<<< !!! Some Important Clarifications! !!! >>>

1) Which Track am I in? IT or non-IT? Technical or Business?

Clarification :-  

My “core skills/competence” is in Business. I have excellent, outstanding Business skills but I’m also Tech-savvy. Of the past 8-9 years, my Jobs have involved Techno-functional tasks i.e. > 60% Functional/ Business and the rest, Technical. When I had just started my career, I realized that I *love* the field of Business/ Management Consulting. It’s what I wanted to be, and do, in life. I researched the job market and found that “IT Business Analysis” was a fairly good starting point. Over the years, I *enjoyed* working as Business Analyst or slight variations of that role. My problems in the past was not with the role, but with the extent of growth I was allowed.

Whether Business or Technology? This question itself is outdated. As we all know, lines between Business and Technology are increasingly blurred. You can’t call yourself a Business professional, and not be current on Technology. For the BA, being comfortable with Business fundamentals is critical, but knowing Technology is extremely important. Even to write one Functional Specification, you apply a lot of Technical knowledge and you have to be 100% sure of that.

But I’d sum up my competencies like this—If you put me in a new Business that I know NOTHING about, and expect me to get Results from Day 1, I CAN! Because it’s Business, and it’s my Forte. But if you put me in a new Technology that I know NOTHING about, I’d probably take 1 week to get up to speed, and manage to do well. Because it’s also an area of competence. Companies would derive max Value from placing me on the Business side, wherein I can also competently apply Technology, when required.

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2) You seem to have Done So Many Things!! Why So Many Skills in your Resume?

Over the past 12-15 years that I’ve been in business, I’ve seen Paradigms morph and evolve continuously. From Data Driven and OOAD, to Thin Clients to Component based architecture to Service Oriented and Webs Services, then Mobile applications/WAP; Along the way, Rule Based systems and Process methods; now, multi-platform Apps, Data analysis, Analytics and BI, and Cloud.

So, having been an IT/ Business Analyst who has to apply the latest/ greatest Technology at each project, could I afford to bank on 2-3 skills/ tools, just to simplify matters for Bird-Brained Recruiters??! NO!! I’ve stayed on TOP of my field by getting up to date on the latest skills, and this should prove my Intelligence and Versatility. That’s that.

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3) Why don’t you go Abroad?

Now that I’m in the middle of an aggressive job search, “Why don’t you leave the country…and go back..to US/ somewhere abroad?” is, I suppose, a logical way to divert my job search and get rid of me.

The reply is, NO, I CANNOT!!! I have NO Friends/ Relatives abroad, to help me go and live/work there. I have ZERO resources abroad. I have studied tough courses abroad and done well, also worked abroad which now gives me a more enlightened “global” perspective, and competitive edge.

About a decade ago when I returned to India after studying and working, I had also SPENT all my hard-earned money, and came back with just $2000 in the bank. I was not deliberately wasteful, but all sorts of living expenses took a heavy toll. Had to start from scratch in India, financially. And Companies in India started me at the lowest payscale, even on tough projects.  Thanks to my Dad who was here 10 years ago, I started stabilizing ever so slowly—now, I have absolutely no intention of burning my bridges to go abroad, for work.

Of course, once I get a job, I’m fine with making short-term trips on business, in fact I’d love that!! I can leave my Pets in temporary care at such times. And/or maybe in future if I have some spare cash to blow (which I don’t) I may go on a short foreign trip --I know that sounds too good to be true, but it’s something to look forward to!!!

No, I Don’t Want to Teach. I Don’t Like to Teach. Nor am I trained to Teach. Therefore, I CAN'T Teach. I was involved in a bit of training/ teaching in the early days but they were short stints. Teaching requires a very relaxed mindset, where you feel like imparting your wisdom/knowledge to others. Currently I am unable to embrace that selfless mindset until/ unless the corporates give me a good placement and recognize my efforts first. The way I think is: “If I’m good enough to teach 10 people, then why not Hire Me instead?” So I’m in a very driven, competitive mindset, and Not At All interested in Teaching/ Training.   

That MIGHT change in future. If I get a good placement in a Company, I will be happy to train/ mentor other employees in subjects I am better at. But right now, Teaching is farthest from my mind, and something I will never do. Until/ Unless I get a good Placement, I’m not going to Teach anyone anything, Or Share my Ideas with Anyone, even if it’s a matter of life and death.

Again, things could be very different, if I get a good Placement. Having met my career goals, I’d be in a mindset where I can freely share my wisdom with others. And I mean that too.

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5) Why So Many Projects? Why do you keep Leaving?

I wanted more growth, a better fit for my skills and higher-level challenges-- that’s not politically correct hype. It’s true. This was the motivation in my head when I resigned.

Having proved my competencies, performance and hard work each time, I was hell-bent on more growth. Let’s face it—standards in companies here, are not all that high! Every time I took up as BA, I could perform way better, and at a higher level too. And I wanted validation of my superior abilities.

But even if I worked 6 months, I packed in as much work as others do in 8-9 months! In the projects I’ve done, I’m VERY sure when I say I worked well, meaningfully and anything contradicting this is a Lie. (I’m sure nobody wants to contradict that either). Why would they let me continue working even for 6 months, at good companies, unless I was doing the job well?

I hardly ever took leave, in most projects I have NEVER taken leave. When I take up a project, I don’t say “Oh, let me sit around for 6 months, avail of benefits and after that I’ll quit”. Not at all. When I take up a job/project I have full enthusiasm and dedication for it, and till the end I’m working hard. I have not even availed of Health Insurance or other benefits in any company for 10 years. This and the near-zero casual leave record, all these are straight facts. I come in with a mindset for contributing my best to the company every minute, and that’s what I do, each and every time.

I admit though, that maybe I should have been more patient, in a few cases. Over the years, I admit there has been a slight, evolutionary Improvement in my work situation, it’s not been all bad.  I guess Companies did notice how hard working and dedicated I am, and gradually that improved matters. So, in recent years, maybe I should have stuck it out instead of moving—my moving around was not the best strategy to deal with my problems, and if I had stuck it out in the same job, my growth MIGHT have been better……eventually.

So Why not give me one Final Chance?  The next place I'm hired, I am ready to stick it out in the same job/project as long as it takes, whatever the growth conditions, etc. Companies have my assurance in writing. I WILL NOT leave prematurely. If I do, Don’t give me another Placement for the rest of my life!!!!   

Not getting a placement, is also stopping any personal growth in my life. As everyone knows, especially in India, people never aspire to get married, etc. until they get a Job. They are not expected to start living, until/unless they start earning. So Why should I be any different?! In my case too, only after I get placement, can I implement my personal goals, in fact within 2-3 months of getting placement I am firmly planning to do just that. But it's impossible to act on this before I get placement.

 S. Iyer