Why work with a startup?

Most job seekers are apprehensive about joining a startup.  The reason could be, every year thousands of startups are launched, but by the year end more than half of it ceases to exist. You can consider it as a challenge when you join a start-up.

Many think that career growth is accelerated only in large organizations.  If so, then it is ironical to notice people who are working in these big organizations jump in to either join a startup or start one. No one can pinpoint the exact reason for this contradiction. But, if you are working with a start up or planning to join one shortly, I can provide you with a few reasons why you should be considering it.

As the year dawned, my horoscope clearly hinted that it is not a good year for a job change. Waiving off such illusionary reasoning, I went against my horoscope prediction and quit a highly paid job to join a one-month old start up. Few people thought that I have not only jeopardized my career but also my life by quitting a large company and joining a start-up. But, let me tell you about some of the opportunities which one can only enjoy while working with a start-up.

Work Environment: A start up may not be able to stuff your bank account with a six figure salary but you will find no reasons to complain. Start ups are known for their awesome and super cool work culture. Your boss is probably a cool person who comes to office wearing a white tee and a faded jeans, and I assure you that there will be no HR mail if you decide to come wearing your favorite party dress as well. Informal dress code, no 9 to 5 rat race, office trips and cool attitude are some of the norms in start-ups.

Multitasking: Start ups provide you with the opportunity to work on multiple tasks beside your area of expertise. In most of the start ups, there is no fixed division of labor. Besides your area of expertise, you can also work on other work fronts with no inhibitions. One day you might be writing but other day you might be recruiting. It gives you an edge over learning many other things which is impossible if you had been working with any other big company where work specializations matters the most.  It gives you a wide arc of learning opportunity and at the same time you will not feel bored.

Inspiring: Stressful work pressure and less pay are compensated with positive and inspiring work environment. Start ups are surrounded by passionate and far sighted entrepreneurs. You are bound to be inspired and your work getting recognized. It is a platform which exhibits innovations and distinctiveness. Start ups provides you various opportunities to innovate and to create.

Being noticed: Often working in a big team your contributions are neglected or remain unnoticed but it is not the case in start ups. Your contributions are highly recognized and even compensated. Every contribution will be appreciated and acknowledged. Working in start ups will give you not only great learning opportunity but also great experience.

My company has been started by a young entrepreneur who is not only far-sighted but is also a highly passionate being. He left a well-recognized job because he wanted to do something different. He started this company to make his dream come true. His dream is being shared by all of us who are working with him. The feeling to work in a start-up is truly exalting.

Checklist for publishing content

I sometimes wonder if world wide web provides us with all the information that we want. At times the information are oblique and scattered over various sites and we have to browse for hours before we find something concrete. Scattered information not only affects user experience but does equal damage to website traffic. Great and unique content is the basic necessity for a successful site but the question is how to ensure quality content.

Before publishing content many of us check the content for grammar or punctuation errors but very few of us maintain a checklist. A checklist is a must for successful article as content are often cluttered with several minute errors which are commonly ignored. A checklist can be created if we cultivate the habit of writing down the errors which we figure out while publishing our content. Here is a checklist which I go through before publishing my content. I make sure to tick all the relevant things off the list. This habit has helped me to publish quality content.

Catchy heading: Heading is one of the first things that attracts the attention of the reader. Heading need not be too long but also need not be too short. It should have enough information to tell the reader what the article or post is all about. It should not be oblique but should be appealing.

Content Objective: The purpose of your content has to be fulfilled; go through the content and check if the purpose is met. If the content is meant to provide information, then check if there are enough information. If the purpose is to explain or instruct, then you should make sure the steps are clear and in proper order. No matter what, your purpose of writing an article or post has to be clearly visible.

Split the Content: Do not club everything together. Clear and concise writing is appreciated by everyone. Make sure that you properly split the content in correct order. If you have too much information it is preferable to add sub-headings or bulleted list to the post.

Grammar and punctuation: It goes without saying that you need to check your post for any grammatical or punctuations errors. Make your post as simple as possible. You goal is to make your post readable so try using Active Voice or construct simple sentences. Check for spelling, typos or sentence errors.

Preview: The golden rule is to preview your content. Read through the post as many times as possible. At times we ignore silly errors, and it is advisable to take breaks before proofreading your post.

We are happy-go-lucky people

“Oh, you do not look at all a ‘chinki’ though you are from North-Eastern part of India.” "Don’t you people  look alike?”.   “Fair, bland skin, lean and  effeminate”. Do I even bother to give an explanation to the mainstream stereotype thinking? No, I do not, I wish had the patience and time to put out all the unnecessary racial profiling I am subjected to for the reason that I come from North-Eastern part of India.  I do not understand the mainstream fixation with the people from North-East.

People from North-Eastern region have always being easy targets of mockery and humiliation. They are mocked simply because they look different, unlike the dominant section of the Indian society. Fair, spotless skin, straight hair, lean statue have been the source of several differences and unrest in this country. The way North- easterners looks, or what they eat or wear have always been ridiculed and scorned off by certain section of our society. But, recently the way North-easterners are being portrayed in the Indian television are more shocking and gruesome.

The other day I was watching a reality based tv show, and towards the end of the program I was irked by the way North-easterners were being projected.  The episode was about the male protagonist being stalked by one of his friends. The so called ‘hero’ was being projected as a tall, dark and handsome teenager residing in Delhi and the “stalker friend” was a fair looking effeminate young fellow played by the so called ‘chinki’. The Tv show authenticated the mainstream thinking. My question is: Why not reverse the character portrayal? Why is the fair looking North-Easterner being made to play the gay character in the episode and why not the robust looking hero?

These debatable questions are raised but are always left unanswered.  The Tv show was actually a play of common conventions of our mainstream society. The common conception of gay men as effeminate and fair looking is being validated by bringing a North-Eastern guy to play the gay character. It is humiliating and unacceptable. Television is in one way or the other shaping our perceptions. In a subtle way we are forced to think that men from North-east are not only weird in their looks but are also mostly gay. Why such forced perception? Why are we an easy target? We are happy-go-lucky sort of people and nobody has any rights to discriminate us on false and forced perceptions.

B Tricks-Hiring

Management is all about practices and not about written principles is what I firmly believe and follow. If you were to ask me what I know about management or to be specific corporate management, in a witty tone I’ld reply, “I probably know things which you haven’t learnt at your B-school.”  I haven’t gone to any B-school to study management techniques and principles. Management studies give you an outstretched knowledge which is valuable, but I also firmly believe that, practical knowledge- the real setbacks- and challenges can only and only be acquired over work.

Initially, I joined my company as a part-time employee but eventually as my work skimmed down, the HR department wanted me to help them with recruitment. I was hesitant at first, but the senior guys cooled my off by saying, “recruitment is one of the easiest thing one can do in office. All you need to do is to read through resumes and telephone people for an interview.” Well, from my experience I can at least say that, hiring is not that easy as my manager once said, it is a difficult task and even more difficult to accomplish it perfectly.

Recruitments are not about hiring “anyone” for your office. Recruitment is about hiring the right person for the right job. The initial mistakes which I have made while hiring someone were disastrous and cannot be illustrated, but, what I learnt from my mistakes is what I want others not to repeat. I am sharing these little insights which I think will be helpful and your comments will be highly appreciated.

Precise job description: One of the first steps to hire the right person will be a precise job description of the role. Clumsy and generic role descriptions will land you up within heap of resumes, which will be irrelevant and inapt. A step wise categorization of what you are looking for is the best way to target your audience.

Talk and chalk out: Before short listing any candidate for interview you should at least once talk with the person. Phone conversations are mandatory as they provide you valuable information about the person. You will get to know whether the person is genuinely interested or casually looking out for a job change. If you are looking out for a right person, ensure that you know a little bit more information than those mentioned in a resume.

Convince: Once you have heard your candidate and you are ready to call for an interview, you also need to explicitly tell them what your company is offering to them. Most of the times, the interviewer just gives a gist of what the company is all about. But, I think one needs to go a little further and explain to the candidate that how the particular role will not only be beneficial but will also add visibility is terms of career growth and other options. These sort of conversations will positively impact your interviewee and implicitly convince him to prepare himself well for the final round of interview.

There are no set standards to measure whether you have been successful in hiring the right candidate or not. But, your way of selecting the right person is definitely the first step to welcome an efficient and proficient employee to your organizations.

Fat Talks

A recent study shows that 50%+ women prefer to be run over by a truck than to look fat and ugly. To women, looking fat and ugly is not only hurtful but also traumatic. If you happen to say someone “hey you have gained weight or you got a pimple,” it is like spilling acid on that person.  Female body image is constantly constructed and manoeuvred by the society. Body shame is crucially picked, distorted and twisted by social commentary.

The word self-image has lost its essence. Most of us are unaware how our self image is twisted and turned by the society. Conscious societal pressure forces us to think that we are ugly and not in- accordance to the living standard of beauty. We are manoeuvred to look pretty and   beautify ourselves. Almond eyes, flashy eye lashes, sharp nose, bow like lips and fair and glowing skin is the set standard that we all are tricked to adhere to. Any sort of skin imperfection is stigmatized by our society. A woman is made to believe that she is ugly and ugliness is intolerable by societal standards.

Beauty is socially constructed and marketed. If you are fat then you are supposed to be on endless, cruel diet regime. You are supposed to exit on salads, fat and sugar free foods. You will hear “fat talks”, things like how beautiful you would have looked had you lost some weight. And, finally comes in the magic of capitalism, called prodicti-fication. Market strategists make full use of socially tagged ugliness. There are endless list of products that you can use to reduce your weight and enhance your beauty. Not only weight reducing belts or machines, you can read fitness magazines, opt for fitness related DVD’s and moreover hire some personal trainer. Theses stream of things might help your reduce your weight but at the same time you will be highly dependent on these products. Your self-image is nothing but a market strategy from which the society gains some sort of pleasure and capitalists get their profits.

Women are nothing but a medium via which sexual appetizing bar is kept high. Beauty is associated with fairness. If you are not fair then you need to thank the advertisement that pops up every two minutes. You are supposed to use the fairness crème which will definitely make you look fair. The acid test does not stop right there. If you don’t have almond shaped eyes then you can make it look like almonds. Kajal, eye liners are flooded in the market and you have to pick one, rather the right one that suits your eye-type. Trust me it is as complicated as it sounds here. You can correct the fines of your nose and lips only by expensive cosmetic surgeries. The more ugly you are made to look the more is the stake of profits.

From hair to you toe tip a women needs to maintain and beautify her so that she is not stigmatized among her peers. From birth starts the beautification process. Girls are made to wear floral pink dresses, fancy accessories, sparkly shoes etc. With adolescence she is suppose to use all those products that will enhance her beauty and after 25 you are forced to look like 15. If I chose not to go for a diet and happily eat cheese and mayonnaise, I would question “who” society is to decide on my looks and what beauty is. Beautification and producti-fication are all interlined to societal norms and self image is no longer what we perceive of ourselves but what society perceives us to be.

 Far away

This time I am far away from home..

just so far that I cannot hold his hand and walk the Christmas carol..

I cannot sing my hymns..

I cannot see Mother..

I am blinded by time

This time I am far away from home….

 

Last time we were together...together so close...

we sat by the igniting fire...resting my head on your shoulder..

we were  singing... singing Christmas carols..

The rum cakes we had...the red wine which we sipped..

made my soul merrier

Last time we were together..Together so close that the air was silently sweet..

When you walk away the cold night..

my soul was freezed...my  veins were numbed..

the fire died out.. the taste escaped the wines..

the rat nibbled cake..the half bunt candle..

everything lost the essence with your going away..

when you walk away the cold night..Everything else walked away with you...

I have been sitting a year..

every second was more than a decade..

I am waiting.. I am still waiting in the dark room..

I want you to come.. to purge the room of dusts..

To withdraw the curtains ... to let the sunshine beam enter....

I want you to come and lit the candle.. Ignite the ash filled fireplace...

I want you to come hug me tight and tell me all was a dream..

 I  am still sitting...

This time I am far away from home..

just so far that I cannot hold his hand and walk to the Christmas carol..

I cannot sing my hymns..

I cannot see Mother..

This time I am far away from home..

Technology -In Words

I am not being stereotypical when I say that women in most cases are attracted by looks and outer show. Yes, recently I bought a 42 inch LED (light emitting diodes) tv, entirely basing my decision on its appearance and graze , thinking that I can surely make my friends jealous by it. I fitted it well in my drawing room all set to flaunt it but had least idea about is operations. Men say that women are indecisive as well as technologically challenged, and I some how believe it to be true.

The basic need of any manufacturing and industrial unit is to sell its product. But, in order to sell its products it needs to teach or rather guide its audience about the technicalities and complexities of how the product operates. Here, comes in the work of “technical writer”. I am sure many of us have heard this term earlier but are not acquainted as to who is a technical writer.

The word Technical Writer itself suggests its implicit meaning. A technical writer is a person who basically communicates with the users, providing them with concise and accurate information as how the product works but in a simple and comprehensive manner. His work is to present clear, concise and correct information to his users. This information is presented in a documented form. The documentation can be of many facets like User guide, online help, design and information details where all are presented with the goal of accuracy to the audience. The audience is targeted as mass of users who are unaware of the product. So guidance is what the aim of a technical writer.
Someone may ask whether a technical writer is himself a specialist of the product or not. He cannot misguide the users so it is very important for him to know about the product. Before going ahead with the documentation he has to know himself about the intricacies and through detailing of the product. For which he needs to gathers all the information from SME (subject matter expert) and then he goes ahead with the documentation. He has to follow an interactive understanding with the SME.

A technical writer is just like an author, who shapes and defines the vision for his audience. The task of a technical author/information developer has to undergo many stages before a document is published. After the stage of Information gathering, Drafting is important where he sequentially puts all his information and when he is sure that he has drafted all the required information he sends it for Reviewing to the SME and with further editing the document comes to the last stage of its life that is Publishing. These stages are decisive as how the document will come out to be, or more precisely it shapes the life of the documentation.
The prime requirement of a technical writer is his command over the language. Language becomes the medium to communicate with the users. The product also depends on the accuracy of the user guide manual- of how well the steps and the procedures are explained by the technical writer. Along with writing skills he should also know software tools which would make his work simpler and easier. The task of a technical writer is primary in any field from government organization to software development. This profession is demanding as it makes the product handy to the users. And would help us getting rid of notions like women are techno-capped and probably has helped me also to flaunt my new LED.