With the burgeoning of BPOs, call centres and malls, anyone with basic intelligence and the will to learn can land a great job

Pune is clearly re-inventing itself. Not only has there been a change in the architectural face of Pune but also in its position as a hub for bright career prospects. It is literally raining jobs!

The City has seen a huge spurt of call centres, BPOs and malls. Msource and its sister concern Mphasis at Kalyani Nagar, Ventura India, Axa, Avaya, EXL, GTL, WNS, HSBC, are just some of the call centres and BPOs which we see this side of town. Hundreds of jobs are emerging in newly opened shopping malls and multiplexes like Pune Central, Nucleus, Inox and Gold Adlabs.

Where at one time, ordinary college graduates faced a bleak future; things are very different for them now. Rohit, 21, joined a BPO the day he completed his Third Year B.Com exams. He had been working for the past five years at various part-time jobs. At Rs. 8,000 a month, the BPO offers him four times his earlier income, and with his good English-speaking skills he is already in line for his next pay hike. This year, he gifted his mother a sofa set on her birthday and renovated the bathroom, complete with hot water geyser and shining blue tiles.

What are the various jobs that have opened up? There's something for just about everyone - from high-level executives, to middle rung ones and even for those who are not well-educated or qualified, but have some basic skills. All that is required is a good personality and an ability to learn on the job.

Corroborates Raveen Bhatnagar, Vice President and Head of Human Resources, Ventura India, situated at Kalyani Nagar, "Pune is poised for growth. It has a large cosmopolitan talent pool. What we look out for are graduates with excellent communication skills, who are energetic, innately friendly, and have reasonable English-speaking skills. Since Pune satisfied all these requirements, we decided to set up base after scouting the entire country."

While the situation had looked bleak for management graduates even a couple of years ago, now there seems to be no dearth of jobs. All such companies have many openings for MBA graduates in departments such as Administration, Human Resources, Finance, Marketing and Sales. This operational support team forms the cream of the organisation. Then there are the call centre executives, usually graduates from any stream. A few housewives and retirees have also benefited greatly from these new opportunities. For instance, Shaheen, 48, was a housewife until a few months back. But with her daughter recently married and a son studying abroad, she found time hanging heavy on her hands. She joined a call centre and now enjoys the elevating feeling of bringing home a pay packet.

"Large retail malls like Pune Central have openings for Floor Managers, Mall Managers, Deputy Managers, and Customer Service Associates (Sales Executives)," explains Sachin Joshi, Senior Executive - Human Resources. "While we usually prefer graduates for Customer Service, we are ready to overlook that if an applicant has extraordinary communication skills, coupled with a bright personality and high grooming standards. If he or she is hardworking enough, even an HSC-pass can become a Team Leader in a couple of years."
With this new trend, it is quite common to see young college students serving you at retail outlets - whether it is taking your order at MacDonald's or Pizza Hut, or helping you select a diamond ring or a handbag at a shopping mall.

What exactly is the quantum of jobs now available? Just to give you an idea: a single retail mall like Pune Central could be the source of at least three hundred jobs, according to Joshi. "We get youngsters not just from Pune, but from all over Maharashtra, he says." Ranjeeta, 19, comes from far-away Kolhapur. Staying in Pune for her higher studies, she also works part time at one of the city's glitzy shopping malls. Besides giving her extra pocket money, dealing with customers has helped her improve her English-speaking skills and also expanded her knowledge of grooming and fashion. Naturally, her family is very pleased.

While these are the visible signs of employment, there are also many more jobs created by each organisation because of outsourcing. These include Security, Transport, Housekeeping, Maintenance and Catering. People like Ram Avatar have benefited from this 'downstream' employment. He retired from the Army a few years ago, with a very small pension. He came to Pune looking for a job and was hired immediately by a Security firm that services a shopping mall. Or take someone like Datta Gaikwad. This class IX dropout learned to drive from his uncle who runs a driving school. He is now employed with a car rental firm, which transports call centre employees.

Says Bhatnagar, talking about these adjunct services: "We have a well-equipped cafeteria and two snack bars, which we outsource to vendors. Our transportation facilities and security are also outsourced. However, we make sure to get feedback from our employees and maintain close interaction with our vendors to ensure quality service."

Joshi adds another range of activities that generate employment, "We advertise a lot, whether in the form of pamphlets, print or broadcast, for which we need people." Then of course there are maintenance service providers, attendants, goods transporters….the list can go on and on.

What emerges is that Pune and its surrounding towns offer a fine talent pool; and there is a vast ocean of jobs waiting too. So update your résumé, straighten your tie, smooth down your hair and walk straight in for that interview. You'll come out with your head held high and a job in your pocket.

Mita Banerjee