A new initiative, Build for Bharat, has been launched in India, offering students the opportunity to directly contribute to public governance through technology. The fellowship, aimed at early-career technologists, focuses on leveraging students’ skills to tackle some of India’s most pressing public challenges while strengthening the country’s digital systems.

With a deadline set for 7th March, the program is designed to provide students with a unique platform to work alongside government departments, where they can engage in high-impact technology projects. These projects, often involving innovative digital solutions, aim to enhance the efficiency of government operations and improve the quality of life for millions of citizens. The fellowship promises hands-on exposure to real-world applications of technology, guiding future technologists through a complex landscape of public service.

The need for such initiatives has become evident as India’s rapid digitalisation continues to evolve. From providing digital access to healthcare services to improving governance through data, the country’s technological landscape has seen an unprecedented transformation in recent years. However, the success of these advancements relies on skilled technologists who understand both the nuances of technology and the intricacies of governance. The Build for Bharat Fellowship seeks to address this gap by training future public-interest technologists who can design, develop, and implement tech solutions in public service.

Fellows will undergo a rigorous orientation program designed to help them navigate the complexities of public service, policy, and the unique challenges that arise when implementing technology in social and governmental frameworks. This immersive learning experience will provide students with insights into how government departments work, offering a critical perspective on the role of technology in public administration.

Moreover, the program connects fellows with top industry experts. Fellows will have access to mentorship through online office hours with leaders in fields such as databases, security, distributed systems, and open-source technology. These experts come from diverse sectors, including top tech companies, academia, and the public sector, offering invaluable guidance to participants as they embark on their projects.

By training the next generation of public-interest technologists, the fellowship program aims to modernise the country’s digital infrastructure while ensuring that technology solutions remain human-centred. As India continues to expand its digital footprint, there is a growing need for professionals who are not only technically skilled but also understand the broader social and governance contexts in which technology operates. The fellowship is designed to nurture such professionals, allowing them to contribute meaningfully to the country’s digital governance systems.

Applications for the fellowship are now open, with the deadline fast approaching. Students with a background in technology, whether in software development, design, or systems architecture, are encouraged to apply. The program promises not only to be a valuable learning experience but also an opportunity to make a tangible impact on the country’s technological landscape.

Interested applicants can submit their applications through the official form available at this link. With the closing date of 7th March, aspiring technologists are urged to apply soon to seize the opportunity to be part of this groundbreaking initiative.

This is not just an internship—it’s a chance for students to actively shape the future of India’s digital governance while working alongside the very departments that form the backbone of the country’s administration. It is a stepping stone for young professionals eager to apply their tech skills for the public good, ensuring that India’s digital transformation remains inclusive, effective, and sustainable for all.

The article New Fellowship Offers Students a Chance to Shape India’s Tech Future appeared first on Arabian Post.

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These high-paying jobs are poised to see employment growth over the next decade, including multiple occupations in medicine and tech.

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The article The 30 best high-paying jobs of the future appeared first on Arabian Post.

/By Nitten Nair/Being in between jobs is one of the most stressful periods one can face irrespective of whatever stage one is in the career. For the junior levels, it can lead to doubt in one’s capabilities and the feeling of being on the back foot at the early stages of a career. Mid to senior levels are concerned about having a break in their career and how to explain it to recruiters. Senior to top management is concerned if they can actually find a job that will not seem to be a step down from their previous role.

Please note I am not even going to touch the effects on a personal level for people in this precarious situation. As I myself have been in this situation before in my life so far (am going through a self-imposed break to realign my career objectives as I write this), I learnt that a few things done in the right way can not only relieve the stress and depression one goes through in this period, it can also help when we face a recruiter the next time.

Here are a few things that I did that ensured that I managed to not only not get into fits of depression but also created habits and activities that impressed my future employers.

• Job hunting is a full-time job. So treat every day the same as you would if you were going to work. Wake up at the same time, take a shower, shave and get out of your pajamas. You do not have to wear a suit at home but be prepared to go for an interview at short notice.
• Set daily tasks and targets. Manage your time in visiting job sites, sending out cold emails to potential recruiters or any other activity that you do in your job search. Make lists of dream companies where you would like to work and try connecting with people who work there or visit their websites. Many companies do not post their jobs on job boards.
• Perfect your pitch. What other time would be perfect to work on your pitch? There are three main pitches you have to work on. The most important being the answer to the “Tell me about yourself” question that is by default the first question most recruiters ask. Second is your cold email text. This is the body of the email you send to potential recruiters. Third, although I personally feel that it is quite outdated, is your cover letter. Make multiple versions of all three and then finally, zero down on one each that perfectly describes you.
• Get your “reason for leaving” story right. I am totally against lying during an interview. I do not recommend you come up with a fantastic storyline as to why you are looking for the job. Be honest but that does not mean you become so blunt that you say, “I was fired for poor performance.” Being laid off is not a stigma in today’s world anymore so do not feel ashamed to admit that you were. Ensure that your back story (Reasons leading up to the layoff) is explained clearly while highlighting the positives during your previous stints. If you were fired for fraud or malpractice… You are on your own.
• Introspect. This brief period gives you an opportunity to take time and think about your career. Is this your passion or are you in it just for the money? What would you like to accomplish in your 30 odd years of working? There are numerous questions that you can ask yourself. I had made a list of 15 questions and tackled one question a day. Did the research, read, studied and wrote down my thoughts. At the end of the cycle, I would revisit the same question and check if I still felt the same. I still do it irrespective of whether I am employed or not.
• Start a hobby. There is surely no person on this planet who never had a hobby or interest. Revisit it and stick with it. In my case, I always loved to write. I started my blog The Book Of Ojuufo when I was in between jobs and am really happy to say that it is slowly blossoming into a popular blog. Plus I got the opportunity to have my own column here on The Arabian Post solely based on the contents of my blog.
• Learn something new. I have always been a fan of lifelong learning. Pick out an interesting topic or thing you would like to learn and devote a few hours a day towards it. During my last break, I got my certificate in Communications from the University of Amsterdam. Now I am planning to learn Android development if this break is confirmed. It also gives you an angle to communicate with the recruitment officer. “I have been using this time to learn basic accounting along with looking for new opportunities” sounds so much better than “I have been applying and attending interviews during this period.”
• Network. Connect with people both on social media as well as in person. If not resulting in a job directly, you will manage to be on the mind of your connections who could point you to a job opening or provide you with a reference.
• Smile and remain upbeat. This transition phase can be tough on everyone. The key is to not let it discourage you. Find reasons to smile and remain optimistic. Recruiters are like sharks. If they even smell the slightest trace of blood (desperation), they go for the kill (Negotiate like crazy on your package).

None of this will guarantee that you land your dream job. But it is sure to keep you active and focused on your job hunt. Apart from that, you will build that personality that recruiters will want to, at least, meet for an interview.

The article How to deal with a brief unemployment period? appeared first on Arabian Post.

By Nitten Nair/We are taught from a very young age to have career goals and to “aim” to be at the top of our chosen field before we decide to call it a day. I am sure many of you would have been asked the question, “Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?”

This profound question sows the seeds of having a career goal or objective into our lives from our very first interview. Nowadays, most graduates have a pre-prepared answer for this before they sit for an interview and have rehearsed the answer for multiple scenarios.

Most of the goals revolve around the position or designation you would like to see yourself in or the paycheck that you take home at the end of the month. For others, they go through life without any goals and like to call it “going with the flow” or “to wherever life takes me”. Both approaches have their own benefits and drawbacks. Many professionals fail to realize that there is another approach.

When I started out my career as a bartender in J W Marriott, Mumbai, my idea of having a successful career was to be the Food and Beverage Manager. I even said that in my interview. I felt that once I get my own office and get to wear a suit, I have become a success in my chosen industry. That lasted for 8 months. I got promoted as the Head Bartender and was the youngest Head Bartender in the history of the hotel till then. That is when I realized that the next promotion would not be as quick and the competition would be tougher.

I realized quite early in my career that those five year plans were not as solid as I initially felt. Being the impatient ambitious guy I was, these plans would not hold my enthusiasm for long and I would be demotivated quite soon. Then I spent almost a year not knowing what I wanted to do in my career and like all confused young adults of my time went ahead and did an MBA instead of taking a year off and traveling. Bad choice in hindsight.

But that year and a half did wonders for me at a different level. I was able to set two sets of goals – academic and career. Will discuss academic goals in another post.

That is when I realized that our goals need not be based on specifics but on end objectives. Growth in my career has always come to me as I was not focused on the journey but on the simple silly targets I set for myself. As I was not focused on the specifics of my journey, I was able to enjoy it to the maximum and learn something new every day.

My career goals have never been to a particular company I want to work for (Although I still dream of the day I work for Google – even as a janitor) or the designation I want to have in a pre-defined amount of time. It was never even about the type of job even though I do have preferences on what I will do and what I won’t. Nor was it about working in a particular country or city. In all these regards, I let the universe dictate the journey and have no regrets in all the ups and downs I have faced. It was all worth it.

Before moving to Dubai, my career objectives were raw. Blame it on the limited exposure people from the subcontinent have in careers other than engineering and medicine. As I complete four working years in Dubai (19 years in total), I have a firm grasp on my career objectives. Reading through my list will give the impression of having an extremely silly or even shallow approach to something that the majority of the world takes very seriously. All I can say is… It works!!

My career objective list is as follows –

• Start my own company (Done)
• Work in a boutique agency (Done)
• Start a whole new business unit (Done)
• Win a regional award (Done)
• Win an International Award (Done)
• Work in a NASDAQ listed company (Done)
• Work in a Billion Dollar company (Done)
• Have a monthly income of XX, XXX AED (Almost there)
• Work for a government entity (Pending)
• Work for a company with its name on the building (Technically Done but would put it as Pending)
• Win a Cannes Lion (Pending)

This list will get added on and amended as I go on with my career but I will never limit myself to the conventional process of defining a career. The only definitive goal in my list is the last one. It is there for a purpose – to be my defining moment. The moment when I decide that my career is no longer about objectives, growth, goals and targets but to shift gears into a more holistic level.

This might make my CV a little volatile for traditional recruiters and bring up red flags but hey… At the end of the day, all that matters is whether my career has brought fulfillment to myself.

To quote the immortal Michael Jackson – “It’s time to stop existing and start living.”

The article Do you have a ‘standard’ career goal? appeared first on Arabian Post.

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and most of us have an account. Let’s face it, no one actually reads 95% of the stuff that appears on the feed but there is so much of sharing done that LinkedIn is slowly inching closer and closer to the top of the list of largest content aggregators.

There are 3 main types of users of the platform and it is really interesting to note these behavioral traits on a platform where everyone is expected to “behave”.

1. The person who updates and maintains his or her profile perfectly. The job history is up to date with a detailed description of the work profile. Actively participates in “social networking” norms and connects with people often.
2. The person who updates the personal profile only when job hunting. A majority of the users of LinkedIn fall into this category. They take pains to maintain their profile only when actively looking for a job and once they bag a job, the profile is left in the wilderness until the next need arises.
3. The person who just has a profile and that’s it. No profile image, no updates and has a job update dating back to 2006 when the account was first opened. There are plenty of these accounts on LinkedIn as well.

I personally feel that one should have a well maintained LinkedIn presence. Since it is not a popularity contest like Instagram or an ‘express anything’ platform like Facebook, maintaining one should not be that much of a job. Just invest a few minutes on it every month and you have a decent professional profile that you can be proud of.

Here are some basic tips that I follow and have worked wonders for me. By wonders I mean, getting calls from recruiters without having to contact them, getting invited to speak at forums and connecting with people in my domain who are actually worth having a professional acquaintance with.

• Invest in a professional studio picture – Please do not upload a selfie or a picture of you chilling at the beach as your profile image. If you do not have a professional studio picture, get one. It is essential is establishing that first impression. A suit is not essential; a solid color shirt would do as well. No passport photographs!!!
• List out all your professional achievements – This is one place where you get to flaunt all your major and minor career achievements without judgment. So be it the Employee of the Month you received in January 2010 or the Cannes Gold Lion, list it!! Your resume does not have space for all this. This also includes any white papers you have written or videos of any seminars you have presented. DO NOT UPLOAD PRESENTATIONS that you may have made while working for a company.
• Mention your non-professional (personal) projects – Many of us have a small personal project that we are proud of – A blog, an amateur photography page or even a personal website. Use this to showcase your personality and interests and this will be far more powerful than listing out your hobbies.
• Accept all invites – Many people might not agree with this but this is something I do. I accept connection requests from whoever sends me an invite. This not only helps in expanding my network, it also helps in getting in touch with someone who might be a mutual connection for professional reasons like new business opportunities, job openings or even mentorship.
• Write a brief but comprehensive summary – I have noticed many people write elaborate summaries and try to cram in every bit of information about them as possible in that space. Trust me… No one reads it. You, however, need to have a short (100 – 150 word) summary detailing who you are and what you are all about. For e.g. “Creative problem solver with a knack for taking the unbeaten path to deliver results” can easily get the point across faster than writing 5 paragraphs explaining how you started your career and how you reached where you are.
• Change your tagline – Many people do not realize that their tagline can be changed. By default, LinkedIn lists your latest job role as your tagline. Change it to have keywords that define your work experience or skills. SEO will pick up those keywords when recruiters search for someone. Your current job role is by default subject to the LinkedIn SEO anyways, why to waste precious real estate on repeat information.
• Share interesting work/domain related stuff – Instead of sharing an article about the latest trends in digital technology on Facebook, share it on LinkedIn. The crowd who might actually see it are the ones who actually might find it useful. But be very selective what you share as LinkedIn will not showcase everything you shared but only the latest on your profile. You don’t want an article on genome mapping to be overshadowed by a cat video.
• Describe in detail your job role – This is a no-brainer. LinkedIn provides you the space to be as detailed as you want about your current and past job roles. List out all your work activities, clients and projects. You can be as detailed as you want. This allows you to walk around with a 2-page resume with only a summary of every job role. Details if required can be checked on your profile.

Almost all of this stuff is a one-time investment. Sit at your laptop and invest an hour in updating your profile with all these details. Once you accomplish that, all you have to do is revisit the profile once a day or a couple of times a week to maintain it. After all, to move ahead in your career, you do need to invest in yourself.

The article Basic rules to maintaining your LinkedIn account appeared first on Arabian Post.

I’ve had people of the previous generation tell me proudly how they have been “consistent” and not changed one bit in the past 30 years. They are extremely proud of their fixed routines and the stability that they claim to be an example for the present and future generations. In my opinion, this is complete hogwash. It just goes to show how much fear has governed their lives.

Yes… FEAR!! Fear of the unknown, fear of losing control, fear of financial instability, fear of social pressure, fear of confusion, fear of being uncomfortable, fear of one’s mortality etc. The list is endless. In many cases, fear becomes the single most influential factor that determines a person’s career and life.

I have worked with colleagues whose main motivation to come to work is that if they did not turn up and work “hard” they could get fired. Is getting fired a good enough motivation to devote almost 10 hours of your day on something that apparently does not give you an iota of happiness? I really don’t think so.

Then there are others who refuse to look for better options even though they hate their current job only because they are not sure what to expect once they decide to make the shift. The fear of moving out of their comfort zone literally makes them glued to a role and organization for as long as the company will have them. I have seen many colleagues who are far more skilled than the role and company they have settled for in my career so far. Look around you, and you would find the same.

Organizations typically love to feed the fuel when it comes to fear. This is the single most cost-effective and effortless method of employee retention that an HR has. Companies who truly value their employees tend to take a route far different that this – look at Google with its amazing workspace or Facebook with its innovative HR policies.

If you are among those who are governed by fear and who after introspection feel that the life decisions have been influenced mainly by fear, here are 2 things that you should start doing.

1)  Stop equating dedication to loyalty.

Now this is one of the biggest mistakes we do when we are overcome with fear. We tend to start believing that our dedication to work is directly proportional to the years we spend with a company. Not only is this completely absurd, it also robs an individual of the ability to think beyond his or her current company. Your dedication to work should only be equated to the quality of your output and nothing else. Period.

2) Update your profile on job sites and browse through job openings even if you are NOT actively looking for a change.

Now this might seem strange but it is essential for 2 main reasons. One, this gives you a fair idea of the market requirements of a profile in your selected domain. This allows you to either update yourself to match the requirements or upgrade yourself to a better role according to your skill set. Secondly, it also gives you an idea of the compensation that a person in your role can expect in the market. This is essential as the salary package is known to be a major influence in determining the level of resistance to change.

This might not be much but once you start practicing them, it will have a profound effect on your current mindset that is loaded with fear. This will slowly impart courage to make a change or will open your eyes to reality and make you take the plunge that you always wished you could.

To quote former American president F.D. Roosevelt – “There is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

The article How much does FEAR determine your career choices? appeared first on Arabian Post.