IT's good when you have friends
A FRIEND in need ... The good old adage is more relevant than ever before, especially if you are one of those interested in getting a foothold in the IT industry.
It is something that you cannot afford to ignore, as most of the jobs up for grabs in the IT and allied fields are filled up through the referral route. Yes, you might be well qualified, possess necessary skill-sets and an affable personality, but what ultimately matters is whether you have a friend or an acquaintance who can recommend your case.
This piece of advice came from the Chief Information Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions, Mark Greenlaw.
"Have a friend in every IT company to feed you with regular referral mails," he said while speaking at the inaugural session of iTalent-2004, a first of its kind event of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Conducted at Tidel Park in Chennai, a venue which is a dream work spot for thousands of youngsters, the CII programme came at a time when the IT industry seems to have stabilised.
Call it a collage of events or a well-planned programme, the basic objective of iTalent was to provide a forum for job aspirants and showcase the talents to the IT industry.
One of the focus areas was to familiarise the youth about the prevailing trends in the industry, by roping in experts in the field. Mr. Greenlaw's next advice was "polish your listening and presentation skills, be articulate and improve the networking capabilities. Build-up your case of inter-personal skills."
Interspersing his speech with personal experiences, he said: "Do not worry about which technology to specialise in, just be familiar with the core concepts. The super structure skills can always be obtained. Having friends and other qualities alone would not suffice. The candidates should also familiarise themselves with the companies, at least those in the top of the range", he added.
The golden rule, hinted Mr. Greenlaw, is "to be open to work across locations and across technologies. Always be prepared to be continuously re-skilled, up-skilled and re-tooled; technology changes more frequently than we can imagine today."
This precisely was the underlying point that M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, the Madras Institute of Development Studies, sought to drive home in his speech `On nurturing an information society' at the session.
Youngsters, he said, should keep track of the developments that could have a bearing on the growth of IT industry and its future.
While there could be no two opinions about the demand generated by automation of processes done manually, what was of concern to India was the fact that the foundation of its IT prowess was "not because of our work in the country, but abroad."
In turn, this means that the country had not "internalised our talents ... unless you have a dynamic internal market ... you cannot survive in the export markets," he cautioned, even while pointing to various indicators that highlights the potential to improve. Tamil Nadu, Dr. Anandakrishnan said, "stands better."
N. Ravi Kumar
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