Tuesday 29 January 2013

Job Threat : How much should we be worried!


Companies downgrading its work forces; thousand to lose jobs due to global recession; Pink slip talks; Thoughts of job threat give a sleepless night to many. What about those who face these entire factors all at the same time? I (it well include my colleagues) was lucky to face and fight out these entire factors at early phase of my career. Trust me it was lot exciting as I did everything except worrying about job threat.
Source: http://www.thedetail.tv

I remember the late winter month of January 2009 in India, Worlds great minds were worrying about recession and experts were pouring in their views about possible duration and its recovery. In all of these the industry I belong i.e. Information Technology (IT) was busy in cutting variable pay, freezing pay hike and promotions to make lot out of these situation. However let’s get back to business, I arrived Bangalore after spending a sort winter vacation from my village in northern India. I had wonderful 2 days journey of train, as I had made some good friends in train who were from my neighbouring country Nepal. As soon as I arrived at Yeswanthpur station, I was greeted with news that ‘Did you saw the news today! Satyam is in news for scam, our job is in threat’ from my friend who happen to call me since she was aware that I am arriving to Bangalore. Needless to mention that the period was of global recession; Job cut was on peak and recruitment was on decline. Hence the entire worst possible factors were on our side. In fact the news was not shocking to all Satyamites because we were receiving email notifications from our CEO’s & MD about failed business deals and corrective measure they are talking. Well the fact was that now we were working in a company where we were not sure at end of each month about our monthly salary. Let me clear your doubt that we did received our salary paid every month. Needless to remind about continuous downgrade/malpractices in our 4th pillar of democracy i.e. Media.

Let’s jump to the excitement part to keep the motivation. When I arrived office for business as usual there I got chance to meet all biggies of our company whom I had never seen in last 2 year of my job except knowing them by name through the email we received on regular basis. Every day we get to see one or the other big personality who come to address or to be specific console us with message that ‘we are fighting back, soon things will be normal etc.’ Then in Feb 2009 comes the news that the client for which I was working has planned to shift to IBM. The reason they provided was ‘No doubt about Satyam resource capability but we have taken a hit in our north America business where IBM is helping us out.’ Now you will agree that these words were no anointment to our wound. Our project manager told us not to worry about this development and let’s focus on knowledge transfer (KT) to IBM. Do not take any decision of quitting company we will bounce back. First time daily Cab was assigned to us to travel to client’s ITPL office where both party will meet for KT. Hence in recession I was travelling in pick up cab unlike via crowded BMTC bus service of hay days. This continued for 2 months. After KT formality, I happen to see that most of the leaders who were advising us to stay have already boarded IBM boat to sail through this crisis. I declined to move to IBM. No offense to other who moved as I am sure they must have really strong reason compare to me. Client kept us for 2 month after the KT to sum up all kind of current business. During this time I happened to join Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP: an Indian nationalist party) IT cell to contribute in campaign for 2009 Parliamentarian election. Less/no pressure of work helped me to actively learn and meet people of Bangalore city and apprehend this garden city of India more closely. I tried hand on my cooking skill and used to bring different north Indian variety to lunch from my friend who stayed post KT saga.
 
All good things comes to an end so is the election joy, Cab ride, cooking and honeymoon period of KT. Satyam issued notice that as a part of iteration process they will be relieving people from job (pink slip talks) who are not in project for last three month. Lucky me I still had three month to go. Satyam was good place to stay but as reality check I brushed my java concepts and polished my resume (company had given me the tag of Java developer). With courtesy to my friends I managed to get 4 interview call arranged. Market was already flooded with Satyam resume and other companies were hiring us because we were the cheapest one in the lot. 1st one I failed spectacularly, 2nd one offered me the same salary as of Satyam (which was minus of variable pay from 6 months), 3rd one I made them look miserable by passing their all rounds and rejecting their package argument that was less due to my company Satyam status. 4th was CGI, pleasant company which honoured my knowledge and I their requirement.


So to justify my topic to my reader’s  i.e.  You, all I meant to say is our approach of looking at crisis should be different. Whatever is going to happen will happen, whether we worry or not. I found an opportunity in disparity. I learnt a lesson that one should always be loyal to work/skill not to a company. Many Java/.Net/DBA/Management gurus were thrown out of Satyam during crisis. So love your job and ensure you do not fall in love with company. Don’t blame company/managers for not providing an opportunity. As this will just create frustration among us and it will impact work which in turn impact our behaviour. Is this reason enough to change our character? Of course NO; Wake up and prove one by yourself. This experience helped me in resigning from CGI (to know more read my blog on Hesitation) in later part (though CGI was offering everything that one 3.5 year experienced engineer would expect) to pursue my career abroad. I also became longest serving college fresher who got his first promotion in 2012 in Accenture UK, whereas I joined IT in Oct 2006. But people will best tell you about my work and package with whom I have worked and currently working. When I look back to evaluate my life, I find it is as per plan and at par with current competition. Must listen to Steve Jobs 2005 Stanford university speech, what he has said when he was thrown out of his own company Apple. We are in 21st century see below what Santi dev, 8th-century Indian Buddhist scholar at Nalanda University told “If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.

Thank You!
Satender Kumar Mall
Twitter: Satenderiiit

21 comments:

  1. When written in Chinese the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.

    Satender definitely picked the opportunity and he is where HE IS.

    Reading the text was more nostalgic that any other thing, however, we did really ENJOY the days. My then manager said to me: "You are experiencing what many don't in their life times". It was a rough sea for sure, but yes it made us skillful sailors...

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    1. Rahul, your comment made me nostalgic and all that fun/excitment/fear of that time just flashed before my eyes and I am sure many more people of Satyam and other organisation who ever read this blog will feel the same.

      As usual I was always fan of your well selected quotes. Keep posting.

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  2. bahut badiya,likhna jaroor kyo ki itne dino mein maine sikha hai admi sab se to jhooth bol sakta hai par apne aap se nahi,aur yeh baat tumne likh kar tumne yeh sabit kiya ke us waqt kitna daar raha hoga tumhare maan me,har pal nayi chunati samne ati aur tumne ne patience se usko pura kiya.isi post mein age bhi kuch comments ko main pura karuga abhi shop ke liye late ho raha hu.regards

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  3. Every problem has solution and surviving such problems will not only boost your confidence but also it will increase your experience which will help you in future endevors.During such a crisis keeping positive attitude is the key to survive.

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  4. There is a very fine line between being cautious and worrying too much. Its very important to understand this and then act. People who are cautious can take calculated risks while the ones who worry too much do not see the opportunity that is hiding behind the situation. Being cautious is ensuring that you donot blow up the task at hand and at the sametime ensuring that you protect it from potential pitfalls and on the other hand worrying will prevent you from trying your hand at something that could potentially reward you with success. 'Making the most out of the situation that you are in' is a phrase for people who donot worry too much but are aware of the current situation. Being cautious is about being in present while worrying is about unnecessrily taxing ur brains for an unfavourable outcome of the present event. So gist of the article as you have rightly mentioned is, make the most out of the situation that you are in, Be cautious but donot worry and lose your sleep over something thats not in your control.

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    1. Great insight Darpan!! your comment will be useful to potential reader in future. Thank You

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  5. Frankly speaking , Satender you know , what you have written is true and I guess everyone knows that this is the way they should behave in such situations.
    But what I dont understand is :

    a) Is it so simple to keep yourself so calm and think wisely during such situation specially when you have responsibility of a family on you? Will these things let you think so? Perhaps you were alone , not much of responsibility and you were able to cope up at the same time enjoying your life by roaming here and there.
    How would you have reacted say if you would have a child and a wife at home who will be waiting for you when you return back?
    Would you have told them "Darling today I raomed around with BJP guys and it was fun , now I dont worry about my job".
    Not sure if that would have been easy for you and who knows that would have forced you to join IBM like your colleagues did.

    b) Why only successfull people share their story? I dint come acroos anyone who went through such period and told I dint worried about the ongoing chaos , I remained calm and tried but I dint get anything , I failed . My family suffered a lot and today I have nothing. Still I think everyone should be calm in such situation :)...Never came across with any such story.

    Point I was trying to make is that we know what needs to be done , but as you are human , as you have emotions , it is not always so easy. You just took example of your job and if you try to say that I managed to get to a good position even after so much of problem , will it cover the other problems / difficulties of life.
    Not sure even if you are ready to face any such other situation in your life :)......Best of luck.

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    1. Excellent comment Sumant! You have rightly painted the danger aspect of a crisis. Hence you have done justice with the topic by bringing both aspect on table. Remember it is individual choice to behave in certain crisis either by opting to worry on danger or look for opportunity that crisis will unfold. So is the result you see around. I speak for myself so I can well assure that if I get a chance to face the similar crisis again I will again opt for the Opportunity aspect.

      I will try and answer your questions:-
      1) I agree it is not simple to keep calm but your family/children are the precious gift in this earth so they are the inspiration to what you do. You cannot afford to tense them by your own job horror story. So you got to behave in more cheerful manner which in turn will boost their confidence on you with feeling that you are capable of taking care of them in rough time. If you happen scared people by your worries who are dependent on you, will only make the situation more worst for you. So do what ever you can to sail through the time by trying hand in something which you never thought of doing previously. your worry or avoiding calm will no way get you out of the situation whose occurrence was not under your control. Remember job is not the start or end of life.

      2) To your query of why only successful people share story ; this answer is very simple; Successful people are those who have failed miserably but with their outlook to hunt opportunity in crisis make them successful. One cannot really determine what hard-work/pain/sacrifice/thought process that the successful person has gone to get on peak of success. So once you are successful the responsibility increases so they share all horror story in inspirational manner so that it help people inspire who ever reads it. But people close to successful people will tell you what all pain he/she has undergone to achieve. But they will also say that he/she was not worrying about the crisis but was trying to wither it away for sure.

      Of course good thing in life do not come for free. So people who aspire for change in their life then calm , passionate and positive thinking must be in their outlook.
      Remember earning good money or being in high position are not the only ingredient to term one as successful person. To be successful in real sense one need to be transformer who can inspire people life for good.

      Keep writing your comment. I will will eagerly be waiting for on all my blogs. Thank You!

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  6. Kudos to the article for nicely pointing out the real threats of an IT industry & recession indeed is a threat to any industry which is highly dependent upon an IT infrastructure.

    Being in core (electrical utility) industry and as a fresher. i have hardly witnessed any of such conditions but i am strongly in support of your view about brushing up one's skills in the spare times since knowledge is never ending nor enough.

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    1. Inspiring words 'knowledge is never ending nor enough'

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  7. Nice thoughts jotted down, a great encouragement for freshers like me. But, Satender you said don't blame anyone-prove yourself on your own. What if the case is you are willing to work, have tons of zeal and enthusiasm to put forward your caliber through work, but unaware of the opportunities around you? If the company itself is not making its employees aware and updated, then what are the possible ways to get yourself knowledgeable and updated for a fresher without anybody's guidance?
    Well, lucky enough not to be part of IT industry during the tenure of recession. But, the true experience shared by Satender above will be a great ideal for all the new joinees worldwide.

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    1. I was wondering why no one has cached the plane statement i have made in blog.
      But you have rightly pointed it out. Great observation skill.
      For Fresher, the first two year is full of opportunities. Surprised! Let me explain:
      These years you can use to grab more and more work, try taking problem headon and try to complete them as even if you make mistake, experience lot will help you get it right and you are privileged to make mistake and learn. More you face problem more knowledge you get. But this is only possible with your nature of accessibility and eagerness to take problems.
      Once you complete your fresher tag your zeal and enthusiasm will be doubled as you understand the system/process quite well.
      Hence you will be able to visualize the opportunity your self. You will not need to blame anyone. Your skill shine will give your update of all opportunity.
      Hope I have answered in best practical way possible.

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  8. Thanks Satender for your valuable suggestions. But, I would like to put forward a case. What if you have got half held knowledge transfers, what worth are you of to handle any work? Inspire of all the zeal, you are still not capable of handling anything.

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    1. Shubhi the case you have presented is problem most of new comer face in start of their career specially IT work force engaged in support activity.
      but again one have to come out of college mode and strive to complete that knowledge either by networking or by standard process of ITIL.

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  9. I like it that one. I personally experienced what happened in IT after 2008 when i been without work for long period. First i wanted to have 1 month vacation and rejected one offer. After that for long period of time there was no offers more than year and the half. There have been lots of talks but no real move. But apparently what i did in my previous jobs has been appreciated and i get a call for another project. Unfortenatly Programming is not are where product demand is high all the time, compared to support are. We have to adapt to changing market.

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    1. Krasimir your experience will benefits new comers who are usually with close mindset in terms of adapting change between programming and support. I felt a common mindset especially in my country India where all fresher strive for programming role.
      Thanks, As usual you are my regular reader of all blogs. You are personally an inspiration for me.

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  10. A lot of has already been commented and I can say all is TRUE ... bottom line is a each coin (read problem) has two faces heads (read defense) and tails (read attack) ..its upto each human being how he deals with it...how much broadly you can look and act on it.

    Also I feel the heading of the topic is little misplaced....and could be like My Autobiography ... :) .

    I've witnessed the all of Satender's hardship and how he truly deals with day to day issues, as he has mentioned above. Only one word to say 'RESPECT'.

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    1. you have explained the situation in simplest form. Great. Thanks for being with me in all past struggles and possibly in future ones which is more daring ones. Even I also feel sometime that it is mountain and have myself have no skill to climb.

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    2. U already have the required skill to climb any mountain in LIFE...that is WILL-POWER.

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