Budget and Finance Minister

The extent of the slowdown gripping Asia's third-largest economy was underlined by data released just hours after Chidambaram delivered his budget for the coming fiscal year, showing GDP growth tumbled to 4.5 percent in the October-December quarter, its lowest in nearly four years.

Chidambaram, whose reformist zeal has made him a darling of financial markets since his appointment last August, focused on revenue-raising measures rather than spending cuts, a sign, analysts said, of his difficult balancing act ahead of a general election that must be held before the middle of next year.

Many private economists expressed scepticism at Chidambaram's rosy revenue assumptions and were dismayed by the sizeable increase in public spending in a country facing its sharpest economic downturn in a decade.

Total budget expenditure will rise by 16 percent in the 2013/14 fiscal year to 16.65 trillion rupees.

Investors have until now cheered on the energetic and forceful Chidambaram for his efforts to shore up India's finances by hiking fuel prices, opening up the retail and airline sectors to foreign players and curb government spending.

But stocks, bond prices and the rupee all fell on Thursday, despite his vow to cut the fiscal deficit to 4.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the year starting April 1.

"The honeymoon is over," BNP Paribas said in a critique that questioned his budget arithmetic. "The finance minister ... has pencilled in a capex boom, financed by populist tax hikes on the rich, a sharp pickup in disinvestment proceeds and, that old friend, implausible control of subsidy spending."

The budget did achieve Chidambaram's immediate goal of staving off a credit rating downgrade, for now. Global agencies Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Fitch said the budget would not affect their assessment of India's creditworthiness. Both have threatened to downgrade India's sovereign rating to "junk" unless it gets it finances under control.

There had been widespread expectations, fuelled in part by comments by finance ministry officials, that Chidambaram would present an austere budget to parliament. But the spending plan appeared to have been drawn up with voters in mind, several economists and industrialists said.

The coalition government led by Sonia Gandhi's Congress party, mired in corruption scandals and widely derided as incompetent in the face of the economic slowdown, faces a struggle for re-election in polls due by May 2014.

"With a general election not much (more) than a year away, political pressure from within the Congress may well have had an influence on the make-up of the finance minister's budget," Credit Suisse said.

REPUTATION ON THE LINE

Chidambaram, a three-time finance minister seen as a potential candidate for prime minister in 2014, has staked his reputation on cutting swollen fiscal and current account deficits that have alarmed the rating agencies.

"Faced with a huge fiscal deficit, I had no choice but to rationalise expenditure," he said in his budget speech, which was seen as a balancing act to avert a downgrade while meeting his party's demands for vote-winning spending. "We took a bitter dose of medicine. It seems to be working."

Next year's fiscal deficit target is in line with expectations but assumes hefty revenue growth, including 558 billion rupees from the sale of government stakes in companies, more than double the 240 billion rupee target for the current year, which falls short of the initial target.

The budget also assumes revenue of 408.5 billion rupees from telecoms sector fees, more than double what it will generate this year, with its next auction of mobile airwaves poised to flop after attracting just one bidder.

"The government may fall short of its tax and disinvestment targets and end up cutting spending closer to the end of the year to attain its fiscal deficit target," said A. Prasanna, economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd.

Net market borrowing of 4.84 trillion rupees for the new fiscal year met investor hopes that the figure would not top 5 trillion rupees, but the gross figure exceeded expectations.

The budget included several measures to spur investment both in markets and by corporations, including an incentive on investments in plant and machinery exceeding 1 billion rupees and extending tax breaks for small companies that grow larger, and an expansion of tax-free bonds for infrastructure.

"India, at the present juncture, does not have the choice between welcoming and spurning foreign investment," he said.

However, the budget disappointed foreign investors by failing to deliver a much anticipated cut in withholding taxes for debt investments and creating confusion with a proposal that appeared to target tax treaties.

HEY, BIG SPENDER

While the added spending included capital investment that many have said is sorely needed, including a 29 percent increase in funding for infrastructure and development, it also included a 46 percent jump in funding for development programmes in rural areas, the core voter base of the ruling Congress party.

Chidambaram also hiked the agriculture ministry's budget by 22 percent, and promised to increase targeted farm loans to 7 trillion rupees, from 5.75 trillion rupees in 2012/13.

He made a smaller-than-expected commitment to food subsidies, less than 1.2 trillion rupees the food minister said two weeks ago that India might have to spend.

An added surcharge on local firms with incomes of more than 100 million rupees and a 10 percent surcharge on individuals with annual taxable incomes topping 10 million rupees - a level of earnings currently declared by just 42,800 people - will be put in place for one year.

Dozens of corporate executives, watching a telecast at an industry event in New Delhi, exchanged nervous smiles as Chidambaram introduced the surcharge on the rich.

"In the larger scheme of things, I guess that is one way of reducing his deficit. Am I going to lose sleep over it? No," Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of IT outsourcer Zensar Technologies (ZENT.NS), said by phone from Pune, where the company is based.

Nine Practices to Help You Say No

Irene* is a great colleague. A senior manager in a large consulting firm, she pitches in when the workload gets heavy, covers for people when they're sick, and stays late when needed, which is often.
She's also a leader, serving on boards and raising money at charity auctions. She tries to be home for her kids at dinner time, but often works into the night after they've gone to sleep. That is, on nights when she's not at a business dinner.
But if you catch her in a moment of honesty, you'll find out that she doesn't feel so great. In fact, she's exhausted.
Irene can't say no. And because she can't say no, she's spending her very limited time and already taxed energy on other people's priorities, while her own priorities fall to the wayside. I have experienced the same thing myself. So, over time, I experimented with a number of ways to strengthen my no.
Here are the nine practices I shared with Irene to help her say a strategic no in order to create space in her life for a more intentional yes.

• Know your no. Identify what's important to you and acknowledge what's not. If you don't know where you want to spend your time, you won't know where you don't want to spend your time. Before you can say no with confidence, you have to be clear that you want to say no. All the other steps follow this one.
• Be appreciative. It's almost never an insult when people make requests of you. They're asking for your help because they trust you and they believe in your capabilities to help. So thank them for thinking of you or making the request/invitation. Don't worry; this doesn't need to lead to a yes.
• Say no to the request, not the person. You're not rejecting the person, just declining his invitation. So make that clear. Let him know what you respect about him — maybe you admire the work he's doing, or recognize his passion or generosity. Maybe you would love to meet for lunch. Don't fake this — even if you don't like the person making the request, simply being polite and kind will communicate that you aren't rejecting him.
• Explain why. The particulars of your reason for saying no make very little difference. But having a reason does. Maybe you're too busy. Maybe you don't feel like what they're asking you to do plays to your strengths. Be honest about why you're saying no.
• Be as resolute as they are pushy. Some people don't give up easily. That's their prerogative. But without violating any of the rules above, give yourself permission to be just as pushy as they are. They'll respect you for it. You can make light of it if you want ("I know you don't give up easily — but neither do I. I'm getting better at saying no.")
• Practice. Choose some easy, low-risk situations in which to practice saying no. Say no when a waiter offers you dessert. Say no when someone tries to sell you something on the street. Go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and say no out loud ten times. It sounds crazy, but building your no muscle helps.
• Establish a pre-emptive no. We all have certain people in our lives who tend to make repeated, sometimes burdensome requests of us. In those cases, it's better to say no before the request even comes in. Let that person know that you're hyper-focused on a couple of things in your life and trying to reduce your obligations in all other areas. If it's your boss who tends to make the requests, agree upfront with her about where you should be spending your time. Then, when the requests come in, you can refer to your earlier conversation.
• Be prepared to miss out. Some of us have a hard time saying no because we hate to miss an opportunity. And saying no always leads to a missed opportunity. But it's not just a missed opportunity; it's a tradeoff. Remind yourself that when you're saying no to the request, you are simultaneously saying yes to something you value more than the request. Both are opportunities. You're just choosing one over the other.
• Gather your courage. If you're someone who is used to saying yes, it will take courage to say no, especially if the person asking doesn't give up easily. You may feel like a bad friend. You might feel like you're letting someone down or not living up to expectations. Maybe you'll imagine that you'll be seen or talked about in a negative light. Those things might be the cost of reclaiming your life. You'll need courage to put up with them.

After Irene tried these practices she started working less and spending more time with her kids. She's still doing great work and she's still valued by her boss and co-workers, but they've noticed the difference too, she told me. And not all of it is positive.
They're respecting her boundaries — they don't even seem to resent her for them — but she's had to give up something she never knew was important to her: her sense of herself as someone who could do it all. It's been hard for her to feel as valued and necessary as she did when she always said yes.
"Would you rather go back to saying yes all the time?" I asked her.
She answered me with a very well-practiced "No."

Budget 2013: Decoding key concepts and jargon from FM's speech .

The government's budget exercise is no different from the way households manage their finances. But those big words finance ministers read out in their budget speeches tend to sound intimidating.

1) Government Revenues & Spending...

Government's budget is largely about revenues and expenditure. These are divided under two heads: revenue and capital. Spending is also split into plan and non-plan.

Revenue receipt/expenditure: All receipts, such as taxes, and expenditure, like salaries, subsidies and interest payments that in general do not entail sale or creation of assets, fall under the revenue account.

Capital receipt/expenditure: Capital account shows all receipts from liquidating (e.g., selling shares in a public sector company) assets and spending to create assets (e.g., lending to receive interest).

Revenue/captial budget: The government has to prepare a Revenue Budget (detailing revenue receipts & revenue expenditure) and a Capital Budget (capital receipts and capital expenditure).

A. Revenues

Gross tax revenue: The total tax received by the government from which it has to pay the states their share as mandated by the relevant finance commission. The balance is available to the Union government.

Non-tax revenue: The main receipts under this head are interest on loans given by the government, and dividends and profits received from PSUs. The government also earns from various services, including public services, it provides. Of this, only the Railways is a separate department, though all its receipts and expenditure are routed through the Consolidated Fund of India.

Capital receipts: These include recoveries of loans and advances.

Miscellaneous capital receipts: These are primarily receipts from PSU disinvestment.

B. Expenditure

Before we understand government spending, it is important to know the concept of plan and non-plan spending and the Central Plan

Gross budgetary support: The Five-Year Plans are split into five annual plans. The funding of the Plan is split almost evenly between government support (from the budget) and internal and extra-budgetary resources of state-owned enterprises. The government's support to the Plan, which includes state plans, is called Gross Budgetary Support.

Plan expenditure: This is essentially the budget support to the annual plans. This is typically considered developmental spending (on health, education, infrastructure and social goals). Like all budget heads, it is also split into revenue and capital components.

Non-plan expenditure: This is in the nature of consumption expenditure, broadly corresponding to revenue expenditure: interest payments, subsidies, salaries, defence & pensions. Its 'capital' component is small, the largest chunk being defence.
2) ...And The Shortfall

When government's expenditure exceeds its receipts, it has to borrow to meet the shortfall. This deficit has material implication for the economy as bridging it increases public debt and eats up revenues through higher interest payments.

Public debt: The money borrowed by the government is eventually a burden on the people of India, and is, therefore, called public debt. It is split into two heads: internal debt (money borrowed within the country) and external debt (funds borrowed from non-Indian sources).

Fiscal deficit: The money borrowed by the government is eventually a burden on the people of India, and is, therefore, called public debt. It is split into two heads: internal debt (money borrowed within the country) and external debt (funds borrowed from non-Indian sources). Usually the government spends more than what it earns through various sources. This shortfall, which is met with borrowed funds, is called fiscal deficit. Technically, it is the excess of government expenditure over 'non-borrowed receipts' — revenue receipts plus loan repayments received by the govt plus miscellaneous capital receipts.

Revenue Deficit: It is the excess of revenue expenditure over revenue receipts. All expenditure on revenue account should ideally be met from receipts on revenue account; the revenue deficit should be zero. In such a situation, the government borrowing will not be for consumption but for creation of assets.

Effective revenue deficit: This is an even tighter number than the revenue deficit. It is revenue deficit less grants for creation of capital assets.

Primary deficit: It is the fiscal deficit less interest payments made by the government on its earlier borrowings.

Deficit and GDP: Apart from the numbers in rupees, the budget document also mentions deficit as a percentage of GDP. This is because in absolute terms, the fiscal deficit may be large, but if it is small compared to the size of the economy, then it's not such a bad thing, especially if it is being used to create production capacities.

Treasury bills (T-bills): These are bonds (debt securities) with maturity of less than a year. These are issued to meet short-term mismatches in receipts and expenditure. Bonds of longer maturity are called dated securities.

3) How The Govt Taxes You

The central government imposes many taxes, but they can be divided into two broad categories: Direct Tax and Indirect Tax

Direct tax

This is the tax that business, companies , firms and partnerships and we all pay from our income or wealth. It is called direct tax because the person who pays the tax has to also bear the burden of the tax.

Corporation (corporate) tax: It is the tax that India Inc pays on its profits. It is the single biggest source of tax for govt.

Taxes on income other than corporation tax: It's income-tax paid by 'non-corporate assesses' such as individuals and Hindu undivided family (HUF).

Securities transaction tax (STT): STT is the small tax you need to pay on the total amount you pay or receive when you buy or sell shares on stock exchanges or transact in mutual funds. This is in the nature of a transaction tax.
Wealth tax: This is the tax individuals pay on their accumulated wealth. It is levied on individuals, HUF sand companies at the rate of 1% on the amount by which the net wealth exceeds Rs 30 lakh.

Capital gains tax: It is the tax levied on profit or gain made on sale of a capital asset such as shares, house, commercial property. Long-term capital gains tax is levied at 10% & short term at the marginal income-tax rate of an assesse.

Dividend distribution tax (DDT): Dividends are tax free in the hands of investors but the entity distributing dividends to investors pays DDT to govt.

Minimum alternate tax (MAT): It is often the case that companies report profits but pay no tax. Such cos have to pay a certain minimum tax on their book profits.

Withholding tax: This is a small tax deducted whenever a payment is made that is like an income for the receiver such as dividends, interest, royalty or even capital gains.

Indirect tax

It's essentially a tax on our expenditure, and includes customs, excise and service tax. It is called indirect tax because the tax is paid to the government by the person selling the good or providing service but its final burden is on the consumer. It is considered a 'regressive' tax as the burden is equal whether you're rich or poor.

Customs: Anything purchased from another country and brought into India is subject to this tax. It serves a twin purpose, yielding revenues for the government and protecting Indian industry.

Union excise duty: This is a duty imposed on goods manufactured in the country.

Service tax: It is a tax on services rendered.

GST: A proposed single tax that will replace the plethora of indirect taxes. This will make tax administration effective, compliance easy and evasion difficult. Consumers will benefit from the decline in the incidence of tax.

4) Reading The Balance Sheet

Govt prepares its accounts on a cash basis as opposed to accrual basis by companies.

Annual financial statement: This document details the govt's receipts and expenditure for the financial year. This 16-page document is actually the annual budget, as stated in the Constitution. It is divided into three parts — Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund and Public Account — each of which provides a statement of receipts and expenditure. Expenditure from the Consolidated Fund and Contingency Fund requires the nod of Parliament.

This document details the govt's receipts and expenditure for the financial year. This 16-page document is actually the annual budget, as stated in the Constitution. It is divided into three parts — Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund and Public Account — each of which provides a statement of receipts and expenditure. Expenditure from the Consolidated Fund and Contingency Fund requires the nod of Parliament.

Hope this article enlighten your knowledge base and helps in understanding the upcoming Budget in deeply . 

Source : ET , 2013

Those 200 Days

THOSE 200 DAYS

Yes, we have completed our 200 days in the college. It won’t be possible to recall all those days but all those experiences  are countable now. Let’s talk about some of them.....

                   We began our journey with an orientation programme in June which contained the introduction and interactive activities. Then we all stepped into the 1^st of our six terms with lots of enthusiasm and zeal . . . and that was understandable! New faces, new attire, full of expectations, lots of dreams filled our early days. ‘Why are we here?’, ‘why PGDM?’, ‘what it leads to?’  were the sample questions that we were often asked . Then, we geared up with subjects like Accounting, Economics, Statistics, Organizational Behavior, Business communication among others. Each class used to  start with a topic followed by a simple question. Let’s say, in the introduction class of ‘Business Communication’; the question would be ‘what is communication?’.  And there would be ten different answers ,at times very funny, but yes,one or two of them used to be from outside the box. Creative people that we are... !!

Gradually, we were in a position to be able to differentiate PGDM from the under- graduation course. The difference is simple. Unlike in Bachelor degrees, PGDM deals with the subjects that tell us their importance in practical life. Here, we chose our own field that we feel suitable in. Moreover, PGDM is all about moving ahead of cramming  theories and actually implementing them in real life situations.

Then, it was the time for Industry Visits to Parle Agro Ltd., Mother Dairy, NSE, Yakult Ltd., and many more. The differences between theories of the classes and practical of this corporate world could be felt after getting such exposure from the industry. Actually, we could see the realities there. The competition, distribution channels, operations, products of the company are some important things that we got to know in these industrial visits.

Amidst the studies, we were also given the opportunities to taste some corporate experiences through  ‘Live Projects’. Starting with the ‘Big Bazaar’ (5 days) which was full of sales, queue, and HR management, around 50% of the students opted for the same and learnt a lot. Apart from this, other Live Projects were from Quick Clean, SBI Mutual Fund, CMAI, Times Group etc.

Besides Industry Visits and Live Projects, another source of learning has been from the ‘Guest Lectures’. Every Saturday, there is a lecture delivered by a guest from the industry. Till then, we had attended the lectures of Malay Roy, a CAT aspirant trainer; Subhashish Bhattacharya, a consultant ; Deepak Suyal of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance;  Abhimanyu Monga of Grasim Industries and Arpan Gupta of FICCI.

In this way, we finally came to the end of quarterly 1^st Term with a written end-term examination.

On the very next day, we switched on to the 2^nd Term. The change from the previous term was an ‘ET newspaper at everyone’s hand’; as suggested by our respected Nair sir. This term had 8 subjects and 3 months, minus Durga Puja, Deewali & Winter vacations. On the other hand, Industry Visits and Live Projects were continued. Some of us visited industries like Panasonic at Gurgaon and some went for Bisleri Ltd. at Ghaziabad. At the end of the term, we faced the real pressure with the bundles of assignments, presentations, and end-term examinations of the concerned subjects. The learning of that short-timed term was the use of Excel in Finance and Operations, awareness of global macro-economy, basics of marketing and HR, negotiating skills etc. Along with all these, we also participated in extra-curricular activities like various Club-events (Cricket, Football, Badminton, Quiz competition, Act of Play, Cooking competition etc.) and I-Fest(Dancing, Singing, Corporate Walk, Street play, Cyber games etc.).

The past two terms have really helped  us in doing our SWOT. It has shown us the right path to our success. Coming to the 3^rd Term, it started with a serious introspection. Now, we just need to decide: ‘what we want to be?, who we want to be? and how we want to be?’. 

After few weeks, our SIPs will start . We hope that we will achieve our goal by dint of hard-work and dedication. So, give a smile to those beautiful past days and be ready for the next . . .

“There is so much power within you…………. You can do anything and everything. ” -  Swami Vivekananda.

IILM is organising entrepreneur (e-week) from 11-14thfeb. Our goal is to make connections across diverse industries, from young idea-stage innovators to hundred million revenue generators, and join them together in a unifying movement that propels inspired business.Various events like b- plan, nail paiting, draw your anger, story narration etc is going to tale place every one is excited ...are you  ??? so join us and show your talents :)

Storytelling: The Secret Weapon To Wow A Hiring Manager

from The Wall Street Journal, August 31^st, 2012
“So, tell me a little about yourself.”
Almost every job interview starts with this question and, in almost every case, the answer is a missed opportunity.
When confronted with this request, most job seekers simply summarize their education, job history, and current situation—all information that the interviewer already knows from reading the resume. What a waste!
Instead, use this inevitable request as an excuse to tell a brief but memorable story about yourself, a story that explains, heart to heart, why you’re right for the job.
What the Question Really Means
Before answering this request, it is important to understand why it is being asked. To understand the psychology of the situation, it is useful to think of the job interview as a sales call. The interviewer is a potential buyer and you (or rather your services) are what’s being bought.
Whenever a buyer and seller meet for the first time, the buyer has three questions that must be answered before the sale can move forward, according to Mike Bosworth, author of the classic best seller “Solution Selling” (McGraw Hill, 1994) and the newly published “What Great Salespeople Do” (McGraw Hill, 2011). These questions are:
1. Who is this person?
2. What does this person want?
3. Can I trust this person?
Indeed, the reason interviewers open with “tell me about yourself” is because they want to get a sense of who you really are (beyond what it says on your resume), what you really want (beyond what it says on your cover letter), and whether or not you are trustworthy. They want a sense of your character.
A recitation of facts does nothing to answer these questions, other than to prove that you didn’t lie on your resume. The interviewer wants to “feel comfortable” with the idea of hiring you, and that is an emotion rather than a logical conclusion. Once the interviewer wants you emotionally, your resume can help provide the logic.
Human beings are natural storytellers. Among the earliest human artifacts are cave paintings that tell stories about life, death and survival, and the first use of the written word was to record stories for posterity.
Storytelling is literally a part of our DNA. Most people are familiar with the concept that the brain has two halves: the left hemisphere, which deals with facts and numbers, and the right hemisphere, which  deals with emotions.
Stories (unlike facts) communicate emotions via a mechanism called a “mirror neuron,” which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes an action performed by another.
A story puts the storyteller and the listener in the same place and thus has the potential, during a job interview, to answer the three key questions, on an emotional level. Just as importantly, emotions tend to stick in one’s memory even when facts are long forgotten.

How to Prepare Your Story
Here’s how to prepare your story before your interview, based upon a series of in-depth conversations with Bosworth and his co-author Ben Zoldan:
Step #1: Select the Right Story
Obviously, you don’t want to tell just any story; you want a story that will help make you the favored candidate.
To do this, first review the job description, your research into the hiring firm’s needs. Then, reminisce about your experiences to find a story or anecdote that, when you’re done telling it, will leave the desired impression.
Step #2: Create a Brief Setup
Every great story begins with three elements:
1. A person who is going to do something (i.e., you)
2. A place where the action will happen
3. A time that anchors the story in the real world
It adds emotion (and therefore memorability) if you briefly flesh out these elements. Here are some examples:
-”I was in New York City a month ago, right during rush hour. It was raining, so it was impossible to get a cab.”
Step #3: Identify the Goal, the Obstacle, the Decision, and the Outcome
Every memorable story has a plot, which consists of four elements:
1. A goal that must be achieved
2. An obstacle that prevents the goal from being achieved
3. A decision that makes it possible to achieve the goal
4. A result that comes about because you made that decision
For example, suppose you’re telling a story that is intended to leave the impression that you’re a self-starter who’s motivated no matter what. The goal in this case might be a big sale, the obstacle might be a particularly difficult customer, and the decision might be what you did to help that customer make a decision. In turn, the result might be a bigger order than your original forecast (i.e. the goal.).
Important: Don’t tell a story that makes you out to be some kind of superhero. Ideally, your story should include obstacles that you overcome as the result of your character and resilience.
How to Tell Your Story
When it comes to actually telling your story, there are two crucial rules:
Rule #1: Signal that you’re going to tell a story.
Don’t just leap into your story. Instead, introduce it with a conversational ploy, like “Can I tell you a story about that?” or “ May I share a story that will answer your question”
This is important for reasons that aren’t immediately apparent. While it appears as if you’re opening the possibility that the interviewer will refuse to listen to a story, in reality that probably won’t happen.
Human beings, being human, rarely refuse an opportunity to hear a story.
The real reason you signal that you’re going to tell a story is that it puts the listener’s mind in a receptive state. Such introductions are the grown-up version of the traditional “once upon a time.”
Rule #2: Keep it short.
You should aim to tell your entire story in less than 2 minutes. Make sure you hit all three elements of the setup and all four elements of the plot. Include just enough detail to make the story real.

What is an aptitude test and what does it measure?...How to do well in Aptitude tests?....Interview Advice: Learn How to Tell a Story

What is an aptitude test and what does it measure?

Aptitude tests are designed to measure your work-related cognitive capacity. The concept behind these tests is that each test question has only one correct answer, and everyone can correctly solve all the test questions. The only difference between people is in how quickly they can correctly complete the test (i.e. answer all the test questions). That’s why these tests are always timed. The time is defined in such a way that only 1% to 5% of the population can correctly solve all the test questions within the allowed time frame.
What do aptitude tests measure? These tests measure what psychologists refer to as your fluid and crystallized intelligence. The theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence suggests that people’s intelligence is composed of a number of different abilities that interact and work together to produce overall individual intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is the ability to think and reason abstractly and solve problems. It’s more commonly known as ‘street smarts’ or the ability to ‘quickly think on your feet’

Crystallized intelligence is the ability to learn from past experiences and relevant learning, and to apply this learning to a situation. Employers, obviously, will only be interested in your ability to apply your learnings to work-related situations.

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How to do well in Aptitude tests?

(from The New York Times)

Shaan Patel, who scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT, is the author of “SAT 2400 in Just 7 steps” and a co-creator of an SAT prep course for Veritas Prep. He is a medical student at the University of Southern California.
The SAT is a significant exam for many college-bound high school students, but it doesn’t have to be a source of significant stress. As the French scientist Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.”
In that spirit, here are strategies to help you best prepare for the SAT:

Practice Under Test-Day Conditions

It’s no secret that practicing for the Aptitude test improves your score. But most students don’t realize how much how their practice matters.

As much as possible, try to create test-day conditions when you study. Use written practice exams during timed sessions. No cellphones, no music. Write your responses in the test booklet.
By preparing under the same conditions you will encounter on test day, you will decrease surprises and increase your confidence and comfort with the exam.

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The Interview

When it comes to recruiting and hiring, we know one thing to be true: interviewing can make or break a candidate. Maybe there really is a lack of experience, skill-related issue not easily determined by scanning a resume or simply heavy competition, but typically, if you are good enough to be brought in, the job is yours to win – or lose. Enter the valuable skill of storytelling.

Interview Advice: Learn How to Tell a Story

By Laurie
I always tell people that likability is the key factor in finding a job.
Personal referrals always beat resumes. Informal networking always beats an email. People who are seen do better than the anonymous inquiries in an email system.
For me, it is all about extending the window of judgment by being as neutral and inoffensive as possible. No crazy smells. No crazy clothes. When you finally open your mouth, it’s also important to stifle any personal opinions or ideas that can kill your likability quotient.
This is why it’s important for you to learn how to tell your story.
In order to find a job, you need to know some truths about yourself. Who are you?  What are the things you most enjoy?
Don’t memorize lines. Dig deeper. If you can tell your story, you can manage those awful behavior-based questions that come your way. You can very easily give an example of a time you failed on a project — and talk about what you learned from an experience — if you know exactly what you did and what you would do differently next time.

The problem is that so few of us know how to tell a story. At the very least, you have to establish a setting. Beyond that, you must understand what motivates you as a character within that setting. We can’t develop our narrative because we are mired in the lies we tell ourselves to seem more accomplished than we really are.

Finally, few of us understand how to end a story. Why are you here in my office asking for a job? If you don’t have a clear ending, I will make one up for you in my head. And I’ll probably misjudge you.

So how do you learn how to tell a story?

• Read
• Go to the movies.
• Watch TV.
• Pay attention to short stories.

And then ask your friends and colleagues to tell you their stories. Listen to what they say and don’t say. Then do better.