Amit Puri's Profile
Biography
Amit Puri is the Managing Consultant at Sandbox Advisors. He has over 10 years of business, career services and HR related experience, with companies such as Bain & Co, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Sandbox Advisors is based in Singapore and provides career management/advice, job search, interview, resume and HR consulting services in Singapore.
Amit Puri's articles
Different people like doing different things and behave in different ways. Some people like the outdoors, while others prefer staying indoors and reading a good book. One person might enjoy social gatherings and interacting with lots of people, while another might like more intimate settings like having dinner with 1-2 close friends. One way to describe and understand these differences is through the concept of Personality. From the career point of view, different personalities are also suited for different careers. If you are wondering what careers are best for you, based on your personality, then "Do What You Are" is a good book for that.
Posted: 2010-04-28
Category: Careers
As a job seeker you might face the situation of being rejected for a job, even though you are overqualified and could easily perform the job well. This is quite a common situation and from the company's point of view, they are wary of hiring someone who is overqualified because they might not be satisfied, could show arrogance and also leave the company within a short span of time. There is academic research on the subject does back this concern and shows that employees who percieve themselves as overqualified are likely to be less satisfied and have a higher turnover rate.
Posted: 2010-04-20
Category: Careers
Information on the salaries paid in Singapore for different industries, jobs and experience levels is always of interest to people. There are a few different sources of getting this information, many of which are pretty comprehensive. Below is a list of some good sources on salary information. A simple search using google will show the relevant webpage/document.
Posted: 2010-03-19
Category: Careers
As many of you will already know, LinkedIn can be very useful for making business contacts and also for getting leads during your job search. For those who have created an account recently, you might find it hard to build your contact list quickly. This is especially so if few of your colleagues, friends and family are using LinkedIn.
Posted: 2010-03-18
Category: Careers
The Ministry of Manpower in Singapore recently launched the 2010 edition of Career Compass. The website provides some useful information/tools, to help people learn more about different occupations and improve career decision making. While the website is officially aimed at students, its content is useful for experienced professionals as well, especially in today's world of continuous learning and more fluid careers.
Posted: 2010-03-11
Category: Careers
While job boards are not the best way to look for a job and have a low success rate, they can still be useful. You never know through what source you might land a job and so it makes sense to use all the job search methods available. When using job boards the main thing to keep in mind is that you should not spend too much time on them, because they are not the most productive way to search for a job. They are also useful sources of information for clues about which companies are hiring and what they are looking for.
Posted: 2010-03-09
Category: Careers
Singapore is an attractive destination for foreigners to work in and if you are one of these people, then the following questions will probably cross your mind: - How easy is it for foreigners, living outside of Singapore, to get a job here? - How does one go about looking for a job? The short answer is - It is not as easy as it seems for foreigners to get jobs in Singapore and you will need to put in a lot of effort to get a job. Singapore does have/demand a lot of foreign talent but this is for specific skills/industries/levels and there is a good amount of competition from foreigners/locals already living in Singapore. If you search online job boards/sites for Singapore, you will notice most job postings state that only Singaporeans or Permanent Residents should apply. The reason for this simple - It is easier and more cost effective for companies to hire people who are already in Singapore, especially when these people have the talent/skills they need.
Posted: 2010-03-03
Category: Careers
In the event that your company needs to retrench employees, you might consider providing them with outplacement support. Outplacement providers typically offer various career and job search services to help displaced employees find a new job. Different providers deliver the service in different ways and the prices charged can vary quite a bit. In this article we share the findings of a recent survey (Insala Outplacement Report 2010), which asked corporations who have used outplacement services, why they do so and what is important to them. This should help you picking a provider.
Posted: 2010-02-22
Category: Careers
This is probably the best piece of advice I can provide, to help you understand how to deal with recruiters/employment agencies/search firms - Recruiters find people for jobs, not jobs for people. In other words - recruiters are hired by companies, to find people for specific jobs. They are not in business to help you find a job and you are not their client.
Posted: 2010-02-21
Category: Careers
Nobody likes a finger being pointed at them and being blamed for something. However, people often tend to blame others in the workplace and more so, when faced with a tough situation (such as recessionary pressures or the fear of losing one's job).
Posted: 2010-02-20
Category: Careers
In this article, I wanted to touch upon some important points, which can help your entire performance review process go much smoother. You will be surprised at howmuch better your review goes by implementing these simple guidelines.
Posted: 2010-02-20
Category: Careers
Many job advertisements in Singapore ask applicants to provide their previous/current and expected salary. This information could be used to: 1) Quickly weed out candidates who earn/expect well above the salary the employer wants to pay 2) Have a better understanding of your expectations, so that they don't pay you too much more than you expect (sometimes even if they think the job role justifies a higher amount!) While you don't want to upset potential employers by not providing information they explicitly ask for, you don't need to provide exactly what they ask for either.
Posted: 2010-02-17
Category: Careers
A client recently asked me - "I see so many unhappy people at work, including myself, and I wonder how/why this happens." That is a very interesting question, which I can answer most effectively with the use of a story.
Posted: 2010-02-12
Category: Careers
Having a boss that makes your life painful can be one of the worst situations to be in. Bad bosses come in various flavours and might be unappreciative, give too much work, take credit for themselves, be verbally abusive, expect you to have no life outside work and so on. Given the amount of time we spend at work and also with our boss, this can have a big impact on your mental/emotional health.
Posted: 2010-02-10
Category: Careers
Similar to a regular physical or dental check-up, it is good to do a Career check-up as well. Essentially this involves taking stock of various aspects of your career, identifying areas which are not ideal and taking steps to improve those areas. Doing this on a regular basis, maybe every 6-12 months, can help you keep your career on the right track, ensure that your career is 'healthy' and keep you happy, satisfied and productive in the workplace.
Posted: 2010-02-07
Category: Careers
