Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Pink Slip and Jobless

JAIPUR: Life was sailing smooth for 25-year-old Shobit Saxena (name changed) till early September, when the real estate major he was working with asked him to shift base. He was asked to move to Chandigarh from his hometown Jaipur where he was comfortable earning Rs 10 lakh per annum. Taking it as a regular transfer Shobit, shifted base only to find that his monthly salary cheque came with the most feared pink slip' and is jobless today.

Sixty-year-old Ashok Kumar (name changed), took a demotion from being a general manager at a country resort in Delhi to become deputy general manager with a home developer firm, only to be with his family in Jaipur. Little did he knew that the happiness would be short lived. Kumar lost his job within a year and is living on his savings as he searches for another job.

These are just two examples, but as more and more pink slips are being rolled out, professionals are leading a life in fear. Dealing with depression within and that in the market place is taking a toll on them. As Dr Shiv Gautam, additional principal, SMS Medical College, puts it, "Unprepared to take any stress, these youngsters who feel secure after bagging a lucrative job put themselves at the biggest risk of facing trauma in any adverse situation."

Experts feel that one on the contrary should realize the gravity of the situation and take a realistic approach towards one's professional profile. If you are less experienced or don't possesses adequate skills, it will be tough to sustain.

"In a booming market, even dirt sells at a price of gold, whereas in recession it's hard to sell gold. Don't panic, build up your skill sets," is what Dr Rajesh Kothari, director, R A Poddar Institute of Management tells the aspiring professionals.

Psychiatrists are of the view that a growing number of professionals in the age group of 20-35, primarily from IT and ITES, and marketing are seeking professional help to bail them out of fatigue, irritation and anxiety.

"The first advice we give is to ask them to take a realistic perspective of the situation, hold what is on their hands and the act," says Dr Gautam who feels sharing one's thoughts and practising yoga can help a person calm down and take a fresh stock of things.

Keeping a positive outlook and converting threats into opportunities might sound the biggest clich?d jargon in these tiring times, but experts feel taking a sabbatical and looking for alternative streams can actually help.

"The education sector is still booming and with the growing number of engineering colleges and B-schools there is a dearth of good professionals and those with industry experience can get good bargains there," says V Raghunathan, managing director, GMR industries. "These might not be a full time solution but they certainly act as parachutes that might help you keep afloat," he adds.

Apart from the job woes, it's the investments that aren't paying the desired results. The reason, according to Raghunathan, is the very fact that we haven't yet adopted to live in a free market.

"While most of us enjoy the luxuries that a free market economy offers, we are yet to come to term with its hardships. We are yet to come with terms of its basics that for every fives years of boom there might be a year of lull, for which we should save beforehand," says Raghunathan.

Despite the sensex failing to show any great advances, experts feel that when it comes to making money in the stock markets, it is going the Warren Buffet way, buy when the world is selling.'

Invest in the best shares as they are available at never before prices is a unanimous expert opinion. According to Pawan Parasher, chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Jaipur branch, "Don't go by the word of mouth, do some research before investing in stocks and go by the real value of the share as in the net worth of the share, dividends it has been offering and company profile."

His pick is the infrastructure sector. They always do good in the long run' whereas he feels parking your money in the IT sector can be a bit dangerous in the present situation.

These are difficult times, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. So calculate your moves and keep walking is the mantra.

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