TechTales

Agra:  Agra's Karan Narain, pursuing M. Tech (final year) in computer science from IIT Kanpur, has set a new record in campus placement. He has been picked up by US company Pocket Gems for an annual package of $137,000 (over R s. 73 lakh). This is the highest package offered to a Kanpur IITian and one of the highest in India so far. "Pocket Gems is into mobile application development for Android and iOS. The interviews held in Kanpur were completely technical," Narain told IANS. "I had some background in Android which could have appealed to them. It's a start-up, so has only around 100 employees. They've visited all the IITs and recruited a few students from each," he added. Narain attributed his success to his schooling in Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Agra. "All schools are different and gave me a new experience and changed my world view for the better," he said.

Applications reflect little change in nation’s hiring trends... WASHINGTON : Applications for U.S. jobless benefits rose slightly last week, the government reported Thursday, but the latest figures suggest little change in the nation’s underperforming labor market. Initial claims increased by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 in the week ended Aug. 18, the Labor Department said. That’s the highest level in five weeks. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected claims would rise to 369,000. The level of claims is a rough gauge of whether layoffs are rising or falling. Applications for unemployment benefits have hovered around 370,000 for the past month, a level that indicates a modest increase in hiring at best. Yet claims have shown virtually no improvement after falling to a four-year low in February, reflecting a slowdown in the U.S. economy and greater caution by business when it comes to adding staff. The persistent threat of a financial crisis in Europe and...

The UK economy shrank by less than previously thought between April and June, official figures have shown. Revised data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the economy contracted by 0.5% during the quarter, less than the 0.7% it announced last month. The ONS said output in the construction sector was higher than it had previously estimated. Many economists had expected the figures to show a smaller contraction. The original estimate of a 0.7% contraction, published in July, was greeted with some scepticism by a number of experts and by some industries that claimed they had seen little sign of such a serious economic downturn. "The production sector was not quite as bad [as we thought]; similarly the construction sector," Joe Grice from the ONS told the BBC. He said each accounted for a 0.1% revision to the original 0.7% estimate. The ONS had already said that output from the construction sector fell by 3.9% between April and June compared with the pr...

Four steps to getting that job As the latest UK unemployment figures come out, BBC News asks four experts for their tips for prospective job-hunters. They give their advice on how to approach that all-important job interview - from what you wear to how you can use body language to impress your potential future boss. How to prepare for the interview  Sue Powell: "Preparation is key when it comes to job interviews"   Sue Powell is a relationship and career coach and she says that "preparation is key" when it comes to doing well in a job interview. She tells BBC News about the kinds of things candidates can do to prepare themselves before an interview. This includes doing some research on the company you are applying to, and making sure there are no inappropriate pictures of yourself available on the internet. How to deal with interview nerves  Neil Mullarkey: "Learn, look, listen and link"   Neil Mullarkey is a comedian and improviser who advise...