How To Become a Tattoo Artistt

It seems that with the popularity of tattoos and the potential for high income, a lot of people want to become a tattoo artist. Many of them make the mistake of buying a kit and practicing on their friends, which is very dangerous. Many of these people never become truly successful at tattooing anyway, and never acquire the skills necessary to compete in this highly competitive business. If you’re serious about becoming a skilled and competent artist, this is what you need to do.

 

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: 1-5 Years

Skills :

Tattoo artists must be patient, gentle, and calm, and be able to instill a sense of trust in their patients. They need good eyesight, steady hands, and a well-groomed appearance. They need a good sense of color, creative flair and be able to sketch and draw extremely well. They should be skilled listeners who can follow instructions. They should be thorough people who pay attention to details. They need a lot of stamina in order to tackle the physically and mentally draining work. They should know a little about human anatomy, health and safety issues, and should feel comfortable around blood.

The first thing you need is raw talent. Someone who can’t draw or color inside the lines isn’t going to be a good candidate for being a tattoo artist.Then you need to hone your raw talent to develop talent into skill. Skill can come from fine art classes, working with a fellow artist, learning technique from books, or all of the above. On top of that, you need to practice, practice, practice.

Long Term Career Potential 

With additional training and experience, tattoo artists can work as body piercers, manage a body art shop, or open up a studio of their own. They may also choose to become visual and graphic artists.

Educational Paths 

There is no set training for aspiring tattoo artists, but, obviously, some is required. While there are some private schools that offer tattoo artistry courses, most tattoo artists learn the tricks of their trade by working with a mentor. They do this by presenting an established body artist with a portfolio of drawings and by demonstrating a serious desire to learn. It is important for any aspiring tatoo artist to be skilled in drawing and illustration so courses in art, drawing and illustration and design can be valuable.

Mantras for Success

A lot depends on one’s fate is what most of us believe. Well one cannot altogether undermine this but what ever is in our hands is most of the time underplayed. If we perform well at our end then probably we would always be traveling on the road to success.

Five vital ingredients make the recipe of success. These are as follows 

Decision making; Planning; Discipline; Consistency; Determination.

Decision Making : Simply put it every act of your’s bears some result i.e. has its own prospects and consequence. And you act because you decide to do so. You end up burning your finger if you put your hand in fire. Thus this would be a bad consequence of decision making. This is a very natural phenomenon and is applicable every where. A wrong decision of your’s is never going to bring you the right results.Most of the failures we meet in life because of some wrong decision attached with that effort at some place or the other.

Now suppose you end up opting science as an optional stream despite of your lack of interest, because of some reasons, you may end up managing to clear your 12th exam but you won’t be able to perform better elsewhere.Now when such situation arises at a tender age then it duly becomes the responsibility of the teachers and the parents to play vital role in the decision making process of the child.

Planning :This is another crucial variable that plays a vital role in any successful endeavour. For lack of immaculate planning one usually comes across the unexpected results and happenings. This is not so to say that any planned work or effort does not fail but if well planned then definitely the damage is not that great. For e.g. if an aspirant sets out to prepare for the IIT/JEE exam at the right time with good planning and he is unable to secure good rank in the exam he stands the chances of doing well in the other similar exams.

Besides reducing the damage good planning also saves lots of resources. Time and money to a great extent can be saved by good planning. For e.g. in all probability if you plan well before preparing for any exam the chances of success are quite high. Thus success in one attempt saves your time spend for preparing for the second attempt.

Discipline :  All your effort can go in vain if you lack discipline in life. Not only your effort but you end up as a failure in life. We can also label it as the mother of all virtues. For e.g. if you decide on to become a doctor and start your preparation with good planning but you are not disciplined enough to put in the required number hours to study then probably all your effort may crumble in a short span of time.

Consistency : This is another variable that should find a place in ones personality necessarily. All your activities that form part of your plan or the road to success need to perform consistently in order to achieve the desired results. For e.g. if your planning says you need to put in five hours to your studies daily then missing out couple of days to that end means that your decision making, planning and discipline are at a receiving end.

Determination : Undoubtedly a virtue that had made heroes, immortals, legends and kings. The saga of Buddha to Jesus, Alexander to Mahatma Gandhi including the likes of Einstein and Newton stood tall for nothing other than there towering determination to achieve what they wanted at all cost. It won’t be wrong to say that determination is the carrier of success.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire, a British movie with overwhelmingly Indian content and backdrop, has emerged the big winner at the 66th Golden Globes. It scooped four awards to underline its credentials ahead of next month’s Oscar awards.

Ironically, on a star-studded night in Beverly Hills, it was the rags-to-riches love story about an orphan who fights his way out of Mumbai slums on an Indian television game show that triumphed. The film, featuring a cast of virtual unknowns, picked up honours for composer A.R. Rahman, British director Danny Boyle (Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Director) and Simon Beaufoy (Best Screen Play).

Rahman, once labelled ‘Mozart of Madras’ by Time, became the first Indian to win the Golden Globe, for Best Original Music Score with ‘Jai Ho’. He thus brought a new round of international recognition to a country whose rich classical traditions have inspired oeuvres of global music.

Based on Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup’s novel Q and A, the film depicts the heart-warming story of an orphan, Jamal, who goes on to win the Indian version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ in an effort to win his love back. The film stars Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor as the show host and British Indian Dev Patel in the lead role of Jamal. Like its magical underdog-winner story, the film which was made on a small budget, has turned out a big winner by virtually dominating the pre-Oscar award scene.

Australian actor Heath Ledger earned a posthumous Golden Globe for his performance in Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight while British star Kate Winslet won two awards for best drama actor and supporting actor.

This year’s Globes red carpet read like a who’s who of the movie industry’s A-list. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio were just a handful of the A-listers in attendance at the Beverly Hilton.

More Options To Study Overseas

Though US is still the favorite destination for Indians looking at education abroad, newer destinations such as Ireland, Germany, Taiwan and Hong Kong are also emerging as attractive options for Indians to study overseas.

Courses ranging from master’s programmes in fields such as economics and humanities in the UK to film management, animation and hospitality in Singapore are gaining currency among Indian students.

Most Indians looking to go abroad do so at the postgraduate level and the most popular choice is a master’s in business administration, according to Amit Rao, who heads the Ahmedabad-based Rao Overseas Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

But new courses often lead to unconventional career moves once students come back.

Vineet Sharma, who finished his MBA in 2007 from Chung Hua University in Taiwan, returned to India to set up a pneumatic tools importing company. Around 250 Indian students went to Taiwan in 2008, up by 100 students from the year before, according to the India-Taipei Association in Taipei.

Another Indian student abroad, Amrita Mondal, followed a degree from the Delhi School of Economics with a global studies course offered in English by universities in Germany and Austria.

For many students, the most attractive factor is cost. Business schools in India charge around Rs8 lakh for a two-year postgraduate course but their graduates can expect around Rs4 lakh per year as the starting salary, according to John Gabriel, chief marketing officer at coaching firm IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.

In Singapore tuition fees for a one-year programme are roughly the same and a graduate can expect a salary around $2,000 (Rs97,200) per month and can live comfortably in the country while still saving up to $500 per month. “That’s half the salary you are going to draw in India and you complete the course in half the time,” says Gabriel.

An MBA in the UK, on the other hand, will cost around Rs15-18 lakh for one year, including living expenses.

Singapore, with a reputation for safety, proximity to India and large Indian population, make it a popular choice, but other countries such as Spain, France and Thailand have also made visas relatively easy to obtain for students.

Some countries such as Singapore and Canada make it easy for international students to stay and provide them a path to permanent resident status.

And governments ranging from Taiwan to the European Union (EU) countries offer full scholarships to attract foreign students to their universities. The EU-sponsored Erasmus Mundus scholarship, for example, provides funding based on academic merit for citizens of other countries to study at a consortium of schools in continental Europe.

Students in non-English speaking countries do run into language problems but, they say, their hosts try to make the transition easier. Consultants say the choice to go abroad isn’t for everyone. It doesn’t make any sense to go for any second-tier college globally for MBA if you don’t get good options or a good mix of students in a batch. But with the number of interested students far outweighing the number of open slots in India, countries outside the US are becoming a more attractive option.

Medical Entrance Exams

16th January 2009

BLDEU PGET

17th January 2009

Bharati Vidyapeeth University

18th January 2009

Manipal Academy Of Higher Education (MAHE)

17th May 2009

Delhi University Medical Entrance Test (DUMET)

24th May 2009

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University MBBS Entrance Test

21st June 2009

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University MBBS Entrance Test stage II

1st June 2009

AIIMS

MBA Entrance Exam

1st February, 2009

Indira Gandhi National Open University, ‘OPENMAT-XXV’ 

VAMNICOM

Management Aptitude Test (MAT)  

8th February 2009

ATMA

15th February 2009

MHT-CET

Adam Smith Management Aptitude Test (ASMAT)  

22nd February 2009

NIAMAT

3rd May 2009

Joint Admission Test (JAM)

Chemical Engineering Course

Chemical Engineering Course

Deals with the design, installation and maintenance of plants of large-scale processes in oil,chemical,pharmaceutical and allied industries. This could also cover various fields of chemical technology in mineral based industries, petrochemical plants, synthetic fibres and even petroleum refining plants.

Course :

The focus of the BE/B.Tech programmes in Chemical Engineering is on Industrial Chemistry, Polymer Technology, Polymer Processing, Polymer Testing, Polymer Synthesis etc.

Chemical engineering includes all phases of technical activity in which knowledge of chemistry, along with other basic sciences such as mathematics, physics, biology, and computer sciences, is used to embark upon and solve the problems of society. These problems include energy, health, environment, food, clothing, shelter, and materials. For example, the chemical-processing industries are under technical and managerial control of the chemical engineer. These industries supply society with a vast array of products, including chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, foods, textiles, fuels, and industrial gases. The chemical engineer also serves society in improving the environment by reducing and eliminating pollution and applying the biosciences in biochemical and biomedical engineering. The spectrum of activity of the chemical engineer, because of his or her unique background, is one of the broadest in the science-technical field. They may be design engineers working for a product along with mechanical and electrical engineers, may be a research engineer and engaged in developing new process and products and as a project engineer deal with the design, installation and maintenance of plants, and in manufacturing industry supervise all operation related to production. This could also cover various fields of chemical technology in mineral based industries, petrochemical plants, synthetic fibers and even petroleum refining.

Specialization:

The focus of the BE/B. Tech programmes in Chemical Engineering is on Industrial Chemistry, Polymer Technology, Polymer Processing, Polymer Testing, and Polymer Synthesis etc.

Educational Attainment:

BE/B. Tech, M.Tech and Ph.D Employment opportunities Chemical Engineering

Petroleum, refining, fertilizer technology, processing of food & agricultural products, synthetic food, petrochemicals, synthetic fibers, coal & mineral based industries & prevention & control of environmental pollution & the development & improvement of processes, design, construction, operation & management of the plants for these process & research in these areas.

Scope:

Wide opportunities exist for chemical engineers both in public & private sectors in the design, development, fabrication, production & control of chemical & processing plants as well as scope for self – employment in food & agro-industries 7 in small chemical plants.

Employment opportunities :

Chemical engineers find employment in all phases of technical operations. A large no of graduates in chemical engineering have obtained M.S. and Ph.D. degrees than those in almost any other engineering field. It is advantageous for those interested in the more advanced work of research, development, and college teaching to obtain a graduate degree. The chemical engineering degree is frequently used as a stepping-stone to other professions such as law, medicine, Marketing and Sales or teaching. The recent trend in career of a chemical engineer to join management education and after completion they are placed in manufacturing industry, Marketing and sales job.

Careers In Sport Management

To many undergrads, the idea of building a career in sports management sounds ideal. And certainly, the excitement of working in professional sports is undeniable. At the same time, there's heavy competition for the high-profile jobs, and for most grads just out of school, working in sports management means starting at the bottom.

The sports industry in India and U.S. is amore $600-billion-plus powerhouse, with superstar athletes, lucrative endorsement deals, and all the free press an ego can handle. But if you're not the rare athlete who can hit a 93-mph fastball or sink a 15-foot jumper, how are you supposed to cash in on such a lucrative business?

There are jobs in the sports business that don't require sweating—marketing, philanthropy, graphic design, and sales are just a few. But there's increasing competition for these positions, with lawyers, communications majors, and business graduates all vying for the chance to share in some of the sports glamour. Which explains the popularity of the numerous undergraduate sport management at schools across the country.

Like any other field of study, there are variations in each school's program. Here's how to prepare yourself and what to look for when choosing an undergraduate sport management program.

THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND

Sport management career is much more than a continual chat about the previous night's game. "This is not SportsCenter; this is much more. "It's very much about a series of conversations about management first and how it applies to the business of sports and how it fits into society."

Another misconception is the idea that a bachelor's or even a master's degree in sport management will quickly land you the position of general manager with the Kolkata night riders. "One does not become a GM of a major league team simply by going to school and learning stuff in a classroom," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

"The nature of Sport industry requires not only book smarts, but street smarts."

In other words, don't bank on running your own franchise right out of college or even in your lifetime. Stick to your fantasy league instead.

INTERNSHIPS AND NETWORKING

Because of the high competition for many sport management jobs, the ability of a program to provide networking and internship experience is crucial. "Five years ago, many thought if they got a degree in sport management that was their ticket to work in professional sports, in the four major sports leagues (football, Cricket, formula 1, basketball, hockey)," said Michael Mondello, associate professor of sport management at Florida State University. "But now they realize that those jobs are few and far between, and the turnover is small."

Luxury Management Remains in Style

Rupal Patel took a break from her career as a patent lawyer in Chicago to enroll in an MBA program with a luxury specialization this fall, trading in the Windy City for the sparkling shores of the French Riviera. A student at the International University of Monaco’s business school in Monte Carlo, she is spending the year taking classes with titles such as “Luxury Consumer Behavior” and “Managing Luxury Brands,” and is planning on a career in anti-counterfeiting.

Despite the hit the economy is taking on the luxury industry, Patel is optimistic her degree will give her an edge in the job market when she graduates, she says.

“I think being focused and having a specialization, especially in luxury, makes a person more marketable in this economic climate,” Patel says. “The ultra-wealthy will always buy luxury goods, regardless of the fluctuations in the economy, so that kind of gives us some hope.”

Patel is one of a growing number of students who, despite the uncertain times, are setting their sights on a career in the luxury sector. In the past decade or so, more and more schools, many based in Europe, have started to offer MBA degrees in luxury-brand management. The programs, which give students the chance to specialize in sectors such as fragrance and cosmetics and wine and spirits, have become increasingly popular as top luxury brands have seen double-digit increases in profits in recent years.

But with sales of big-ticket items such as Champagne, designer handbags, and watches expected to slide this year, the outlook is not quite as rosy. Analysts at Bain & Co. said in a recent report that global luxury sales could slide by as much as 7% in 2009, while analysts at UBS are predicting a 5% revenue decline. Despite these gloomy forecasts, applications to luxury MBA programs are on the upswing, with students betting the luxury industry will bounce back, according to a number of schools that specialize in the area.

RISING ENROLLMENT

Applications have also doubled this fall at the International University of Monaco’s Monaco Business School, which started a master’s in luxury goods and services and an MBA with a specialization in luxury management several years ago. There are 38 students in the master’s program and about 12 MBA students concentrating in luxury. Sandrine Ricard, the associate dean, says the school started the programs in part because a growing number of companies were demanding managers with more specialized skills and understanding of the luxury market.
In addition, more mainstream brands are starting to develop luxury product lines, further fueling the demand for expertise in the sector, Ricard says.

“You can have the best product ever, with top quality and a very high price, but that still doesn’t make it a luxury product. There’s something a little magic about a luxury brand,” she says. “You have to be initiated and understand how it works. It’s a lot more specialized and complex than it seems.”

By  Alison Damast

                                                                                                                 

Indian MBA System

Today, MBA degree is undoubtedly the most famous degree in India. Thanks to the obscene packages (as one of my MBA faculty speaks of the packages) offered to most of the B-School graduates. Rising packages of IIMs and international placements constitue the headlines easily during the placement season. Many students are of the opinion that placements are the USPs of an MBA degree.

However, I am of a different opinion. I genuinely feel that the much hullabaloo (created due to placements) around the MBA degree has done much of a disservice to the student community than good to it. Nearly, every Engineer who passes out of E-School even before personally reading about the MBA program details offered by the institutes orients himself to join a B-School, forget about taking an exposure in the industry or understanding the fundamentals of business administration which should form the guideliness to form a decision to go for an MBA. The ultimate result of which is “A dissatisfied MBA graduate in his post-graduation tenure and finally a non-interested and relatively lesser competent manager than expected  passes into industry”.

Majority of the prospective students entering an MBA do it inorder to switch their career. But, as per my observation, these students are not fully aware of what they want to get into and tend to experiment a lot (Probably, I am one of them). One of the incident I would like to quote here is of one of the alumni of my institute who worked in IT industry wanted a switch, came for an MBA but later in the second year realised he wanted to pursue MBA in advertising which was not offered by the institute. I think the indecisiveness manytimes hits such students badly as was the case with my senior and thereby the student is not able to appreciate the program and design his curriculm (choose electives) to get benefitted from it the most.

Moreover, the Indian mentality of judging a students calibre on his ability to score reflects on the selection system of B-Schools. You would rarely find a 90 percentiler or 80 percentiler student making it to IIMs. But, at the same time you may find a 650 score getter making it to Harvard Business School. B-Schools tend to give more weightage to written scores and the underlying concept is to identify the best score not the best learner which is derivative of the Indian mentality of scoring more nor learning more. The same mentality percolates during the post-graduation tenure as well and the MBA graduates slog hard to get a higher score in the examination. According to many of the passed out MBA graduates, higher score does not necessarily reflect in depth subject knowledge and pragmatic approach.

Taking all of these aspects, I do feel Indian MBAs do not make great leaders. One of the Harvard Professors commented once about Indian MBA Managers “Indian MBA Managers can keep a well-doing business afloat or move upwards, however they cannot errect a dying business.“

One of the panacea for the flaws in the MBA system of India which have been mentioned above can be pre-requisite work experience before joining MBA. The best B-Schools around the world have such pre-requisites of work experience. Work experience often lets a candidate understand the practical aspects of industry, clears confusion about career path and hence is able to appreciate the MBA program in a much better mode.

With various coaching institutes helping aspiring students to crack the tests and the GD/PIs, I feel somewhere the basic aptitude and intellegence of a candidate is not put into test in the present format of tests. Some of the institutes like ISB, G-LAKES, SPJIMR, SCMHRD, even IIMs have now adopted selection process in which the weightage given to written scores have come down and resume evaluation (background story) is being enforced.

Leadership or life cannot be taught in the class, but surely education system and enterance systems can be altered to help student learn leadership outside the class. The underlying fundamental concept of an enterance system needs to be indentifying the best learners not the best scorers.

Career in Real Estate

What is Real Estate?
Initially real estate was considered the worst hit sectors. But now it is gaining importance. There are various developments in real estate like, design, marketing, sales and customer relations management etc. In all these above sections trained people are required. Land development is one of the most significant specialities in the real estate industry. On barren land developers build government buildings, industrial buildings, commercial offices, hotels, malls, etc. Property managers maintain property to produce the highest possible financial returns. The real estate counsellors give advice about property.

Career Scope:
Various jobs are available in services like, landscaping, electrical installations and plumbing. The real sector industry is the second biggest employers after the agriculture industry. Construction and housing is growing so the future in this field is expected to be quite bright. Graduates from IIM’s and other top colleges are given preference. Job opportunities are available in commercial banks, insurance companies, saving associations, consulting firms, real estate developers, and industrial brokerage offices. There are no specific colleges conducting the real estate course. Graduates from various colleges are selected, such as Architects, engineers, MBAs advertising etc. 

Career Path:
In real estate, employers from various fields are required, such as architects, engineers, finance, legal. Professionals from any field can work in real estate firms. Growth may vary according to the department.

Remuneration:
The pay scale differs as per the projects taken up. Initially the pay package is, approx Rs. 300000/. The earnings may go up to crores, as per the project handled.

Techfest Starts On January 24

Techfest, the Annual International Science and Technology Festival of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), is all set to start from January 24. This is for the first time the Techfest is going to global as students from Sri Lanka, Dubai and Denmark are going to participate in the fest.

Techfest, is popular among science and engineering students across the country.

A competition for legged robots for the first time named the 'arthrobot' is being introduced by the organizers. The participants are expected to build a legged robot which can pass through a designated path in the least possible time.

They are expecting participants to build a biped (having two feet) robot, which is very difficult at institute level. "We will definitely get quadrupeds or six-legged robots," added Shintre.

Around 20 teams will participate in the initial rounds. Three teams from each centre will participate in the finals at Mumbai.

Besides the competitions, Techfest is also offering a platform for innovative ideas. 'Prayaas', one of their competitions, will allow participants to present their ideas on how to use renewable sources of energy. There will also be workshops on ethical hacking and archery.

Techfest 2009, scheduled from 24th to 26th January, promises to carry the legacy handed over to it through eleven years and bring a bigger and a better Techfest.

UGC plans big changes in education

Now students may be able to pursue courses in segments in universities as per their preferences if the recommendations of a UGC committee on academic reforms are accepted by the institutions.A committee, set up by the University Grants Commission, has suggested a slew of reforms, including credit accumulation and transfer, semester system and taking feedback about teachers’ performance from the students.

The recommendation on credit accumulation and transfer will help students to pursue courses in segments in universities as per their choice.

“The committee has recommended a number of academic and administrative reforms to be followed by the universities. We are now examining these suggestions,” UGC Chairman Professor Sukhadeo Thorat told PTI.

The committee has suggested the universities to start credit accumulation and transfer system. It recommended that each academic programme should have certain credits, and the student can complete part of the programme in a specific university and accumulate certain credits from there. The rest of the course can be pursued from another university to complete the course.

“This will facilitate students mobility at national and international level also. For this, the institutions should have credit transfer system and agreement for students’ exchange,” Thorat said.

As per the system, a student can also do a course in parts in various departments within an institute.

If the credit system is introduced, marks will be changed to grade and students will be awarded grades like A, B, C and D depending on their performance.

The recommendations have come at a time when the UGC is planning to launch a scheme to facilitate M Phil and PhD students to do part of their coursework outside the university where they are pursuing studies.

Besides, the committee suggested that universities should introduce semester system instead of annual examinations. Currently, the central universities in the country including Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University have semester system.

The committee is of the view that the institutions should not focus more on written tests but on continuous assessment.

The commitee also suggested the institutions to take feedback from students about the performance of teachers.  Students are the best judge to assess teachers, it said. 

Top stories of 2008

India witnessed many rise and falls in the year 2008. While some important events brought cheers to the millions of Indians, some others sent them into grief and despair. We have listed 8 events of 2008 that we consider most important.

1. Landmark Indo-US nuclear deal  

It was a deal that almost brought about the collapse of Manmohan Singh and the UPA government after the Left decided to withdraw support. A bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation between the US and India was signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and USPresident George W. Bush in 2008. The Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement will address the country’s energy needs by enabling it to access civil nuclear cooperation from the US and other countries.

2. Stock Market Crash in India

The year 2008 brought bad luck for the investors, as the global meltdown took its toll on Indian stock market. The BSE Sensex, which had touched 22k mark, fell down over the past few months to trade below 9k and then recovered in December to touch 10k mark again.

3. Sachin Tendulkar becomes highest run getter in Test Cricket

 Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar created history in the Mohali test against Australia, when he surpassed Brian Lara’s 11,953 runs to become the highest run-getter in test cricket. Sachin Tendulkar achieved this milestone in his 152nd test match.

4. Chandrayaan I - India’s first-ever Lunar Mission

On October 22, 2008, India made history by sending its first-ever lunar mission to moon. As the Chandrayaan I took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, India became the sixth country in the world to send a space mission to moon. Later, the Chandrayaan MIP landed on the surface of the moon with Indian tri-colour painted on its four sides. The Chandrayaan MIP also sent pictures of the moon’s surface.

 5.Abhinav Bindra wins Olympic gold  

2008 was truly a memorable year for Indian sport. Shooter Abhinav Bindra scripted history by winning India its first individual Olympic gold medal. Bindra totalled 700.5 points to win the men’s 10m air rifle title on August 11. The gold wasn’t, however, Abhinav’s only achievement in Beijing. The Indian, who was out of action with a career-threatening spinal injury since 2006, actually proved that the country had the capability to produce champions in Olympic sports other than hockey. 

6. Rs. 1 lakh Tata Nano - People’s Car launched

 One of the India’s largest car makers, Tata Motors had brought revolution in the car industry, by launching the Tata Nano - People’s Car. The Rs. 1 lakh Tata Nano is all set to fulfill the dreams of millions who could not afford to buy a car because of high prices. The Tata Nano was scheduled to hit the market in October 2008. However, it could not because of constant opposition from Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee in Singur. The Tatas later moved the Nano project out of Singur, West Bengal and embraced Narendra Modi’s Gujarat. The Tata Nano may be available in the market in early 2009.

7. Barack Obama scripts history  

Barack Obama won, but the real victor was America. The planet’s best-loved and often-reviled nation upheld the noble ideals of its founding by electing a mixed-race African-American as its 44th president, redeeming itself in the eyes of the world and its own people. On November 4, 2008, Obama, son of a Kenyan, rode on the American hunger for change and an ongoing demographic makeover to win a stirring election against the all-American war hero John McCain. 

 

8. Mumbai Terror Attacks - 26/11

 Although the year 2008 witnessed many terror attacks in the country, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks shook the nation and led to a massive outrage. 10 terrorists backed by Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Toiba, attacked CST, Nariman House, Hotel Trident Oberoi and Hotel Taj in Mumbai. They held the city to ransom for 60 hours.

Lost your job in this recession?

 

Most people drive through life looking in their rearview mirror and judging the future by the past. They have a really good view of where they have been and mistakenly think the future will be similar to the past as they make decisions based on their previous experiences. Even though past experience gives a base for the future, there are many employability factors to take into account as you plan to grab one of the best jobs in 2010 and beyond. 

The future work world will be even more global. If your job is not one that requires you to physically be in one place, i.e. serving food, washing windows and stocking grocery shelves, you will be competing with bright and hungry workers in India, China, Korea and other developing nations around the globe.  

 

 

 

 

Competing in the new environment will require higher levels of competence and necessitate looking straight ahead, not constantly glancing rearview mirror for warm fuzzy feelings about what you have achieved in the past. 

Here are 10 skills to acquire and refine that will increase your professional confidence level and make you more employable in the 21st Century:

1. Constantly adapt to technology. Dependency on technology in the future will increase, not decrease. Spend time learning new computer programs but more importantly, make applications to your daily routine and strive to use technology as an enabler of productivity, not as a neat new toy with tons of cute features that you don’t use. To decide if the new gadget is worth the time, ask yourself, “Does this make time or waste time?” 

2. Embrace diversity. Get comfortable with other ethnic cultures, religions and customs. Be curious about what makes people from other cultures tick. Learn a little about the customs and attitudes that belong to workers from other countries. The time will be well spent as you begin to relate human to human, not human to inhabitant of another country. 

3. Be a life-long learner. When you finished your last college course did you utter a sigh of relief and mumble something like, “Whew, glad I’m finished with my education!” Surprise…the new century will require you to be a continuous learner. Be prepared to reinvent yourself, the pool of information in your brain and your work-related skills every 4-5 years. 

4. Practice impeccable integrity. Employers need to feel your spirit and have the quiet assurance that you are honest. Even one person in an organization who takes advantage of company assets for personal gain causes untold rules and regulations. Taking integrity beyond just simple honesty, however, means that when you commit to a deadline, you are fully committed to producing results, not excuses. 

5. Be a self-starter. Fire yourself up or look forward to being the first to go when bottom lines dip into the red, a recession lurks around the corner or the next merger takes place. Those who learn to work on the optimistic side of life not the pessimistic side of life, are more valuable to the organization as they create a positive work environment that produces higher productivity. 

6. Demonstrate personal discipline. Employers want to hire people who have disciplined work habits and disciplined thinking. The more disciplined the worker, the less time managers must spend rethinking, retracing and reworking…basically worrying if you will be reliable. When you demonstrate personal discipline, you and your manager can spend more time on solving problems and moving the company forward. 

7. Prioritize and evaluate daily. Two of the biggest time wasters in the world are not knowing where to start when you get to work in the morning and working on low priority items. To compete in the global work environment takes meticulous prioritization of tasks and the ability to identify the highest priority item that you tackle first every morning. 

8. Be adaptable. To stave off obsolescence, organizations must constantly change and regularly introduce change initiatives. Often employee resistance derails plans for updating processes and procedures and stalls company progress. To increase employability in 2010, learn to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Ask tough questions that define the future and actively look for ways to support the new change initiatives. 

9. Think creatively and innovatively. Contributing to your organization in 2010 demands thinking outside of the box and looking for creative ways to solve nagging problems, increase productivity or produce a new product or service. When a challenge presents itself, be the first to offer a new viewpoint, discover an alternative or recommend another course of action. Your ideas combined with the creative ideas from other employees will help your organization renew itself as necessary to be competitive in the 21st Century. 

10. Have the Can-Do attitude. Immerse yourself in all the available positive mental attitude material you can find. Negatives are thrown at you the entire day from the news, next door neighbors and the nerd in the next cubicle. Teams face hurdles to productivity which causes dissention among members. Management faces stockholder dissatisfaction and product deadlines. To compound the problem, your mind naturally generates negative thoughts before positive thoughts. You have to train your mind to see the positive, to find the positive and to see the opportunity lurking in the obstacle. If you can master the positive can-do attitude, you will add value to every thing you touch and be more employable in an increasing negative world. 

Some of these skills will be relatively simple and others may be difficult for you to implement. As you improve in each area mentioned above, however, you will increase in confidence and competence and create an environment where you add value to the organization and a need for your personal services. You will have greater job stability.