HR Guru Mayank Rautela offers practical advice.
Dear Reader, are you just starting out in your career and want to know the right steps you need to take?
Not sure how to prepare for your first interview? Or your first online interview?
Struggling with office politics? Or with working from home?
Have a bad boss? Or a colleague who is undermining you?
Nobody seems to listen to you at meetings?
Have you hit a dead-end at work and see no way out?
Please send in your concerns to our HR guru Mayank Rautela at getahead@rediff.co.in. (Subject: Mayank, can you help?).
Hi Mayank,
I have a small doubt. Why experienced employees get more salary than freshers when both were given same work?
Thank you
Priyanka
Hi Priyanka,
There are few reasons for the same:
1. Experienced staff have been in the job market for more time and, with time, their salary increases.
2. Experienced staff mostly get jobs that are more complex.
3. The quality of output delivered by experienced staff is usually superior.
4. Experienced staff act as formal/informal mentors to new employees.
Dear Mayank,
During a recent job interview, a dear friend was asked to mention her current salary in the first round itself.
She politely shared her salary expectations but refused to share her current salary details citing professional reasons. Now she is worried it might affect her chances of being hired or the company might offer her a poor deal.
Is it mandatory to share details of your current employment, like salary and remuneration in the first round of interview? How does one smartly tackle the situation?
Thank you,
Sheetal
Hi Sheetal,
If one is seriously looking at a role and the organisation finds the candidate suitable during the first round itself, then asking for the salary details is part of the process.
As a candidate, it is fine to share the details and that would not be held against the candidate.
Dear Mayank,
My mom is 47.
She has been teaching English and science in a private school for 20 years.
She completed her PhD in 2019 and was promised the role of headmistress in 2020 but the pandemic delayed her promotion indefinitely.
Since she is computer savvy, she guided all the junior teachers during the pandemic to ensure smooth functioning and even worked without a salary for three months.
Her monthly salary is Rs 30,000 and she works even on weekends and stays back at school to help the staff and her students.
I feel the school administration is taking advantage of her experience and denying her a promotion.
Do you think she should quit and apply in another school or college? What professional advice would you like to give her?
Ruta
Hi Ruta,
It is unfortunate that your mom is associated with an organisation that does not value its employees.
Having said that, she should speak to the management of the school and have a candid discussion with them about her future.
She should also initiate the process of looking for other opportunities and even consider private tuitions as a career option.
Dear Mayank,
In the last six months, I lost one job and quit the next job in a few months.
Should I add it to my resume or should I avoid mentioning it and say I took a 6 month sabbatical?
I have not updated it on my social media and LinkedIn profile.
I don't want to ruin my prospects of getting a job in the future.
Is there something I need to keep in mind before applying for the next job?
Swati
Hi Swati.
It is best to reveal your past experience to any prospective employer. If they get to know about it later, then it would be held against you.
You can avoid highlighting it in your social media profile but any formal resume must have the information.
Dear Mayank,
I'm a marketing professional and I want to know if this is a good time to look out for a new job?
I read reports in the newspaper that people are being laid off in companies.
I have been in the present company for over four years now and am bored of my current profile.
But I don't want to take any hasty decision. Should I wait it out or move out?
Also in the current scenario, will I be able to get a good hike?
Vivek
Hi Vivek,
My personal advice for anyone looking for a job change is that you must first explore all possible internal career options in your current company.
This would include a promotion, relocation or even change in role or function.
Sales jobs will always be in high demand as it's a revenue generation role.
- You can read all of Mayank Rautela's columns here.
Mayank Rautela is the chief human resources officer at Care Hospitals.
He is a management graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies and holds a master's degree in labour laws from Pune University.
He has over two decades of experience in the field of general management, strategic human resources, global mergers and integrations and change management.
He has held various leadership positions across marquee companies, including the Piramal Group, the Tata Group and multinational healthcare organisations like CR Bard and Becton & Dickinson.
Please send in your workplace concerns to Mayank Rautela at getahead@rediff.co.in. (Subject: Mayank, can you help?), along with your name, age, where you work (eg, Mumbai, Lucknow, Agartala) and job profile. Do let us know if you wish to keep your question anonymous.
Please Note: The questions and answers in this advisory are published to help the individual asking the question as well the large number of readers who read the same.
While we value our readers' requests for privacy and avoid using their actual names along with the question whenever a request is made, we regret that no question will be answered personally on e-mail.
This column is an advisory and not a recruitment service.
All content herein is written and published online for informational purposes only. It should not be relied on as your only source for advice.
If you choose to rely on any information provided herein, you do so solely at your own risk. Opinions expressed herein cannot necessarily provide advice to fit the exact specifics of the issues of the person requesting advice.
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