Multiple Roles

At Oracle, you make the difference

Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. With annual revenues of more than $US 18 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services.

We currently have multiple opportunities for Development and Support Engineers working with Oracle Financial Software Solutions. These roles are based out of our Bangalore India offices. As part of this team you will be working on client based projects and be responsible for:

Role: Team member - Development / Maintenance & Support

Role Description:

-2-6 years experience

-Primary Skills: COBOL/AS400

-Secondary Skills: Banking domain knowledge is desirable, SDLC knowledge and Testing.

-Special Requirements (e.g. in case of Production Support, would shift timings be required)

Responsibilities: involved in coding, testing, writing program specifications.

This is an excellent opportunity to join Oracle Corporation in our Bangalore offices. If you are interested mail your resume to david.talamelli@oracle.com or contact David Talamelli on +61 3 8616 3364 to discuss further.

Note: CV's will not be accepted/acknowledged by agencies.

David Talamelli
Oracle Corporation
Email - david.talamelli@oracle.com
Twitter ID: http://twitter.com/DavidTalamelli

Wait, not all hope is lost!

Over the past few weeks, I have been seeing many more tools offering social networking aggregation or mash up services. I think this will be one of the next 'big things' that we see in the social media/networking space.

It made sense that sooner or later we were going to require these services and I think it is great that this need has been addressed. With so many social networks that have been created to communicate with each other, it was becoming time consuming and ineffective to log onto each network individually and check to see who is saying what and where.

These SNS (social network services) mash up sites basically aggregate many of your social networks onto one application or web browser. I have had the chance to try a few of these apps and I think we are still at early adoption stage to say that any one application has it right. Some are too slow, some don't have access to enough networks, some are not available for mac (disgby.com - hope you see this), etc....

Anyway, here are my thoughts on a few of the Social Networking Aggregate site that I have used or seen available:

Orsiso: http://orsiso.com/ - I downloaded Orsiso this week and have started to use it. My first impression is that I like it, it has a nice user interface that allows me to check and see what is happening on my various social networks. It also has a nice feature where you can group your various contacts into 1st Level through to 4th Level contacts - allowing you to keep track of the people you talk to regularly or want to hear from. On the downside - I find that the service is slow, many updates either do not show up on Orsiso or show up much later then when they are actually posted. Out of the 5 SNS Aggregators listed I would say it is my 2nd favorite at the moment.

Google Wave: http://www.google.com/ - I am waiting on a few invitations to come through before I can actually start using Wave - my initial thought from what I have seen is that you can only communicate with other Google Wave users - the tools look great, but it will be a long time before everyone is using wave. Out of the 5 SNS Aggregators listed I have to give it a NA score as I have not actually used this tool yet.

Digsby: http://www.digsby.com - The first thing that comes to mind is frustration! Digsby is not yet available on Mac so when I tried to use it on my home laptop - no luck. Ok the next day I downloaded it onto my work laptop, but because of my firewall protections I can not use it at work. It is too bad, it looks like a good tool, but in this competitive environment, you have to make things easy for people to use - my initial exposure to Digsby has been difficult and I am not sure I will go back unless it becomes easier to use. Out of the 5 SNS Aggregators listed this was my least favorite out of the 5 listed.

Flock.com: http://flock.com/ - This was interesting, Flock is a web browser which integrates your social networking profiles into your web browser. I only had a quick play with it, but didn't immediately see the value add in it. It was good you could log onto Twitter or Facebook and have that information on a sidebar, but it seemed to defeat the purpose because it opened up a new webpage with every social network you joined. I was thinking if this is the case why can't I just do this in Chrome or IE or any other Web Browser. Out of the 5 SNS Aggregators listed this was just ahead of Digsby and well below Orsiso.

Tweetdeck: http://tweetdeck.com/ - I have been using Tweetdeck ever since I started using Twitter over 18 months ago. Tweetdeck is getting better as it now has Facebook and Myspace integration. I like how you can create columns to follow the people or keywords you want to and the results come into Tweetdeck in real time without the same delay that happens with Orsiso. Out of the 5 SNS Aggregators listed this is the original one I used and is still my favorite, it is number 1 for me in the list.

If we could take bits and pieces from each of these apps - I think there would be a great all purpose app to use. I think we will see a good app come out that will stand above the rest and become dominant in this space. It will be fun to see who comes up with that app. I think that someone will get it right in the near future and I think it is great because this will certainly make social networking so much easier to manage for many people.

This article was originally published on the blog David's Journal on Tap.

1. Corporate websites and job boards are considered the most useful channels when obtaining information on companies, but;
2. Social networks, professional sites and blogs, like facebook, twitter or linkedin are more realiable source of information. Besides, they are also used to check references once they've got an offer.

Oracle's National Security Group (NSG) has the single largest group of
cleared Oracle technology engineers in the industry. Our primary mission
is to assist customers in the U.S. intelligence community, military
services, federal/international law enforcement, and homeland security
community to make the best use of the power inherent within Oracle's
database, applications, and other technologies. Drawing on our domain specific
experience, NSG Consulting helps you assess your current and
planned infrastructure, create your mission information management
strategy, and deploy new technology. We specialize in both custom
development of Oracle-based systems and in applying Oracle's large
inventory of ERM, HR, Supply Chain, CRM and other operations support
software to customers' mission problems. No one brings a stronger team
of experienced and dedicated Oracle experts to address your problems.

Are you facing an expanding mission and a shrinking budget?
If so, you are not alone. Many national security agencies are facing the same challenges:
fighting new kinds of enemies and expanding both the amount and type of intelligence
required to prevail. Agency programs are under increasing financial scrutiny and
demands for quick and decisive results. NSG can contribute significantly to the speed,
quality, and effectiveness of custom software development and applications
implementation. We have the senior, experienced engineers needed to help create (or
critically review) program architectures, and we have the talented developers to help bring
them to life.

Will you need to get creative to meet new threats and mission challenges?
NSG has a well-deserved reputation for creativity, both with our customers and within
Oracle. It starts with looking at creative application of the capabilities and power in the
Oracle software you already own and that is on the drawing board within a corporation
expending US$2.4 billion a year on development. We can start from scratch if that is what
is needed, but that is seldom the right answer if what you need is speed and low risk.

Have you seen custom developments or applications implementations fail?
So have we--but fortunately, not ours. We believe that many of the reasons for those
failures are grounded in the inability or unwillingness of project leadership to properly
consider the complexity of enterprise applications. We strongly recommend that you
engage us to review complex Oracle-based architectures near the start of a project and
at critical decision points, when only a few weeks of expert consulting can pay big
dividends in ensuring that your project is on the right path.

If you work with Oracle technology and are in the Intelligence Community, you most likely have worked with one of Oracle's fine consultants.

Oracle' NSG is hiring all over the US for candidates w/ Oracle's core and immerging technology. Due to the nature of the work this group does, a TS/SCI level security clearance is necessary. Kelly is part of our North America Recruitment Team and works with our NSG Group, for any NSG enquiries, Kelly can be contacted at kelly.cushman@oracle.com

Whenever the question comes up of about using social networking tools at work - the common debate tends to be focused around productivity. That is many people from a management perspective take the thinking that using tools like Facebook takes people away from doing the tasks that they are employed to do and ends up costing the company money. Users of Social Networks however counter that with the thought that it is by using tools like Facebook they are actually able to do the job they do and that social networking tools help the company do business and make money.

One point I think many people forget about in this debate is how this affects a companies ability to Recruit and Attract Candidates. The war for talent is becoming increasingly competitive and when I see statistics that companies do not allow Twitter/Facebook at work I wonder if companies are doing all they can to attract and retain top employees in their company.

With an increasingly competitive 'war for talent' candidates have access to more job opportunities now than ever before. In the next 10-15 years we are going to see a shift in the demographics of our workforce. As we see more of Generation Y (and soon Generation Z) enter the workplace - companies are going to have to adapt to the technology the new working population uses or companies may struggle to be seen an 'employer of choice' by top candidates. Social Networking tools are becoming part of our daily lives, similar to the uptake of mobile phones in the 1990's.

If a candidate is deciding whether your company is the right workplace for them what message does a ban on social networks send? Inadvertanltly companies who ban this technology may be giving off signals to candidates that:

• Management does not trust their staff to do their job?
• Management will watch over your shoulder to make sure you are doing only what you have been hired to do?
• Does it promote your company as a forward thinking organisation always looking to improve or as a company stuck in its ways and policies?
• Your company is more concerned about manging risk, than doing new business in new ways?

Yes - I do agree Managers need to make sure that there are boundaries with what employees can and can not do at work and that managers do need to measure productivity - however a Social Media Policy outlining what is acceptable and what is not acceptable use of social networking tools would certainly clear up any confusion instead of just putting a ban on all sites. More often than not if you trust your employees to do their job you will get much better results than if you micro-manage them and watch their every tweet.

Candidates at all levels from Graduates to C- Level Candidates are much more savvy these days about which companies they want to work for. Top Candidates want to work in a working environment that is trustful, built on respect, and allows people to be successful in their roles. By banning these sites at work, you are taking away an Employees tools and you may be closing on the door on some fantastic candidates that use these tools as part of their day. Candidates may decline an offer from your company in favour of a company that has a Social Media Policy and allows online access. Employers give people access to a phone line...these online networks are similar tools to a phone... they give your Employees the ability to talk to your clients and customers.

As far as the productivity debate goes - I think the use of social networking tools in the workplace has far more positives and potential than negatives (as long as you do not spend 8 hrs a day playing mafia wars).

This article was originally published on the Blog - David's Journal on Tap

Listen to Downunder Recruiting on Blog Talk Radio

The show was titled "The Road to Recovery" the first edition of the new Australasian show, looked at what is happening to the recruitment markets in the region as well as worldwide, the noises that are coming out of the market and looked in to the future to predict what the next 18 months will be like. What's changed with client perception? whats changed with candidate perception? What impact social media? What can you do as a recruiter (corporate or agency) to make the most of it.

One of the things that Bill and I discussed was whether candidates and hiring managers are behaving differently in this downturn market as opposed to the busy markets we have experienced in the past. Besides the fact that some candidates are looking for more security than they may have in the past - for the most part things still seem the same. I don't think it matters necessarily what "the market" is doing, if you are looking for a job make sure sure you are looking for roles that are the ideal next role for you to go into - what are you looking for in your next job: location, money, challenge, etc... your job search should be individual to yourself and reflect what you are looking for - do not get too caught up in the hype of an intangible market that you can not see or touch or feel.

There are always booms and busts in business - recruitment activity will become busy again in the IT world. I know Bill is tipping recruitment activity in general to slowly get busier until early 2010 when things may really take off.

The DownUnder Recruiting Talk Back Radio Show will be held every Monday at 5:00 pm Melbourne Time. I would recommend to any Recruiters that this would certainly be something worth plugging into if you have the opportunity. It is a very interactive way to discuss all things recruitment with your colleagues and peers in the local ANZ region.

You can find out all about our current events throughout the globe and also check out our career opportunities by global region. Learn about our campus programs and some tips on interviewing. See our recruiting blog and other useful links. Connect with us and learn why Oracle is a great place to be!

For the most part I disagree with statements like these, a good Recruiter will be successful regardless of the location they work.

I can however appreciate that local cultural differences can play a part. I think this line of thinking comes from the fact that many of the tools we now use tend to come from 'hotspots' like US West Coast or UK, etc.... Before social networking was all the rage many social networks were being created and used by early adopters in the US. For example (and this is a generalisation), I do think that the uptake of social networking tools occurs faster and is more engrained in the US than in comparison to Australia. In the US from what I have seen people are generally more open to sharing their information on public forums than people are locally in Australia. I think in Australia people tend to be more reserved when sending their resumes to companies or more cautious about setting up public profiles. I remember when I first set up my LinkedIn account about 4 years ago. In 2006, LinkedIn provided me with a competitive advantage as many Recruiters locally were not using LinkedIn at all. It was being used by many Recruiters in the US but not in Australia. I think this is because LinkedIn's early adopters were predominantly based in the US. As the social network has expanded over the past 3-4 years it has become used more in other countries. Fast forward to 2009 and every Recruiter globally has a profile on LinkedIn (as a side note - I fear LinkedIn is going to become overrun with Recruiters and many candidates may lose interest in it as a tool, due to all the white noise).

I think that there are good and bad Recruiters everywhere - location does not make a person successful. As I have blogged about previously I do believe that in Recruitment that Customer Service is King. We may do things differently across the globe but one universal rule that I think applies regardless of location is that if you can not treat your clients and candidates with a superior level of customer service, you will always come in second place. I could put together a number of quotes of what makes a Recruiter successful, but like anything in life you only get out of something what you put in. You can not be successful if you are afraid to pick up the phone and make your cold calls or if you think that candidates will magically fall into your lap - it does not matter where you are or what tools you have available, hard work and determination are what counts.

Eleven finalists have been selected for the Secretary of State's prestigious 2009 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). These U.S. companies were chosen from 42 nominations submitted by American ambassadors around the world. ACE finalists are international business leaders who recognize the vital role that U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate citizens. The eleven finalists for 2009 are:

Chevron Corporation in the Philippines for supporting projects that address basic human needs, education, small business development, and the environment, establishing public-private partnerships, and donating funds towards research and training of infectious diseases;

Cisco Systems in Lebanon for contributing to the overall growth and development of the local economy by empowering small and medium enterprises, supporting advances in science and technology by increasing access to the internet, and implementing innovative programs for Lebanese youth;

Cummins in China for encouraging employees to participate in community improvement -- in 2008, more than three thousand employees supported more than 50 projects throughout China, providing emergency disaster relief and demonstrating a commitment to improve the environment;

Intel Corporation in Costa Rica for its model business development efforts and exemplary promotion of volunteer service, demonstrating responsible environmental practices, raising the standards of supply chain management, and launching innovative science and technology programs;

Marriott International in Jordan for its efforts promoting tourism in the region, advancing diversity in its Jordanian workforce, and fostering environmental stewardship by implementing substantial water conservation efforts;

Officenet Staples in Argentina for fostering health, education and entrepreneurship as well as information-sharing initiatives, advancing energy-saving programs, and implementing a digital economy forum to share best practices;

Oracle Corporation in Romania for its environmental stewardship efforts and exemplary employment practices which have contributed to the growth of the local economy, the rapid development of Romania's IT sector, and fostered computer skills, teamwork and international understanding;

Protec in Vietnam for enhancing helmet and traffic safety, funding donations for children's helmets and building awareness which helped lead to Vietnam's implementation of mandatory helmet safety laws;

TOMS Shoes in Argentina for providing a basic necessity--shoes--to disadvantaged people including children and disaster victims, and also providing for health needs by supporting vaccination and nutrition campaigns;

Trilogy International Partners in Haiti for its positive impact on the Haitian economy and promoting education through diverse activities including youth rehabilitation programs, scholarships, internships, computer labs, sports programs, and the arts, and for its exemplary employment practices;

White & Case LLP in Russia for supporting employee activism to improve their communities through efforts such as providing work placement opportunities for orphans and marginalized youths and advocating a strong legal system via a new generation of Russian lawyers with a commitment to pro bono work.

The Secretary of State has awarded the ACE since 1999 to recognize U.S. businesses for advancing good corporate citizenship, innovation, and democratic principles. The Department of State is committed to working with business to further these best practices worldwide and to recognize efforts to improve lives at home and abroad. The 2009 ACE winners will be announced at the annual ceremony hosted by the Secretary of State later this fall.

References for this article have been provided by Lavinia Protopopescu who is part of our EMEA Graduate Recruitment Team. Lavinia is based in Romania. For enquiries about Graduate Opportunities in Oracle Romania Lavinia can be reached at lavinia.protopopescu@oracle.com

With all the changes we are seeing and the continuing changes I think we will see in the recruitment space, it made me wonder - will this be the end of the road for the traditional .doc resume?? It seems the traditional resume is becoming a redundant part of the recruitment process. For example a candidate and I may talk on the phone and go through their online profile together (whether it is on LinkedIn, FB, a Blog, web resume, etc...). Ok so after this that same candidate then normally emails me a copy of his resume in either .doc or .pdf format. This is where the redundancy takes place.

If I already have access to his online resume or 'profile' what do I need the resume for?? If the online profile is a complete profile, besides the fact I can then forward this onto a Hiring Manager (hmmm, I could just as easily send the link to the profile we reviewed together online) and beside the fact it may have contact details on it - the resume does seem to be becoming a redundant feature in the recruitment process. The same thing applies for candidate referrals or when a candidate cold calls me or when they apply for a role via a job board. Rather than sending an attached resume - candidates can now send an email with links to their online profile which may include work history, examples of their work, contact details, etc..... this may give a much better and real representation of that person than a word document can.

The traditional resume has worked well in the past. It worked well for the technology that we had to work with. It worked well when resumes were mailed out to companies or faxed to managers (how many people remember faxing resumes???). However, over the past few years people have been flocking to use various social networks as part of the professional lives. As people get more comfortable sharing their work history online, engaging with each other online and as this becomes more engrained in the corporate culture I think this will lead to the passing of the traditional resume.

Yes, there may be the odd person who creates a false profile or embellishes their experience, but as Recruiters our job is work with the candidate and see what they are capable and not capable of doing. Creating a false online profile is the same thing as creating a false resume. Advancements in technology will not change a person's behaviour/ethics. I would argue in fact we would be less likely to see a false online profile than receiving a resume with false details in it. If a person puts false details about themselves in a public forum they are more likely to be ousted by the online community for doing that.

There are a number of other issues to consider such as how does the information flow into a DB or ATS, but I am sure there are ways to address that. What do you think of the resume, is it on its last legs?? Will we start using video resumes, will online profiles reign supreme...what about all the talk about Augmented Reality..can that be used in a recruitment capacity as well?? Let us know your thoughts.

As part of Oracle Volunteer Day, a team from Oracle spent a day volunteering at Moira Kelly's Children First Foundation farm in Kilmore, an Australian foundation that facilites medical treatment to children from all over the world. Our volunteers enjoyed the team work and excellent weather, and completed a significant amount of gardening and maintenance work at the farm. In addition, The Oracle team built two veggie patches, planted some fruit trees and presented the resident children with some gifts and books.

The foundation's volunters were impressed with Oracle 's team work and dedication to the tasks. In one comment, Patrik Walden, the farm's volunteer and manager remarked that they've never had volunteers arriving before 8am or finshing after 5pm, the Oracle team did both. So impressed was he with the work being done that he was greatly surprised hat these people were IT professionals and not gardening/landscape contractors. Well done to all.

Many Thanks to the voluteers that gave their time and effort on the day,

We had so much fun that we decided to go again next year!

We also thank all those that donated money or supplies to make our project happen. A total of $1126.70 was collected in less than two weeks, in addition to non-cash donations. Many Thanks to the fund raising team. Look forward to see more volunteers paricipate next year.

Regards,
Amin

According to this book there are six characteristics of becoming a Trust Agent - I wont spoil the book and give away all the details, but the six characteristics talk about changing the rules of the game (what ever game it is you play), building honest relationships, understanding those relationships and gathering and working with your social networks. My favorite chapter is the "Make your own Game" and "The Human Artist" chapters. In the "Make your own Game" chapter there are some great examples of how people have changed their own markets which really stood out for me - from Radiohead's 'pay what you think it is worth' online release of their 'In Rainbows' album to Gary Vaynerchuk and his Wine Library. This chapter was quite motivating and reminded me to not be afraid to try new things as that is what will likely give people their business advantage.

In "The Human Artist" chapter I enjoyed being reminded that even though the technology will change people skills and how we treat others is still what is important regardless of the medium. From a company perspective working in the social media space is the new customer service. What many companies do not realise is that the way we talk online should be the new call centre for companies to listen to. So when we talk about a product or service on Twitter or Facebook these are the "new phones" that are ringing for companies to pick up. These are your customers looking for help - companies should pick up the call and talk to your customers. The only difference is that call is not coming from a phone or a fax machine anymore, it is now happening on various online conversations (conversations that some companies are not hearing).

There was a number of other great topics in this book that really got me thinking and put some new ideas in my head. Was this book worth the purchase price - I would have to say that yes it was. Whether you have an interest in social media and want to find out what "this stuff" is all about or if you are an social media enthusiast - this book will help change the way you communicate online.

This entry was originally publised on "David's Journal on Tap" blog.If anyone else has read this book, it would be great to hear your thoughts/comments/review. Leave your comments below.

From another angle though, looking at the presenter list for this conference I was thinking before I stood up to speak, am I the best person to really demonstrate this?? Many of the other presenters at this conference have been blogging far longer than I have (I am a relatively new blogger - about 18 months) and have covered many topics I have not even touched.

While I recognise with the Oracle Recruitment Blog, the platform is not new and blogging itself is not new, I think the content that we have shared has been refreshing and has helped us add some real value to our community of readers. Content really is king - if a blog creates something that is interesting to people, they will read it and share it with their friends and connections. I will share my RecruitTech presentation online shortly either on my slideshare account or on the Oracle Recruitment Blog, I think presentation may be available on YouTube shortly as well.

As a wrap-up it was a great day and there was some very good presentations focused around the use (lack of use ) of Social Media in the Recruitment space. What makes a good Recruiter has not changed - a Recruiter who can add value to both a candidate and a client and is able to establish and develop strong relationships will be successful. What has changed is the tools that we use to make these things happen. Where once candidates relied on mail (no, not email good old fashioned snail mail remember that) to send in their resumes - now they let people view their profiles on LinkedIn or Plaxo. Where once a candidate used to fax their details to a company, now that same candidate waits for the company to contact them on one of their social networks or keyword search them. I do not think that Social Media tools are being used as effectively as they could be in the recruitment space (in general) yet, however as we see social media tools get further ingrained into our daily and corporate lives we will see more effective use of the technology by clients and candidates alike.

P.S. - thanks to the guys from GradConnection for the TwitPic, it was great meeting you finally. This blog entry is also available at David's Journal on Tap

Some of the interesting points and notes from the Q1 results were:

-"Yesterday, Sun and Oracle announced Exadata Version 2, which is twice as fast as
Exadata Version 1 for data warehousing, and the first and only database machine that runs online transaction processing - OLTP - applications," said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. "This new combination of Sun hardware and Oracle software is now the world's fastest computer system for both OLTP and data warehousing."

-"By substantially improving operating margins we were able to increase Q1 earnings per
share even though revenues decreased slightly," said Safra Catz, Oracle's President. "We grew non-GAAP operating margins by 570 basis points to 46 percent in our seasonally smallest quarter. Our operating model continues to drive earnings for our stockholders."

-"We grew faster than SAP in every region around the world, including Europe, where our
applications business grew 3 percent in constant currency versus negative 39 percent for SAP's most recent quarter," said Oracle President Charles Phillips. "Our applications team also executed especially well in North America, where our applications business grew 8 percent in constant currency versus negative 50 percent for SAP."

I try to ensure that at least twice a week I take the opportunity to go for a run during lunch. We all know how easy it can be to work through lunch at your desk and finish off that candidate search or reply to that email/linkedin request/twitter message. I do not think this is a healthy thing to do every day, but I see people doing it regularly all the time. We are all busy, there is always something to do, but we need to make sure we are looking after ourselves as well. Yes, work is important and there are times we need to work through lunch or on the weekend or at night, but do not let work consume you - A healthy work/life balance will ensure you do not burn yourself out and will likely produce greater results than if you just sit at your desk all day.

I like the saying 'a healthy body = a healthy mind'. Not only is an unbalanced work/life perspective not healthy, I am not sure if sitting at your desk all day is the best environment for fresh new ideas or creative thoughts. One of the things I like about going for a quick run at lunch is that it gives me time to collect my thoughts and look at new and different ways to tackle an issue. I can not think of the number of times a solution to a problem has 'popped' into my head during/after a run when only hours before it seemed impossible to solve.

A work/life balance is the ideal result, however you do not want to spend too much time away from your job that it takes away from your results. I am not saying you should take time off work to the detriment of you doing your job, just make sure that you get a break for yourself regularly. It does not have to be running, it can be what ever it is that works for you, but make sure that during your work week you make some time for yourself - both you and your company will be better for it.