Ajit Ponkshe, 46, a successful lawyer, was finding it difficult to keep up to the expectations and with his past performance. On introspection, he knew that his lied somewhere else. Every time he grabbed a pen to draft a legal document, he would end up sketching caricatures and sketching characters which no one could imagime. This had continued for sometime, and when he felt, this is it!; he decided to quit and take up the career of choice – getting into the filed of Animation.

Mamta Shinde, 40, was always good at analysis and numbers, but was stuck to her job of marketing. Stocks and shares always attracted her and her personal profits at trading gave her the confidence of taking it as a career. This decision came as a shock for everyone in her family. She had to not only fight out the concept where she was entering the male dominated arena, but she was also giving up a secure job which gave her stable income.

These two above examples, are few of the many individuals who are going through mid-life career crisis. This is what we can term as Mid-life career crisis leading to career changes. These are individuals who are successful and good at their jobs, but still need to do something that fulfills their hearts and makes them feel content at the end of the day. As we are moving into a time, where individuality is considered of prime importance, and we are not only acknowledging our real selves, but also ready to go ahead and carve a self identity, this phenomena is rapidly emerging. One thing, is essential to understand, is that the career change should not be confused with changing of job or the organization merely. Its more to do with changing the course of your job and pursuing which is your true inner calling and enjoying yourself.

In retrospect, why does this phenomenon occur? The way we select our careers, is often due to influence or force; rarely do we find individuals making the right career choice for the right reasons. Most of them take up a job or career due to factors like parental pressure, peer pressure, job security, lack of information, social status, and also due to lack of proper educational backgrounds or even due to financial burdens.

Making a mid-life career change is a lot harder than making a career change when you are young. You’ve got a lot more to lose because you have already worked your way a good bit up the ladder of success at the career you are in today. There are a few questions, one should ask before deciding to do a career switch. They are:

• Do I have the RIGHT reason for leaving my current career?
• What is the exact reason of changing the job – financial, job profile, status, lack of recognition, lack of vertical movement?
• Do I have enough financial backing, in case of things do not turn as expected?
• Is there a back –up plan ready?
• Do I have the skills to be employable? Do I have the right aptitude, educational background to start?
• Am I ready to start afresh? Do I have the strength – physically, mentally, intellectually and emotionally to face the challenges?
• Do I have enough contacts?
• Do you want to work with someone, under someone or alone?                                                                                                                                                                    &nbs p;

Once you have got the answers for the above, here are a few tips for one to make an informed career change:

Assess yourself:

You need to find more about yourself, as a person, as a professional. Find your personality and then try to take up the most that suits you. This is helpful, because many a times we are forced into jobs which are in contrast to our personality, which actually ends up frustrating us and results in poor performance.

Support System:

Emotional support from the family members is also essential ingredient while changing the career along with financial support system. Plan your finances well. Find whether you can go without the regular income that you have been used to. Are your responsibilities – family, socials and personal needs are taken well care of. Plan well, as an unplanned financial move may lead to more distress in life.

Get additional career ideas

Research the classified Ads – Even consider local businesses that you feel you would enjoy working at or even owning.  Then make a note of them, and add them to your list of potential careers to further research. New career opportunities are opening up everyday, and many new small businesses are emerging! Consider how you may use your skills and expertise to take advantage of this growing need in society.  Working from your home and starting out small can be fun, too.

Requirement of Additional Skills:

No matter what field you decide to explore, you will need to decide what skills you have that will help you in a new position and which you will need to acquire. If you are at mid career you will need to create a new resume, pitching yourself to employers hiring for your new career path, and you may need to prepare yourself to work in a position with less responsibility than your last. Changing careers can be a great deal of work.

Put your plan together

Once you have made out your wish list and identified your options, shortlist the one that fits you the most. Take time to put your plan together, do you need more education, additional financial resources, a new resume, support from your family members, an intermediate job? Write a plan of action and then follow it step by step.

Time Required

Patience and perseverance will be required to key to make it big. Don’t expect things to change overnight. You need to work consistently and patiently to ensure success to what you are thinking of taking up. Also you cannot afford to forget that you will be competing with more younger, aggressive, better skilled, educated and go getter crowd.

Changing your career at 40 is very possible. Remember changing your career can also include starting your own business. Focus on the skills you enjoy using the most, and build a career based solidly on your likes. Changing a career is a process that can be fun, self awakening, and can give you a new zeal for living. Get started today and ask the people who care the most about you to give you the support you need.

Mandar, was really looking forward to a big vacation especially because it was quite a taxing year, Tenth standard after all. Everyday a new plan was made in how to spend the vacation time. This is true for every student who is on the threshold of vacations.

Movies, malls, food joints, pure relaxing, shopping and standing and chit-chatting in some corner of the street or lane or gaming zones typically find priority in the wish list for vacation utilization.  But it is better to utilize the time in a constructive way rather than just wiling away the time watching TV or movies or just hanging around in the malls or theatres. As parents we all ask ourselves questions like: ‘where do I spend my vacation with the children’, ‘how do I prepare my kids on the vacation’, ‘What is the best way to travel’, ‘How do I entertain my kids during the vacation’, ‘what are family friendly destinations’ and more; here are a few some activities can be undertaken like:

• Adventure Camps become a good choice if you have an immense liking for nature, outdoors, risk taking and adventure. Trekking, skiing, mountaineering, scuba diving, are some of the adventure sports. The skills you learn are cooperation, independence, interpersonal skills, builds physical stamina and persistence.
• Hobby courses offer variety of innovative things to choose from such as Candle making, flower making, paper & stone sculpture, making of jute & crochet bags, stained glass painting, dance, music and so on.
• Cookery and Bakery Classes for those who want to hone their culinary skills and have a fascination for exquisite presentation of cuisine. Many opt for taking up these courses to meticulously improve their cooking skills.
• Summer Jobs is a good idea for making pocket money. These jobs can be an experimental ground for individual for trying themselves in different fields and understand whether they want to take up a career in the future. Summer jobs inculcate better interpersonal skills, adjustment to work environment, responsibility and diligence.
• One could join a social cause by doing charitable work for old age homes, orphanages, street children, NGO’s etc.  This apparently does not bring in monetary gain but often influences our outlook.
• Library could be a wonderful idea to enhance general knowledge, verbal skills, which is the essential thing in today’s world, is possible only through reading books.
• Computer Courses become a wise choice considering the fact that computer knowledge is necessary in every occupation today.  Employees from any profession and job have to know computers at different levels.
• Unfortunately spending quality time with family is overlooked. During the hectic work and school days, it becomes impossible to meet and spend time with the near and dear ones. This is a good time to develop relations and strengthen ties.
• Workshops One recent trend in the grooming skills is the concept of workshops. There are special trainers who help this process of change by infusing certain expertise of behaviour. The idea is to make you a finished product in the job market. This is to aid an individual in variety of situation ranging from public speaking and communication skills to stress management. The choice of these workshops should be based on the individual requirements.

All the above ideas can be utilized students to ensure that they have a fulfilling vacation. Parents should bear in mind that the activities should ideally help to refocus on some concepts, which have already learned, build on some mental constructs and learn new skills. But at times, this also has its negative impact. Students should avoid joining any classes just because it is the trend, or their friends are joining. At times one ends up joining a course or an activity which is beyond ones capacity. This may take a major toll on the child – physically, mentally and emotionally too. Any activity which is joined disinterestedly may also its negative impact.

Some children play throughout their vacations, nothing wrong in doing so, but they overlook the health aspects too. Playing in sun, eating fast, drinking water haphazardly definitely adds to health problems. Children and their parents should not overlook this fact. Vacations should also be used to build physical stamina and health.

Many parents become hyper and get their kids enrolled in several programmes, but little do they realize that this act can make the child superficially interested in the activities. This lack of focus hampers the overall development of the child. It is important that an in-depth understanding of a concept has to be developed which will not only add value to a child but also be fulfilling and enjoyable. This balance definitely has to be borne in mind.

Any activity undertaken has to be done with a proper thought behind it. The use, the relevance the value addition, the time involved, the budget required, health and interest – all these parameters should considered while taking up any activity – whether its for fun or to learn something.

Everyone has a different scheme for spending vacations, but a few alert ones decide to “invest” in their vacations.

Suchitra Surve

Director

Growth Centre (I) Pvt. Ltd.

‘ Management’ is one of the most preferred careers today and students are opting for Management courses even at the under-graduate level.  The Bachelor of Business Administration is an under-graduate Management program of 3-years duration. A student can choose it after their HSC or 10+2 education irrespective of their stream.

Eligibility:

Candidates seeking admission to the BBA program must have passed 10+2 (or equivalent) from any recognized Board or University, with English as a subject.  Admissions in most cases are based on an admission test, group discussions and personal interview.

The admission notification is published in leading dailies from time to time.

Course Curriculum:

Though the syllabus seems to differ from Institute to Institute, most Institutions offer courses in Economics, Business Law, Accounting, Human Resource Management / Development, Information Technology, Entrepreneurship, Tax, Marketing, and Research Methodology.

University of Mumbai offers the Bachelor Of Management Studies (BMS) course which is equivalent to the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).  In Mumbai BBA is offered by certain Private Institutes (viz. BIIGS, IIPM)  with certain affiliations to Universities Abroad.  Their credentials, however, have to be confirmed from the Institute itself.

The BBA program equips one for entry-level management positions and to pursue higher studies in the following fields:

Management, Information Technology, Tourism management, Hotel management,

Professional Programmes, Communication, Advertising, Journalism, Event Management, Retail Management, Consumer and Retail Banking Operations, Stock Broking, and so on.

Ophthalmology & Optometry

The distinction between ophthalmology & optometry is a frequent source of confusion. In addition to the fact that both are concerned with eye care, several other factors contribute to this misunderstanding. The practice of optometry traditionally involves examining the eye for the purpose of prescribing and dispensing corrective lenses and detection and non-surgical management of certain limited eye diseases. An ophthalmologist on the other hand specializes in all aspects of eye care including diagnosis, management and surgery of ocular diseases and disorders. Study/Training;  Ophthalmologist:- MD in Ophthalmology Eligibility:- MBBS  Optometrist:- Bachelors in Optometry Eligibility:- 10+2 [PCB and /Maths & English]

Why an MBA?

Master of business administration–M.B.A.: three little letters on your resume and trade in for big bucks? Or just another academic ornament to impress your high school classmates? Depending on the decade, or even the year, the M.B.A. degree is either the hottest ticket in town or as passé as confederate currency.

A more crucial ingredient of the MBA degree is fully equipping the candidate with required parameters and development of related potentialities to do justice to the job.

Prepares students to take a leadership role in business as senior managers in large corporate environments.

Management provides a solid foundation for facing the challenges of a rapidly changing and highly competitive business environment. This course introduces the fundamental management functions of planning, decision-making, organizing, leading, and controlling, as well as the tools and techniques of managing people, processes, projects, and the work environment. Students explore current issues in management and gain insights into how successful organizations operate.

Techies are choosing the MBA route to advance their careers.  Knowing how to crank out code isn’t enough.
For programmers, database analysts and lots of other techies, the path to a management job isn’t always a clear one. Increasingly, technology pros are choosing another route entirely by pursuing MBA degrees — sometimes in specialized “techno MBA” programs — in order to speed up their march toward the executive suite.

Business school, with its coursework in finance, marketing, accounting and other topics, offers a way for techies to gain a respected credential in areas in which they have limited knowledge.

Techies who pursue an MBA end up knowing the fundamentals of decision-making in business, as well as technology — a combination in demand, often translating into promotions and higher salaries.

If you’ve got a technical background and you’re thinking about an MBA, consider what sort of program you want to pursue — a more traditional program, like those at schools with longstanding reputations, or one at a program that’s geared toward students who want to develop or maintain a technology focus in their move up the corporate ladder.

The newly lofty pay scales for exiting B-schoolers isn’t entirely a reflection of their intelligence and maturity.

A majority of M.B.A. students use their degrees to shift occupational gears. As many as 75% of all full-time M.B.A. students change either their fields or the type of jobs that they do after leaving school. B-school education, “was an experience that would help me to understand and be comfortable in a high-level business environment.”

MBA VALUE & SCOPE:

MBA's true worth lies in three areas: educational value, relationship development and access to opportunity. Students aspire to do MBA to get equipped with complete knowledge of business administration and later get a lucrative job.

Any comprehensive Management course should is not restricted to only the time-frame, but aims at preparing the future management professionals with global knowledge and varied experience.

These rich opportunities can turn the gobs of time and money that it takes to earn a business degree into lucrative investments.

The buzzword in today’s world is MANAGEMENT – business management, tax management, retail management, and even relationship management. To add to this wide range of management brigade, is Leisure Management. Management essentially means ‘to deal with efficiently’. Why does it become important to deal with your free time efficiently?

In today’s competitive world, it becomes important to utilize your vacations constructively to derive maximum possible benefits, in terms of enhancing yourself, which gives you an edge to not only survive but also stand out. There are various options available to choose from: -

<   Adventure Camps become a good choice if you have an immense liking for nature, outdoors, risk taking and adventure.

<   Art/ Craft/Hobby courses for those who find themselves to be artistically inclined. There are various classes which offer variety of innovative things to choose from such as Candle making, flower making, paper & stone sculpture, making of jute & crochet bags, stained glass painting, etc.

<   Cookery and Bakery Classes for those who want to hone their culinary skills and have a fascination for exquisite presentation of cuisine.

<   Music Classes for those who wish to learn to play various percussion instruments or hone their vocal cords.

<   Summer Jobs could prove to be a beneficial way to spend your vacations, since it gives you an opportunity to gain work experience as well monetary expenses.

<   One could utilize the time to be good Samaritans and be of social cause by doing charitable work for old age homes, orphanages, street children, etc.

<   One could build their immunity to beat the stress of today’s fast life, by focusing on fitness, meditation, relaxation, spirituality, etc.

<   Dance Classes – Classical, western, jazz, jive, etc., for those who want to learn to shake a leg. It could prove to be a good fitness activity as well.

<   Enrolling for a library could do increasing your knowledge.

<   One could polish their personality by attending classes or workshops on Social etiquettes/manners, grooming, personality development, communication skills, etc.

<   Social visits and networking could become a major part of leisure management.

<   Computer Courses become a wise choice considering the fact that computer knowledge is a must in every walk of life today.

Studying abroad is irrefutably life changing and perspective changing. Employers, colleges, and scholarship funding institutions know the importance of study abroad experiences in their candidates. One gets an upper edge in their future successes. Students have the option of studying in countries like USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and many other countries.

Top 5 Reasons of Studying Abroad

1. Study in some of the best Universities in the world
2. Enhanced career prospects
3. Global degree
4. An international, cross-cultural experience
5. All round Personality Development

Global Education Counsel

www.globaleducationcounsel.org

Mindframe of H.S.C. students. In the Indian education system, S.S.C. & H.S.C are considered very crucial years in a student’s life, and rightly so, since these are junctures where an important decision has to be taken. Also, the competition has become increasingly intense and various options have opened up with a number of courses being introduced. This has led to frequently asked questions like “which profession is in demand?” or “which is the ‘happening’ career?”. The youth of today are very much interested in knowing the ‘hot careers’ of the decade, like management is the most sought after career, at present. Therefore, most want to go for the same. Though it is good to keep oneself updated about the changing market trends in occupations, one also has to realize that opting for a ‘sought- after’ career may not assure you a luxurious lifestyle, unless it matches with one’s ability, personality & interest. However, the numerous avenues has led to increased confusion the student faces today. Also, ironically, the alternatives available are more and the seats available for different courses in various colleges are limited. This has created a lot of insecurity in the minds of the students. They have to face parental & peer pressure & at the same time live upto other’s & their own expectations. And, yet, ironically they don’t know what they expect from themselves. One would find a typical H.S.C. science student filling up forms & applying for engineering, medicine, B.M.S., B.C.S., & architecture, all at the same time! The logic being, “I shouldn’t miss out on anything”, “I’ll get through atleast somewhere”. Its like buying tickets to various destinations and boarding a train that comes first. However, students fail to give a thought to –“is this the destination I want to reach?’’. They fail to realize that by applying for so many different courses & therefore appearing for various examinations, they are unable to channelize their energies. To avoid this random selection of their profession, the students need to – 1. BE PROACTIVE: take responsibility for their lives. Take the initiative & seek guidance by speaking to various people such as parents, professionals in the field & career counsellors. Also, gather information about the curriculum of the courses. Take the first important step in the right direction. 2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: define your missions & goals in life. 3. SYNERGIZE: channelize your energies & achieve more. 4. KNOW YOURSELF: increase self-awareness by knowing your interests & capabilities. Do a SWOT-Analysis i.e.(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). FINALLY, BE FOCUSED & DERIVE THE BEST OUT OF YOURSELF, IF NEEDED SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!!!

Growth Centre (I) Pvt. Ltd.Tel: 25288844/7474

THE CHANGING NATURE OF JOBS AND ITS DEMANDS

Effective utilization of available resources, information and exploring the potentials is an important issue and it is in this light that synchrony of personal aspirations and global requirements assume relevance. Globalization is creating waves of unsurety and insecurity. The recession, the boom, the demand-supply gap prevailing in certain industries, the ever increasing demand for certain professionals and also the lack of formally trained professionals; all this leads to an ambiguous situation thus making a career choice more complex.

One reason is that, India has primarily been a labour intensive country, but now the focus is changing from labour intensive to people centric. A shift is also seen in the preference from the conventional occupations to more coordinative, challenging, dynamic and service oriented careers. One more reason is also because of the shift from the age-old concept of life-long employment to Employability.

The technological change and boundary-lessness have played  a major role in changing workplace culture and its demands. This reflects a change both in the skills required for new and emerging jobs and the rising skill demands for existing jobs. New careers have come into existences. The traditional ‘permanent job’ scene has also seen a change to job sharing, part-time employment, outsourcing, working from home, global employee. Right from a Call Centre job to Hospitality Industry to being a Disc Jockey, every career is now finding its right place and the number of youngsters pursuing these careers is ever increasing. The younger generation prefers quick-money making, unconventional, more challenging and global careers to the traditional and the conventional, secure type of jobs.

In such a scenario, one cannot forget the demands that come along with the jobs. Unlike earlier times, where only skill, knowledge and loyalty played an important role, today’s Employers look for more. They are looking at competitive individuals, who not only possess specialized skills, but also have the ability to handle cross-functional responsibilities. Being ‘cross-functional’ is very essential in today’s’ dynamic work culture.

Employers not only seek individual who are promising, but they are keen to recruit individual who are more talented, performance oriented, have the ability to foresee the future desired level of ability, and then work at a faster pace towards achieving the same.

Basic Skills: The academic basics of reading, writing, and computation are needed in jobs of all kinds. Reading skills are essential as most employees increasingly work with information — on computer terminals, forms, charts, instructions, manuals, and other information displays. Computation skills are needed to organize data for analysis and problem solving.

Technical Skills: Computer skills are well on their way to becoming baseline requirements for many jobs. Workers use a growing array of advanced information, telecommunications, and manufacturing  technologies, as employers turn to technology to boost productivity and efficiency, and to deliver services to customers in new ways. For some industries — such as communications, insurance, and so on, information technology constitutes a large amount of all equipment investment. Moreover, information technology changes rapidly, requiring workers to frequently upgrade their skills for competency in successive generations of technology.

Organizational Skills: New systems of management and organization, as well as employee-customer interactions, require a portfolio of skills in addition to academic and technical skills. These include communication skills, analytical skills, problem- solving and creative thinking, interpersonal skills, the ability to negotiate and influence, and self-management. Employers are also now encouraging their teams to discuss work-related problems, indicating the need for these skills.

Company Specific Skills: New technology, market changes, and competition drive companies to innovate, constantly upgrade products and services, and focus on continuous improvement of work processes. As a result, employees must frequently acquire new knowledge and skills specifically relevant to the company’s products and services, and their production processes or service delivery modes.

The demands of each industry differs. An individual who is interested in making a career in the BPO sector, should be aware that it would take him some time [may be longer] to get used to the changed work timing, which would probably give him no time to socialize, adjust the biological clock, and handle  the emotional needs.

The flat, open, cross functional, decentralized work culture may sound interesting and fun, but for quite a few adjusting to this kind of an environment may be mammoth task. Individuals who are used to a traditional mind-set of work culture, this situation may be very unnerving. Many of the Service sectors, Media and Advertising industries, have such a work culture.

With new jobs, there also would be new set of frustrations, challenges, and demands may also have a negative impact on an individual thus affecting the performance. So to face the new work related demands, an individual also has to focus on personal growth and needs to also be competent to face the competitive world.  Apart form the technical skills, one also needs Adaptability, Assertiveness, Conceptual Clarity, Self- Confidence, Initiative & Proactive Nature, Teamwork, Decision-making, Risk taking ability and Problem solving attitude, as these are some of the key factors that ensure an overall successful personality.

Growth is and will continue in occupations and at all levels. There will be evolution and one has to re-invent continuously. Though it may sound cliché -‘Change is the only constant’ – so keep evolving.

Boards ……….. The Exams

Boards may motivate you, bore you, tense you, you may have already had enough of it. The board exam years of SSC or HSC can be pretty same in terms of the responses from your acquaintances and the emotions evoked in you. You are introduced as this is my son so and so…..and he is in boards and …….. it starts- Oh you are in boards, study well haan; Aur padhai kaisi chal rahi hai? Which classes have you joined?  You must forget every thing for one year but studies. Sounds familiar???

How do you react? May be at first you feel nice to get the attention, and then may be you start to expect it. And may be by mid term of your SSC or HSC you get bugged, irritated, annoyed and had enough. Some may react to it by answering back; others may actually start to feel the pressure. Whatever your reaction these situations these years are important years and along with preparing for the tough studies you need to be able to deal with the added mental pressure. As we all know the pressure for an SSC/HSC exam is many fold than a regular exam, so should be your preparation study as well as other wise.

The factors playing on your mind could be as follows:

• May be you keep juggling between the school, tuitions, extra classes, special coaching etc. and feel that you don’t have any time to really sit down and study.  
• The parents keep nagging, actually reminding you to do your best; and you really start to feel the pressure to perform.
• Similar comments from Teachers & relatives asking you to prove yourself. Friends who though are sailing in the same boat pass on their tension to you.
• Stories regarding college admissions & Entrance exams – my sister’s friend lost her admission in a given college by 1 percent or worse 0.5 percent.
• Friends, parents and others keep talking about new courses and careers and you keep thinking about your future

Tips to keep in mind while going through the experience of being in SSC/HSC

v  Learn to manage your time. Take up classes, special coaching etc. considering how much physical exertion you can handle.

v  Try to cut on the travel time for various important classes that you may need to take.

v  Attend any special class or workshop on how to prepare for your exams and any workshop on how to do well in exams will tell you the importance of understanding the concept and then revision, so revise, revise and revise. It will help you learn better and be confident.

v  Think positive! It is a very mundane mantra to give, but this is how you can tackle the extra SSC/HSC pressure being exerted on you from all directions.

v  Keep your talking channels open especially with parents coz they may be equally tensed about you being in SSC/HSC as you. Your telling them how much you have done and how you plan to cover the portion may bring down their anxiety and thus their constant nagging oops…. Reminding.

v  Learn to relax – Physically and mentally. Relaxation exercise, yoga, meditation etc. help relax and also build your concentration.

v  Get a life! Do more than just studies. Whether others do it or not you treat your Board exams as exams which require you to be motivated, to give your best and not the end of the world.

One small thing to remember, this experience is like how life is-an important exam, obstacles and problems-some real but some only out of others concerns, your future course depends on it but not so much on the percentage but how you deal with the entire episode. So learn your lesson, give your best and do well; not just in exam but life.

Growth Centre  (I) Pvt. Ltd.

2528 7474 / 2528 8844

www.growthcentre.org