The Mantra of Life

This is a beautiful speech by Steve Jobs - titled: Stay Hungry Stay Foolish.

Truth be told - I listen to this every other day, and I cherish it as the mool mantra of life.

Some snippets:
1. You can't connect the dots looking forward, but it's quite obvious looking backward.
2. Believe that the dots will connect in the future, and follow your heart, even if it takes you off the well treaded path.
3. Do great work, and the only work that is great is what you love to do. So find what you actually love - and till then don't settle.
4. Sometimes life will hit you on the head with a brick, don't loose faith.
5. Live each day as if it's your last. Every morning look into the mirror and think, if today is your last day, would you still be doing what you are doing now.
If the answer is NO for too many days, that means you need to change something.
6. Your time is limited. Don't waste it living anyone else's life. Let not the noise of other's opinions drown your inner voice.
7. Follow your heart and intuition. Everything else is secondary !

How to make a good resume - Part 1 - How to start ?

Disclaimer 1: Please do not be misled by the title ... It's just to get more random people who search such strings on google visit my blog. :P
It might sound desperate - but I want the counter ticking :)

Dedication: This blog is dedicated to all my friends who are just about to graduate from all the IIT's - specifically IIT Delhi.

Disclaimer 2: Most of what I write is general stuff - but yes there would be an IIT Delhi perspective to nearly all points.

The motivation behind this blog:
1. A lot of people have asked me answers to this question
2. I learned a lot during the IIT Placement time - and I am more than glad to share it.
3. I want my site visit counter ticking. :D

Disclaimer 3: Before you start reading anything below this line, please be warned that all what I write is from my experience, and there may be people who might say something totally contrary to what I would be suggesting. So in case you are interested, read think and do what you think is write. DO NOT FOLLOW BLINDLY.

Enough disclaimers - To start on ...

How to start making your resume?
Take a sheet of paper - or a doc file - and start thinking of whatever you have done, achieved right from class 8/9. Rack ur brains hard - think of EVERYTHING. Any sports, any camp, any debates, any award, any random project you did while you were in 2/3rd year ...

Once you have done this, organize all the data into a doc file and try and fit everything into subheadings like acads, internships, projects, extra curricular activities, Positions of responsibilities ...


What is the bottom line of a resume?

I quote one of my seniors, I think KGP " Each word, each phrase , each point in ur resume should add value to your profile."
This is the mantra I had always kept in mind when I was making my resume. Will give 1 simple example to illustrate this mantra:
for example if you have done a project in IIT - Say Mini Project. Do not waste your time telling the recruiter what the project is all about. Instead tell him what you achieved in the project, what was your learning, what was your contribution. The focus should be on YOU.

Just to let all IIT students know, for most companies for the first round of CV shortlisting a recruiter spends an average of 45 sec on 1 resume !


What do you need to make a good resume?

1. Time
2. Dedication - You need to be committed to the thing - coz resume making is a very long, tedious and at time frustrating job. You will have to go through several revisions till you are finally satisfied.
3. Seniors/Friends/Relatives/Teachers: Make a list of people who can review and give valuable feed on your resume. Depending on how well you know the person and how busy the person is you can send them some/all/none of your resume drafts.
CAUTION: Read Disclaimer 3 when you do this.

How do you show your devotion for a particular task in you resume - in IITD lingo - how do you highlight a spike ?

Companies generally tend to see a sustained interest in a particular field/activity. In terms of acads, if for example all of your projects&internships in your resume are in Industrial Engineering - that shows you have a sustained interest in it.
In terms of other activities, if you have played a sport right from school level to say state level - thats a big advantage.
Having said that, it does not mean that people who have done a lot of different things in a short span of time are at a loss - they would just emphasise on diversity.

I think I have covered most of the basics - please post your questions and I shall be more than happy to answer them.
In any case I shall also be posting another article on some further tips.

All the best !!!

Placements

Those expectant eyes .. those red ears ... those beating hearts .. those polished shoes .. those shining ties ...

All split into 2 worlds ..

Tears of joy .. screams of pleasure .. jump of excitement

OR

Cry of dissapointment, groans of sadness, tears of sadness


Who decides who goes to which world .. Apparently me ... But just apparently ..
I wish I could add names in the final list ...add all those who appeared and expected ..

But its that minute which decides .. the minute no one can comprehend .. yet just feel ..

A good job

the best question ..... for all those of us in college ... and those not in college ...

WHAT EXACTLY IS A GOOD JOB ???

first of all the inspiraton for this post .... i went to orlando, florida this weekend .... i stayed over at a friend from iit ... mayank ... who btw cooks excellent poha ... he'll have a lucky wife ...
now where does he stay .. with another indian ... who is doin a job there in the us ... nicknamed dadu ... very sweet and helpful .. he drove 30 miles just to pick up us ...

anyways comin back to the point ....excuse my diverging nature ...

what sparked this conversation ... we were a group of 4 friends me , mayank, shahsank , and ankit all comin back from disneyworld ....in a high spirit ....after a great day at the parks ...

all happy in the USA ... with their interns though ... not the country as such ... all except one ...

who had fallen in love with the country also ...

that is wot started the discussion ... 3 of us agreed that foreign countries are a great place to vacation ... but the 3 of us wanted to work and settle in India ..

that is when one friend said that he had decided to work and settle in the states ...
quite obviously we asked him why ?????

his ans was quite staright and simple

I WANT A GOOD JOB

our obvious response was that u get good jobs in india also ... and u have mnc's and everything ... though on a lighter vein u dont have strip clubs and topless beaches ...

lol ... btw i went to south beach miami .. which is topless...


anyways comin back to the point

his ans was the best job is one which gives the maximum money ....
IS MONEY EVERYTHING ???????

his ans was yes ...
we tried expalining him ... but i guess he was in a very immature state ... one in which i was abt 4 yrs ago ... when i had the notion that money is everything ..

but ive matured .... my mom was very thankful for that ...

money isnt everything ... peace of mind , happiness , satisfaction and time ..... are things that money can not buy ....

and these are things widout which there wuld be no life ...

i hope he realizes this before its too late ... else its a mad rat race