Work is finally picking up…

So it would seem that "IndiaIT" corporate marketing department has finally realized that they have a very expensive, talented, not to mention dashingly handsome, marketing executive from the United States sitting in a cube completely underutilized. Today I decided to take a more proactive approach and went out to find work. It seems that rather than concentrate on one team, I will be jumping head-first into a few teams, at least for the time being. I will be working on projects with the CampusConnect, the university relations online portal, as well as the PR group and the Banking and Capital Markets (BCM) teams. The problem is that I am very interested in several groups. I imagine that once I begin these various projects I will decide where I want to focus and thus will begin my first solid rotation. People here are really chilled out, so I felt like I was gonna sit here forever unless I did something about it. It’s a very different, much more relaxed, environment than I’ve ever seen in the US. People are always taking breaks, showing up late, leaving early, yet they seem to get more done in an average day than most Americans. They must if the company is growing at roughly 30% annually.

I have what I think is a pretty good feature for the PR team to develop. ME! I will be developing a story about myself and my job here that I will pitch to a large US media, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, etc. (cross your fingers) Luckily, I have friends here who have connections to the Asian Wall Street Journal as well as the Indian correspondent for the NYT, WSJ and BusinessWeek. Here’s the gist:

The position that Winnie, Matt and I have taken here in Bangalore is an extremely new concept, especially as a first job out of college from the US. It is one thing to come to India after having some post-graduate work experience, but it is quite another to come to India a few weeks after graduating from an American university. Furthermore, there are many implicit facets of a global position such as this that will attract increasing attention from US graduates in the near future, so this story would be both timely and innovative. The fact that "IndiaIT" is one of the first outsourcing companies to take on such an initiative makes the article newsworthy on several levels. I have read articles in both The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, news outlets recognized on the senior executive level, that have specified international experience as a new requirement for C-level executives. It should be highlighted, and publicized, that "IndiaIT" is one of the first to recognize this fact and utilize it as a way to develop future leaders. I have spoken with Josh about the profiles he has done, and I do not want to overlap too much, but I think that an article such as this featuring the new US hires could add credibility and exposure to "IndiaIT" from an executive standpoint, as "IndiaIT" becomes a more internationally recognized company rather than merely an Indian outsourcing company, and on a recruiting level, as this type of article could help greatly in the international hiring efforts of the future. There is already some interest from US media, specifically The New York Times, and my experience has shown that expressed interest from media is rare and should be capitalized upon immediately before it dissipates. In the case of the NYT, their earlier profile on Josh makes my suggested article an easy follow-up, especially as Josh was the one who began the international recruitment process.

Any thought? Criticisms? Honestly, I’d love to hear them.

So that’s my brainchild of the moment. I’d love to send a New York Times feature on myself to the folks at Edelman and Cramer-Krasselt!!!

Winnie has moved out of my cube, FINALLY! (Obviously kidding. I have to be carefull because she’s a very sensitive girl.) I’m getting to know many of my coworkers and they are starting to open up to this confident, yet refreshingly humble, American chap. Everyone seems to be very cool.

The other day I had to sit through an entire day of analyst training. We sat from 9:00 to 18:30 in a conference room listening to this consultant from the Knowledge Capital Group tell us about analysts and the best way to achieve positive relationships with those analysts that can yield new business. I had done some of this work at Edelman, so much of the material was repetitive for me. Basically, it was 9 hours of restraining myself from shoving my pen through my eye. See, my life isn’t so exciting all the time.

We went out last night (Wednesday) to a bar called Cosmo Village and just kinda chilled. Josh, Winnie, Matt and I are planning a trip over the Indian Independence Day weekend, which is in two weeks. We get the 15th off, so it looks like we’re going to Hampi. I couldn’t even tell you where in India that is right now. We were deciding between a few places, and I hadn’t been to any of them, so I just let them decide. It looks like it’ll cost about $200 for the weekend including transportation and rooms at the Taj, which will probably be the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I was down with staying in a lesser hotel, but my compatriots wouldn’t hear of it. Oh well! Apparently there are some really awesome temples and whatnot. It’s exciting that I’ll finally get out of Bangalore. You get an extremely skewed view of India when you spend your time in Bangalore. Although now that I think about it, staying in the Taj doesn’t really allow me to experience the down-and-dirty side of India either, but I guess I’ll just have to make do.

I would like to take this time to recognize a very close friend of mine, Christopher Bruss. Apparently he has been feeling neglected lately, not having been mentioned in my blog. Chris, you are a self-important, conceited SOB who clearly has nothing going on in his life, leading you to concentrate on how often you are mentioned in my little online journal that nobody even reads. Just because I mention Hess a few times on his BIRTHDAY doesn’t mean that you are less important. I mean, come on, Hess can really use a boost to his ego. You would too if you were such a complete loser. I mean, COME ON!!! Would a guy in $4200 suit….nevermind.

Alright, it’s the end of the day, so I need to wrap this up and catch my ride home. I think I’m just gonna chill tonight. I slept through my alarm this morning as it is and was almost late for my 9:00 meeting.

I’m just a chilled out entertainer. Peace.