Career Move Through Social Media

How & Why to Use social media before making any career move

Social media is proving to be an important bridge between an employer and its staff as an increasing percentage of employees are using this medium before making any career move, says a Kelly Services report. 

The advent of online talent communities and online job boards not only helps companies to find the right talent, it also helps employees to have more information about their preferred places to work. 

Hiring tools like online talent communities and online job boards help employees make better decisions and at the same time help employers identify outstanding talent at a time when many employees may not be actively pursuing a Job change. 

"The arrival of digital and online communications has opened up a plethora of conversations about work and the workplace. Employers now have a number of avenues to attract the most compelling talent and to convey information about their businesses as preferred places to work," Kelly Services India & Malaysia Managing Director Kamal Karanth said. 

This has made it possible to identify and engage passive job seekers who may be open to the right job at the right time, Karanth added. 

According to Kelly Global Workforce Index ( KGWI), social media and online tools are being used as a vital determinant in deciding job for a potential candidate. 

"With changing mindsets and perceptions, more online talent communities have sprouted and employees also seen to be more eager now to learn about company details, workplace, reputation before applying for a job and at the same time get access to job opportunities along with trusted industry information," Karanth said. 

In the Financial Services & Insurance Sector 37 per cent of employees have been part of online talent communities which has become a primary source to exchange intelligence and share latest industry updates. 

Moreover, in the Indian life sciences sector also 65 per cent employees use social media in making a career or employment decision. 

Cloud Technology for Freshers

What freshers need to do to build a career in cloud

The cloud is changing the way IT functions which has a direct impact on skill requirements, especially for freshers. Entrants should not only have a broad view of various existing platforms but also in-depth skills on at least one emerging technology

So for those beginning their career in cloud what would be the best piece of advice industry stalwarts would give? Techgig talked to several industry leaders and here are a few specific pointers:

“OpenStack system administrators and solution architects with a sound open source background will be the most preferred professionals in organisations contemplating moving workloads and data into the cloud,’’ says Sudhir Bhaskaran, head (India) – Training Services, Red Hat.

“Personnel with knowledge of Neutron and High Availability plus skills on performance tuning, cluster and storage will create an impact on the higher end of the recruitment process.”

Other hot skill for entry-level professionals could include:

 Enterprise Linux System and Network Administration

 Virtualization and Server Hardening

“The thrust at the HR front will be on hiring safe set of skills i.e. essentially, OEM “trained & certified” professionals,” says Bhaskaran. “Obviously, since OpenStack professionals are less in number, at the moment, the demand will be high and they are most likely to be handsomely paid.’’

Going forward hiring and compensation trends too are likely to change.

According to Richa Pande, vice president & head, Human Resources, Ramco, the changes in this industry going forward could be on the following lines:

 Subject matter experts (SMEs) coming from non–IT background (finance, SCM, EAM etc.,) will get a premium

 Niche skill set is at premium, compared to scalable skill background (like SQL/oracle) at junior levels

 Focus on hiring quality with respect to education, skill, experience will get a premium compared to the broader job market at junior level

 Performance linked pay at individual level and company level

Companies too will need to deal with the challenges of more interdependencies and complexities (often security related which impact IT security requirement skills as well).

“This is why I reiterate, that it’s not just security alone but also virtualisation, Application Life Cycle (System) Management, Cluster & Storage, Performance Tuning along with OpenStack (Administration, Neutron & High Availability) training and certifications that organisations and individuals must focus on, if they are going the Open Source and OpenStack way,” says Bhaskaran