Whole lot happening.

The past fortnight indeed was an experience.

1. My Son fractured his leg while playing basket ball there was also torn ligament besides the ankle fracture. He is on plaster cast for 4 weeks, The technology of plaster cast has come a long way. The whole process was done in 10 minutes in the hospital. The plast also affords spraying in powder and moisturizer to make him comfortable from itch. The other great thing was despite medical advice for 4 weeks to rest and not to put weight on the leg, he didn't even think about missing a school for a day. He used the ergo chair to move around the house and hopped around to reach class rooms. Children these days have much more resilience then we did. The good thing in this as I am not traveling, I am able to spend time with him and take care of his needs as much as I can. The last 5 weeks I have spent in Bangalore (NO travel) has helped me to also understand things that happen at home. This is the first time in the last 14 years that I have managed to stay more than 2 weeks at home.
   
2. My Car met with a major accident (First time in 10 years), My driver avoided a certain triple fatality when the school children came in the path on the thoroughfare, and he had no option but to crash the vehicle in the divider as well as hitting a two wheeler(He was safe, No Injuries). Insurance helped out to cover the cost and I realized the value of insurance. That triggered me on thinking to have insurance cover for other possible eventualities which I haven't considered so far.
3. I was also saddened by the death of 5 year old Piyush, son of a Honeywell colleague, Piyush had a rare form of recurring cancer and despite best efforts of doctors in Singapore couldn't make it and passed away Wednesday last due to post operative complications. The only consolation was that we all did our best finacially for the cause. Sometimes, you just wonder whether man has made any headway in tackling and unraveling the mysteries of Science. Its going to be ages, I guess!!.
4. I was also appalled by the Indian media coverage over the Sunita Williams return from Space, looks like News channel have no news or events to cover. It looked like it was as though channels were creating news as well as making every effort to avoid a III world was situation. And by the way She hardly has any Indian connections??.This was more apparent when coverage of news items such as printing mistake in a temple Pamphlet(Dogs to feed Vs Dog meat will be fed) captured headlines. I have stopped watching Hindi/ Tamil films/ movies in 1989. Looks like I need to take a decision to stop watching Indian TV channels in 2007. With Internet available for you to cover news on your desktop at your choice to select, I guess this will be real possibility. I will keep you updated when I make the decision. (Already the time I spend watching TV has shrunk considerably).
5. I am sure guys out there are availing the RSS subscriber to feed information from website to their desktop. I am taking advantage of this update tool to have the information on the websites I track and when They are updated, I automatically get the update on my desktop.
   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)

Ok, then some of the interesting websites that I came across this week.

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/ It shows you daily sunrise, sunset time on your desktop.

http://www.howtowritearesume.org/ Great site on developing your Resume. Rule is one page. NO More than that.

List of must read books for you and your family(Covers History, stories, Science, technology). Reading all this will take some time so you can plan some books for post retirement.

http://www.heatinghelp.com/reading_list.cfm


I have heard a lot about S Gurumurthy, But I havent heard him speak, This link gives the 80 Minute speech "The Indian Economy is Feminine" he gave in USA. Must listen and as an Indian you should feel proud. There are also other intresting podcasts at the website on India, Hinduism
http://www.theuniversalwisdom.org/category/speakers/s-gurumurthy/

You must listen to ANNA Farmery, this is a UK Based podcast( A rarity), she gives excellant insight in to Management practices besides, she updates her Blog daily, I managed do download 60 of the 88 podcasts. Lot of useful information. She is now in the top 5 of the management podast list.

http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/the_engaging_brand_/

Yesterday, for the first time I managed to hear Elvis Priestly Album. ( I guess it took me after 28 years of listening to western music) I have listened to his singles, never before Heard him on an album. 30 Minutes went just like that and I could go back in time.

Take care and catch up with you soon.
Till then, take it easy and live consciously.

KARTHIK.

Interview Etiquette( for the Interviewer) /Help needed to save a child

Good to be back on line, As I had not been traveling for the last 3 weeks and dont plan to do for another 4 weeks. There was hardly time to express my thoughts. Besides there were lot of personal travel and lot of issues crept up on personal front. OK Here I go.

www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=b40fe9c6-25dc-44ff-a142-6086dd5a4936

Few tips on interviewing etiquette

The world has changed in the last few years. I still remember a story we had in school in which a scholarly candidate is called to an interview. Though infallible in knowledge, he is at a loss when a panel of interviewers confronts him. He is asked how many buttons he has on his shirt, how many steps he climbed and the number of the taxi he came in. Thus demolished, the erudite professional staggers out of the hall completely shattered. One can safely imagine that he not only counted every step on his way down but the number of the taxi he took home is indelibly branded in letters of fire on his heart.

This incident is history and one can imagine the business executives, who have faced the effects of a "talent crunch" in almost every industry today, laughing derisively while reading the story. And the truth is that, in an interview, the evaluation takes place on both sides. The candidate is probably assessing the organization more carefully than the organisation is assessing the candidate.

First impressions are lasting impressions. The interview is the beginning of the candidate's relationship with the company. Interviewing is central to employee engagement and that brings it directly into the ambit of business etiquette. Since most managers are involved in the process of interviewing, a few tips on interviewing etiquette may be immensely useful to them.

· Introduce yourself to the candidate briefly so that the candidate knows who is talking to him. If it is a panel, the senior-most can take the initiative of introducing everyone else. This sets the tone of the interview that it is a conversation and not an examination.
· Do not jump into questions. Begin with small talk. It relaxes the candidate and makes him or her more receptive to answering. Remember, openness begets openness.
· The interviewer must read the candidate's curriculum vitae before the interview. It is rude to read it after the candidate sits in front of you. The candidate can feel the slow build-up of tension and start twisting uncomfortably on the chair if one takes too long. Some interviewers add insult to injury by periodically looking at the interviewee while reading the curriculum vitae, as if they are examining a protozoa specimen under a microscope.
· Initial questions must be open-ended, focusing on the achievements of the candidate. One must desist from interrupting the candidate unless the candidate becomes too long-winded.
· It is equally important not to ask a set of negative questions that may put the candidate on the defensive. Frightened candidates usually answer in monosyllables and sometimes not at all. In certain countries, there are clear guidelines of what is thought to be discriminatory and hence against the law. But whether the same law exists everywhere or not, its tenets as etiquette are useful while interviewing everyone, irrespective of their location, in a global company.
· One must tell the candidate about the next step, whether it is about another interview or about approximately in what time the decision will be communicated. If it is a senior candidate, it is polite for someone from the interview panel to walk the candidate to the lift.

Finally, do not forget to ask the candidate his or her name before beginning the interview. One interviewer sincerely followed all the rules and ended the interview after an hour with, "Thank you , Ashok." "But Sir, "answered the candidate, "I am Vasant." It was then that the interviewer realized he had been interviewing the wrong person correctly.
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My Response to this sent to the editor.
Very interesting article. Very true of the situation in which how some so called Mighty companies think so much of themselves.

The worst offenders are the professors in college interviews for admission. I remember my interview in Anna university, Madras for Engineering admissions in 1980. I was aghast when the professor was interviewing me started smoking ( I was 16 then). That moment, I decided, that I will never join that college. In fact that gave a sense bad impressions about all the college professors, in Tamilnadu that I carry till this day and I just waited gritting my teeth to finish my college ( I was dependent on my parents, you see) and ran away from Tamil Nadu. At least, now I have made sure that my children never set foot in Tamilnadu for their education. Wonder how one bad behavior can trigger a chain of events.

Thanks for bringing this up, I hope the so called, college professors, anyway these generation professors don't add any value to students,thanks to Internet and networking students are smart and learn on their own, so the professors are just a necessary evil. I can vouch that personally, when I did my MBA from 2003-05 without attending single class sessions ( Thank god attendance was not needed for passing exams). Every material and assignments were prepared from Internet and network of students. Anyway I kind of digresses from the subject.

I have also faced situations like you have mentioned, and I have made sure not only I have joined such third rate immature organisations, also make sure any one known to me does not by mistake join such organisations where people are not valued.

On the other hand, three offers, I took up based on the sheer good impression the interview panel created (all 3 are MNCs and in 2 cases, Foreign citizens who came to India to interview me), and believe me it's been pleasure working for them.

Thanks for bringing this up.
Regards
Karthik.

I hope you had access to the Manager tools website. Great site. www.manager-tools.com
REQUEST:-
I am also putting a request for saving my colleague's son from cancer. See the links below and help as much as you can.

http://aidmyson.com/blog/?p=53
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/health/03_2007/7yrold-battles-cancer-for-2nd-time-35104.html


I am sure people are aware of RSS Feed to let them know the websites are updated by subscribing to that page.

Do a google search for also word "STUMBLE".

Take it easy and take care, Stay Healthy.

Regards
KARTHIK.