How to make it in Finance?

I have always wondered how to get into Finance in India. It is only now 6 years after I graduated, that I am beginning to know. My reference is the hundreds of Linkedin profiles I have gone through the past 7-8 months. Comments, questions and tips are welcome.

I’ll put these factors, in order of importance:

1.    Go to the top 4 IIMs – Yes this was obvious. Ahmedabad, Banglore, Calcutta and Lucknow to an extent are good bets to take if you want to be in Finance. Chances are that recruiter will even hire you if you are in marketing. It’s a different story on how to get into one of the schools.
2.    Have connections: by this I mean anyone who thinks you have enough savvy to do well and knows people in the industry. Closer the relationship, the better. Otherwise you’ll have to go on a networking spree; relatives, friends of the family and family of friends are the best bets. I have seen that older people find it easier to pass around resumes than people of your own age.
3.    Become a CA: this is also one of the tried and tested methods that can help you get into a good finance job. Aim to clear all exams in first attempt, your value will go up in the market.
4.    Go abroad for your Bachelors/masters: I’m not talking MBA here. Masters in Finance or economics degree from a good university is a good bet. Good part is that these courses can be done without work experience. You will be able to stand out from the crowd.
5.    Tied on 4th place, BCom (Hons) from one of the top Delhi University colleges/BTech from IITs: Good undergraduate degrees are very useful. Somehow Delhi University is what Mumbai University can never be; makes me jealous.
6.    Look good, talk well, be confident: Many a times this is a factor of upbringing, but can be acquired atleast partially. In front end, people look for these qualities, because in finance, people are everything. This quality will help you get good jobs out of college. If you are a girl with these qualities, progress will be quick.
7.    Work for a MNC i-Bank’s Back office: Try to specialize in a function, post MBA jobs are the best in terms of profile. You will be able to make the transition to front end by networking or specialization at work i.e. Equity research, investment banking, Real Estate

The Basic theme goes like this:
Start planning early, it will help you and your parents to understand which path to take.
Network: cultivate people (ask your siblings and parents to do it for you too) to pass on resumes to
Good Brands work!! Make sure you have them. Hard work early pays dividends throughout life.
Standout of the crowd, don’t go for the normal.

How to Use Palringo (mobile phone) for Facebook Chat?

It might sound simple but it isn't. Palringo 2.0 does provide a facebook chat option but it never works. You will try to login and it will say "invalid username or password". It might login a few times but it will stop suddenly. (In a hurry?? go to the end of the post)

I was facing the same problem for a long time and I had almost given up. But then I wanted to have facebook chat on my desktop. So I googled it and found that facebook help center has a solution for that. It seems that facebook uses XMPP or jabber protocol for chat (I didnt know what it was before this).It said that I can use Pidgin as a windows client for chatting so I downloaded pidgin (which was a bit painful., but thats another story). Facebook gave me the settings for it which work fine (and which are generic to all jabber chat clients).

Today for some reason I changed my gtalk password, and unfortunately (or fortunately in this case) I had to delete my gtalk id from palringo because it wont let me simply change the password. So I added it again. While adding it I noticed that it had the same settings that I had used in Pidgin, which made sense because even gtalk uses XMPP. Then I thot "Hmmmm" and tried to add an XMPP/ jabber account on palringo with the facebook settings and it worked. Its not even been a day so I have no way of know that it will last, but so far its working.

So here are the steps
1. Open palringo on your phone.
2. Go down the list and add a XMPP/Jabber Account
3. Put the setttings given for pidgin on this page even the resource.
4. save

I'll keep updating if I face problems. Let me know if it doesn't work

new Acer Aspire One Coming 11.6" my way $350

I bought 2 new Acer Aspire One AO751H's. One Black and one white. Specs as follows. I will receive them next week. May be I'll do a review then.

• Width 11.2 in
• Depth 7.8 in
• Height 1 in
• Weight 2.9 lbs
• 
  
• Color Sapphire blue
• Localization United States
• Notebook type Netbook,  Budget

• Screen type Widescreen
• Wireless capabilities IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

• Processor

• Processor Intel Atom Z520
• Chipset type Intel US15W

• Cache Memory

• Type L2 cache

• RAM

• Installed Size 1 GB / 2 GB (max)
• Technology DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz
• RAM form factor SO DIMM 200-pin

• Storage

• Floppy Drive None
• Hard Drive 160 GB
• Storage Removable None
• Hard drive type Portable

• Optical Storage

• Type None

• Optical Storage (2nd)

• 2nd optical storage type None

• Card Reader

• Card reader type Card reader
• Supported flash memory cards RS-MMC, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Pro

• Display

• Display Type 11.6 in TFT active matrix
• Max Resolution 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )
• Widescreen Display Yes
• Features LED-backlit, CrystalBrite

• Video

• Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 500

• Audio

• Audio output type Sound card
• Audio output compliant standards DirectSound
• Audio Input Microphone

• Notebook Camera

• Camera Type Integrated

• Input Device(s)

• Input device type Keyboard, Touchpad

• Telecom

• Modem None

• Networking

• Networking Network adapter
• Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
• Data link protocol Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Fast Ethernet
• Networking features Acer SignalUp
• Networking standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED

• Expansion / Connectivity

• Expansion Bays None
• Expansion Slots Total (Free) Memory - SO DIMM 200-pin
• Interfaces 3 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A, 1 x Display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15), 1 x Audio - Line-out/headphones - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm, 1 x Microphone - Input - Mini-phone 3.5 mm, 1 x Network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45

• Power

• Power device form factor External
• Voltage Required AC 120/230 V

• Battery

• Technology 3-cell Lithium ion
• Installed Qty 1
• Mfr estimated battery life 4 hour(s)

• Operating System / Software

• OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
• Software eSobi, Google Setup, Acer GameZone, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar, Adobe Flash Player, Cyberlink PowerDVD, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Carbonite Online Backup, Windows Live Essentials, Acer Recovery Management, Microsoft .NET Framework, Acer Video Conference Manager, Microsoft Windows Media Player, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0, McAfee Internet Security Suite (Trial)

Charity Portfolio Services for CSR divisions

I have been thinking on these lines for sometime. There is essentially a space for professionalising charity work. Charity done by many companies tends to be ineffective, or they do not have the requisite manpower to effectively monitor NGOs or charities, where they spend their money. Finding well-run and effective charities can take up a large chunk of time, dessuading smaller companies from getting involved.

Providing portfolio services for organisations or individuals who want to do charity but do not have the time and manpower for it, can be a much sought after service. Essentially, it would mean in tradional 'Portfolio services' sense that the provider of this service would be 'researching' charities and charity operations, and 'designing' a portfolio of charities according to specific requirements of the client. There will be a fixed fee in terms of percentage of the spends. The service provider wil be liable for the 'performance' of the portfolio. Here performance will have to be defined according to the objectives of the client (again similar to Portfolio services).

Second, related concept would be to have a Mutual Fund for charities. where there is a management fee similar to portfolio services, but no personalised portfolio building. As in Mutual funds, these would be formed with a Theme describing the objective of the fund, helping the 'investor' to decide where to invest in it. There would also be a fixed fee and this can take up an SIP route to investing in charities. Charties will also have to focus less on marketing and more on doing the actual work because they would have one or few large provider of funds.

Who can provide these services? Any professional with some experience in Social work and wants to do this for a living, with a passion. Incentives will more funds acording to the quality of work. This also gives a charity investor the right to ask about the performance and specific investments.

My Next Bike Yamaha FZ-16

This is definitely something I can see myself riding. I think THIS bike is IT for me. The perfect replacement for My Pulsar 180 Classic. Even the colour looks the same. This is very much reminds me of the time I went crazy for a Pulsar.

Just look at it. Its a master-piece. Definitely worth the Rs.65k ex-showroom price tag. I will miss the extra grunt of the 180, but this one should be a lot more smoother and easy revving. I'm sure it will be a lot more sure footed. The seat looks wider for the rider and more comfortable, better curved, but tapers a lot for the pillion. Just one look at the detailing and we know, that Yamaha has really spent its time in making it as close to perfection as possible. You could just park it and watch

I really don't mind the milage of 36 kmpl,(source: Vicky.in) its not like i'm going touring on this. The CBZ-Extreme is a much better bike for the purpose. smooth, comfortable and reliable. Thats my second preference for a new bike. I'm sure the FZ will be reliable, but the riding position and the handling is a lot more sporty to be comfortable for long ride. But I do think the FZ will provide a very entertaining ride. :D

This integrated search will search the pages of the following websites
1. DealCurry.com
2. IndiaPE.com
3. VCCircle.com

My sympathy to Lehman employees

Its a terrible, terrible day for Lehman employees everywhere. Such is the uncertainty they face that they wouldn't have expected it ever. The ones who got scared earlier left faster, the ones who didn't get scared (like their CEO) are in a state of shock. 1 month ago no-one expected this to happen.

These employees are usually the best of the lot, the 'straight-A's of the schools, champions on the debating team and generally bright candidates. If you are young it wouldn't be very difficult to get back up. But if you are the sole bread winner of the family, your condition will edge on desperation.

I wish all these good guys all the best. You will certainly live to tell the tale and laugh about it. A little bit of uncertainty can teach a lot in life. Things could have been worse but they aren't.