6 tips for Switching jobs

1. Higher salary shouldn’t be the only reason

Often, the stimulus to move jobs is a higher salary, with little regard for the quality of work, the employer’s brand name, future career prospects, the potential for enhancement of skill levels and the opportunity to assume more responsibility. Don’t ignore these soft issues completely just because you are getting a higher salary offer.

2. Timing

Candidates often argue, “I am just about to get my annual appraisal and my salary is expected to go up by 20%, so if I move to your organization, it will be for at least a 25% salary hike.” If you are so confident about a salary hike, and are happy with your current job, why move at all?

If you do want to move for other reasons, time your move so that you have your increment in the bag, and better negotiating ability during an interview. 

3. Negotiating your cost to company (CTC)

Even if the actual CTC is the same as your previous job, structure it so that the cash in hand can be higher than it was in the previous job. This might be particularly important given the new rules announced in the budget, under which fringe benefits offered to you will now be taxable in your hands as perquisites. Understand how you can maximize your take-home pay, because that is what matters at the end of the day.

4. Pricing yourself out of the market

Today there are several junior employees in organizations with very little experience but with high CTCs because they have moved numerous jobs in rapid succession. They don’t realize that the high salaries they are getting are not usually because of their performance, but often because the base level has gone up every time they have changed jobs.

But without a commensurate increase in their experience or skill level, there will come a time when they could find themselves at a dead end or priced out of the market. Employers want employees who can add value to the organization, and not just get paid a high salary because that is the expectation from that industry. 

5. Performance evaluation criteria

Understand the basis of your performance evaluation in your new job and preferably, have the key performance targets given to you in writing so that there is no ambiguity during the year-end review at the time of your bonus payment.

Don’t make job change decisions in haste, without understanding whether what is expected of you is realistic or not. Stretch yourself in the new job to develop skills and gain experience, but don’t set yourself up for failure.

6. Notice period

Respect the notice period owed to your current employer. Don’t make a short-term decision to abandon your current job without any notice—it can come back to hurt you if you acquire the reputation of someone who does not respect common professional courtesies. See if you can buy out your notice period from your employer.

Bonus

Understand your key result areas and the formula for your bonus calculation, what benchmark is being used to arrive at your bonus—sales, productivity, profitability, controlling attrition, etc.

Notice period

It can be typically one–three months, depending upon seniority. In many cases, you might be able to pay the equivalent of your monthly salary in lieu of serving your notice period.

PF

Use Form 13 to transfer your account to your new employer.

Insurance

Always maintain 5–10 times your life cover, and for a family of four, maintain a minimum of Rs2 lakh floater health insurance coverage.

Salary

Don’t always expect 20% hikes. Put together a business case for yourself that shows you deserve an increment to move.

Esops

Encash all vested options that are “in the money” and understand your tax liability at the time of encashing.

CTC structuring

Understand that you will now pay taxes on fringe benefits (or perquisites) paid to you by your company at the marginal tax rate.

How to face problems in life?

Here are some tips that will help when the going gets tough:

Move On - As Ford said, "Don't find fault, find a remedy. Focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer. Don't just panic as `worry is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but won't get you anywhere." Learn to think `how' rather than waste time with futile "ifs".

Understand the Problem - Problem solving is the ability to make careful choices. The steps to be followed are: understand the problem; gather the facts; set up the problem; estimate what the outcome should be; work it out; and check the answer. Ask questions, clarify facts and evaluate options to find a workable solution. That's the formula.

Think straight - In problem solving, it is important to have the right mindset. It helps to be open-minded and have the ability to think out-of-the-box. When you have broader vision and unique ideas, you have more tools at your disposal which helps fix the problem better.

Say it with a smile - A prerequisite in any situation in life is the ability to laugh in the face of problems. It really downsizes the enormity of the problem. A sense of humour maintains a sense of balance as it prevents people from collapsing with grief and worry. Humour is more than just being funny; it helps keep things in perspective.

Teamwork - Two minds are better than one. It does help to have more people involved in solving a problem, both for moral support and for the greater range of experience that they can bring to the problem-solving table with their outlook and personality. It adds depth to the troubleshooting team. As Voltaire said, `No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.'

Brainstorm - When it comes to problem solving, ten ideas are better than one. Each idea is worth considering, as the most unlikely one might just be the answer. Resist the temptation to find quick short-term solutions. It tries to put the solution at the beginning of the process, when what is needed is a solution at the end. People have an inborn trait to solve problems if they only just take the time to grasp the situation without panicking.

Write it all down - Keep a record of what is going on. It helps in future problem solving when you have it all in black and white. During a crisis, your memory banks can be scarcely relied upon.

One for all and all for one - This is a critical step that is usually missing. Interests are needs that you want satisfied by a given solution. The best solution is the one that serves everyone's interests. This is the time for active listening. Forget your differences for a while and listen.

Learn from past mistakes - One must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them. Learning from problems is growth in the right direction.

Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles; they toughen and make you strong. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Maybe you don't feel all that brave and strong, but just the act of confronting a problem head-on is a step in the right direction.

How to become a leader?

People tend to use the two terms “manager” and “Leader” interchangeably, but in reality they are two very different attributes.  “Managers do the right things, leaders do the things right”, I read this statement once and it really summarizes the difference. Managers’ main aim is to maximize output of the organization and to achieve this they must: Plan, Organize, Staff, Direct and Control.  Leadership is the most important quality to be able to direct.

How to become a leader?

It is partly a personal trait and partly acquired.  Some people are inspiring by nature, if you see someone and you find yourself following his steps and eager to become like him, then you found a leader. To be able to train yourself to become a leader you must:

1. Make people trust you and make them know that you are someone they can depend on.
2. Set an example, do everything you want others to do.  If you want your employees to come to office early, be the first one to arrive. If you want them to manage their time efficiently, set an example in time management and utilize your time to the best.
3. Be approachable and accessible.  No one is too important to listen to his team and help them out when needed.  You must be available to be able to set the direction and lead.
4. Praise on due time and criticize on due time.  And do not take credit for your team’s work.  Acknowledge their work with your customers and your managers.
5. Know your team well and use the right way of communication with each member.  A leader always knows how to reach to every member of his team and use the right way to communicate with him and get things done.
6. Focus on achieving your goals.  Do not force a way of working on your staff.  Focus on getting things done in whatever way they choose.  A leader cares for results not for the means used to reach those results.
7. Make sure that every member of your team feels important.  A leader makes every team member feel that he is very important to get things done.  This way they become more motivated to exert more effort and excel.
8. Take initiative to get things done. A leader inspires his team. By seeing him take initiative, they will start taking responsibility and getting things done.
9. A leader has vision.  You have to know your vision and share it with your team to be able to achieve results.