Vineet Nayar, the highly respected CEO of HCL Technologies, one of India’s hottest IT services vendors, was speaking this morning in New York City to an audience of about 50 customers and partners when he related a recent experience with an education official in a large U.S. state.

The official wanted to know why HCL, a $2.5 billion (revenue) company with more than 3,000 people across 21 offices in 15 states, wasn’t hiring more people in his state. Vineet’s short answer: because most American college grads are “unemployable.”

Many American grads looking to enter the tech field are preoccupied with getting rich, Vineet said. They’re far less inclined than students from developing countries like India, China, Brazil, South Africa, and Ireland to spend their time learning the “boring” details of tech process, methodology, and tools–ITIL, Six Sigma, and the like.

Read more about how American students are unemployable…

After the resume, the most important document in your job search will be the cover letter.  These two documents are what employers will base your potential for employment from.  While the resume highlights your experience the cover letter should focus on what you will bring to the company.  Here are a few tips for a successful cover letter:

1. Short and to the point.  As an eager job candidate you probably realize the the cover letter could be the only communication you have with the employer and you want to make sure that they know everything about you.  The problem is that you don’t want to bore them with your life story.  The cover letter should not go beyond one page.  You want to highlight what you will bring to the company but do not go into excessive detail. (more…)

Many of you are graduating soon and heading into the workforce to join the rat race and make some money.  What you may fail to realize is that there are loads of other equally qualified (if not more qualified) candidates hunting for the very same job.  You are going to need an edge to make you more recognizable.  We’ll start with your resume.  Try out a few of these pointers to enhance you stock. (more…)

I didn’t go to an Ivy League school or graduate at the top of my class. I didn’t even come from a family rooted in my field (not all connections are from mommy and daddy). But somehow, right out of school I landed a job as a broker at one of the top investment banks on Wall Street.

So how did I do it, you ask? Bribery? Sneak attacks? No! I became a networking rock star.

Here’s how to do the same:

Begin with the network you already have.
Think about the people you already know: school alumni, your local bartender’s cousin, that pal from your summer waiter gig. Even if they are not working in your field of interest, don’t be afraid to politely ask them to put you in touch with people who are. (more…)