What’s In a Name?

Creativity is the essence of the tech world and it is evident even with the names of tech companies. There is a story behind the names of most of the companies.

Here’s a look how some of these well-known tech giants got their names:

• Apple - Steve Jobs liked apples a lot. The other reason he named his company ‘Apple’ was that “Apple” was ahead of “Atari” in the phonebook and he used to work at Atari. 
• Amazon - Bezos wanted his book retail site to be so quick and easy that it seemed like magic. The site went online in 1995 with the name of Amazon, taken from the Amazon River for being the biggest river. Clearly, Bezos had big ambitions right from the start.
• Google - Google took its name from a deliberate misspelling of Googol, the word that represents 10^100, or a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Why this? Simply because founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page wanted to convey the huge amount of data they intended to make available.
• Microsoft - The company was officially established in April 1975, with the name coming from a combination of “microprocessor” and “software” – which is fitting given that they were creating software for the Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems’s (MITS) Altair 8800.
• Oracle - This name started as the code for a project that co-founders Larry Ellison and Bob Oats worked on for the CIA. It was a database that was supposed to be able to answer any question about anything.
• Mozilla - In 1994, when a team at Netscape sat around to think of names for a new browser to take on NCSA’s Mosaic browser, what they were looking for was something that would crush the competition. What they looked to was Godzilla. Combining Mosaic with the movie monster brings you to the current day name of Mozilla.
• Asus – The name is derived from the mythological Greek winged horse Pegasus. According to the company’s own explanation it embodies the strength, purity, and adventurous spirit of this fantastic creature, and soars to new heights with each new product it creates.
• Lenovo - The word is a combination of Le and Novo, meaning new in Latin.
• Skype – It’s a combination of “sky” and “peer-to-peer”, shortened to skyper. The name ‘Skyper’ was already in use, so the new name became ‘Skype’.
• Twitter – Founders first thought of ‘twitch’. But ‘twitch’ was not a good product name because it doesn’t bring up the right imagery. So, they looked up dictionary and found ‘twitter’. The definition was ‘a short burst of inconsequential information,’ and ‘chirps from birds.’ And that’s exactly what the product was.
• eBay - The website started out as “AuctionWeb,” a part of the personal website of former Apple software engineer Pierre Omidyar. The website took off, and Mr. Omidyar decided to spin it off into its own entity and name it after his consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group. When the domain name echobay.com was taken, he switched it to ebay.com.
• Verizon – According to Verizon’s corporate history, the name is a combination of the Latin words “veritas” and “horizon.” Veritas refers to truth and reliability, while horizon signifies forward-looking and visionary.
• Blackberry - This name was coined in 1999 because the keys on the device resembled the drupelets on the fruit.

Funny Interview Questions

Sometimes candidates come across funny or bizarre interview questions, which do not have any specific right or wrong answers. The purpose behind asking such questions is to test candidate’s ability to remain calm and to see how well he/she responds to an unexpected question.

When you face such a question during a job interview, take a deep breath; give yourself few moments to develop an answer and then answer it. Don’t sit there staring blankly off into space. Your answers are an indication of your intelligence, critical thinking skills, and emotional intelligence.

Here are some of the weird, oddball questions:

• Why are manhole covers round? (this questions was made famous by Microsoft)
• If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be and why?
• How many gas stations are there in the United States?
• If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?
• What will you do if you have a time machine?
• If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?
• How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the U.S. each year?
• Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?
• You're a new addition to the crayon box, what colour would you be and why?
• How many snow shovels sold in the U.S. last year?
• What song best describes your work ethic?
• Have ever stolen a pen from work?
• How many balls would it take to fill this room?

This is just a glimpse! There are plenty of similar questions which interviewers ask sometimes just to make you relax. The best tip for dealing with such funny questions is to be calm and think out of the box. All the Best! Go tickle the funny bone of your interviewer.

Importance Of Career Counseling

Every day different careers and professional opportunities are emerging. No matter how much interest you have in more than one field, you will have to prioritize and choose the best option for you depending upon your strengths, weaknesses, interests, personality and aspirations.

Whether you are in the process of choosing a career, deciding whether or not you should change careers or jobs, re-entering the workforce, job hunting, or recovering from a job loss, you may realize that this is an overwhelming process and you need some help.

Reasons to meet with a career counsellor:

• You have no idea what you want to major in
• You have a major but do not know what you want to do with it
• You want to take an assessment to explore possible careers to help with career decisions
• You need to start your job search but you are not sure what you are looking for 
• You completed an internship and discovered that your chosen career is not a good fit for you
• You want to discuss your future with someone other than your friends or family

How will a counsellor help you?
A good career development professional can help you explore career options, can inform you of labour market trends, and can assess your skills, interests, and work related values. A career development professional can help you sharpen your job search skills, and can help you learn how to move up the corporate ladder.

A counsellor helps students discover their true potential and interest in various subjects in order to help them choose the right career. Several institutes including schools and colleges, offer career counselling through a series of aptitude and IQ tests. The advice and counselling provided is based on three deciding factors — personality, aptitude and interest.

Before hiring counsellor or coach, do your homework. Explore free or low cost online and community resources. Join job clubs and career workshops. Learn about jobs and market situation in your area. This will tell you what positions are in demand. Check out salary information websites.

A word of caution
Career counselling and coaching are unregulated fields, meaning anyone can claim himself/herself to be a counsellor. So, be sure to check the credentials and experience of your prospective consultants. The bottom line: Success in landing a good job of your interest is up to you.
When you find your niche area, register on TheGongzuo.com to search the perfect job you are dreaming of!

Re-entering the Workforce After Kids

Re-entering the IT workforce after taking time off to stay at home with kids can be difficult and emotionally challenging process for women. Many females worry about their technical skills still being relevant and if they will still fit in and adapt to a workplace environment all while juggling their new added responsibilities at home. 

Experts say transitioning back into work life can be a smooth shift with the right attitude and mind set. According to the survey conducted, 95% of female professionals said that the unique skills involved with raising children are portable to the workplace, increase confidence and energy, and enhance the ability to motivate others, tolerate ambiguity and apply past experiences in new ways.

Here are the tips for returning mothers:

• When you send IT job applications to prospective employers, do not explain the gap in your career in cover letter. Instead, you can mention it in your resume. Brush up your interview techniques.
• Be clear on your objectives and priorities. Do not hesitate to ask for flexibility or a part-time schedule, but should make the request before a final round of interviews. 
• If you are returning to a previous employer, mention your past success that highlights why you are a valuable asset. 
• Stay in touch with your employer, co-workers and prior managers during your opt-out time and follow what’s happening in IT field.
• Be honest about why you’re returning to work and what you want to get from your return. Whether it is money or career accomplishments - your motivations will guide your job search, so it’s incredibly important to know them ahead of time. 
• Before sending out applications, research through IT job search engines, such as TheGongzuo to get an idea about which technologies are in demand.
• Talk regularly with other moms who have gone back to work about their experiences and challenges.
• Consider options such as telecommuting, part-time, flexible schedule or freelancing while returning to the job market to achieve a good work-life balance.

To restart your IT career, register at TheGongzuo.com and go through the list of IT jobs. Job postings for different technical roles such as data analyst, PMO, program managers etc. are listed out on our website. Find out which role suits you best that will take your career to the next level.