ASIS New Delhi Chapter - New Office Bearers

Following have been elected as the office bearers of ASIS New Delhi Chapter 207 for the calendar year 2008 :

1. Mr Satish Showkeen - Chairman
2. Mr Rajiv Shah - Vice Chairman
3. Mr Tarun Kumar - Secretary
4. Mr Abhay Ranjan - Treasurer

Here's wishing the new team all the very best !!

IISSM - XVIIth Annual International Seminar

IISSM is conducting an International Seminar on the theme " Security Industry on the Threshold of Changes" at the Scope Complex, New Delhi from 12 to 14 December 2007. An interesting highlight this year is that Capt S.S.Raman is one of the speakers on the panel discussion on "Banking Security : Challenges of Outsourcing" on 13 December 2007. This is a good opportunity to increase one's professional knowledge as well as network with other professional from the Security Industry. I know Capt Khan from Lucknow is attending the seminar. All the best to others who can convince their RDs to depute them for this programme.

The Good , The Bad and The Ugly !!

It seems that the last 'Lungar Gupp' post has not gone down well with some of the readers of my blog. I have received a lot of comments on that post - some good, some bad and some downright ugly !! I allowed two comments to be published on that post. The reason that I published two 'anonymous' comments was, firstly, one was 'for' and one 'against' the post and secondly, I know who sent those comments. Despite my request not to send anonymous comments, I have received a lot of them as described earlier. I thought my blog was read by my friends and 'like-minded' people as the header of my blog spells out. So for all those who have sent me dirty comments - please dont waste your time - they wont be published and anonymous comments (no matter how bad) have no effect on me. I have NOT asked you to read my blog so do something better. Moreover, you cannot be a friend of mine if you are sending such comments. So, if you have the spunk (ie if you are a man ) put your name against your comment and it will be published alongwith a suitable response. On the other hand if you are a scared pussy, to make comments hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, you can go jump into the lake and drown yourself. To conclude in the words of Dharmendra, reveal your identity and " Kutte mein tera khoon pee jaoonga" and "Agar maa ka doodh piya hai to naam bata !!"

PS: The next time I will ask Blogger to track and reveal the IP addresses of senders of anonymous comments.

"Another One Bites The Dust"

Guys,

I am not talking about the famous eighties song immortalised by Freddie Mercury of the British rock band 'Queen'. I am also not referring to this phrase as in Western novels where the term was used when a gunslinger hit the dirt after being killed in a gunfight (biting the dust !!). In recent times, the phrase has been used to mean 'another one failed or quit', 'another one dropped down or fell to a lower level', or 'one has come to an end'. Ahh, the expressiveness of English !!

It just hit me when I was thinking of how many 'high and mighty' blokes have been sent to a department called DICGC in our Bank. This is the favourite dumping ground for those who have either incurred the wrath of the powers that be or are found to be in cahoots with those who have fallen out of favour. It is amazing how fast the wings of high fliers are clipped in our organization !! In the words of 'Gabbar Singh' (of Sholay fame !) the response to "sardar, maine DAPM/HRDD mein kaam kiya hai" would be "ab DICGC mein jaa !!"

Lungar Gupp XXXI

Promotion Interviews. It is understood that some vacancies in Grade 'B' as well as Grade 'C' are being 'frozen' till they are filled up by 'ST' candidates or till the stipulated time limit (as per Govt guidelines) is over. This is bad news to many aspiring candidates who will have to rework the arithmetic (a crucial exercise in the present scenario).

Non Renewal of Contractual Appointment. The Security Adviser's third consecutive term came to an end on 15 Nov 2007 and was not renewed this time. Speculation is rife as to who will be the next Security Adviser ? This is also REAL BAD news to many of our friends who had gone out of their way ingratiating themselves, bending rules and regulations, prostrating themselves and generally doing 'Chamchagiri' in the fond hope of choice postings and/or future promotions. Instances of the Security Adviser being put up in accomodation beyond his entitlement, securing Govt transport, not being frisked at airports, being escorted from the tarmac and sometimes from the aircraft itself, being treated like a VVIP at places of worship, arranging discounts while shopping etc have been heard by all of us from time to time. An oft-repeated refrain from the Security Adviser himself used to be "if so and so can do it - why cant you ?" What a great leveller our organization is ?? Good Bye Mr Security Adviser !!! As for the guys who had spoilt him silly - "Ab tera kya hoga Kaliya ??"

Rationalisation of Duties. A letter was received from the Central Security Cell a couple of days back asking the Regional Offices as to what all duties are being performed by the Security Officers. I do not know the real purpose of this exercise but if the aim is what the subject line reads, then I think it is high time we tell the Bank to delink Maintenance and Protocol from from Security Management. What do you say guys ?? Let me have your comments before I give my rationale in support of my opinion.

Change of Location - CSC. I heard that the Central Security Cell is being shifted from the Central Office building to 'Garment House'. I do not know if this is authentic news or just rumours (I haven't bothered to check up !!) but if it is true then I find it a really incongruous move. This is simply incomprehensible unless it is the result of some 'personal vendetta' or a 'self-inflicted injury' ??

Tips for Interviews

Capt Muralidharan recently forwarded a mail to me which contained some useful tips for interviews. I am reproducing the same over here for the benefit of those people who will be facing promotion interviews shortly!! (author unknown)

1. Attitude is everything. If you're smiling, excited and optimistic, you've already won half the battle. If you're cold, distant and uninterested, you've already lost 99% of the battle.

2. Be yourself. If you act like someone else and they like you, they don't actually like YOU. They like the person you're pretending to be. If you end up getting a job there, you won't be able to keep up the facade for very long anyway. Honesty and authenticity are very appealing characteristics. If both parties stay true to themselves, they'll know if they're right for each other. And in the end, that's usually what matters most.

3. Relax. Interviews are not really interviews at all. They're conversations. Treat them like conversations, and the tension will slowly dissolve. Remember: when you walk into that office, you don't have the job to begin with. In theory, you have nothing to lose. You either come out way ahead or back where you started. If you approach the situation with a "win-draw" mentality, most of the pressure will fall by the wayside.

4. Appearance counts. Before you meet people, virtually the only judgment you can make is based on aesthetics. What you're wearing matters. What they're wearing matters. How you sit, stand, shake hands, hold your pen and walk up the stairs counts. Not enormously, but enough. First impressions are huge. Also, how does the building look? Is the lobby clean and organized? Are the cubicles bunched together? Is the ceiling high or low? Does it look like a fun place to work? Does it invite you to come back?

5. Fit is crucial. All the smarts, skills and experience in the world mean nothing without the right fit. If your values aren't aligned with those of the company, you're doomed. If you like to have fun and they're always serious, don't even bother. Seriously. The more you fit in, the more you'll want to come back every day and bust your butt. If you're always at odds with your coworkers, you're going to hate your job. Simple as that.

6. Liking means more than talent. The days of standing in line and putting decals on widgets is over. People don't hire you because you're capable. They hire you because they want to work with you. If you don't get along, and get along well, the interview will probably be fruitless. Unless, of course, you applied for the "Assistant Placer of Decals on Widgets" position....

7. Be persistent. It's incredibly easy to get lazy, give up and feel sorry for yourself. People will turn you down, never call you back, and forget your name over and over again. None of that matters. What matters is perseverance. If you can't handle losing a few battles along the way, you're in for a tough road ahead. Getting a job is like winning a war. It takes patience, planning, time, effort, dedication and a little bit of luck. The chips will fall your way sooner or later. If you stay persistent, you'll at least give yourself a chance to catch them.

8.Bring an insane amount of (intelligent) questions. Nothing feels worse that not being prepared. If you don't bring loads of questions, you're not prepared. At some point, the interviewer will ask you what you want to know. For the record, you want to know everything. Be curious. Be interested. Be engrossed. Ask your question, and then get ready to listen. Don't think of what you're going to say next. Just soak up every word like a giant sponge. The more questions you ask, the more you'll get out of the experience. And as a bonus, they'll know you care deeply about their business. When you care about what they care about, you both start to align, and that's when the magic happens.

9. Focus on their needs, not yours. It's tempting to sell ourselves, to talk about how great we are, and to show off our past experiences. But guess what. No one cares. What they really care about is how your "amazingness" will translate into success for their company. Don't focus on your talents, focus on what your talents will do for them.

Lungar Gupp XXX

1. Greener Pastures. Capt S.S.Raman has resigned from the Bank's service on 07 November 2007. He is joining 'Satyam Computers' at Hyderabad. His new employers have asked him to join asap. He has also been asked to keep his passport handy as he is expected to do a lot of globetrotting. Here's wishing him all the best in his new venture. Hats off to him for having the guts to chuck the present job despite the assured promotion which is just a couple of months away, foregoing gratuity, the new wage settlement etc, etc !!

2. Interview Time. Aspiring candidates for the Grade 'B' to 'C' interviews have been asked to forward their particulars to DAPM, Central Office latest by 16 Nov 2007. This is a regular prelude to the interviews. There are 5 repeaters and a possible 3 fresh candidates in case the interviews are held for two posts of AGM in our cadre. People have already started sweating !! (Goyal is presently doing that at Delhi). The fresh ones are eager to know what type of questions are asked in the interviews etc. Yours truly being a veteran of three interviews is presently dishing out free advice in this context. I believe some of the repeaters have been up to 'out-of-this-world' freakout grand-standing in their bid to outshine one another. Good luck to them !!

Wishing you all a HAPPY DIWALI

आपको दीपावली २००७ की अनेकों शुभ बधाई।
यह मंगल उत्सव आपके सम्पूर्ण परिवार को
सुख, समृद्धि एवं शांति प्रदान करे.
ईश्वर इस दीपावली पर आप की सभी
मनोकामनायें सम्पूर्ण करें।

CPP and PSP Exam at New Delhi

ASIS New Delhi Chapter # 207 hosted the CPP and PSP examinations on 03 November 2007 at the USI Club. The PSP exam was held for the first time in India and had only one candidate (not many people knew that this exam was also available in India) but there were 20 security professionals who took the test for CPP. The PSP exam was held thanks to the untiring efforts of the New Delhi Chapter in this regard. For more information on this certification please click on the following link which Mr David Cresswell, CPP has kindly forwarded to me :

http://internationalacademy.blogspot.com/2007/10/asis-security-management-certification.html

In addition to relevant information, one can download the US Army Field Manual 'FM - 3.19.30' Physical Security (317 pages), which is an excellent resource for PSP as well as the CPP tests.

On 02 November 2007, I conducted a review programme for the aspiring candidates from 2.00 to 6.30 PM (a real marathon session) as part of volunteer service for the chapter. The same was attended by 14 guys who took the test the following day and all felt that it was very useful (not blowing my own trumpet, honest !!). I am hopeful that the all the eight candidates who were being mentored by me will pass the test. Bhuvnesh Sahni and R.M.Bade from RBI took the test this time as S.S.Raman and Moin Zafar dropped out at the last moment owing to personal problems. Well here's wishing them all the best !!!

With awareness about ASIS certifications increasing, I am sure that the numbers will only grow. This augurs well for the industry as employers today are insisting on certified professionals in any field.