Wednesday, April 16

Software Programming!

Just happen to see this innovative programing(so real!!!) Structure definitions. My intention is not 2 hurt anyone's feelings(sorry if i hurt anyone's!!), just for the fun of it..
If programing is taught in such a natural way who wont be ready to learn? and more importantly they will remember for ever!!

struct female_professionals
{
double styles;
short skirts;
long time_to_understand_problems;
float mind;
void knowledge;
char non_co-operative;
}


struct married_females
{
double weight;
short tempered;
long gossip;
float hopes;
void word;
char unstable;
}

struct engaged_females
{
double time_on_phone;
short attention_on_work;
long boast;
float on_cloud_nine;
void understanding;
char edgy;
}

struct newly_married_females
{
double dinner_invitation;
short time_at_work;
long lunch_break;
void bank_balance;
char hen_pecked;
}

struct husband_wife_professionals
{
double income;
short tempered;
long time_no_see_each_other;
void love_life;
char money_making;
}

struct beautiful_city_girl
{
double boyfriends;
short affairs;
long stories;
void greymatter;
char flirt;
}

struct old_lady
{
double chin;
short memory;
long sighs ;
void attention_from_men;
char chatterbox;
}

Thursday, April 3

Job Interview Questions - 2

This is the continuation to my previous post on job interview questions.

1. Deadlines, frustrations, difficult people, and silly rules can make a job difficult. How do you handle these types of situations?
Most companies, unfortunately, face these types of problems daily. If you can't deal with petty frustrations, you'll be seen as a problem. You certainly can state your displeasure at the petty side of these issues, but how you overcome them is important. Diplomacy, perseverance, and common-sense can often prevail even in difficult circumstances. This is part of corporate America, and you must be able to deal with it on a regular basis.

2. One of our biggest problems is ________. What has been your experience with this? How would you deal with it?
Think on your feet. Ask questions to get details. Break it into sub-sections. Highly likely you have some experience with sub-sections. Answer these, and summarize the total. State how you would go about solving the problem, if you can't answer directly. Be specific. Show your organizational and analytical skills.

3. How do you compare your technical skills to your management skills?
Many people tend to minimize their technical skills, either because they don't have any, or they don't like getting into the details. Most successful managers possess good technical skills and don't get into enough detail to make sure they understand the information being presented by their group. Try for a good balance here if you want to be seriously considered for the position.

4. How has your technical ability been important in accomplishing results?
Clearly the interviewer believes he needs a strong level of technical competence. Most strong managers have good technical backgrounds, even if they have gotten away from the details. Describe specific examples of your technical where with all, but don't be afraid to say you are not current. Also, you could give examples of how you resolve a technical issue by "accelerated research."

5. How would you handle a situation with tight deadlines, low employee morale, and inadequate resources?
If you pull this off effectively, it indicates you have strong management skills. Need to be creative. An example would be great. Relate your toughest management task, even if it doesn't meet all the criteria. Most situation don't. Organizational skills, interpersonal skills, and handling pressure are key elements of effective management. Good managers should be able to address each issue, even if they are not concurrent. Deftly handling the question is pretty indicative of your skills.

6. Are you satisfied with your career to date? What would you change if you could?
Be honest. Interviewer wants to know if he can keep you happy. It's important to know if you're willing to make some sacrifices to get your career on the right track. Degree of motivation is an important selection criteria.

7. What are your career goals? Where do you see yourself five years from now? Ten years?
Most importantly, be realistic! Blue sky stuff brands you as immature. One or two management jumps in three to five years is a reasonable goal. If your track indicates you're on line for senior management in ten years, it's okay to mention. However, if you've have a rocky road, better to be introspective.

8. What do you think of your last boss? Favorite boss? Least favorite boss?
Realize that complainers are recognized as potential trouble-makers. Keep your answer short, sweet and move-on. "I like him as an individual and respect him professionally and I learned a great deal." Do not elaborate further. Find a growth opportunity in any situation.

9. What is your energy level like? Describe a typical day?
Demonstrate good use of time, include planning in advance and that review of your performance helps you reach your desired goals.

10. How do you take direction? How do you take criticism?
The preferred situation is when a manager can provide fully detailed directions. Remember that managers have a larger agenda, which might not be shared. Learning what signals could have been recognized earlier is preferred to taking offense to criticism.

11. Why should we hire you for this position? What contribution would you make?
Good chance to summarize. By now you know the key problems. Re-state and show how you would address. Relate to specific attributes and specific accomplishments. Qualify responses with the need to gather information. Don't be cocky. Demonstrate a thoughtful, organized, strong effort kind of attitude.

12.
What is your philosophy towards work?
The interviewer is not looking for a long or flowery dissertation here. Do you have strong feelings that the job gets done? Yes. That’s the type of answer that works best here. Short and positive, showing a benefit to the organization.

Note : The information in this post is not purely out of my Experience. I have taken these Q&A from various sites which i felt are very helpful for facing interviews. My sincere Thanks to those people for providing this information.

Tuesday, April 1

Job Interview Questions - 1

Its the Big day in your life. Chance which can shape your career graph . Opportunity which can make you independent financially. An opportunity which tests your character , self-confidence. Any guesses?! Yes, I am talking about the day of your job interview. How are you going to be prepared to face such a situation? Are you going to get nervous and screw up the chance of your life?(no one would want to!!) or Are you going to prepare well and go with confidence and crack the interview?

The following are some of the most common (and sometimes uncomfortable ) questions one would ask in interviews:

1. Tell me about yourself?
Just talk for 2 minutes. Be logical. Start anywhere, e.g. high school, college or first position. The interviewer is looking for communication skills, linear thinking. Also try to score a point or two (describe a major personal attribute.

2. Why are you leaving your current position?
This is a very critical question. Don't "bad mouth" your previous employer. Don't sound too opportunistic. Some description could be major problems, buy-out, or shut-down. It is also good to state that 'after a long personal consideration your chance to make a contribution is very low due to company changes.

3. What do you consider your most significant accomplishments?
This can get you the job. Prepare extensively. Score points. Tell a 2 minute story, with details and discuss your personal involvement. Make the accomplishment worth achieving. Discuss hard work, long hours, pressure, important company issues at stake.

4. Why do you believe that you are qualified for this position?
Pick two or three main factors about the job and about you that are most relevant. Discuss for two minutes, with specific details. Select a technical skill, a specific management skill (organizing, staffing, planning), and a personal success attribute to mention.

5. Have you ever accomplished something you didn't think you could?
Interviewer is trying to determine your goal orientation, work ethic, personal commitment, and integrity. Provide a good example where you overcame number difficulties to succeed. Prove you're not a quitter, and that you'll get going when the going gets tough.

6. What do you like/dislike most about your current position?
Interviewer is trying to determine compatibility with open position. If you have interest in the position be careful. Stating you dislike overtime or getting into the details, or that you like management can cost you the position. There is nothing wrong with liking challenges, pressure situations, opportunities to grow, or dislike for bureaucracy or frustrating situations.

7. How do you handle pressure? Do you like or dislike these situations?
High achievers tend to perform well in high pressure situations. Conversely, questions also could imply that position is pressure packed and out of control. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you know what you're getting into. If you do perform well under stress, provide a good example with details, giving an overview of the stress situation. Let the interviewer "feel" the stress by your description of it.

8. The sign of a good employee is the ability to take the initiative. Can you describe situations like this about yourself?
A pro-active, results oriented person doesn't have to be told what to do. This is one of the major success attributes. To convince the interviewer you possess this trait you must give a series of short examples describing your self motivation. Try to discuss at least one in detail. The extra effort, strong work ethic and creative side of you must be demonstrated.

9. What's the worst or most embarrassing aspect of your business career? How would you have done things differently now with 20/20 hindsight?
This is a general question to learn how introspective you are, also to see if you can learn from your mistakes. If you can, it indicates an open, more flexible personality. Don't be afraid to talk about your failures, particularly if you've learned from them. This is a critical aspect of high potential individuals.

10. How have you grown or changed over the past few years?
This requires thought. Maturation, increased technical skills, or increase self-confidence are important aspects of human development. To discuss this effectively is indicative of a well-balanced, intelligent individual. Overcoming personal obstacles, or recognizing manageable weaknesses can brand you as an approachable and desirable employee.

11. What do you consider your most significant strengths?
Be prepared. Know your four or five key strengths. Be able to discuss each with a specific example. Select those attributes that are most compatible with the job opening. Most people say "management" or "good interpersonal skills" in answer to this. Don't use this unless you can describe the specific characteristics of management (planning, organizing, results, staffing, etc.) or how your relationship skills have proven critical to your success.

12. What do you consider your most significant weaknesses?
Don't reveal deep character flaws. Rather discuss tolerable faults, that you are working towards improving. Show by specific example how this has changed over time. Better still, show how a weakness can be turned into a strength. For example, how a concentration on details results in higher quality work even though it requires overtime.

Note : The information in this post is not purely out of my Experience. I have taken these Q&A from various sites which i felt are very helpful for facing interviews. My sincere Thanks to those people for providing this information.

Thursday, March 27

Web 2.0 Expo

The most used,heard term now a days among the internet users,web developers , web designers,business men, entrepreneurs is Web 2.0 . Web 2.0 became very popular in the last 2 years. The revolution of Web 2.0 gave a different, nice, rich user experience to all the internet users and at the same time exposed more creative, innovative side of web-designers and developers to the world.

Web 2.0 Expo is going to happen from April 22-25, 2008 at Moscone West, San Francisco. Whether you're new to the Web 2.0 world or an expert , you are surely and certainly going to gain a sea of knowledge on various topics at this second Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco.

More Details about The Web 2.0 Expo and registration Details can be fund at : http://www.web2expo.com/sf

You can Download the Web 2.0 Expo Brochure(Pdf) from Here.


Monday, March 10

Cricket Vs Software Project

India emerged as a victorious team beating the world champions in their own den in recently concluded CB series.India had achieved this after many long years! What made this India team to achieve such feat? what are the factors which influenced the result?When i thought about it (being a software developer my self)interestingly i found many similarities between the game of cricket and software industry.

A cricket match,rather a cricket series and software project are similar in many respects.Of course the span of a cricket series and span of a particular software project may be different.

Role of a captain/project manger(PM)

In cricket the captain of the team plays a major role in team wins
Similarly the captain of any project is the project manager who decides the fate of the project.

The qualities which make a captain/PM special are:

Resource management
Managing the resources optimally is the key!
For a captain it means
  • using the right bowler at right time,
  • placing the fielders in right positions,
  • keeping right player in right field position
setting the correct batting order etc.

For a PM
  • using the right people(those who are with the appropriate skill set)in the project.
  • Giving the people responsibilities and make them rise up to the occasion and deliver for the teams win/success.

Planning
plan a strategy to win against any kind of opposition,
plan ur project such that it becomes a success against all the odds.

Role of wicket keeper/tech lead

I feel Wicket keeper in cricket is equivalent to technical lead in a project.

Wicket keeper is the one player who gets the full view of all the players in the team and plays a key role in cheering and inducing confidence in the bowlers and fielders.
He is the one who better understands the wicket than anyone else(being behinds the wickets gets a closer look of the pitch!), his suggestion to the bowlers gets remarkable change in the way they deliver.

Similarly in a project technical lead is the one who really interacts with the team mates and knows each one of his mates capabilities. because he can understand easily the technical difficulties(being techie himself) the developers face , his help to the developers considerably improves the results.

Role of player/team member

Ground work
preparation for match is very important (whether u like the opposition or not )
similarly a developer has to be well prepared (mentally and also technically) for doing a project whether he likes to code in that particular language or not(tough ask!),but once he starts loving what he work on, work become worship.

Constant learning process
For a player improving on his skills day by day(be it a bowler or a batsmen)is very important,similarly for a developer improving on his skill set is pretty important thats what takes him forward in his life and helps in attaining greater positions.
Being stagnant doesn't help anyone:Team and country (for himself) in case of cricket , project and the organization (most importantly personal growth )in case of programmer.

Helpful hands of seniors
Many say this teams success is mainly due to the presence of energetic and dashing youth! may be! but a team has to be balanced with experience and the energy of youth.Don't forget the presence of the mighty little master ,Sehwag and the coaches Venktesh Prasad, Robin Singh .
Having just freshers in a project doesn't take it anywhere, only when u have experienced, talented people in the team ,they can guide the freshers (who are equally talented people, what they need is the polishing which make them gems).

Comitment to the cause is pretty important.
ie the thirst to succeed in each player /developer is the driving factor behind teams/projects success.

Will full people
People who has the drive to achieve in their lives and make their country proud.
people who want to make big in their lives and make name for themselvesand in effect for the organization.

Setting standards
Take the example Ishanth Sharma, Praveen Kumar , Gautam Gambhir , for that matter all the youth, what they have done is they stretched themselves to taste the success, and now they set the standards for themselves.
similarly a developer has to stretch himself to learn and make a mark for himself, and become a key member in the team.

Saturday, March 8

Ruby on Rails workshop in Hyderabad

Good news for all the Ruby on Rails(ROR) learners(especially those who are in hyderabad!). There is going to be a Ruby on Rails workshop conducted by my friend Sumanth Krishna on 8th march 2008. Workshop is organized by hyderabad's most active opensource community TWINCLING .

Date : 8th march 2008
Time : 5 PM

Venue :

Floor 5 Conf Room,
CommVault Systems
Above Nalli Silks
Ashoka Janardhan Chambers
S. P. Roab, Begumpet
Hyderabad.


Helpline : +91-98482 37656


For more details about the event check out http://www.twincling.org/

Thursday, February 7

Addiction The Greatest disease

Last week ,India had seen heavy service problems with the internet connection. Problems were because, some of the undersea cables near Alexandria, Egypt, France were cut by the passing ships. It had been week of loneliness , solitude for me! Really, internet had become such a vital and necessary thing in our lives today, with out it ,we feel numb. Its only in this week i realized how addicted i became to the net.not only me, i am sure there are many in India(across the world for that matter)like me.
Addiction is such a dangerous disease one can develop in life. like smoking, drinking , this net-addiction may not spoil our health. but it surely effects more important thing in our life. i.e Time .
Time is so precious. Once lost time can never be retrieved back.

Of course these are cliched sentences , but no harm , only gain reminding them.
So one has to analyse how much time he/she is spending on net for
checking mails,Learning new information,News,entertainment etc..Then only one will know how effectively he/she is using his/her time on net daily.
Is the amount of time one spend on net is really worth??Its a question for each and everyone of us to ponder and reflect on!
So spend your time on net effectively. Don't fall in the trap of Net-addiction.