Tips for Promotion Interviews

Interviews for Technical, Rajbhasha and Security Officers are in progress. The interviews for Grade A to B in our cadre will be held after the interview for one post in Grade C is completed. This may happen during August (provided the rain Gods dont intervene again). So here are some tips that may serve our younger colleagues in good stead (the voice of experience - you know!!) :
1. Read up thoroughly regarding our area of work (Security, Fire Fighting,Maintenance & Protocol)
2. Keep yourself abreast of the latest events related to security ( International, National and local level)
3. The changing threat perception after major events like 9/11, Attack on Indian Parliament, London Bomb Blasts, Ayodhya incident, Situation in J&K and the threat from across the border etc.
4. Read old issues of RBI newsletters to be aware of the latest happenings within the Bank.
5. Have a general idea of the profile of the various departments of the Bank. (old newsletters are a good source)
6. Read the Governor's DO letter addressed to the staff on the eve of the New Year ( so that you are not flustered by a question like "Do you recollect the salient points of the Governor's Letter addressed to the staff on ---"
7. You may be asked questions like " Narrate one memorable incident that you remember while on Protocol duty."

8. Remember the training programmes you have mentioned in your Bio-Data. Questions may be asked about the courses you have undergone (I had done a one day course on Medical Rescue in 1992 - I was asked about it in 2004 !!)

9. Questions may be asked on Current Affairs and Economics. (one member from DEAP used to ask questions only related to Economics)

10. Lastly you must know where you stand if you are asked a question like " What is your favourite fruit ?"
So all the best and Good Luck guys !!!

Preposterous Requests - Part 3

The list of preposteruos requests seems to be never ending. Here are some more gems :
1. The room booked for me at so-and-so 5 star hotel should be overlooking the swimming pool OK ? (Pray tell why ?)
2. Please get me a carton of `Benson and Hedges' fast !!
3. I am going to the health club, why dont you come along and talk to me while I have a massage.
4. Pick up this luggage and put it in the car. C'mon hurry, we are getting late.

Dressed To Kill

Folks,
Haute Couture is raging in the Garden City after setting fire to places like Milan, Paris, London and New York. The only difference is that you wont see anyone shashaying down the ramp. It's the Security Officers who are dressed to kill in their regal Safari Suits. Those of you who have perused the minutes of the 25th Internal Security Committee Meeting (held at Bangalore on 16 April 2005) will know what I mean. Para (xx) of the minutes, under the heading Uniform to Security Guards says "the committee emphasised the need for wearing of prescribed unifrom by all staff be it officers or class III/IV of security establishment. This should be ensured by all offices." Well this is the first time in my service that I am seeing such directions being issued for wearing of uniforms by officers coming in black and white. This is a self-inflicted injury as we have literally "asked for it". At some places officers were wearing clothes that were too casual for even a hippie to stomach. At some places our brothers were filling the ears of senior officers regarding this. The upshot is now the office has to give an "action taken report" that the said instructions are being followed. So thanks guys. We are religiously wearing our safari suits but I am surely not proud to do so (I would rather be dressed in a shirt and tie every day). But hey ! who cares if you look like drivers of Govt vehicles !! Wear your uniform and dont forget to send the Action Taken Report.

Welcome to my Blog

My friend Toms has been cribbing for quite some time now that not many folks are airing their views on this blog. Well I am happy to introduce our friend from Belapur - Purshottam Dass. He has given a brief profile alongwith his comment on my post regarding Career Progression dated 18 July 2005. He has not only served in the NSG but has also been a Commando Instructor. And he is one helluva lucky bloke I must say. He won a hamper (and a big one at that) at the International Conference conducted by the Asian Professional Security Association in Feb 2005. His idea about Assured Career Progression merits consideration. We know that our job content is not going to change - so might as well have time bound promotions. More on promotions next time.

Keeping Ourselves Updated

This is in continuation of my post dated 23 July where I have spoken about the need to become professionals in our field. Following are some more websites which offer free newsletters and information regarding security :
1. www.thesecurityawarenesscompany.com ( Popularly called `Security Awareness for Ma,Pa and the Corporate Clueless'. One can get free newsletters on Network and Computer Security)
2. www.SecurityDocs.com (Security Awareness guides, whitepapers etc)
3. www.securitytodayonline.com (This is an Indian site promoted by Mr G.B.Singh who is the owner of a Security Gadgets manufacturing company and the founder member of Asian Professional Security Association)

The security awareness company also has a blog at http://securityawareness.blogspot.com
Happy Fishing Guys.

``Lungar Gupp''

It is believed that the note regarding our career progression (nay truncation) has been despatched to DAPM, Central Office by RBI, Chennai. Bombay guys - get on the job and keep tracking it !!!

Glossary of Security Management

I have managed to obtain a soft copy of Cresswell's Glossary of Security Mangement. My friend David is now the Managing Director of International Academy for Security Management, Pangbourne, UK. (erstwhile ARC Training) The glossary is an exhaustive compendium of terms associated with Security Management (62 pages). For those of you who are interested to get a pdf version mail me at nandanbisht@gmail.com for a copy.

Preposterous Requests - Part 2

Hi Guys,
This is in continuation of my post dated 22 July 05. Following are some more outlandish requests we all may have faced/may have to face during our service :
1. I propose to go outstation in a hired car - ask the operator not to mention this on the bills (ie bills should be for travel within the city)
2. I am coming on official duty and my wife is accompanying me - ask the 5 star hotel not to charge me extra bed charges for the spouse. ( and she should get all the freebies I am getting - after all I am a frequent visitor!!)
3. Ask the hotel people not to reflect my liquor consumption (which is substantial) in the bill.
4. Arrange for maximum discount possible on air tickets for travel of my family (use your charm man !!)
5. You guys get items from CSD at dirt cheap rates- isnt it ?? Well please get me `this and that' will you (these start as requests and end up as commands `` get a bottle of jam for my house fast'' )
6. I am throwing a party at my house - can you please arrange 12 bottles of Scotch from your liquor quota. (once obliged and then you can kiss goodbye to your quota forever)
7. You are a member of the Services Institute - arent you ?? Well please take my guests as YOUR guests and let them enjoy the hospitality.
8. Please escort my wife/family to the market for shopping (you may chit chat with the driver while you wait for them - of course )
More next time.
Food for thought `` The exhilaration one feels while jumping into water of unknown temperature is only matched by the agony of finding it too cold and shallow ''

Grease your skids and become professionals pronto - or else get junked !!!

Hi Guys,
Some time back I read a very thought provoking article authored by Capt S.S.Raman from Hyderabad office wherein he has emphasised the need to become proficient in our field lest we get sidestepped/overlooked/junked. I agree with him insofar as developing our professional skills are concerned. Unless we are thorough in the performance of our duties - the time is not far when substitutes will be doing our jobs and we may be cooling our heels. Now for those of us who want to keep ouselves updated with the latest developments in the field of Security here are some websites which offer free subscriptions to their newsletters/publications :
1. www.asisonline.org (for security management weekly news)
2. www.csoonline.com (forwebsite for security executives and updates)
3. www.continuitycentral.com (business continuity news)
4. www.teexwmdcampus.com (terrorism awareness and online courses)
5. www.info@defenceindia.com ( Indian defence and security news)
6. www.cctvinfo.com (latest on CCTV)
All the best and happy hunting.

Restrictive Practices - Monoplistic Practices or are they just WRONG GODDAM PRECEDENTS ???

Dear fellow sufferers,
How often have we heard any/some/all of the following preposterous requests ?
1. Please arrange a luxury sedan for me at the rate of an Esteem (smaller) car - use your good offices !
2. Kindly telecheck for me by so and so flight - I am an economy class passenger and NOT a frequent flier !
3. I want seat No. so and so - how you arrange it is your funeral (or `` your predecessor used to do it '') !
4. I want seat No. so and so and the seat next to mine should be unoccupied. (`Tere baap ki airline hai na ?)
5. Arrrange an appointment with Mr Bigshot (high functionary in the Govt) and make sure I dont have to wait in his office (Mr Bigshot should wait) - ``Govt bhi mere baap ki hai yaar , no problem ''
6. I am travelling `J' class by Jetair but I want sit in the Indian Airlines lounge - arrange it !!
7. Can you make me sit in the `Reserved Lounge' (meant for DGs and above) somehow ? Pray tell - HOW !!!
8. Ring up the airline `I am stuck up in traffic so I will check in late'. In other words the aircraft should wait - well, no problem - remember whose airline it is anyway ??
9. So and so is due to arrive at the office (another bigshot) at so and so time - kindly ensure that he is NOT checked/ frisked or asked for an entry pass. ( In other words you wait for him at the gate and escort him up to me)
10. Ask your subordinate staff do `this' (OFFICIAL) work (which is likely to go well beyond prescribed office hours) - but make sure there should be no demand for overtime.
11. Security officers from Commercial Banks are very good at getting jobs done from outside agencies - some of you guys should learn a lesson from them ?? ( Give us an expense account, dont expect us to sit in office all day and give us one item of work to do at a time - Voila !! Presto Zippo !!! Yours truly can do one better than those goody twoshoes. )
12. I have a pain in my ***** do something about it . (Again NO PROBLEM !!! am I not a doctor, pharmacist and cleaner rolled into one ??)

We have heard even more ridiculous requests during our service. The above is just illustrative and not exhaustive. And it is NOT reflective of what I am facing today. These are tidbits gleaned from everywhere though some are indeed personal experiences. The short point is that such requests are made since our brothers sometime, somewhere have managed to bend rules and appeased the boss - least realising the legacy they are leaving behind or the wrong precedents they are setting. Why cant we work to the best of our abilities without indulging in unauthorised or unwarranted practices ?? Any ideas how to get around such requests without becoming the BAD boy ???

Career Progression

This is in response to the query raised by my friend Toms. The news regarding the plight of our cadre reaching the Gov's ears is genuine. Dont be a ``Doubting Thomas'' Toms (pun intended). Even the RD, Chennai has spoken to the Gov about it. This has been followed up by a document, the draft of which I have seen. So far so good. Will keep you all posted about this. Regarding Toms' second point - a lot of people are seeing the blog but are not commenting owing to various reasons. My advice to those who are itching to say something is - open your own blog by registering under an alias (all you have to do is to remember the alias username and password) and you should be raring to go. It would be fun to interact with a larger group. So go ahead guys !! More in the next blog.

Career Progression for Security Officers in RBI

Our friends from Chennai, it is believed, have managed to tell our sob story to the top boss himself - the Governor. Having realised that 90 percent of the cadre today( officers in grade A and B) have nowhere to go - thanks to only five posts in Grade C remaining after the much hyped ``career progression'' (or was it ``career depression''). I must say `hats off to you guys'. I know how tough it is to say your mind - but desperate times call for desperate measures. Another plus point is the positive attitude of RD, Chennai who has taken up cudgels on our behalf. Let us hope that the fallout will be favourable this time. Of course `hope is a thing of feathers' and we all have heard about `the height of hope' too, have'nt we ?? So let us keep our fingers crossed.

I am the one who can get the coon

I was told by a friend from the general side that one officer from our cadre is busy `shouting from rooftops' how slack his predecessor has been in the discharge of his duties. I was appalled at this irresponsible behaviour. Imagine the effect such a diatribe has on someone who is blissfully unaware about the intrigues that plague our cadre. These are the acts which lower our collective image in the eyes of everyone. OK, so you are `James Bond and Sherlock Holmes rolled into one'. Then get your act together and and GET THE COON MAN. Your work will speak for you. We must remember that we are not indispensable and someone has been `shovelling the shit' before us. So let us not demean and criticize our predecessors and get down to business. If we open our beaks too wide we may put our foot into it. Watch out guys !!!

He who laughs last- Really laughs best

A friend of mine drew a lot of flak from all concerned (and also from some who should not have been concerned) regarding his actions while in service. Unbecoming conduct blah, blah, blah!!! Well the same guy has just been sanctioned study leave. I am sure he is having a good laugh. Good idea to test some new territory eh ?? What say you guys ??

Career Ideas

Toms,
This is in response to your idea about deputation to some NGO abroad. I will second that rather than chucking our jobs at present. Visit https://jobs.un.org and register yourself. Secondly get down to making a short and sweet resume which should cover all the essentials without being boring and lengthy. We have to sell ourselves man - and we get only one sheet of paper to blow our trumpets. Lastly dont forget to send me a copy of the resume. More inthe next blog.
Bisht

Free Advice - For Old and Weary Horses - Tired of Races Now

Me and my friend Toms have been sharing our views on the question of going for greener pastures in the light of what is happening to our careers in the Bank today. Well, in my opinion I'll say `Dont throw it all away' (reminds me of the old Bee Gees song) For guys from my batch it is a tough decision to make when one can earn FULL pension by serving for another four and a half years. Pension is a good social security measure and our families, friends and relatives will invariably be opposed to any idea about chucking the job at this stage. And I dont blame them for doing so. In case someone has reached a saturation point where he just cannot digest the gross mismatch between the ego vis-a-vis status (in Toms words), the following advice is offerred :
(a) Carefully weigh your options - do you really want to throw it all away (I mean more than 25 years plus of service)
(b) In case you want to take the plunge - the job should be so good that it compensates for 25 years of sweat and grime in just five years or so.
(c) The a/m scenario is only possible if one can land a job abroad which pays around $ 50,000/- per anum or so.

Any more ideas ??
Bisht