Bayt now has this great new interactive dashboard. It’s got all kinds of new career tools that help you look at your career a completely different way. I love this “who’s looking for you” chart. Makes you wonder if you should start looking at other industries or countries.

There is also this great new keyword tag cloud widget. It basically shows you how the people who look at your resume found it. So if I see the tag “crazy foo” in big and bold, then I should probably remove Mr. T as a reference on my CV.

I also like the interactive skill demand and supply reports. Tried it out and looks like there is high demand and very little supply for some skills. This could be a great place to start for freshers instead of just following randomly in someone’s footsteps.

Overall, a great improvement but it looks like the data might be too much to handle right now. The site went down for quite some time yesterday. I’m assuming its the new features. Time to optimize those queries …or just get better servers!

I got a call recently from Monster about updating my resume and I decide to start working on it. I came across these very interesting samples in the form of infographics. They are really amazing and I never imagined people creating resumes like this.

One site, Vizualize.me, which is to launch very soon will be able to create stunning resume’s from your LinkedIn profile. There seem to be other sites on the net doing the same thing. Another example below is form re.vu.

I wonder how hr departments will react to receiving these instead of the traditional pages of text.

Either this guy was pissed with people taking his parking spot or it was “bring your washing machine to work” day.

This point was my main complaint the first day. If you sit for long hours at your computer …working (doesn’t include facebook & youtube time) you should use a high-back bucket chair… bucket meaning that the back-rest doesn’t swing independently from the seat. It took 2 weeks to get a decent chair for me. No more favours for the admin department. At least now the back aches have stopped. There seems to be little hope for a decent size desk though.

Very few spaces at the new office have natural light flowing in. Everyone has about one or two orange/yellow glaring bulbs above them. I counted 5 at my desk. Must be caz I’m so popular. And with the two zoo-like glass panes behind me, even more glaring light from the corridor shines in.

25%!!! This is amazing. I should recommend this to our vendors. That way I can report 25% less bugs every day!

The only saving grace at my new space are my headphones. Brightens up my day and disturbs everyone else. I’m gonna try shifting to instrumental music this week onwards, soft uplifting numbers. Any suggestions?

This week should look better at the office with all the piles of boxes used during shifting out of the way. Luckily for me, my desk will always remain clutter free. Two large monitors, a laptop and my large ergonomic keyboard make sure there is no desk space left to clutter on.

My company moved office recently to Dajeej. I know, your thinking ‘Dajeej’ and laughing real hard. Yes, it’s nothing like the city but supposedly the rent is 10 times cheaper which means the company will save a bundle and hand out big bonuses this year …hopefully! Anyway, my new office/desk space sucks! It’s very depressing. Mostly cause i’m surrounded by walls & bad lighting and it’s 1/3rd the size of my last office. By the end of every day, I’ve usually got a headache and am in a bad mood.

I did a little digging on the net and tried to find out what should be the ideal “healthy” office space and what I can do about my current one. Decided to share what I found (copy paste from some sites with my own rants).

The Correct Chair: “Ensure that you have a chair that you are comfortable in. You are likely to spend the majority of your eight hour day in this chair so you need to make sure you are comfortable. Most offices choose to implement swivel chairs, as they have the ability to adjust the height, backrest and even the height of the arms. It is also good for if you have a big desk as you can maneuver between stations very easily.”

This point was my main complaint the first day. If you sit for long hours at your computer …working (doesn’t include facebook & youtube time) you should use a high-back bucket chair… bucket meaning that the back-rest doesn’t swing independently from the seat. It took 2 weeks to get a decent chair for me. No more favors for the admin department. At least now the back aches have stopped. There seems to be little hope for a decent size desk though.

Green Plants: “Plants add a great deal of colour to an office environment, and they can enhance the beauty of your surroundings. They also have health benefits as many will clean any pollutants out of the air as they add oxygen and humidity to your office, which can help fight against illness and disease (so hopefully your employees wont be taking too many sick days!). In addition, recent psychology studies have shown that the presence of plants tends to make people more creative.”

Did I mention that the IT department is right in the middle of the building! No windows, no natural light, no fresh air. So I guess there will be no plants either.

Lighting: “Many studies have researched how employee productivity can be increased, and many have drawn the conclusion that light plays a big factor in productivity, as it reduces anxiety, fatigue and stress. One of the reasons office partitioning is becoming increasingly popular, is because it helps to emit natural light into your workspace.”

Very few spaces at the new office have natural light flowing in. Everyone has about one or two orange/yellow glaring bulbs above them. I counted 5 at my desk. Must be caz I’m so popular. And with the two zoo-like glass panes behind me, even more glaring light from the corridor shines in.

Aromatherapy: “Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being. Not only does the aroma of the natural essential oil stimulate the brain to trigger a reaction, but the natural constituents (naturally occurring chemicals) of the essential oil are drawn into the lungs and can also supply physical benefit. Aromatherapy can help with a physical condition, can help with symptoms, can affect your mood, or help alleviate or temporarily eliminate stress or other psychological factors. Scenting your office with Lavender essential oil is said to reduce computer errors at least 25%.”

25%!!! This is amazing. I should recommend this to our vendors. That way I can report 25% less bugs every day!

Air Quality: “The EPA informs us that 6 out of 10 buildings are “sick” and that indoor air quality is the United States’ number one environmental health problem. A recent study by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture found that ionizing a room led to 52% less dust in the air, and 95% less bacteria in the air (since many of the pollutants found in the air reside on floating dust particles).”

If the EPA did a study in Kuwait, I guess all 10 out of 10 buildings would be “sick”. Guess nothing can be done about this when you live in the desert.

Colors: “Scientific studies recognise that colours bring about emotional reactions in all individuals. Our reactions and attitudes to colours differ from person to person, and it is important to ensure that you change your colour scheme from time to time to help keep all the individuals refreshed. Colors that are useful in the office are: orange – stimulates creativity; yellow – intensifies the intellect and heightens motivation; red – energizes; blue – calming, fights physical and mental tension; green – fights irritability and has a healing effect on the body.”

I guess I can’t really complain about all the bland beige walls and the orange glass frames. People do seem a little more creative at the new office.

Music: “A little bit of background music will have a soothing effect on your workforce and it can also help motivate them with their daily tasks. Music can affect emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities, and cognitive skills. Generally, people adopted soft, uplifting music to keep the office happy.”

The only saving grace at my new space are my headphones. Brightens up my day and disturbs everyone else. I’m gonna try shifting to instrumental music this week onwards, soft uplifting numbers. Any suggestions?

Breaks: “Even the most focused person needs a break at least twice a day. Change of scenery also helps with emotions. One of the best ways to eliminate stress and recharge the body is to go outside for a ten-minute walk. Focus on your surroundings and take deep breaths. This will give you a renewal of energy and will also aid in Vitamin D production. Walk by yourself and focus on clearing your mind. Walking will also get the blood and the lymphatic system flowing.”

10 min walk, focussing on surroundings …in Dajeej! I don’t think so. But I guess a walk to and through the mall next door can do me good.

Organization: “Keep your office clean and organized. There is no excuse for clutter. Make sure that your desk is clean and that everything is put away before you leave each day. A well-organized, uncluttered desk leads to clear thinking and reduces stress. Make a habit of putting items back in their original place after you are finished using them.”

This week should look better at the office with all the piles of boxes used during shifting out of the way. Luckily for me, my desk will always remain clutter free. Two large monitors, a laptop and my large ergonomic keyboard make sure there is no desk space left to clutter on.

This week I shall give the 10-min walks a try and shift to softer music. Maybe I’ll spray paint the walls around me yellow, red and blue. Maybe I’ll run into the idiot who designed this new office and shoot his dumb ass. Hopefully I’ll end up more relaxed and get inspired to blog more often …as I should.

BTW, thanks for your emails guys (u know who u are).

I came across this ninety-ninety rule for projects today and it put a big smile on my face.

“The first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time. The remaining 10% will use up the other 90%.”

To some extent it seems to be true. I can relate to it first hand since a few projects I’m involved with overshot project deadlines by about 80% …or more.

Our vendors may probably have a good laugh at this rule too, but I doubt our management will.  ;)

I had to check on one of our Linux servers the other day and since our server room is next to the store room I got a glance at the current state of our store room.

Damn!!! That’s a lot of LCD monitors and desktops stacked all along the wall. Seems most of them are in need of repair. Guess its cheaper to just buy a new monitor now days.

This scene reminded me of a client I worked with in Goa. They had a similar wall, except that theirs had all brand new computers stacked together. Some 100 of them if I remember correctly. They got pretty excited with the decision to move from paper to spreadsheet.

Saw a huge plume of black smoke near the Sultan Wholesale Center in Dajeej today morning. It seems to be the carpet warehouse next door. Lots of fire trucks and some ambulances around the place. Hope no one was injured.

These big fires seem to be a common sight in Dajeej. Seems a lot of companies (including mine) want to shift to Dajeej since the real-estate rates are the lowest there. Guess the fires (intentional or otherwise) are a good way to convert warehouses to office blocks.

Well everyone is cribbing about the extra hot summer we are having here in Kuwait. The people sitting in my office probably complain the most. Primarily cause our air conditioning sucks and its not been rectified for ages. To add to that we are on the ground floor facing the main road and every time someone walks in (which is pretty often), they love to leave the door wide open.

We have had two portable air-conditioners lying here for a while now. We couldn’t set them up since they need an exhaust vent installed and we can’t do that without a ton of paperwork and running around. A few days back the heat got to me and I just plugged in one of the units and turned it on. Unfortunately it heated up the place even more since it gave out more heat from the back. After a few tries I managed to get the unit setup by leaving the door open. I put a small box in the way of the door and left the flexible exhaust vent on top of it to direct the heat outside. Our office looks like a mess with this setup, but hey, at least its cool in here.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a ridiculous idea …a job site with a classifieds section!!!

Can’t find a job? Why don’t you buy a wedding gown or a hummer instead.

This new section makes the site kinda “cheap” (for lack of a better word). Now potential employers will probably spend more time on the classifieds section, checking out great offers on second hand goods instead of looking for great resumes.

If the chimneys at my office got their hands on these large size lighters they may never stop smoking.

On the other hand, these are a little more difficult to loose and they would probably spend less time hunting for lighters.