Dealing with Google-abled intellectuals

Amrit mantra
Dealing with Google-abled intellectuals

“I didn’t like Delhi 6. It carries good social message, but too slow and boring. More like a documentary”. Suddenly I recollected to have read the same lines written by a well known film critic. But it was uttered by one of my friends, a self proclaimed cinema expert.

“Why don’t you just keep your mouth shut? We don’t want our ears to suffer again because of your knowledge vomiting habit”, Shreya seemed irritated.

Generally, I would have tried to calm her down, but this was one of those occasions when I just leave matters the way they are. I believe that sometimes instead of interrupting, it is better to become a silent spectator. Another reason being I empathized with Shreya because of my personal experiences with such pseudo-intellectuals.

I remember to have learnt a new word ‘plagiarism’ few years ago, when Kaavya Vishwanathan’s story broke out in American media, and was subsequently followed by our own media. Yes.. she is the very same author of the much hyped ‘HOW OPAL MEHTA GOT KISSED, GOT WILD AND GOT A LIFE’. I keep wondering… had Kaavya Vishwanathan been in India, no one would have doubted her literary abilities and rather praised her for giving credit to the sources that she drew inspiration from.

In a country where even opinions are copied, plagiarism definitely is an alien term, unacceptable to many. I have met several such people whose favorite pastime is to project themselves as Mr./Ms. Know-all. And in the Google-age being an expert is obviously not so difficult task. No wonder I keep meeting such Google-abled experts everyday.

Interestingly, these people never leave an opportunity to showcase their expertise. The topic may be any – sports, movies, music, books or politics, they have an opinion ready. At times it may be highly irritating to deal with such pseudo-intellectuals, but Shreya allow me to give you a mantra to deal with such people…just laugh them off. You can never reason with them, as for them winning drawing room debates is the ultimate reason for their knowledge power.

One of the positives of any debate is to try and understand the issue with a counter viewpoint. But pseudo-intellectuals never have their own view, therefore never arises the question of accepting any counter-view. Arguing with them is meaningless and non-productive.

So, just excuse yourself from any such discussion, as there’s always better things to do in life than dealing with a Google-abled intellectual.

...for the freshers looking for 'the right kind of' job

Amrit mantra

Job Hunting...the marketing way

Recently I came across a sweet person who seemed quite annoyed with the fact that 'referrals' have become a very important requirement for a job in any good company. Being a fresher with no good 'contacts' often prove to be a hindrance in getting the 'right kind of' job.

Well, I don’t totally disagree with the fact that jugaad (that what we call referrals in Delhi) do often play a key role, and that’s true even for the most of the MNCs. Having said this, I must also state to all such job seekers that it’s your CV that matters the most.

Think it this way:

Your professional abilities are a newly launched product in the job market and various companies are its potential buyers. Being a new product, there is no promotion through ‘word of mouth’. Therefore the brochure, i.e. your CV, is the only way to sell your product to the potential buyers. Hence packaging becomes important. By packaging I mean the USP reflected in your CV.

But remember just as it happens with every product, your product too will take time to generate brand awareness. That means try to gain some experience without pondering much about the ‘right kind of work’.

Companies value the work experience much more than your degrees or unproven talent. In the meanwhile, try to work upon your packaging. Which means get involved in projects where you learn and gain experience. It’s important that when in a job interview, you should be able to discuss in detail about the kind of work that you have done earlier. Also, the job profile is much more important than the organization’s brand value.

Accept the fact that for a fresher without the ‘right contacts’, it is difficult to get into a big organization. Therefore try on building your own brand value for the first two years. Rest assured that you will start getting your dream offers once you pass out of this initial struggling phase successfully.

All the Best !