Hi Guys,

It is exciting to meet people from different walks of life.. Just to knw what they do.. What are their hobbies.. Whats their passion etc..

That is precisely what is driving me to do more and more interviews.. And today, its my priviledge to welcome Gautam Ghosh! An HR Consultant and leading blogger Gautam runs his blog at http://gauteg.blogspot.com/ His blog talks about HR and organization development.

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Coffee With Gautam Ghosh! – HR Consultant & Leading Blogger

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
GG: Gautam Ghosh!

Me: Hi Gautam, Welcome to CWS! Can you give a brief introduction about yourself to CWS Readers.

GG: Well I am a HR consultant with HR and OD consulting firm Tvarita Consulting (blog here) in Hyderabad. I’ve done my MBA in HR from XLRI in 1999 and have worked in HR after that. Before that I did my graduation in hotel management and worked in Hotels and Sales.Me: When did you start blogging? Is blogging your hobby or is it your profession?

GG: I started blogging in 2002. Well I primarily blog about professional issues related to work and my interests but I don’t live because of my blogging. I have a day job Me: Do you read blogs? If so which are the ones you read?
GG: I read lots of blogs. You can find some of them listed on my blogroll. David maister, Ford Harding, The HR Capitalist, Bill Ives,BlogERP: Jim Holincheck’s HCM Software Blog , Jim Stroud 2.0 , Bob Sutton , Options in India , Dave Pollard , Terrence Seamon , Slacker Manager , Brazen Careerist , Marketing Practice , Michael Specht , All Things Workplace , Heather Hamilton , The Tom Peters Blog, Rashmi Bansal, Donald H Taylor, XLRI Jamshedpur – News and latest Updates , Madhukar’s Musings , XLRI Alumni: Making News , Big Four Blog , Alternative Perspective , Generations@Work etc.

Me: Oh Thats a lot blogs.
Me: What is your proudest moment with blogging till date?

GG: Lots of proud moments, like Shel Israel and Robert Scoble listed me amongst the acknowledgment section of their book on blogging “Naked Conversations”. Then Bill Ives and Amanda Watlington took my blog as a case study in their book Business Blogging: A practical guide, . David Maister, and Ford harding have sent their books to me to review – that was gave me a huge high Another thing I was proud of was being interviewed by NDTV on Blogging
http://gauteg.blogspot.com/2007/12/ndtv-blogging-story-on-youtube.htmlMe: Sometimes, if we look back at our lives, we feel bad that we missed out on a few opportunities.. Have you had such thoughts? If so what are they?

GG: No I don’t think so In the long run everything happens for the better. Regret closes your minds to opportunities – one should keep looking at the silver lining and if it’s not there, then create one

Me: What is the type of work you do in HR consulting. How is it different from inhouse HR teams in companies?
GG: We are brought in when organizations need to reassess their HR processes and systems and we augment the existing HR team’s efforts. We evaluate the existing process’ efficacy, look at what are the best practices in the industry and then give our suggestions. If the client wants we also help the HR team implement the suggestions and train them to upgrade their skillsMe: What are the subjects that one must specialize in, for a consulting? I have heard from people that there is course on strategy which is important.

GG: I don’t think consulting firms who hire from Business Schools look for any particular subjects. A high academic performance throughout matters a lot, along with extracurricular activities. On subjects you should have done a good spread between strategy, marketing, finance, operations, IT and HR.Me: I understand that there are two types of consulting firms. One of them specializes in a particular area. The other is more generic ones. like McKinsey, BCG etc. What is the type of roles that freshers out of leading B schools get?
GG: The bigger firms like McKinsey, BCG, Booz Allen etc specialize in different areas and industries. When you join them as a Analyst/Associate you will typically be rotated across verticals and industries for two years. Then you need to specialize in a couple of particular industries and horizontal skill areas. That is because you are positioned to build expertise in that area.

Me: Finally, What would you like to say to people who are new to blogging?
GG: Always try to create new content or have your own perspective. Build a community. Try reading as many blogs (I would recommend a feed reader like Bloglines or a desktop reader like FeedDemon) and commenting to be a better blogger Use social media like Orkut, facebook, Twitter to connect with other bloggers and your readers too.

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Thanks a lot Gautam Ghosh! It was pleasure having you on Coffee With Experts. It was quite an insightful chat! Readers, hope you enjoyed the recent edition of Coffee With Experts.

For the previous episodes of Coffee With Experts, click here and scroll down.