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Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the company loyal employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys “ the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years". Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:
Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.
Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009?
A: Well I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without job and with compromises.
Q: Which number of job was that?
A: That was my third job.
Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years?
A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying employer loyalty. But I was an idiot.
Q: Why do you say so?
A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a ˜permanent job, so I need not worry about ˜what will I do if I lose my job. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.
Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009.
A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being ˜company loyal and not money earning and saving loyal. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving “ I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.
Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day?
A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me “ can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.
Q: What have you gained by doing such things?
A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs.3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs.24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.
Q: So you decided on your own hike?
A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a debt-free life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.
Q: So are you debt-free now?
A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan free 2 BR flat (1200 sq.. feet) plus a loan free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of lack of money.
Q: Who is complaining?
A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me “ why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.
Q: What is your advice to professionals?
A: Like Narayan Murthy had said “ love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.
Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies?
A: When a company does well, its CEO will address the entire company saying, ˜well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you. But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO will say, It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go. So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.
An eMail forward, and a thought provoking stuff :)
A windy night outside, no light in the spacious hall, a movie playing in large screen with attached power volume speakers humming minutest move in the movie. I am couching in a cosy sofa. All that- finally proved I could not watch this movie all-alone in the dark large hall :)
I am talking about new wave in horror movie surface: Paranormal Activity.
It's well shot sublime horror movie which creates a fear in an amusing way. It was truly bone chilling. This is definitely a film that will stick with you. This is one of those movies that will probably scare you more hours after watching it. I'm sure people who live alone will have little bit of it's impact lingering inside for a while. Every creak and sound in your house will make you jump.
Two scenes in which you see Katie awaking from her sleep and standing by for hours watching Micah sleep are genuinely eerie.Even Steven Spielberg famously revealed he was too scared to watch the film alone at night and had to turn it off after a few minutes, only to resume watching it the next morning with his curtains wide open to allow the sunlight in.
This is a beautiful piece of glass-filled nylon jewellery, which was a senior design project, from Molly Epstein of Temple University. For her senior project in 2002, Molly Epstein made a glass-filled nylon necklace that looks like a set of vertebrae. Epstein specializes in synthesizing jewelry and medical conceptions.
Click on the image to view in large size. If this kind of design and material evolves, I think it's time to think beyond platinum and diamond mafia :)
>> View more models of Molly Epstei
I admire his caricatures, sketches. They are simple, yet awe tickling & expressive in such a minimal details. I get to see his latest sketches in Facebook more often. I'm quite passionate about the fact that he is from Coorg !
"Born in southern India, raised in suburban Connecticut and formally trained in Syracuse, Brooklyn artist Vin Ganapathy, short for Vinay Somana Ganapathy, draws on multiple influences that inform his imagery and work.
I use to frequent Stuttgart sQuare in San Francisco, when I was working in California. It was eye treat to watch so many artists displyaing artwork in such a vast picturesque canvass of that square. Many artists do live sketches & quick caricatures of people moving around the sQuare. I remember how they keep absorbing in glance to sketch down all that they see in a short view. It's quite an intricate and difficult to achieve art, as subject never stays static :)
And Vinay has done so thought provoking sketches of that kind. This is where he hosts his work frequently: Motivation is necessary
I found some nice sites to visit art gallery's & artists in general:
- Dexigner.com
- Masala chai online
- Start-drawing
The challenges he faces are monumental. So monumental, in fact, that Arctic explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has written to Ed to warn him that the stage in front of him – the deep Brazilian jungle – will be ‘difficult’. You can take it that this is something of an understatement, given that it comes from a man who once sawed off his own fingers after they became frostbitten.
His average day would kill most people. Up at dawn, he walks for around eight hours, until 3pm. At this stage of the journey he will be lucky to have covered 7km in that time. This is jungle, real jungle – and you pay for every step with will-sapping swings of the machete.
Former British Army officer Ed Stafford is well on his way to becoming the first person to hike the entire length of the Amazon river, from its source to its mouth. He’s been hiking for 612 days and hopes to complete the journey in August.via |
Man Hiking the Length of the Amazon River
Since I lost my amazing 'weatherman spanner multi kit, I was like a lost kid in many adventure trips though I didn't have to tame any python or tiger there :). Having one Swiss Knife in a trek bag is a necessary, specially on outdoor adventure for unforeseen reasons. I got this stud in good black-Friday deal this time.
A 'Victorinox Swiss Army Champion Plus Pocket Knife' is there when you need it. It is a combination of solid hand tool and inventive creativity. A characteristic feature of the Victorinox Swiss Army Knife is its multi-functionality, which makes it indispensible for many of life's situations.
What you buy is what you're - so I am a man with geeky-cheeky Voyager PRO, resembling a alien in Bangalore streets now a days :). Unlike teeny-weeny Bluetooth sets of now a days, this is more of a prominent looking design.
Though my new Nokia-N79 came with hands free, wireless is what my heart beats for. Previously I had Plantronics-510. It was studded with amazing voice clarity. I was thinking to buy, Jawbone or BlueAnt noise canceling bluetooth stuff this time. Though Jawbone had amazing review, my gizmo intuition went in for Plantronics.
The Plantronics Voyager PRO delivers noise and wind cancellation as well as inbound audio so you can hear and be heard clearly. The three layers of WindSmart technology help to decipher your voice from the wind and deliver clear sound to those that are listening.
Casio Pathfinder watch is a beautiful, handy tool for the true outdoors-man.
Though I also bought Suunto Core, I needed sports and adventure watch which I could use ruggedly on frequent use. When Raj bought pathfinder PAG80T-7V, my geeky instinct was itching to mount a pathfinder on my wrist top too :) so pocketed this lovely PAW1100-1V stuff in black-Friday dea :) This is an Atomic time sync capability stuff. Though there are no atomic sync stations anywhere near Bangalore, might come handy if I travel to those places.
There's one available with silver Titanium Band, I liked black Resin Band due to its sporty look and nature.
Pathfinder watches not only feature the look and feel of the great outdoors, but have distinguished themselves as “genuine tools” that’s equipped with sensors to help you observe Nature and monitor its changes. Whether you’re climbing a mountain or trekking down the local coastline, the Casio Pathfinder provides you with essential information you will need to tame the great outdoors.
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