Review: Faujnet & XISF

Two websites I have come across lately which attempt to bring together the armed forces community on one platform are Faujnet (http://www.faujnet.com/) and XISF - which is an acronym for eX Indian Security Forces (http://xisf.org/en/). Having had the opportunity to interact with the founders of both I consider these ventures admirable. Register with them to reap the rewards (both are still very new but are seriously committed to constantly upgrading and improving. As is true for all such ventures, value addition will emerge and multiply based on the membership numbers and interactivity. So you will need to be patient with them for a start). They have similar models:

1. A web based interface which has elements of interest to members in it. In this case career transition advice, job posts, articles, networking, forums, etc. (let me not do injustice by clubbing all the other utilities with an 'etc', the sites actually have a lot more to offer and it will be well worth your time to explore each in detail).
2. Creation of a large membership base.
3. A revenue model revolving around the above elements.
   

Critical aspects required for them are:

1. The utilities / resources being provided to members need to be relevant, effective, scalable and engaging on the long term. As an illustration, an officer seeking transition advice must find it on the site and this should help him in his endeavour for a second career (relevant & effective). This and similar transitional advice must reach all officers who need it. Tailor-made and customized advice could be available, however, resources should aim at providing solutions to the maximum majority possible (scalable). The officer who sought and received transition advice should have a reason to continue to be engaged over the long term with the site (engaging). This could imply continuously innovating with new resources / solutions on the site, tweaking existing utilities to keep them relevant & interesting, creating second, third and so on levels of engagement. Thus, if the officer was seeking information on which transition course he should choose and received this information, the site should further tell him how he should evaluate multiple job options at the time of his placement. At the third level, he could be provided with information on how he needs to set his medium and long term career goals and the steps he needs to accomplish them. Thus at every stage of his career he gets the solution / answers he needs and identifies the site as a source for this information referring back to it on frequent occasion. This level of engagement however is infrequent. The sites should further aim at creating frequent levels of engagement (daily, weekly, etc.).
2. Visibility and branding to propagate the sites to as many relevant users as possible and further ensure they register with the site.
3. High quality content (including user generated) and resources. A user coming across low quality content or a resource which was supposed to work but doesn't could put him off completely and he might never return to the site (I have seen content on both the sites with numerous grammatical & spelling errors and well as some which was outright bad). The Indian Armed forces community has a very strong element of networking and communication inherent in it. A happy user will tell 10 others about the site. The opposite is true as well. Creation of self appointed brand ambassadors is important to create a successful brand.
   

XISF seems to have adopted the Barista model where it evaluates each step independently, refines and goes ahead with it. Whereas Faujnet seems to have adopted the Starbucks model (also adopted by Cafe Coffee Day) where it goes all out in expansion / visibility and refines / consolidates along the way.

There are pros and cons of both approaches. As with Barista, they have a far lesser number of stores but loyalists admire the ambience and personal touch of their outlets. Whereas in Cafe Coffe Day, their large numbers ensure huge footfall (consequently revenue as well) and branding / visibility, but people sometimes complain of an outlet being like an assembly line.

The bottom-line of any such venture is its ability to attract and retain users over the medium to long term. A site can be monetized and thus be successful only if it is able to achieve that aim.

My best wishes to both!

Which Transition / Resettlement Course is the Best Option for You?

Upgrading one’s qualification is one of the critical considerations an officer evaluates on release / retirement from the armed forces. Deciding which one is the best option for you is a matter of personal choice since each officer is unique by way of his/her qualifications, experience, service profile, years of service experience, preference of a profile, etc.

A few inputs on the options available:

1. 6 month GMP (General Management Program) at Management Institutes (IIMs, XLRI, MDI, etc.): Helps you learn practices and theory of the corporate world. You get up to date with market news. Campus placements, when successful, can get you higher packages. However, these have not been successful for many courses for past year+. This might change now since the economy is on the way to recovery and corporates have begun hiring again.

2. 1 year executive MBA/2 year full-time MBA (ISB-Hyderabad, IIMs, and other management institutes): In any higher education program a lot of learning happens through interaction with fellow students and professors as well as through case studies where practical knowledge and learning play a big role. Thus one should be able to meaningfully give and take learning. With a purely armed forces background this ability is limited. Also, without corporate experience, one may even be unsure of which profile to specialize in. This option is advisable only to officers with minimum 3-5 years of corporate experience.

3. 2/3 year part time MBA: These are specially designed for working executives. Classes are conducted in the evenings or during the weekends. Classes can be real or virtual. This makes sense for executives who cannot afford to take time off from work to upgrade their qualifications. Some courses like the one conducted at the IIM-L campus at Noida and FMS are reputed and can add value to your profile while you continue to earn.

4. Correspondence Courses: These add value to your resume only by way of the tag. Besides basic management theory should you decide to seriously study the course material there isn’t much value in these courses.

Recommendation

1. 6 month GMP (Ser. No. 1): In spite of the poor campus placement record lately of the six month management courses, I recommend this option. However, for placement, ensure that all options are explored (especially networking as this option has worked wonderfully well for officers in the past) and do not depend purely on campus placement. Smart officers have been known to get reasonable placements even during the recession. Officers in the higher age bracket are at a disadvantage for placements, especially if they do not have any technical qualifications.

2. A part time MBA (Ser. No. 3) from a reputed institute is also a good option to take up.

Additional inputs on officers planning to take up Ser. No. 2 as an option immediately on release / retirement

While it is certainly beneficial to be able to absorb knowledge and information from fellow students, however, you might not be able to derive maximum benefit from a full time course right now. There are several factors for this:

1. If you only take and not give, you might be viewed as a 'leaner' thus changing individual / group dynamics against you.

2. At the present stage you would be like a sponge taking in everything. However, very important is the fact that there are two kinds of information / knowledge to be taken - basic and advanced. You will get so engrossed in taking in the basic that you might either not be able to take in the advanced or might not identify the knowledge as such. Consider yourself as a YO in the corporate world with the difference that given a few years your learning/growth curve will be very steep. Visualize sending a YO for Junior Command as against the basic YO course.

3. Since you lack corporate exposure, the information that you now seek will not be relevant to the level you are entering. Your peers will either be individuals with hard core corporate experience ranging from 15-20 years or young executives at the top of the heap. Interactions with both will be of an advanced nature. Business strategy, advanced management concepts, globally relevant subjects, advanced domain/sector/profile related discussions, etc.

In a nutshell and to put it very bluntly, your investment to return ratio will be much higher in the 6 month MDP / part-time MBA as compared to a full time course. Yes, you must do a full time course, but after at least 3-5 years of corporate experience.

The Job Search

So, you're looking for a job... The manner in which to go about this is important. Broadly, a good job search will involve the following:

1. Job portals: The leading job portals today are Naukri, Monster, Timesjobs and Shine. There are others as well but in my personal experience I haven't found them as effective as the above. Ensure to complete your profile on these as well as update the resume every fifteen days since a prospective employer is then sure that all your details are updated. There are options available on some sites where you can, for a fee, increase the visibility and circulation of your resume. You can try one of these options as well. When looking for an opening try different permutations and combinations for the desired profile you are looking for since it can lead to different but suitable results.
   
2. Recruitment consultants (also known as executive search firms, head hunters, placement consultants, etc.): Call, e-mail, meet. Try to establish a rapport with them and in the long term a good relationship. A directory of all recruitment consultants nationally is available for a nominal fee. Click here to access the link.
   
3. Professional networking: This can be done through the contacts and associations you have made or through LinkedIn and references. Also read my post on Networking & Relationship Management.
   
4. Personal networking: Tap friends and relatives. As Sun Tzu said, "Opportunities multiply as they are seized". So energize your network and create a buzz (a discreet one though) around your job search.
   
5. Newspaper supplements and classifieds: Opportunities are featured in the career supplements of newspapers like the Times Ascent as well as in the High Flier section of the ET. Look for similar features of other leading newspapers.
   

Networking & Relationship Management

I am sure you have heard the "Don't blow your own trumpet" line? Well, there's the modern version of that and for those of you who haven't heard it, it goes "If you don't blow your own trumpet, nobody will blow it for you"... Ancient wisdom turned 180 degrees.

The same is true for networking and relationship management. Contrary to what we learnt as kids about being completely self reliant (professionally) and not approaching others for favours, I think it is okay to ask people for something or to seek a favour when you need one. Hasn't someone in the recent past asked you for something and you without really giving it a very serious thought given a fair shot at doing whatever was requested?

I follow a two fold and really quite simple philosophy for this:

1. You never know when you need someone.
2. It doesn't hurt to make friends. Something good always comes out of it in the end.

Thus I make it a point to make friends whenever I get the opportunity to and then to nurture these relationships. I think at a very fundamental level one has to try and genuinely invest in people. Insincerity comes across clear and glaring.

As you gain more experience, change a few jobs, maybe a profile or two and meet and invest in people along the way, you will begin to realize and harvest the power of your network. There is nothing selfish or materialistic about this. Remember, you too are part of someone's network. At what rank you figure in his/her list is very dynamic and fluid. You will always be at the top of one list and may be at the bottom of another. However, if you honestly and sincerely invest in people, your network will fall into place like a complex web of simple mutually beneficial relationships, opening doors and opportunities of varying nature, sometimes when you are least expecting them...