What are the top 5 mistakes made by women during a job interview? HR professionals tell us the mistakes to avoid.

By Aarti Krishnakumar

Inadequate preparation, not matching the company to one’s work-life requirements, wearing the wrong outfit – these make a world of difference when meeting with your prospective employer.

It doesn’t help that women are often asked tricky interview questions about their personal lives. What common mistakes should women at work be aware of when on the job hunt? Read on!

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Is gender equality a reality in Indian offices or can one percieve subtle differences? Should gender influence how we interact at the workplace?

By Chitra Iyer

The question is not so much as ‘should it’ because any rational mind will tell you that undoubtedly it should not. However, the truth is that at the workplace, as indeed in any other place or situation where men and women interact, gender often provides a subliminal framework for interaction. While gender-dynamics are a given across the world and the boundaries of ‘normal’ vary across societies; as a practicing woman professional in India I have found gender to be a more dominant influencer here than in other cultures.

Irrespective of what is legally and morally acceptable in the modern Indian corporate workplace today, how we actually behave is another story altogether – one that starts when we are very young and impressionable. How many of you find the below situations familiar?

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Are multiple commitments and shuttling between work and home modes leaving you stressed or feeling low? Learn the work-life balance.

By Aarti Krishnakumar

Creating a balance between work and life is a juggling game, and one that people master with time and experience. Everyone needs this balance, but it’s tough especially for mothers with children or those with elders at home who need additional care.

While they do not want to compromise on work quality, many organisations are coming to terms with the fact that people do need to spend time away from work and fulfill their personal commitments to boost their productivity.

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2012 has just begun and we are in resolution mode! How about considering some of these resolutions to make your work and life run smoother?

By Chitra Iyer

Resolution 1: I shall not feel guilty if I don’t do everything. And if I don’t get everything done on time.

Reality: Do you sign up to do a million things at home and office, for friends and even your housing society? And then spend time making excuses for not being able to do them? And then spend even more time feeling guilty about it? Let go of the ‘I want to be Superwoman’ complex and just enjoy being you.

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With 2011 drawing to a close, here is our look at 10 Indian women achievers – who have some interesting ‘firsts’ to their credit.

By Anne John

Education, Administration, Arts, Science, Law, Sports, Defence, Politics – the list of fields in which Indian women have excelled this year seems like an endless one indeed! Here are some path-breaking women who we noticed for their pioneering achievements. Did you come across any such inspiring women this year? Do leave a comment and tell us! Continue reading →

The festival season brings with it the dilemmas of proper gifting for all entrepreneurs and small business owners. Here are some festival gifting ideas to help you out!

By Kiran Manral

Come festival season and many small business owners and employers have a tough time figuring out appropriate, yet attractive gifts that stand out from the sundry pen stands, clocks, gift hampers and such.

Business gifts these days not only need to be innovative and different, they also need to carry the brand/company image and create a feeling of positivity in its use.

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On Teacher’s Day, we look at Special Education, an inviting career choice for those keen on making a difference.

Collated by Aparna V. Singh

With a rising awareness of Disability, at least in urban India, teachers keen on working with innovative teaching methodologies have great opportunity in this field.

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, we asked a number of teachers who work with special children, especially those with developmental disabilities, to talk about their work. What drives them? What is their work day like? How do they deal with the challenges their work throws at them? Read on to find out!  Continue reading →

Work from home jobs offering returns for little work are tempting. In reality, many women fall victim to work from home scams.

By Kiran Manral

With many women opting out of the traditional workplace and looking for alternative work options, infinite work from home scams have sprung up over the past few years which have conned women out of time, effort and even money. According to the cyber crimes cell, at any given point there are around 300 work from home scams making the rounds of the internet, most of them targeting mothers who want to work from home or retired people.

How do you distinguish between legitimate work at home jobs and work at home scams? Here are five work from home scams you should avoid, and some tips to launch your work from home career.

Filling Online Surveys: The most recent example of online survey scams is the Speak Asia scam . A friend with a three month old had enrolled in the Speak Asia scheme despite niggling doubts, simply because she saw others in her family join. She says, “It did seem too good. Pay Rs 11,000 up front and get paid Rs 1000 for two short online surveys per week. And the ads were all over, which convinced me that maybe all was well with the company.”
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With more Indian women taking up jobs outside the country, negotiating new cultures at work becomes essential.

By Aparna V. Singh

Traditionally, most Indian women moving abroad did so as trailing spouses, following the husband. The major challenges in settling abroad were usually to do with raising children and running the household in a new country. With more working women going out of the country either alone or with family, navigating a new workplace culture and focusing on one’s own career growth in a different environment has also become imperative.

Here are some learnings shared by Indian women who’ve gone out to work in different parts of the globe.
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Although more Indian women are now employed in formal work environments, how women friendly are our office spaces?

By Dipika Singh

There has been a steady rise in the number of Indian women in the workforce over the last few decades. While this has resulted in added opportunities for women , more families with a double income and has helped the economy with literally an extra pair of working hands, have our work spaces been able to keep pace with the needs and expectations of women? More importantly, is there are even an acknowledgement of the fact that our work spaces may not be women friendly?

“The washroom is common and so dirty. There have been times when I’ve walked across to a mall to use the loo.”

Praneeta Deshpande* works with a travel company based out of Mumbai. The company is facing a space crunch and has placed employees across satellite offices 2-3 kilometers from the main building. Praneeta is based out of one such building. There are 2 departments working out of this office and the majority of the employees are men. The trouble is that there is a common washroom for both men and women at this place.

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