhi. “BPOs prefer Front Office Prabhat Pani during which a student has to work in
staff or hospitality personnel for serv- CEO & Director, Roots Corporation Ltd. all departments (F&B, Front Office and
ice-oriented processes, such as client that runs Ginger, Tata group-owned housekeeping). He would accompany
processing and customer service deliv- no frills hotel his housekeeping manager to check if
ery,” elaborates Sunil Goel, Director, all rooms were spick and span at the end
GlobalHunt, an executive search firm. handle difficult situations as and when of each day. One day they found a tiny
Employers across the sector feel confi- they arise and an enthusiasm to learn, speck in the lavatory of one of the rooms.
dent to hire them for their managerial are some of the key attributes needed While Raja was hesitant to clean it, his
and interpersonal skill. for you to carve a niche. Soft skills are senior went ahead and did the needful.
very, very important. After all, you have “I was inspired by this lesson of a life-
Attitude wins to make the guest feel special and cared time — never look down upon any work
A cheerful countenance, an eagerness for, be it celebrating a birthday after but do it to the best of your abilities,”
to help and assist, presence of mind to landing just a few hours back or even says Raja.

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deft touches Good Housekeeping

makes the guests feel at home
Housekeeping
Meet the keepers
Considered to be a back office function, housekeeping is the backbone of
the smooth functioning of a hotel and is increasingly being sought after
by Shalini Gupta do lifelong. Just three months into her their duty to create a clean, comfortable
training, she felt was in the right place. and appealing environment in the hotel.
W
hen Garima Nagpal decid- Today, an Executive Housekeeper with As Nagpal puts it, “We create a home
ed to pursue a course in The Imperial Delhi, she is credited with away from home, with a touch of luxury,
hotel management 25 starting the house keeping operations at keeping comfort in mind.” The staff is
years back, she joined most of the prestigious hotels in India, expected to maintain standards of excel-
IHM, Delhi, only to find four girls thanks to a twist of fate. lence in sanitation, comfort and aesthet-
(including her) in a batch of 80 students. ics at the hotel, including rooms, public
But she was determined. A Front Office The daily grind areas, corridors, patio and lawns.
aspirant, the bespectacled Garima, was Ever wondered who is responsible for They also need to follow standard
selected for accommodation manage- that elaborate flower arrangement or operating procedures (SOP’s) for clean-
ment (also known as Housekeeping) those chic curtains or that spotless win- ing and maintain an inventory of furni-
during campus placement, much to her dow or even that painting you couldn’t ture, linen etc. For example, each hotel
chagrin. Little did she know that it was help but admire in the lobby of a hotel? might have its own SOP on how to make
the beginning of something she would Well, it is the Housekeeping staff. It is a bed, which has to be strictly followed

as well, overseeing several executive High on growth
housekeepers across different loca- Housekeeping is one the fastest growing
tions. At the managerial level, one also in the service sector. Growth is per-
needs to handle and groom contrac- formance-based and chances of a new
tual staff such as cleaners and other trainee heading the department in a few
manual labourers, look at induction of years is much higher a compared to oth-
new employees, motivate and counsel ers. Garima was the youngest Executive
staff and supervise their discipline and Housekeeper at the age of 28, working
conduct while ensuring proper commu- at the Oberoi, Delhi back in the early
nication amongst them. Meetings are 80s. Amandeep Kaur is working as an
“Almost 55 percent of conducted early morning to brief the Assistant Manager with ITC Sheraton
staff on their duties for the day and also Delhi, with seven years of experience
our graduating students to resolve any outstanding issues. behind her. “The smartest ladies in the
opt for Front Office hotel industry are in Housekeeping,” she
and housekeeping” What you need to make the cut says. For long a female bastion, men are
First and foremost, start from scratch. also opting for Housekeeping. Although
Most of the youngsters today aspire to growth is fast, pay at the entry level is
DD Sharma, be executive housekeepers, but they not as lucrative. A room attendant might
HoD, Front Office and Accommodation
Management, IHM, Delhi need to understand and be adept at the start from around Rs. 10,000 per month,
nitty-gritty of the job first. “If you know while a supervisor might get up to Rs.
how to scrub a tub, you would make 16,000 per month. The pay only rises as
a better manager, as you will not only one rises up the ranks and may vary from
Skills respect your subordinates, but also know luxury hotels to budget hotels to hospi-
■■ An eye for detail what to expect from them,” says Garima. tals and company guest houses.
■■ Creative bent of mind People-friendliness is also important,
■■ Be people friendly since the endeavour is to make every Challenging, yet satisfying
guest feel special. You need to be able to The biggest high is that of a job well
Raman Pruthi
■■ Be open to the smallest

tasks feel the pulse of your guests and gauge done, an unparalleled sense of satis-
what they would need intuitively, says faction and achievement when a guest
Amandeep. For example, when a Ger- appreciates your work, or leaves a note
by its staff. A room attendant (the small- man guest at the hotel mentioned how behind saying he would to like to visit
est unit of the staff ) might have to work he loved the feather pillows at home, she again. It might require you to do things
on up to 20 SOPs in a day. However, immediately got them arranged, much that might seem to ridiculous to an out-
Housekeeping is not just about reli- to his surprise. sider, like searching for a guest’s lost
giously following SOP’s. “Every day, it is comb, but there’s nothing that is more
up to us to do the same thing differently, An eye for detail gratifying than a satisfied customer at
so as to make every guest feel special You need to go that extra mile and not the end of the day, opines Amandeep. As
and cared for,” says Amandeep Kaur, just stick to what is expected of you. And for the challenges, Balbir Singh, puts it
Assistant Manager, Housekeeping, at for that you have to have a passion for the best. “When the occupancy in a hotel or
ITC Sheraton, New Delhi. work. Acute observation skills help, adds an office guest house goes up, it becomes
Balbir Singh, Executive Housekeeper a challenge to manage guests, and if we
The hierarchy at the Best Western The Pride, Pune. A have very few guests, then the challenge
Students with a degree in hotel manage- knack for creativity is a plus, be it decid- for Housekeeping is how to generate
ment typically join as supervisors who ing the flower arrangement, the decor of more footfalls.”
are responsible for organising, assigning the lounge area, or the upholstery. Rupali Chauhan is a bright third year
and coordinating the work of the student at IHM, Delhi, who is
room attendants. After a few years one of the few shortlisted by The
they might be promoted as Assist- “If you know Oberoi hotels for their upcoming
ant Managers, several of whom how to scrub a management training programme.
are supervised by Deputy Manag- She was as clueless as a young
ers. Supervisors who perform well
tub, you would Garima when she set her foot in
are promoted to executives to be make better the campus. But now, after three
trained under Assistant Managers. manager” years into her programme, going
Finally, every hotel has an execu- by her soaring confidence and
tive housekeeper who oversees the Garima Nagpal positive attitude, the story might
entire operations. Executive Housekeeper, be altogether different a few years
If the hotel is a huge group, there The Imperial, Delhi later. Clearly, Housekeeping is for
might be a corporate housekeeper the go-getters.

buffet layout at Threesixty,

a fine-dining restaurant at
The Oberoi, New Delhi
Food Production
Mixing food and busi n
This is where great food is created and star chefs are born. You may also have to
by Sumita Vaid Dixit Sous Chef to Senior Chef takes 14 to Not just cooking
15 years provided you are good. Yes, it’s Chefs make food but it’s a myth that they
F
ood production, as the name competitive and will give you grey hair, only make food. They do much more.
suggests, is about making food, but if you are good and focused then you They are thinking, ideating, creating and
and has three sections: Bak- could be a celebrity at a young age too managing people. “We are managers as
ery, which is making bread says Bhasin. So, if being a chef is your well as cooks!” says Bhasin. In fact, she
and cakes; even chocolates and confec- be all and end all, then a professional is a green belt in Six Sigma; it’s a course
tionary items like candies. Speciality degree will stand you in good stead. that helps in running an error-free oper-
Kitchen, where cuisines such as Thai, Education plays a critical role in this ation, she says. Cooking is one part of
Mughlai, Japanese, South Indian are profession. A diploma is essential, but a the work. Right from cutlery placement,
made. Cold section, were salads and degree course is better. Because with a to table layout to maximising business,
delicatessen (cold meat cuts) are served. BSc in hospitality course you can bypass the chef’s got to do it all. Of course, prod-
Choose from these three based on your the Commie stages and join as kitchen uct development is an important part of
interest and aptitude. management trainee (KMT) and start a chef’s life. “We have to keep making
Passion, passion, passion is what you cooking, thus saving three or four years the food exciting at all times, which is a
need to be a chef, says Manisha Bhasin, of the grind. Food Production gradu- challenge.”
Senior Executive Chef, ITC. “That alone ates are absorbed as KMTs and trainfor Bhasin says that one also has to see the
will tide you by both good and the not- almost two years before becoming Chef profitability part of the business. “We sit
so-good times.” Going up from junior de Partie, the stage after Commie 1. with menu designers; decide the placing

Food Production
Three departments that employ KMTs
■■ Bakery
■■ Speciality Kitchen
■■ Cold section where salads and
delicatessen are served
Climb up the ladder
■■ After you are absorbed as kitchen
management trainee you start as:
■■ Chef de Partie
■■ Sous Chef
Bakery
■■ Senior Chef de partie/Assistant Sous Chef Besides making bread and cakes, one can also
■■ Executive Chef specialise in cold desserts. There are more
than 200 items to learn in a bakery course says
Pay Scale: Anita Bola, assistant lecturer, Institute of Hotel
■■ Diploma holder as a Commie could get Management, New Delhi. So here’s what you
anywhere between Rs. 6,000-Rs. 7,000 require for the job: a creative mind, a great sense
■■ Degree-holders, after kitchen management of colour, an eye for aesthetics, and dollops of
training, start at Rs. 26,000 and as a chef, patience.
you earn in lakhs “You would be baking 100 cakes day in and day
out, and this should not make you tired or bored.
If that happens then it will show in the food,”
warns Bola. But if you are bored and you want to
switch to another department, or have developed
an interest in say Italian food, there are options
of cross-departmental training in hotels and
restaurants.
Sweat it out
Narendra Bisht/Outlook Group Baking a cake in the classroom is very different
from baking it in the hotel kitchens. “You have to
perform under pressure,” says Pradeep Diwedi,
an HM student. And every hotel has its ‘house
style’ when it comes to presentation and layout.
So there you learn buffet layout, cake presenta-
tion and pre-plated dessert.
ness
Rewards are good
There’s a lot of hard work, there are long working
hours, but if you are dauntless, and steadily climb
up the ladder, then as an executive Sous Chef or
as the top most person, pastry chef, you could be
wash utensils! “When the going gets earning in lakhs, says Bola.
tough in the kitchen Plenty of options

Bakery offers ample career opportunities. You
peel potatoes, it is could join the hospitality industry, conduct hobby
of the food items, there’s a lot of science classes, teach in institutes or open up your own
and thought that goes behind this.” In
therapeutic!” bakery and mint money. There is 100 percent
profit in bakery, says Bola as the total cost of
fact, chefs sit with restaurant managers, Manisha Bhasin making a cake isn’t more than Rs. 100 and a
look at the monthly business reports and Senior Executive Chef, ITC patty costs Rs. 3. “So the margins are huge.”
then together decide on how to improve Pay scale
the business. “So you have to come up If you are a diploma holder, then it could start
with innovative promotional concepts are like actors on stage, creating an act from Rs. 7,000 and go up to Rs. 8000.
such as Sunday brunch,” says Bhasin, that if clients like, will get applauded! If a degree-holder is selected for kitchen training
at recruitment time the starting pay could range
who set up West View at the ITC Mau- So remember, says Bhasin, that when from Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000
rya Sheraton. Strange as it may sound, a you are not cooking for your guest, you
After the training, the salary goes up to
chef has to have a good business sense, are still being watched. “You are being Rs. 25,000
as well. “We multitask and not many are watched by your colleagues, your junior
Climb up the ladder
aware of it!” staff.” Therefore, at all times put your Commie 3
best foot forward, or rather your best Commie 2
Put your best dish forward! dish forward! Commie 1
Of course, there’s glamour to the job, Experience says that when you have Chef de partie
but that comes much later, when you learnt to smile and apologise to an irra- Kitchen executive
have toiled in the heat, the grime, and tional client you are ready to be a chef. Executive Sous Chef
the fumes for 10 hours every day. Chefs So keep that ego in a pickle jar back Pastry Chef

Tips ‘n’ trends

Back to the basics “If you want to be
a chef, be a trendsetter”
Asian food is hot, especially Japanese.
In Indian food, community and regional
cuisines such as Chettinad is in.
Silvatta spices: People want that home-made
taste in their foods so learn to grind ginger, Solomon’s interest in food started at
garlic, spices on the grind stone. Forget about an early age as each member of his
machines.
large joint family had to give a hand
Open kitchen in the kitchen. And he believes in the
Although the concept of open kitchens is as
old as roadside dhabas, both big and mid-sized simplicity of food. “I stay away from
restaurants are all for it. People like to see their molecular and processed food.” Among
food being cooked right under their noses. other things, Solomon says that young
But isn’t it a bit unnerving for young chefs?
Bhasin says open kitchen is an acid test for
people should be prepared to enter the
young chefs. industry with their eyes open!
Make your own food
Now customers can also cook their meal in Q. So tell us chef, what ingredients
five-star ambiences with a little guidance from go into making a good chef ?
the chef. So, on a lighter note, if the pasta gets
burnt, the customer cannot blame the chef,
A. An understanding of the nuances of
Bhasin laughs. There’s a lot of innovation in food, how to buy meat and vegetables,
food preperation now as the customer is a part how to cut meat and vegetables, good
of the whole cooking experience.
communication skills… Well, there is
Growing demand for institutional food a lot that goes into making of a chef
School canteens, large companies, hospitals,
and much of it comes with experience.
defence establishments
Working as a chef is all about creativ-
Food processing unit ity, fun and discipline.
Several job opportunities are here for cooks,
chefs and food preparation professionals Ananda Solomon
Career options: Food science, food nutrition,
Q. So would you rather take some- Executive chef, Taj President and
menu merchandise, menu engineering, pack- one fresh to work with you, or some- Corporate Chef of Taj’s upper
aged foods, food photography, education, one with professional training? upscale hotels
cuisine styling, hospitals, catering, canteen,
food journalism and of course running your
A. If you are raw then cracking the
own restaurant one day. industry can be a little tough. It’s
important to have some kind of prior good manager. But nothing will work
training. In fact, I would say to those without passion.
home. “In this industry, you should be keen on a career in food production
prepared and ready to do anything. that they should check out the facili- Q. So, passion is the key ingredi-
There are many who are reluctant to ties before enrolling in colleges. Look ent…
wash utensils, but I tell them to wash at the kitchen; see if the kitchens are A. If you are keen on a chef’s career,
their utensils to wash away their ego,” well-equipped. Meet the faculty. Find then passion is what you need. It’s not
says Bhasin. And when the going gets out if the faculty have had industry a desk job where you sit all day.
tough, when you are about to burst like experience. Because that’s how teach-
a pressure cooker, then “peel potatoes, it ers can prepare students for the rig- Q. But it’s also a profession where
is therapeutic!” Bhasin guarantees. ours of the industry! you come across people who can act
When the ego’s out of the way, it’s I would also say, find out how many difficult…
only you and the food that you are mak- practical classes are held in a week A. There’s nothing called a difficult
ing and that’s what adds the magic to and for how long. In my view, there customer. Every person is a wonderful
the dish. People come to restaurants or should be at least four practical classes opportunity to be served and looked
hotels for good food. If the service or the in a week and each class should be of after. Remember you are dealing with
ambience isn’t as good, people might four to five hours of duration. But, of people, not vending machines. After
keep coming, but if the food is not good, course, cooking is one part of becom- all, you have to create opportunities
then it’s time to shut shop, says Bhasin. ing a chef. to increase footfall. You don’t become
In the end, it’s all about good food. a great chef in a day. It takes perse-
If you are hard working, love your work Q. What are the other parts to a verance and passion! Of course, for
and can make food even on tired legs, chef ? that you need nerves of steel and you
welcome to the kitchen! Bhasin says that A. You have to be familiar with the should know how to cook good food.
while one should have a basic sense of commercial side of the profession, be And remember, above all, you have to
taste, it’s only over a period of time that involved in product positioning, pric- be a trend-setter to make a mark for
one develops a sense of taste ing, do cost analysis, but above all be a yourself in this competitive field.

Food & Beverage Services
What’s on the menu
The managerial skills
of F&B services are in
demand, even in bank-
ing and IT, today
by Sumita Vaid Dixit
F
&B is a managerial profile,
which comprises managing a
restaurant or the bar in a hotel,
or a stand-alone restaurant.
This division is all about looking after
guests and their needs. “We look after
clients like guests who visit out homes,”
says Kunal Pahwa, Restaurant Manager,
Bukhara, ITC Maurya. So even before a
guest raises a hand or looks around for
a waiter, an F&B person is already at
the table with water or juice. “It’s about
anticipating the guest’s requirement,”
says KS Srinivasan, Vice-President, HR,
Taj, Mumbai. At the same time, one “The F&B services
has to ensure that the guests have the Rajesh Thakur/Outlook Group
space to do what they want, and one

industry is not rocket
does not stand over their heads. It’s a bit science, it’s about manages the staff. “You may have to
tricky, but with experience one develops understanding simple manage people older than you who
a knack for it. “The services industry is report to you. You also have to earn
not rocket science; it about understand- human needs. You the respect of your clients as well as
ing simple human needs. You decide decide your approach by your staff.”
your approach by who sits at the table,”
Pahwa adds.
who sits at the table” Opportunities abroad
Kunal Pahwa Many, after working for two or three
Is the customer always right? Restaurant Manager, Bukhara, years in the Indian hospitality industry,
All kinds of people frequent restaurants ITC Maurya, New Delhi go abroad as opportunities are lucrative.
and chances are there will be unpleas- “One of my friends is working in Burj
ant experiences. On occasions, you may Dubai (the world’s tallest tower) as an
happen to overhear unpleasant things entrepreneur. You are completely F&B manager in one the top restaurants
a client is saying about you. “Even then responsible for your restaurant, says there and he is earning well,” says Pahwa.
we wear a smile and serve the customer Pahwa who was involved in the pre- Indian hospitality professionals are in
to the best we can,” says Anurag, a butler opening of ITC Grand Central hotel in demand in countries such as Dubai, the
with ITC. In this business, the customer Mumbai. “From the colour of the cush- US and Australia because of their high
is always right. “Always,” he adds! ion to what goes on the menu, you are level of education and experience in
in-charge of everything.” Hence, F&B the industry. Ashish Kesharwani, Chief
Work like an entrepreneur managers are expected to think of novel Learning Officer, at education consul-
While such experiences are part of ways to generate more revenue. tancy UEI Global says, “Approximately
the job, an F&B manager also gets the Besides looking after the needs of 20 percent hotel management graduates
chance to run the restaurant like an customers, a restaurant manager also go to foreign countries.”

Tips ‘n’ trends

F&B graduates usually choose
from these departments: Beverages
■■
■■
■■
Room service
Bar
Speciality Restaurant
and Wines
Night club
While a manager looks
■■
■■ Discotheque
■■ Coffee shop
after the guests’ needs,
Banquets
bartenders make the
■■
After the management training

you start as: drinks and sommeliers
■■ Assistant manager (In some places, at a
supervisory level as station head waiter)
choose the wine list
■■ Assistant F&B Manager
A
■■ F&B Manager/Director, F&B bartender has very specific skills
■■ General Manager as the job involves making and
serving beverages to guests. Typ-
…And the way to the top ically, there are two job portfolios. One
■■ Room service manager is that of mixing beverages, that is mak-
■■ Banquet manager ing and serving drinks, cocktails and
■■ Food & Beverages Manager mocktails. Thus bartenders are also
■■ Executive Food and Beverages manager referred to as mixologists. The other,
■■ Resident Manager is flaring; what Tom Cruise does lots
■■ General Manager of in Hollywood film Cocktail. This
■■ Vice-president act of juggling and swivelling bottles
■■ COO, or CEO may look easy, but it needs much train- Recommending wine requires expertise that
ing and practice. Private tutors as well combines taste and experience
as institutes offer training in flaring.
Where to go to make drinks “Flaring is about showmanship!” says Sommelier
KM Kamalaksh, (known as Kama in If bartenders are artists then somme-
Bartending institutes offering certificate
the industry), a beverage consultant. liers are poets. A sommelier is a wine
■■
courses and training:
■■ Stir Academy of Bartending, Mumbai
Flaring is optional for a bartender, advisor or a wine master who is an
■■ The Institute of Bar Operations and
but of course, a bartender has to be expert on the wine industry and under-
Management (IBOM), affiliated to the World excellent at making drinks. It’s an art stands pairing of wine with all food
Bartending Teaching Organisation, Canada says Jay Rathore, General Manager, courses. To be a sommelier one has
■■ Cocktail and Dreams, a school of bar and The Oberoi, Delhi. To be a mixologist, to have a palate as it is all about tast-
beverage management in Delhi you simply have to be passionate, have ing wines and deciding the wine menu
■■ Tulleeho Bartending Academy, Bangalore a positive attitude and should like to keeping. Also, a sommelier should have
socialise. This job requires high energy a good pronunciation as many wines
levels as it’s a 12-18 hour job and it usu- are French.
Long hours, greater rewards ally starts at night. Bartending is taught But the reality is that there aren’t
In F&B one has to work for 11 or 12 as part of the F&B course at hotel man- many certified sommeliers in India.
hours a day. So a young recruit should agement schools. Indians are just beginning to get
be prepared for the grind. But look at A bartender is also responsible for exposed to wine culture and thus one
the brighter side, says Pahwa. At the menu design, product development, may not always find wine masters in all
age of 25 or 27 you may already be a bar management, training people and the good restaurants. Because somme-
restaurant manager, supervising 20-30 planning events. A small piece of advice liers are yet to find their rightful place
people. Although, the pay isn’t that good from Kama for aspiring bartenders: in the industry, they aren’t paid well.
compared to other service sectors, perks don’t talk politics and religion at the So anywhere between Rs. 15,000-Rs.
such as medical and house rent allow- bar. And remember, little wastage as 20,000 is the take-home. It isn’t easy
ances and a good work environment are every drop costs money! At a restaurant becoming a sommelier. Smoking, hav-
good incentives to continue to be part of or a hotel, a bartender’s package starts ing greasy and spicy food are a no-no
the industry. “The Welcome Group has from Rs. 25,000. With experience one and if you become a celebrity somme-
made it so wonderful for me here that could become a beverage consultant liers like Magandeep Singh you may
I haven’t made my CV, yet!” and earn in lakhs. have to get your tongue insured!

wellness is in
a new growth trajectory
The latest addition to the sector is full of some wonderful opportunities...
by Shalini Gupta
N
othing captures the changing face
of the hospitality more vividly
than the arrival of a completely
new segment -- ‘wellness’. In an increas-
ingly complex economy, the modern day
traveller is mixing business with pleas-
ure. This coupled with stress in profes-
sional life and rising concerns about
quality of life has led to the hospitality
sector embracing spas and wellness cen-
tres as an integral component.
Distinct trends in wellness

While large hotel chains do have well-
developed spas as an in-house facility,
with the seasoned traveller demanding
authenticity, small boutique facilities
whose name to fame is their local con-
tent are also on the rise. The meteoric therapies as well as about the specific Soothing experience Wellness industry
growth of Ayurvedic wellness centres in health conditions that can be rectified is an emerging sector in hospitality
the Kerala coastline is a classic example or healed through massage. They could
of this trend. specialize in a specific area as per their reflexology, etc. The duration ranges
Besides, the past few years have seen interest and become Ayurvedic thera- from three to five months. Colin Gary
the emergence of resort spas, day spas, pists, International Therapists, Mul- Hall, Corporate Head of Spa Opera-
salon spas, destination spas, club spas, tiskilled (Ayurvedic and International) tions, IHHR, says, “A genuine interest in
medical spas, cruise ship spas, mineral therapists, Holistic therapists or Beauty wellness and health is important for any
spring spas and airport spas that employ therapists. professional pursuing a spa career and
professionals. Although still in its infan- he or she would need to upgrade this on
cy, the sector offers lucrative career Study and reward an ongoing basis.”
opportunities to aspiring students and There are a lot of institutes offer-
has a huge potential. A recently released ing courses in spa therapies in India. Opportunities galore
report by E&Y for FICCI estimates the However, The Ananda Spa Institute in Being a highly skilled career, spa pro-
spa and wellness industry in India at Hyderabad is the one such institute to fessionals’ salaries are determined by
Rs. 11,000 crores with a growth rate of provide a range of accredited diplo- their experience and qualification. One
25-35 percent in the next few years. mas. The prominent ones are ASI Spa of the most important attributes of a spa
Diploma that covers all the aspects of professional would be to handle tricky
What the job entails the spa skills, ASI Holistic Diploma in situations politely. Across the industry,
From pure massage centres to com- spa therapies like Swedish massage, in India, entry level salaries as train-
plete therapeutic clinic attached spas, ee therapist could start from around
the segment has diverse job opportuni- Skills Needed 1.2 lakh rupees per annum, besides on
ties. In the spa operations, one can start site benefits and accommodation, adds
■■ Customer service-orientation
as a trainee therapist. Therapists need Colin. “One could earn as much as a lakh
■■ Good interpersonal and communication skills
to be familiar with the basic physiol- per month, if he/she has the skill and the
■■ Compassion for people and sensitivity
ogy and anatomy of the human body. experience and is good at the job,” adds
■■ Teamwork
They also need to have knowledge about ■■ Attention to detail
Kamayani Kanwar, promoter of Asian
the various types of massage and spa Roots, a Delhi-based day spa.

Ajit Balakrishnan
“The only known way

to progress is
education”
In school, Ajit Balakrishnan wanted to be a football player until one day his father
showed him an old, poor man squatting outside a thatched hut. His father said this
man was once a football player. From that day on, Balakrishnan stopped playing
football and embraced his books. As it turned out, he was ‘insufferably’ good in stud-
ies. But he neither wanted to become a doctor nor an engineer, and getting into man-
agement studies was sheer accident. But he had an exciting time at IIM Calcutta.
“They taught us subjects like sociology and psychology and I was thrilled!”
Now, he’s chairman of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management,
Calcutta (IIM-C). In a chat with Sumita Vaid Dixit of Careers360, founder
and CEO of rediff.com, Ajit Balakrishnan talks about football, the power of
education to transform lives and patience.
Q. Until the age of 15, you lived in A. Not completely. One of the things
Kannur (Kerala), how were those that really bug me is the IIM and IIT corruption.
years spent? selection system that I am so intimately Our entrance exam is meant to be mer-
A. Playing football! I come from a a part of now. The students that get to itocratic. We at the IIM are saying that
historic town. My town has the oldest us now have been through some or the this is our gate to heaven and we will test
mosque; it was built in the 8th century, other tutorial college. They have paid you dispassionately. For the past 40 or
much before Mahmud Gazni’s inva- a lakh of rupees on tuition before they 50 years, we have administrated this to
sions. Vasco Da Gama landed there first. made it to the IIMs or the IITs. So this the best. Now, 95 per cent of those who
But yes, one day, I would like to create a virtually eliminates students who do not get into our institutes are from tutorial
football team and go win a big match. I live in the cities, and those who cannot colleges.
am hoping that one day we do what we afford to spend a lakh on tuition.
did with cricket in 1983. Tests ensure that meritorious students Q. Did you prepare very hard for the
can get in. The absence of it makes the IIMs?
Q. But you never considered becom- system vulnerable to influence and A. No! I stumbled upon the IIMs. One
ing a doctor like your father… day an uncle said you should go and take
A. I found it boring. My father was the test. As it happened, the test was
a doctor; my grandparents were doc-
tors. So I had seen that life. But two or
“Tests ensure in Thiruvananthapuram three months
later, and it coincided with a major foot-
three generations prior to my parents, meritorious students ball match! I gave the test and a few
we were poor peasants. Education had
changed the course of our lives. So you
get in, the absence of it months later I got the interview call
letter. My father was a little befuddled,
see the only known way to progress in makes the system well, he was a doctor! But my parents
life is education.
vulnerable to influence were liberated so they simply left it on
me to decide.
Q. Is access to good education truly and corruption”
merit-based? Q. It’s said that it is the students that

“Research done by the IIMs is
certainly ahead of many of the
American Business Schools”
make the IIMs ... outsourcing when it was just becom- Calcutta, it doesn’t matter. Even with
A. No institute is world-class without ing fashionable, but the Americans the IITs, students tend to pick those that
excellent students. That is the bare dismissed it as the empirical data was are closer home. So by that logic do you
necessity! Indian specific. So for a while, the view see any difference among the various
held was that research that comes out IITs? It’s all perception-based.
Q. But compared with the Harvard from India is cute, nice but may not
Business School or Kellogg, don’t the have a global relevance. That view has Q. But a few of the new IITs don’t
IIMs fall short? changed. Now, Indian research has a even have proper infrastructure…
A. We keep debating this internally. global appeal. In fact, the research done A. The country is not built in a day.
There are two measures for this. One by the IIMs is certainly ahead of many of These things take time. At the time of
is the quality of students. The second, the American institutes except perhaps independence, our literacy rate was 12
publishing output of the faculty. for those four. per cent; now the literacy rate is up to
Let me put this in perspective for you. Research is expensive. The annual 70 per cent. So we have made great
Only a few of the many hundred Ameri- budget for IIM Calcutta was Rs. 5 lakh, progress. Each state has a different edu-
can business schools produce most of we raised it to Rs 2 crore. cation problem and it should be dealt
the research output in America and per- with differently.
haps the world! These include, Harvard Q. Are business-school rankings But if this country can produce a mil-
Business School, Stanford, Kellogg and credible? lion people like Nirmala, then the coun-
perhaps Columbia University and Uni- A. Well, they certainly are holding up try’s education problem could be solved.
versity of California, Berkeley. the flagging fortunes of magazines! If only there was a known way! Nirmala
So you have to ask why is it that only (Laughs) is a government schoolteacher from my
these few are producing the bulk of the But yes, they are of value to parents place who took her class to an old-age
research, what about the other hundreds and prospective management students. home to help them understand the prob-
of American business schools? In my view, as long as a student gets lems of society. The system will change
The IIMs had done tonnes of work on into an IIM, whether it’s Ahmedabad or and evolve, we have to be patient.

Campus Review Coimbatore Institute of Technology
Technology school
in textiles hub
A no frills engineering education is what you could
aspire for here. What sets it apart is the peer group
Fast Facts
Campus: Unitary Campus at Coimbatore Programmes: BE/ME/PhD/Part-Time BE/BSc/
Msc/MCA and a few MPhil programmes Fees: As stipulated by the Tamil Nadu government
Fellowships: Very few in number Career opportunities: Diverse sectors, with IT and core
being the predominant sectoral recruiters
by B Mahesh Sarma department which offers programmes Infrastructure and resources

in applied sciences, and full-fledged Being over five decades old and an
T
he decade after independence, research programmes. Computing is a aided institution, the campus has well-
especially in Tamil Nadu, saw domain which straddles both sciences endowed infrastructure. Occupying
public-private partnership of and engineering and the school offers more than 20 acres of prime land in the
a different kind wherein pri- both an MSc as well as BTech in com- heart of the city, the institute has a very
vate philanthropists set up colleges puting and software, in addition to a old-world charm. The imposing main
and helped run them under state con- regular MCA programme. Unlike most building with its neo-colonial verandahs
trol. Over time, some of these colleges other engineering colleges, CIT also and broad staircases, is a throw back
emerged as very competitive sites of has a well-developed PhD programme. to the British era, and at times unwel-
academic production and matched Dr. Chelladurai, the current principal, coming. Most other buildings are purely
steps with the better endowed state- claims the institute nearly generates 18- functional and efficient. Mr. K. Ramach-
run colleges. The Coimbatore Institute 20 PhDs every year, which is a compara- andran, a product of 1972, reminiscenc-
of Technology (CIT) was one such ble number (See Box). es, “Next to Guindy College, CIT was
institution. Set up by an academic, P.R. the choice school at that time. Bunking
Ramakrishnan, who was also its found- classes was unthinkable”.
er principal, it borrowed its structure
and systems from MIT, from where its Academics and beyond
founder was educated. So, within a few As an aided institution, CIT depends
years after its inception it began award- on either the Trust or the other projects
ing BTech degree in chemical engineer- to add to the infrastructure facilities,
ing. What began in 1956 as an under- especially in the engineering labs. Cou-
graduate engineering school has evolved pled with a bright research faculty, who
in to a multi-disciplinary educational were recruited in the initial years, this
institution, all the while retaining its key has led to a vibrant research culture at
focus as a tech school. “CIT has evolved in to a CIT. But such research is unfortunately
What is on offer?
multi-disciplinary restricted to a few departments. For
example, the civil engineering depart-
The institute is primarily a technology educational institu- ment has substantial research facilities
school, with seven undergraduate and
eight postgraduate programmes in dif-
tion, while retaining and its Structural Testing Lab, the Head
of the Department claims, is one of the
ferent fields of engineering and tech- its key focus as a best in the southern part of the country.
nology. It also has a vibrant sciences tech school” The embedded systems division, with its

Old-world charm oozes out of the CIT main
building that houses some vibrant departments
a mutual exchange programme from

Fall 2010. Student exchanges and joint
research projects are also planned.”
Where does it all lead to?

With nearly 50 batches of engineering
graduates out in the market, the school
has an enviable alumni network span-
ning across core and applied sectors of
the economy. Says Dr. K. Subhrama-
nian, Professor of Civil Engineering as
well as the Placement Head, “It has been
a tough year during the last season, but
situation is much better this academic
year. We hope to place majority stu-
dents this year even before the closure
of this term.” Another trend visible is the
V. Muthuraman
healthy disdain for IT companies. Most
of the students with whom I interacted
Select courses offered at Coimbatore Institute of Technology
expressed interest in core sector jobs,
Departments UG PG Specialisation Research and Indian Oil appears to be the pre-
Chemical Engineering BTech MTech Chemical Engineering PhD ferred employer in the campus.
Civil Engineering BE ME Structural Engineering/ PhD No horizontal expansion?

Environmental Engineering A common grouse against CIT is that
Computer Science BE the institute, despite achieving autono-
mous status in 1987, never aggressively
Electrical and Electronics BE ME Applied Electronics/ Embedded PhD
Engineering systems expanded itself. The period from 1987
to 2000 saw the launch of only a few
Electronics and BE
Communication Engineering programmes in the computing and
IT sector and nothing else.Recently
Information Technology BTech
in 2005 it launched three new mas-
Mechanical Engineering BE ME Advanced Manufacturing technology PhD ters’ programmes. Quiz Dr. Prasad on
Computer Technology & BSc MSc/ Software Engineering/Computing the same, pat comes the reply, “We
Applications MCA Technology are not a business”. But unless good
schools expand systematically, and
contingent of 12 PhD scholars appears The competition for management quota provide opportunities to students,
to be doing exciting work. But the chal- seats is also as intense. its place would be occupied by those
lenge probably is to spread the research that make education a business. Will
culture across other departments and Collaborations CIT expand horizontally or will it rest
make it individually independent. Foreign collaboration is the new domain on it’s laurels?
of focus for CIT. Dr. Prasad, Corre-
Getting on board spondent, CIT says, “This is one area,
Entry into CIT is through the qualifying where the institute was not very proac- Previous Campus Reviews
marks in Physics, Chemistry and Math- tive. But now, as India globalisies, CIT
IMT Gaziabad
ematics at 10+2 level in TN State board. too is aggressively scouting for world-
Cut off percentages are quite high with class academic partners so that we IIIT Bangalore
open seats getting filled up by students impart cutting edge education, which is IPE Hyderabad
with 99.5 percent marks. So the peer global. The trust is committing time and VIT Vellore
group is of a very high calibre. As Suresh, resources to get it going.” Concurs Dr. TERI University, New Delhi
a third year electronics engineering stu- Chelladurai, “We recently concluded Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
dent says, “The pressure to perform here two comprehensive MoUs with Texas
comes from your peers. When you study Tech University and Okalahoma Uni- www.careers360.com
with such high capacity individuals, versity, Stillwater and faculty members
one has to be on one’s toes constantly.” would move to both the universities on

Advisory WLC college India
wlc college in
everything you need t
Is it a vocational or professional course? Is it a certificate or diploma? Is WLC College India
the relationship between WLC, UK and WLCI? Is the PGD you get valid? Confused? Careers
by Urmila Rao working with Traxon India - a campus higher education in the UK, Wigan and
placement - for five years, she opened Leigh College, UK (WLC, UK) set up a
I
t all started in 1996, when Wigan her own enterprise. “I was satisfied with company called Wigan and Leigh Col-
and Leigh made a promising begin- the industry exposure,” she says. lege (India), joining hands with Indian
ning with its first campus in Delhi. According to TIMES HIGHER EDU- partners. WLC College India then went
It was a pioneering start of the study CATION, the premier publication on about offering its franchise for £36,000.
model ‘earn while you learn’. This model The aggressive hunt for sub-franchising
enables students to attend classes for by WLC College India had even become
half-a-day and spend the rest training in “Right now WLCI is a matter of concern for British Council
a related industry, gathering hands-on not offering any Edexcel of India, which expressed its concern
experience. Says a former student Pooja on the quality control that arose out of
Sharma, founder of Connect2Consult, qualification” the college’s plans of franchisee network
a software consultancy firm, “I interned Vikas Mirmira build-up. (http://www.timeshigheredu-
with Kotak Securities and later with Regional Marketing Manager, cation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=94
HSBC Bank where I was getting a sti- Edexcel 288&sectioncode=26). But according
pend of approximately Rs. 7, 000.” After to the promoter Mr. Vinay Pasricha,

dia: Edexcel qualification,” he adds. Edexcel
allows its qualifications to be offered
only after accrediting an institution
after a check on its available resources
Karishma, the whistle-blower
In January 2006, Pune-based Karishma
o know?
and facilities. Kanuga, took admission in mass media
course in WLCI, Pune campus. But 41 days
The first move to delink from WLC, passed by without a single class or lecture
UK was made by the owners in India to a batch of three students. Miffed, Kanu-
in 2006. In February 2006, Wigan and ga’s father filed a complaint against WLCI
Leigh (India) registered itself as WLC with the Pune District Consumer Dispute
Redressal Forum in January 2008. “The
College (Application number 1420350/ course was not AICTE approved and was
Class 41). They also went on to list four therefore illegal,” says Vasudeo Vensimal
Wigan & Leigh College? What is names similar to Wigan & Leigh, UK.
• WLC College India with Label
Kanuga, father of Karishma Kanuga. “My
daughter lost one academic year,” he adds.
360 attempts to demystify.... (Application No. 1420352) Since there was ‘deficiency in service’ (as
the court said in favour of the case), Kanu-
• WLC Wigan & Leigh College ga got full refund of the fees (Rs. 1.28 lakh)
India with Label (Application No. along with 9 percent interest in addition
What we understand 1420353) to Rs. 50,000 as compensation for losing
an academic year. It took a year-and-a-half
1. WLC India is not Wigan & Leigh College, UK. • WLC College India with Label for the verdict to arrive.
2. The Post Graduate Diploma awarded by (Application No. 1420354)
WLC, UK to WLC, India students is an unac- • WLC Wigan & Leigh College
credited certificate. India with Label (Application Complaint
3. WLC India no longer offer courses accredit- No.1420355)
ed by Edexcel, whose qualifications are of a
certain globally-accepted quality standard. •W LC Education Foundation (Appli-
4. The syllabus and course content that WLCI cation No. 1420351)
follows is not that of WLC, UK. All these applications were dated
5. The diplomas offered by WLC, India are 10/2/2006. It is another matter that the
not accredited by AICTE, UGC or any other Government of India allows such mis-
national body.
leading names to be registered, know-
ing fully well the harm it can cause to
Quick Facts students.
Campuses: 27 According to Mr. TPS Arora, COO,
Offices: 17 from 2007 onwards they began advertis-
Full-time faculty: 98 ing themselves as WLC College, India
Visiting faculty: 240 and the decision to move from Wigan
Courses- Six domains/various levels & Leigh College India to WLC Col-
Source: Data provided by WLC College, India
lege, India was taken to build an Indian
brand. Mr. Pasricha claims, “We are order
The campus of WLC college, India in using acronym WLC after taking per-
National Capital Region mission from Wigan and Leigh College,
UK.” However, no attempt has been
made to communicate to the students
the relationship between WLC, UK and that WLCI no longer has the same rela-
WLC College India was a partnership tionship with WLC, UK and that these
and not franchisor/franchisee. ‘The col- two are different entities. Added to this
lege was an Indian entity from the start,” is the deceptively similar names used by
he says. WLC College India. For example their
Till 2004, WLCI also used to run three entrance test, which used to be Wigan
of Edexcel’s qualifications, in business, Aptitude Test is now WLC Admission
fashion and Art & Design. Edexcel is Test (WAT) .
the UK’s awarding body that provides And now, no programmes of WLC
internationally recognized academic College India are audited or accredited
and vocational qualifications. “Edex- by any external agency like Edexcel. Mr.
cel used to award BTEC certificates to Arora claims their courses are inter-
WLCI students till the time WLCI ran nally audited by WLC, UK (which also
our qualifications,” says Vikas Mirmira, implies that they are not audited by
regional marketing manager, Edexcel. Edexcel or QAA, making these quali-
“Right now WLCI is not offering any fications invalid in UK). The students

Advisory WLC college India
Wigan and Leigh

College, UK –
Profiteering
out of Indian
students
Source: Data provided by WLC College India
only get an equivalence certificate achievement considering the quality of

from WLC, UK for which they pay. But student intake, one wonders whether
by its own admission, WLC College the student is aware of the difficulties, in
India has modified its syllabus to suit
Indian market. The compromise on
the quality of pedagogy and delivery
getting placed when he or she enrols (See
Box Traineeship & Placement Data). T he role of WLC, UK does not
appear to be above board,
seeking to profiteer out of the des-
mechanism, if any, which might result Further education: WLC College India perate need by Indian students for
out of this dilution of relationship is offers its own certification, which only any international diploma. From
a subjective issue best left for WLC Col- has the value that an industry recruiter October onwards Careers360
lege India to respond and work upon, for bestows upon it. As far as our under- made many telephone calls and
its own future. standing goes, the PGD award one gets sent e-mails to every available offi-
from WLC, UK, unless it is accredited by cial functionary of the institution.
Outcomes Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) would After many promises to respond
Traineeship: This is the core of the not be considered for immigration pur- later, as we go to press, WLC, UK
programme, wherein the students work pose in the UK or any other country. We has not come on record on any
in a company after the classes are over have tried getting validation for this fact issue, instead a few e-mails were
by 11 a.m. A cross section of students from every government body oversee- diverted to WLC India.
informs us, it is basically frontline ing the education quality in the UK like According to Mr. Arora, the stu-
jobs, and predominantly in sales. The the Skills Funding Agency, Ofqual, dents of WLC, India can obtain
jobs are demanding and some of them Ofsted, QAA but after several follow- a Post Graduate Diploma Cer-
get paid on an incentive basis. When ups with each of these agencies, we failed tificate from Wigan and Leigh
coupled with industry-oriented course to get any satisfactory answer. Instead, UK. This certificate is termed as
materials, it makes students job-ready we were directed to WLC, UK, which ‘equivalence’ certificate. In order
than most management courses do. chose to keep silent on all the questions to obtain the ‘equivalence’ cer-
But as seen in Karishma Kanuga’s case, we raised. tificate from WLC, UK, students
this does not seem to happen all the of WLCI are required to pay an
time (See Box). Our Advice equivalence fee of £450 (Advanced
What WLC College India might offer level courses) and £300 (Profes-
Placements: Considering that the posi- students is an easier access to entry level sional Level) directly to Wigan and
tioning of WLC College India is that of jobs, and some academic inputs. The Leigh College, UK. What does the
a finishing school, in comparison with traineeships definitely groom students equivalence stand for? Does the
many others it does quite well. It is and make them job-ready, besides the equivalence certificate hold any
able to place more than one-third of access. However, if you are into higher significance in UK employment
the total students, at reasonable salary studies or are seeking a qualification that market? WLC, UK again doesn’t
levels. While this might be a reasonable is legal, WLC India is not for you. answer.

Topper Speak Abhimanyu George Jain, Raeesa Vakil
“The depth of our research helped us win”

Law students from NLSIU, Bangalore clinch an international moot court competition
A
bhimanyu and Raee- of the experience of argu-
sa are both speaking before sitting judges of
ers par excellence, the ICJ and the world’s most
albeit with a difference. eminent space lawyers. At
They are the first-ever every stage, we were com-
Indian team to have won the plimented extensively for
Manfred Lachs Interna- the depth of our research
tional Space Law Moot and our knowledge of public
Court Competition held in international law.
Daejeon, Republic of Korea
in October 2009. The final Raeesa chips in: We met a
was judged by three sitting number of noted academ-
judges of the International ics as well as the judges of
Court of Justice (ICJ), The the world finals (who are
Hague, who praised the duo sitting judges at the Inter-
for their extensive research national Court of Justice in
and “encyclopedic knowl- RAEESA AND ABHIMANYU at the Moot Court semi-final in Sydney The Hague) after the final
edge of international law”. rounds, for dinner. It was
These fourth-year students at the What is a moot court contest? exhilarating!
National Law School of India Univer-
sity (NLSIU), Bangalore (along with Typically, they require participants to simu-
late the process of a legal trial before an
Q. Did your Alma Mater help you?
Shwetank Ginodia, a first-year stu- actual bench of judges. Participants are pro- A: Our Vice chancellor was extreme-
dent who participated as a researcher) vided with a fact situation beforehand, and ly helpful with the funding. Professor
defeated 16 other Indian teams to win required to frame arguments for either side. Hegde gave us access to a lot of books.
the India round organised by the Indian Dr. Bhatt coached us for the competition
Space Research Organization (ISRO). The Lachs Moot and Professor Satish helped us with our
Next, they won the Asia-Pacific Region- oral arguments. Our seniors also advised
■■ Based on space law (area of law that
al Round (attended by nine other teams) encompasses national/international law
and helped us.
in Sydney, in April 2009, to then secure governing activities in outer space), it is
a win at the finals in Daejeon. set in the context of a dispute being heard Q. Raeesa, what are the attributes of
The team won the Lee Love Award for before the ICJ. a good communicator?
Best Team and the Manfred Lachs tro- ■■ Has three regional rounds – Asia-Pacific, A: You need to relate to your audience.
European and North American. The
phy. Raeesa, adjudged the Best Speaker, winners meet at the World Finals, which For instance, the same legal concept will
won the Sterns and Tennen Award for is judged, traditionally, by three sitting have to be communicated differently to
Best Oralist in the final. Abhimanyu judges of the ICJ. a lawyer, or to a lay audience so as to
received the highest speaker score ■■ The first Indian participation in this make them understand it better. You
moot court competition was in 2004, need to gauge when you’ve caught their
(99) in the Asia Pacific Regional
when an NLSIU team reached the world
Round. Shalini Gupta caught up with semi-finals. No Indian team has won the interest or when you are boring them.
Abhimanyu and Raeesa. regional round since then. Speak slowly and clearly. It’s a good
■■ Website: www.spacemoot.org idea to keep your sentences short and
Q. Abhimanyu, what do you think uncomplicated since most people have
made your team stand apart from a limited attention span. Another very
the rest? Q. Your most memorable moment? important skill is the ability to break
A: It was the depth of our research, A: When our speaking scores for the down complex ideas and arguments into
which made our team stand out. No Asia-Pacific Regional Round were simple structures.
other team had gone deep into the argu- announced and both me and Raeesa
ments as we did, so much so that we even got the highest scores ever in the history Q. Abhimanyu, what are your future
remembered citations by heart. At one of the moot (99 and 95 respectively). plans?
point in the competition, a judge misun- The previous high score awarded to any A: I’m very interested in internation-
derstood me, and it was after I cited not speaker at the Asia Pacific Regional al law and international relations and
only the author, but the page number to Round was 86. Even the World Finals would like to study and even teach it
support my argument, that he agreed. were very memorable, chiefly because after I pass out of NLSIU.

Scholarship Review felix
Shaping your
perspectives
Felix scholarship exposes students and researchers to
the intellectual culture of top universities in the UK
Fast Fact
For: Students and academics Field of study: Master’s and research-based studies
(MA, LLM, MPhil, PhD/DPhil) in various streams Offered at: University of Oxford, University
of Reading, School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) How to apply:
Download application forms from respective university websites Last date: University of
Oxford – January 8, 2010 for medical sciences and philosophy; all other subjects -
January 22, 2010 University of Reading – February 19, 2010, SOAS - January 29, 2010
Website: www.felixscholarship.org
by Shiphony Pavithran science and development studies. Felix the scholarship, with the country scor-
Scholarship 2010, offers six scholarships ing over the other countries. The objec-
“
I
was looking for a course that each at University of Oxford, Univer- tive of the scheme is to expose students
could provide an international sity of Reading and SOAS, for Master’s to academic study, cultures, experiences
perspective on conflict resolu- courses (MSc, MA AgrSc, MA, LLM, and friendships, which will enable them
tion and development,” recalls etc), MPhil and doctoral programmes to develop their skills and vision, and
2008 Felix alumnus Priyashree Andley, (PhD/DPhil). The best part about edu- contribute back to their country of ori-
who completed her MSc in Violence, cation in the UK is that it can save your gin in a big way.
Conflict and Development, from SOAS time, as some of the Master’s courses
(School of African and Oriental studies, can be completed in just one year. Are you eligible?
University of London). Each of the universities offers a wide An applicant must graduate with a first
Prior to this, Priyashree had an enrich- array of courses. Here institutes use vari- class Bachelor’s degree from a recog-
ing experience, interacting with refu- ety of teaching and assessment methods nised Indian university. It intends to
gees at the border villages while working to encourage independence and mastery provide unique educational opportunity
as a research officer for the Delhi-based over the subject. Felix gives freedom to abroad on the basis of academic merit
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. opt for a course of one’s own choice in and financial need.
Wanting to explore more in her area of the desired university, something which
interest she turned to Felix scholars- sets this apart from the other scholar- How to apply
ship, which allowed her to specialize in ship programmes. ●● The applicants can directly approach
the role of local and international actors The scholarship is sponsored by an the desired universities to avail of
(NGOs, corporate and states) in ‘war anonymous donor and was initiated in scholarships for the course they wish
zones’ in Asia and Africa that have high 1991. India is the principal beneficiary of to study.
levels of poverty. ●● The applicants must apply to only
The UK is an apt destination, which one of the three universities.
can give a global edge to your career “The panel is looking ●● You may also need to nominate ref-
prospects. The country has some of the
world’s most recognized universities. for answers, which offer erees who can vouch for your academic
ability and your ability to sustain your
a perspective rather than interest in the programme.
Study at partner universities There’s been a change in the applica-
Felix scholarships is for those who want
bookish, theory-based tion procedure. Except for Oxford, can-
to pursue Master’s and research in a explanations” didates have to fill out a separate form to
variety of subjects, incuding humanities, apply for Felix scholarship.

Oxford scholar
Shweta Pandit
Felix Alumnus, MPhil in
International Development,
University of Oxford
S hweta is a researcher with UNESCO’s

Literacy Initiative for Empowerment
project that aims to promote health and lit-
eracy amongst neo-literate learners through
the medium of community radio.
Felix scholarship gave me the opportunity
to experience the intellectual culture of a
world class academic institution and inter-
act with scholars from different countries
and educational backgrounds. For my MPhil
thesis, I chose to study the transnational
human rights advocacy network for a civic
movement based in Harare, Zimbabwe,
called the Women Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA).
For this, I had the privilege of being super-
vised by the renowned British historian,
Prof. Emeritus Terence Osborne Ranger.
With support from the Felix scholarship,
I was able to conduct fieldwork in London
amongst International Non-Governmental
What next after applying cultural diversity of students from across the Organisations such as Amnesty Internation-
If you meet the admission requirement, globe makes learning a lively experience in the UK al, WOZA activists and Zimbabwean human
then you receive an ‘offer letter’ from the rights defenders in the UK.
university that you have applied to. The “In addition to my academic fee, I used I was also able to take advantage of the
shortlisted candidates are then invited to get 630 pounds every month for per- rich extra-curricular life at Oxford, joining
for interview in India, usually between sonal expenses. Felix is an extremely the student wing of Amnesty International
April and June . generous scholarship, and supported me as a human rights defender and their Liai-
to such an extent that I did not call up son Officer in 2007-08, facilitating several
Facing the panel my parents for a single penny,” shares Amnesty campaigns within the student
A personal interview to assess your per- Surabhi, another Felix alumnus who community at Oxford.
sonality, understanding of your academ- pursued an MSc in Development Stud- My education in India at JNU had imparted
ic history including chosen field of study, ies from SOAS. me with a sociological imagination and a
financial need and suitability for the high degree of sensitivity towards complex
scholarship, is the final step. “I was asked On campus processes of socio-economic and political
questions such as ‘what do you know “The method of teaching at SOAS change within India. Oxford expanded this
about conflict management?’ They are encouraged me to think about issues vision by exposing me to such processes
looking for a perspective rather than (related to conflict and development) within various other parts of the world, such
bookish, theory-based explanations,” from a different perspective. I developed as Africa and Latin America.
advises Priyashree. my own views and a deeper understand-
The interviewer also ensures that the ing of the complexity of development
candidate has a good command of both and peace-building. The course was Previous Campus Reviews
spoken and written English. intellectually stimulating in many ways,” International Fellowship Programme
says Priyashree. Chevening Scholarship, UK
Full funding! Her sentiment is echoed by Surabhi
Mombusho Scholarships, Japan
This scholarship is a huge relief for those Sarkar, “I got an opportunity to live with
Charles Wallace India Trust
looking for full funding, as it covers students from diverse cultural back-
all expenses, right from academic fee, grounds. In the classrooms, name any DAAD fellowship to study in Germany
international fare, living costs inclusive country and you will have students from Swedish Institute Fellowhips
of clothing and entertainment, books, there. The engagement with the inter- Erasmus Mundus Fellowship Programme
communication (phone bills, broad- national students widened my horizon
band), stationary, special course equip- and also stimulated me to think in an www.careers360.com
ment, local transport etc. open-minded fashion.”

Ask Us career choice
Queries on networking, soft skills, rural

management and more, answered here
There are openings in various arms of the
government, but the number of opportuni-
ties is limited. Another option is to opt for
journalism and mass communication studies,
especially in Hindi media. It is a vibrant field
and has huge potential.
Regular options like competitive examina-
tions are also available. But, before you begin
to advise her, make a realistic assessment of
what she wants to do with her life and what
her potential is. Will she be willing to move
to a bigger city or a metro? Answering some
Madhu Kapparath/Outlook Group
of these questions would provide your sister

with a fair picture of what she wants to do and
her capabilities.
Q. I work for an MNC as an application

programmer, since the past two years. I’m
interested in the service sector and have
Informal meetings are a good
place to test your soft skills
Q. How should one go about in developing found the rural management course from
soft skills? Do they play an important role IRMA, interesting. Could I know more
in getting a job? about it, and the scope for RM graduates?
Raj Deepti Yanam
A. Yes, soft skills such as communication, A. A rural management programme imparts
teamwork, negotiations and leadership are specific management skills for managing a
very crucial in getting a job. Some skills like rural enterprise or co-operative, and gradu-
communication, comprehension and busi- ates are regularly picked up by co-operatives,
ness etiquette can be practised and acquired. financial institutions, civil society groups
Some others like teamwork must be inculcat- (NGOs), and development and aid agencies
ed in oneself over a period of time. You need (government and private). They are a much
to begin by making a list of skills that you lack sought after lot even in the corporate sector in
by discussing your weak areas with your close areas such as agri-marketing, rural procure-
friends, co-workers etc. ments and retail.
Awareness is the first step in building up your Your prior work experience, though not
soft skills forte. Begin by interacting more, directly related to rural management should
taking up projects and also getting involved in hold you in good stead both during and after
some voluntary work. But, also realize that if the programme. In addition to IRMA, you
you are generally good and fair to people and could also look at courses offered in agri-busi-
do your work with passion, most of your wor- ness or rural management at IIM-Ahmeda-
Soft skills like ries on soft skills will be automatically taken bad, XIM or TISS, Mumbai. An interesting
communication, care off. Log on to Careers360.com for more fact for you: for the graduating class of 2009,
soft skill tips. every student at IRMA had a confirmed offer
comprehension and by Day 2 of placements. At IIM Ahmedabad,
business etiquette Q. My sister is pursuing a BA in Hindi and it took nine days to complete placements!
can be practised and Sanskrit, but she wants a career change.
acquired. Others like What are the options available for her? We Q. I have completed my MTech in Phar-
live in a small city. maceutical Chemistry. What should I do
teamwork must be Mudit Mishra next?
inculcated over a A. If she appears for an MA (translation), Sayantan Ray
period of time she will be exploring a viable career option. A. Pharma being a sunrise sector, our

suggestion is that you proceed further and certifications, you could move up to becoming
pursue a PhD in the same discipline. Unless a Network Programmer or even a Network or
you have very compelling reasons, there is no Information Systems Manager. For better
point in shifting disciplines at this point. A prospects, you must pursue corporate certi-
word of advice: by the time one begins to pur- fications like Cisco’s CCNA or MS certified
sue a Master’s degree, one should be reason- Network engineer.
ably clear about career paths in their domain.
For more information on careers in biotech- Q. I am a second year BCom student,
nology log onto Careers360.com, and read working in a medical store. Due to this
our interview with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, work experience, I have a good knowledge
Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon, of medicines. What are the opportunities
who outlines the various options available in for me in the health care sector or is it
this field. better to do a commerce-related course?
I want to find a job soon, please also sug-
Q. I have completed my PG in Library gest some courses.
Science with 55% marks. I want to pursue A Reader
a PhD in this subject from Canada, New A. In the health care sector, look at marketing
Zealand or the UK. Can you suggest some jobs in pharma companies or in companies
universities that offer this option? that manufacture nutritional supplements,
Rupesh Kumar energy drinks and related products. If you are
A. We did a detailed story on selecting good interested in studying further, you could go
universities in all these countries in our Octo- for postgraduate courses in pharma market-
ber 2009 issue. Log on to Careers360.com, ing/management or even in hospital/public
type ‘studying abroad’ in the search field, and health management or law (medico-legal and
get access to all the information you need. related litigation is a growing avenue). These
offer very good job opportunities.
Q. I am in the final year of BCA, I am
really interested in networking and trou- Q. I am an FEA (Finite Element Analysis)
bleshooting. How should I explore these student. I want to do my PG from the US in
interests? IT. Will the IT sector improve by 2012 in
Sudharshan US and India? My budget to pursue a PG Careers360,
A. Along with BCA, it’s advisable to get an is Rs.15 Lakh, is this sufficient?
MCA degree. An MCA from a reputed insti- Anirruddha Waje
receives hundreds
tution would offer you a range of job titles: A. USA has one of the best higher education of questions every
Application Programmer, Computer Con- systems in the world. Institutions like the month. Some select
sultant, Computer Security Analyst, Systems Carnegie Mellon, Stanford and MIT have the answers are pub-
Analyst, Systems Design Specialist and Sys- best computing departments in the world. IT
tems Development Manager! is an efficiency enabler, so it would always
lished here. Relevant
Knowledge of hardware is the foundation be in demand. Do not worry too much about queries are also
for a career in Networking. Typically, you cyclical demand-supply fluctuations. answered on our
would start out as a Network Administrator – As far as the budget is concerned, Mas- web site. Visit www.
responsible for analysing, installing and con- ter’s programmes invariably come with some
figuring an organisation’s network (hardware amount of stipend or scholarship support.
careers360.com
and software) even from a remote location. Ideally, you should look for programmes that and post your
With sufficient experience and additional offer financial respite. query today

JOBS courses scholarship
Ready Reckoner
A compilation of actionable information, segmented and presented on a
thematic basis and sorted out according to their deadlines
Admissions Deadline Further information
University of Delhi: Faculty of Medical Sciences - Admission to PG Medical Degree and 07/01/10 www.du.ac.in
diploma courses through PGMET
CDAC-Noida: PG Diploma in Advance Software Design & Development/Embedded 08/01/10 www.cdacnoida.in
Systems & VLSI Design/ Wireless Technology
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT): Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree 09/01/10 www.nift.ac.in
Programmes in Design, Management and Technology
course alerts
West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination for admission to UG programmes in engineering 12/01/10 www.wbjeeb.in
and technology, medicine, dentistry and pharmacy
Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar: Diploma & Certificat courses in 15/01/10 www.gfsu.edu.in
Cyber Network, Information Security
Panjab University Chandigarh: Entrance Test for admission to MD/MS Courses at Govt. 15/01/10 www.puchd.ac.in
Medical College & Hospital
Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai: Admissions to 18/01/10 www.liba.edu
PG Diploma in Management
Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad: Admission Notice for 21/01/10 www.iiita.ac.in
MBA (IT), MS (Cyber Law & Information Security)
Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai: Admission to 31/01/10 www.ifmr.ac.in
Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram: 31/01/10 www.iist.ac.in
BTech in Aerospace, Avionics and Physical Sciences
Name of Scholarship Deadline Further information

Scholarships
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research: Visiting Students Research Programme - 2010 08/01/10 www.tifr.res.in/~vsrp
Doctoral Programme, Fellow Programme in Management at IIM Indore 20/01/10 www.iimidr.ac.in
Lady Tata Memorial Trust: Young Researcher Award - 2010 1/2/10 www.dorabjitatatrust.org
(areas of Life Sciences and Biotechnology related to human diseases)
The J.N.Tata Endowment for the higher education of Indians: Scholarships-2010-11 1/3/10 www.dorabjitatatrust.org
Government Jobs Deadline Further information

Allahabad Bank: Probationary Officers (880) and Agriculture Field Officers (110) 05/01/10 www.allahabadbank.in
Indian Oil Corporation, Begusarai: Jr. Engineer Assistant (Production) - Trainee (21) 05/01/10 http://www.iocl.com
National Fertilizers Limited, Noida: Mgt. Trainees (137) - in both Engg and Mgt 11/01/10 www.nationalfertilizers.com
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) - Consultants 11/01/10 http://ndma.gov.in/ndma/hr/

jobs
consultant.pdf
Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) - 18 posts for Conservation Assistants 15/01/10 http://www.asi.nic.in
Nainital - Almora Kshetriya Gramin Bank: Officers (4) 19/01/10 Employment News (19th Dec)
and Clerk-cum cashier/office assistant (40)
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) - 60 various posts 29/01/10 http://tnpsc.gov.in/recruitment.htm
LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Tezpur, 29/01/10 www.lgbrimh.org/Advertisement.html

Assam – Faculty for various positions
78 careers 360 january 2010

UN JOBS PSU mdp
Watch out for Management Development Programmes (MDPs) in February 2010
Institution Name of programme Dates Mainly for whom Fees in Rs.
IIM Bangalore Competitive Marketing Strategy 01-03 Marketing managers in strategic decision making 45,000
ISB Hyderabad Global Operations and Supply Chain Excellence 01-04 Business, Supply Chain Heads, Operations Heads 75,000
XLRI Jamshedpur Beyond coping: Thriving under stress 01-04 Accomplished middle level and above managers from 28,000
in the workplace private and public sector organizations
ASCI Hyderabad Team Building and Conflict Management 01-05 Senior/middle level executives of public/private sector 30,000
organizations & government departments
IIM Ahmedabad Managing Contract Farming 01-05 Procurement managers of food/agro-processing units; 65,000
professionals in contract farming/commodities etc
IIM Indore Computerized OR Models 01-05 Managers of all levels of both public and private sectors 30,000
who are involved in various managerial decision making
MDI Gurgaon Effective Management of Sales Force & 01-05 Sales and Marketing professionals in a decision making 40,000
Distribution Channels role
ISB Hyderabad Strategic Retail Management 03-06 Senior managers responsible for retail operations 75,000
XIM Bhubaneswar Building Self Efficacy 08-09 Functionaries, social workers and para-professionals 8,000
IIM Bangalore General Management Program for Film, TV 08-10 Beginning producers, film production managers who 45,000
Entertainment Professionals intend to bring completed films/TV serials to market
NITIE Mumbai Developments in Equity Research: Theory and 08-10 Persons with relevant experience and responsible 12,000
Practice position in Industry
XLRI Jamshedpur Rewarding Human Resources Design & Execution 08-10 Middle/sr. HR managers involved in designing effective 21,000
systems for measuring/rewarding performance
IIM Lucknow Distribution and Retail Strategies for 11-13 All managers/executives in sales & distribution function 30,000
Rural Markets currently/intend to handling rural markets
IPE Hyderabad Understanding Business 11-13 Middle level/functional executives from different areas 8,000
EDI Ahmedabad Business Research Methodology & Data Analysis 15/2- Small business facilitators/entrepreneurs/consultants/ ITEC
26/3 academicians/middle & senior level executives of SMEs Fellowship
CFTRI Mysore Biotechnological approches to improve microbial 22-26 Knowledge of the subject under focus, preferably a 6,742
performance for commercial applications basic degree
IPE Hyderabad Enterprise Network Storage & Disaster Recovery 22-26 Storage professionals/network administrators/system 14,000
managers/scientists/IT managers
NITIE Mumbai Physical Working Environment: Optimizing 22-26 Persons with relevant experience and responsible 20,000
Performance position in Industry
IRMA Anand Strengthening Local Governance 24-26 Those engaged in local governance for a coherent 15,000
understanding for qualitatively improved engagements
IIM Kozhikode Business Intelligence 25-27 Middle level executives/management professionals/ 15,000
business analysts
SUBSCRIBE
NOW AND GET
27% OFF
HURRY! SUBSCRIBE NOW
79 careers 360 january 2010

Up Close ruskin bond
H
e penned his first novel at the Meanwhile I was writing my first novel,
age of 19, and won the prestigious
John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial
prize for his novel Room on the Roof next
“I have a out of my yearning for India.
Q. How did you get it published?

year in 1957. Best known as a children’s
author, Bond has several novels, short
stories, poetry collections and children’s
lifelong A. It took me a whole year to find a
publisher after a couple of rejections.
Finally, the famous literary editor and
books to his credit, some of which have
been made into films such as Junoon
directed by Shyam Benegal (A Flight
allergy author Diana Athill read my manuscript
and suggested that I redraft my novel. I
was paid a princely sum of 50 pounds
of Pigeons) and The Blue Umbrella by
Vishal Bharadwaj. Amrita Bose chats
with the author about his school days,
for exams” as advance. This was enough for me to
travel back to India. Fortunately, Room
on the Roof was well-received and I won
writing and his love for India. the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial
prize for it. I started freelancing after I
Q. Where did you go to school and Ruskin Bond never at- came back to India. There were only a
what was it like? few book publishers in those days but
A. I attended Bishop Cotton School, tended college and edu- there were several newspapers and mag-
Shimla as a boarder for eight years. I had cated himself in second azines during the 1950s that gave me
mixed feelings about boarding school. regular work. The pay was just enough
I thought I’d much rather be in a day hand bookshops to get by.
school. Prep school was great fun. We
were always up to mischief. I did fairly Q. Is writing a lucrative profession
well in studies and games. But senior today as compared to the time you
school was not that fun because we were started out?
told to take life seriously, thanks to our A. Yes, writing as a profession is much
looming career decisions ahead. more lucrative today. Especially when
you have some published works to your
Q. When did you start writing? credit. Royalties help out writers a lot.
A. I was always writing the odd story or Just freelancing in itself may not be that
two in school, and realised that I wanted easy. As far as books go, today Indian
to be a writer when I was in school. I was writing is doing very well. More and
quite a bookworm from my early school more Indian and foreign publishers are
days, and was in fact made in-charge of showing interest in publishing works by
the school library. Indian writers. There is a huge market
for books today. In spite of what people
Q. Did you study regularly? Or were say, that reading as a habit has gone, I
you a last-minute study type? see much more of it today thanks to the
A. I was never interested in exams. I education system and the widespread
used to hate them and never studied for reading and writing in English as a result
them. I was good in humanities subjects of it. Looking back to my school days,
like literature and history, which really in a class of 35 boys, only two or three
did not require much effort from me. were interested in reading. Reading
But I was a complete flop as far as sci- was strictly a minority habit then even
ence and maths were concerned. I have though we had no distractions of the
Outlook Group
a lifelong allergy for exams. Internet and television.
Q. How was college? Where did you Q. Should you work in a field you are
study and what did you graduate in? passionate about or to pay the bills?
A. I never attended college and edu- “More and more A. You should always choose a career
cated myself in second hand bookshops. Indian and foreign that is close to your heart. If you do some-
After school, my mother packed me off to
England for a better life. In 4-5 months I publishers are thing you don’t like doing you won’t be
happy doing it. Also, you should think
started missing India badly and desper- showing an interest about what you really want to do at a
ately wanted to return. I had no money young age. Don’t be disappointed if things
and had to take up a job immediately. in publishing works by don’t go well in the beginning. Through-
I kept a series of jobs, as a clerk in a Indian writers out my life I also had many ups and
travel agency and a photography store. downs. Take a decision and keep at it.

Careers in hospitality sector

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contents

Food and Beverage Service 55

careers and ceo speak

2 Careers 360 January 2010

Ajit Balakrishnan Special Correspondents

B-School rankings regulars Dr. Nimesh Chandra

FEATURES NLSIU students become the first from India

Distributed by Outlook Publishing

4 Careers 360 January 2010

5 Careers 360 January 2010

Some of the world’s best accelerated programmes

T he Wall Street Journal conducted a survey on accelerated

Worlds’ 15 best accelerated MBA programmes

6 careers 360 January 2010

Developing markets root for GMAT IIST – ISAT 2010

G oing by the number of students who

Certification for banking TOEFL scholarships for

Placement process to change at IIM-A BITSAT-2010: Online test for

8 careers 360 January 2010

Watch out For !

Finanical Times best European B-Schools

10 careers 360 January 2010

Oz colleges go Down Under IIFT wins Al Gore award

12 careers 360 January 2010

Q: What do employers look for when Customise your résumé so as to high-

14 Careers 360 January 2010

15 Careers 360 January 2010

From application to arrival

IMPORTANT: Study for the Board

16 Careers 360 January 2010

Fresh Graduates/with +2 years’ experience Infrastructure Reading lists, if any

18 Careers 360 January 2010

OUTPUT Ranking: In the debate between clus-

19 Careers 360 January 2010

Illustration : Gouri Nanda

20 Careers 360 January 2010

Careers360 is a bible for career options after

21 Careers 360 January 2010

by Bharti M Borah But it’s not always possible to diagnose a

22 Careers 360 January 2010

4 Magnetic Resonance Imaging

>>ZOOM: 2.3. SCKROPAD, SHAID:6985475.65>>

mathematics, physics and chemistry.

ii. Certificate/diploma courses: Some

23 Careers 360 January 2010

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi www.aiims.edu/

Apollo Institute of Hosptial Management and Allied Sciences Chennai www.aherf.org/

Christian Medical College Vellore www.cmch-vellore.edu/

Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital Darbhanga www.aherf.org/

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College Hospital Bangalore www.bramc.org/

Dr. M.V. Shetty Institute of Health Science Mangalore www.drmvst.org/

Agartala Government Medical College Agartala http://agmc.gov.in/

Gandhi Medical College Hyderabad www.gandhimedicalcol-

Madras Medical College Chennai www.mmc.tn.gov.in/

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh http://pgimer.nic.in/

National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Bangalore www.nimhans.kar.nic.in/

24 Careers 360 January 2010

Kingston University Medical Imaging/Oncology Practice/ Certificate/Diploma/

London South Bank University Medical Radiography Diploma

City University Medical Radiography MPhil/PhD

Anglia Ruskin University Radiography/Diagnostic Radiography MSc/MPhil/PhD

University of South Australia Medical Radiation/Sonography Master’s

Food and Beverage Service 55

Placement process to change at IIM-A BITSAT-2010: Online test for