Jobs in India in 2010-will it be different?

Poof!! Before one even knew, the first week of 2010 has come & gone! An amazingly awaited week that was jam packed with action-but didn't leave much room for anything but reaction:-)!

I am not able to pinpoint -but there is an unusually high expectation for a lot of us from 2010! Not just another new year. May be its perhaps got to do with a new decade? Maybe it is time for India Inc to get that escape velocity...either way, one can hear lots of engines roaring,more strategy, more planning.

Or maybe it is that part of the year where most are following up earnestly on the crispy new resolutions :)! The long n short is-I can't remember the last that I had so many missed calls to attend to, at the end of each hour. Amidst all the flood of season's greetings, were veiled attempts to take a fresh guard of the career management.

It ain't about hope though, right? The world has significantly changed in the last 18 months. What worked in the past-is history. It's a new game, and with new rules.

What does the future look like in 2010?

Well, here's a very well articulated blog post by Mervyn Dinnen on the skills that a recruiter ought to master to stay in the game! Relationships that are built by Reputation, Respect and Realism!!

We also have a bubbling budding corporate recruiter Rishiraj Singh, fresh after a 4 week break-who predicts that candidate centricity will prove a key battle concept in 2010.

Personally, I would wager that employers may not have too much money to throw around, to attract the best of talent. The key differentiators that an aspiring job seeker would hence be evaluating would hinge around the quality of the opportunity :

1.ability to rub shoulders with a topnotch peer group

2.the career progression it may lead to

3. long term financial stability more than instant gratification

Will the future interviews be continue to be based on 'proven past track record"? Or would companies start hiring for 'potential to grow"? Only time will tell.

Two sides of the coin?

Here are some symptoms that I -as a recruiter-see at the moment

a) The Employers perspective :

-Just in the last week, at least two of my clients have very clearly articulated filtering compulsive job hoppers. While one categorically mentioned that we wouldn't want to hire anyone who doesn't stay even 2 years in each job, the other was more forthcoming-' we want passion, not mercenaries', 'for the right guy, we will compensate depending on internal parity-and so drop all those aspiring to change for hike in salary reasons alone'!!

-In the recent months -while there has been increased activity of hiring enquiries, it is interesting to note how many of them have actually converted into offers-and joinees!! The 'wait and watch-there is lot of talent available in the market' mode has replaced 'hire the trespasser' syndrome that prevailed in 2007-08!

-Companies are lot more conscious of the 'cost per hire' now-keeping tab on the number of outstation candidates being interviewed-video conferences and Skype calls have increased! Not to mention the hesitation to consider the relocation costs involved once the person accepts the offer. Did we actually have 'joining bonus' some time back to sweeten too :-)!?

b) The Employee perspective :

Let me try and share some of the opinions, comments, remarks I have come across online and in person!

"Expectations amongst the professionals would be high in tune with the market uptrend and they would like to gain what they had lost during the recession...."

" in 2009 there were very many experience people who were getting suffocated in their roles and organizations and were wanting to move out, but as nothing impressive was coming the way, they had to bite dust till the recession ended and a new dawn has begun."

"2009 was the year of employer where the employer didn't hold any value in terms of retrenching people irrespective of the fact whether the employee is a performer or not . Now the Year 2010 is the turn of employees wherein they are expecting good compensation, if it is not matched, they will find the way."

Will the twain meet? It's anybody' guess who will blink first.

PS- Next post:I shall try and list out a bunch of potential hot jobs in India!!