Career Sudoku:

Apart from the fact, Sudoku is a game played by more people in the world, one thing that makes it great is the universal appeal that it enjoys; the challenge can be simpler in every step but the reasoning required to complete the step is difficult.  The book ‘Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game’ outlines nine powerful steps. 9 steps, 9 chapters, every step makes the next step easier as in Sudoku! The analogy is striking!

This is a book for those who want to make it as good jockeys of their job search race; from the start point of resume, to the finish line of the day landing in the job. Oh! Just slightly more than that! First 90 days in the job. The 9 ways as it is described in the book flows like a river stream with nature’s power. You can get immersed on to the stream and reach the finish line.

·         Take off with a resume

·         Personal Branding with your UVP

·         Impressive Interview

·         Networking Naturally

·         Ubiquitous social networking

·         Your game plan for the race with job boards and recruiters

·         Job Myths debunked

·         Offer negotiations

·         Landed!  The first 90 days runway…

The nine straight forward chapters that keep the whole flying process simple; with inspiring quotes, real life testimonials, applications, scenarios, insider tips, career quiz etc., In ever changing and never settled US Job market, the 9 ways described in the book shows you to tackle all the challenges that you will ever face.

And this comes straight from the horse’s mouth! Adriana Llames, the author of the book is an accomplished expert in the field job search strategy. A trusted authority, considered to be the one in closest touch with insider information. A veteran career coach who has worked with thousands of professionals across the country’s small to Fortune 500 companies.

As the author points out at the end, one should really be proud of the game played.  You have picked the correct number for every cell and finished it to success. You have picked the right book.  Any job seeker is sure win with this book ‘Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game”.


/ Malick.

Enterprise Software: Sexy?

While reading this blog post, I had these thoughts going through in my mind:

When we acknowledge the success stories of non enterprise entities like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Youtube etc., there are billions of dollars to be made only in Enterprise Software. That is why Aaron Levie terms this as sexy.
Enterprise Software provided by Microsoft, SAP, Oracle is no more as appealing as before to today’s enterprises. There may be several reasons: One is that enterprise is changed as they are facing a new set of challenges. Second, the software provided by the giants are taking longer time implement, not user friendly and above all many enterprises failed in the past to use it to their total worth. A simple and typical case may be Microsoft Office 2007. Not all the enterprises can claim that they have used this application suite to its full worth!

The new enterprise software players like, Plantir, Box, Cloudera, Jive, Zuora, Workday, PBWorks, Asana, Rypple, Salesforce etc., are trying to change the landscape to a certain extent. These players’ offerings are armed with Cloud and SaaS, the game changers. Almost a year back, I wrote a blog post about SuccessFactors and I find that Aaron Levie mentions about SuccessFactors in his post, saying that the company has progressed to become a leader in this space.

Aaron says the enterprise software is sexy. The word is apt here as everyone should be cognitive of; thought provoking! Problems are surmounting for global enterprises. Market changes, Regulation change, Workforce changes, Technology landscape changes and so on… Enterprise Software is not dead as yet!  It is even more a compelling business proposition ever; both for giants and new players!
Your feedback, comments welcome.

/ Malick Md PMP.
Chennai, India. 25 July 2010.

Bananas on my mobile!

I used to curiously follow the news and articles about HR and Recruitment.   And I am an enthusiast of mobile computing technology. I am not surprised when I saw the news that, allthetopbananas.com, the UK based job search engine, having Monster, Experteer, Ladders etc., in its fold, announced the launch of MoRecNews, Global Mobile Recruiting News in this month, July 2010. 


A round table on Future of Mobile Recruitment was held a month back in London. This was chaired by giants like Google, Microsoft etc., the current state of mobile technology, its future with particular reference to recruitment is the topic. 


  ·        In UK, Mobile Internet will account for half or more of all internet access. 
  ·        In countries like India, mobile internet access has far exceeded fixed line access.
  ·        There was a 390% increase in traffic to Jobsite UK site, between Jan 2009 and April 2010.  

It is no secret that mobile is the future of computing. The benefits it can bring to job hunting are many. For example, direct reach, privacy, immediacy, convenience etc., when a poacher sends you a message it need not go through your company’s IT server and computer, if it is mobile internet. Is it not?

Augmented Reality: Cutting Edge Technology

The Future of Digital Life:

•       If you think that the web has revolutionized the way we live now, no, wait for a moment, the Augmented Reality is arriving in to the scene.

•       AR should change everything in computing. Starting from the way that we use it, to telling night time bed stories to children.

Let us explore the huge potential the Augmented Reality holds for the future: AR is not confined to a specific industry. There is AR in Gaming, Automobiles, Defense & Security, Education etc.  With the new era of mobile computing, suddenly huge potential is unleashed. Several apps using this technology, such as Yelp, Layar, Urbanspoon's Scope, are already available on the iPhone and Android.

Research Activities: Although researchers and engineers at Universities and high-tech companies are still working on developing and perfecting the technology, enthusiasts say that an Augmented Reality System may hit the market by 2020 and that a sophisticated AR system could become the primary means of accessing information and potentially eliminate the need for desktops, laptops, smart-phones and such.

Applications:

•       Apple has demonstrated the power of Applications through their innovative product of the time,  iPhone.

•       The trend is continuing and taking a massive shape. Not only with Apple but with others too, for example Google’s Android, Blackberry etc.,

•       Augmented Reality Applications users are expected to surpass 150 million by the year 2012. Smart phones thrive to become smartest!

Some Great AR Mobile Applications:

Layar, Yelp Monacle, Wikitude World Browzer, AR Compass, Acrossair, Worksnug, Dishpointer, Pocket Universe, Car Finder, Panoramoscope.

Some Great AR Startups:

•       Tier I : Metaio, Total Immersion

•       Tier II : Zugara, Layar

•       Tier III : int13, Ogmento

Mobile Augmented Reality is one of the great business opportunities.
  
This industry is primed to explode!

“It’s 9 am in the augmented reality industry…without vision people perish…it’s your chance to bake a big pie before you start slicing it up…it’s time for you to get dressed…good luck to you, I’ll be watching you”

-          Bruce Sterling’s (the prophet of the augmented reality industry) keynote…