How To Survive In IT Industry?

Every year thousands of folks graduate from engineering colleges and universities with specialization in various IT skills. Most of them are able to find a decent job to start with but over the years when they gain experience only few of them are able to climb the ladder of success and career growth. Most of them get stuck with the same job profile doing the same work time and again. Because the supply of junior resources or low cost resources is increasing every year there is a lot of pressure on the senior resources to either move up the ladder or get replaced. So the burning question for every 5+ years experience IT professional is "How To Survive In IT Industry?" 

Let us understand how...

There have been many changes in the world around us, specially in India eCommerce is becoming extremely popular but that does not mean that the small retail grocery stores(Kirana shop in hindi) are getting closed. Another big change, for example, is the revolution that Uber and Ola are bringing to the transport industry but that does not mean that Autorickshaw and public bus transport is getting closed.
So the old way of doing things will not die but definitely it will get impacted. Need of the hour for the old and small businesses is to innovate and find out their own USP for survival in the ever changing market. For example, local stores have the opportunity to make personal connect with the customer, make the customer feel at home and provide delivery of goods in minutes of receiving the order on phone.

So, in similar context will the old be able to survive in IT industry? The answer is straightforward and simple: Yes

What is more difficult is to answer the question: How will they survive or what do they need to do to survive? Here is what they need to do:

• Keep your eyes and ears open. Look around for opportunities. Be ready to make things happen for you rather than waiting for things to happen to you
• Be ready to re-skill and up-skill
• Core technical experts need to learn the latest of the technology and master it at a very fast pace. Learning is a continous and never ending process
• Non technical people should be prepared to take newer role and responsibility in people and talent management or in business analysis/ domain consultancy
• Relocation or migration to client locations may be another important aspect for survival
• In real world just upskilling may not help it needs to be combined with hands on experience, this means that there will also be a need to invest some money on training and live project experience

There are many such small changes that the old folks will need to bring within themselves the most important of them will be developing the right attitude towards accepting change and being open to learn. Treating the younger generation as competition and pushing oneself beyond the limits is equally important.

You may also want to read a book what got you here wont get you there by marshall goldsmith it teaches you how successful people become more successful

H-1B Cap Reached For 2017 - Lottery To Decide Fate

The H-1B petition/ application period was open from April 1 2016 to April 7 2016. USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services mentioned in a official press release that they have received more that the limited quota of applications to reach the H-1B Cap(65000 visas) for the year 2017. This means that a computer generated process will be used to randomly select the visa/ petition applications, this is commonly known as H-1B lottery. General category has cap of 65000 visas and  advanced degree exemption has a cap of 20,000. Since the number of applications is huge the USCIS has not yet announced the date of the lottery.

You can read the complete press release here:  News Releases USCIS Reaches FY2017 H-1B Cap 

You can check your case status online here: Check Your Case Status Online, you need the receipt number which is a 13 character unique identifier that USCIS provides for each application. The receipt number consists of three letters-for example, EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC or IOE-and 10 numbers. You can also sign up for receiving automatic updates on your case.

If you are one of the applicants you need to wait for the results to unfold, it may take a while so be patient.

17 Tips To Act Smart At Workplace

How To Act Smart At Workplace?

Here are some tips:

1. Dress professional.
2. Speak professional, avoid loose talk.
3. Think before you speak, don't blabber whatever comes to your mind. Read Six Sins Of Communication
4. Don't speak too fast. Speak at a rate which other people can understand.
5. Listen to people. Don't interrupt when someone is speaking. Wait for them to complete and then start speaking.
6. Be curious, ask the right questions.
7. Be confident, feel confident, appear confident.
8. Carry yourself with a purpose. When you walk in the room people should get a feeling that you are in control.
9. When you have not understood certain concepts then say that you have not understood. Don't assume.
10. You should also ask the speaker to elaborate and/ or provide more details if required
11. When attending a group meeting on phone make sure to mute your phone if you are not speaking.
12. Before you hit the send button, run a spell check or grammar check on all emails or documents that you write/ create
13. Always respond to meeting invites with either acceptance/ decline or tentative message
14. Never walk into a meeting without a notepad and a pen or a laptop/iPAD/ Tablet to capture key meeting notes. Don't trust your memory to remember and recall everything later
15. Before you accept a meeting invite understand the purpose of the meeting and what is expected from you during and after the meeting. Never go unprepared.
16. If you work at a client location always remember the difference between your employer and your client. Each one has their own business priorities and you need to be logical to follow both of them based on situation.
17. At most workplaces the business language is English. Make sure you follow the business language of your organization. Avoid using local language at work place.

Last but not the least, don't shy away from hard work. Most of the times it is required to be both smart as well as work hard. Being smart or appearing smart is not an alternate to hard work.

If you have read the above you may also like to read How To Stop Procrastination & Improve Productivity