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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Oracle Corp has announced an aggressive recruitment drive in India to hire 3,500 employees across all its businesses that support domestic and global customers by May 2012.

This comes at a time when there are fears of a slowdown in the Indian economy. Despite this gloom Indian IT majors seem to be on a hiring spree. Oracle's statement is a case in point.

Merril Diniz of Careers360 tells you what you need to know to land a job at Oracle India.

Company profile

Core business: Integrated software and hardware systems

Revenue: $35.6 billion in FY 2011 (for Oracle Corporation)

Employee strength: 21,000+ employees in India (includes Oracle Financial Software Solutions) Head Office: Gurgaon; Regional Offices: Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata; Development Centers: Hyderabad, Bangalore, NOIDA, Thiruvananthapuram

"PHEW!! What a week this has been," blogs new Oracle employee Ranjan Kumar about his induction programme. He describes an action-packed seven days of case study sessions, team-building games, introduction to various Oracle divisions and some "very useful sessions on formal communication, office manners and dress code".

IIT Bombay alumnus Swapnil Jadhav also raves about his induction experience on the company's recruitment blog. "We are used to calling people as sir or ma'am. Calling my manager by his first name feels as if he is my classmate from college," writes Swapnil,  giving us a peek into the company's work culture. So, how does one get a break with one of the world's largest computing corporations? Understanding the company's vision, is a good starting place for job seekers.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Career scope

Hardware and Software, Engineered to work together' -- Oracle's tagline says it all. Today, the company provides integrated business software and hardware systems to over 370,000 customers including the Fortune Global 100 companies. According to Jan Ackerman, VP, Recruiting, Oracle Asia Pacific, not many companies offer a full solution that includes Hardware, Technology, Middleware and Applications.

Ackerman spells out what kind of people the company seeks in the area of development, a core function at Oracle. "We look for technology, thought and process leaders to provide the spark for the next great idea as you analyse, design, develop, code, troubleshoot and debug software for commercial or end user applications," he shares. So, from a technical viewpoint, a person can work on latest technology solutions and innovation. Several specialised Business Groups offer specific industry solutions like communications, insurance and financial services.

Oracle in India

Outside of the United States, India is Oracle's largest research and development investment, today. This includes the Oracle Partner Solution Center and Oracle Asia Research & Development Center in Gurgaon and Oracle Retail Center of Excellence in Bangalore. Besides these, Oracle has India Development Centers as well as Indian hubs for Oracle's global support, consulting and financial services operations.

Oracle India's development centres are part of the company's global development organisation and are equally involved in the development of Oracle's award winning products across its diverse categories of technology, applications, fusion middleware and servers/storage. Though Oracle did not reveal any hiring forecast numbers for India, we would like to give you various insights into the recruitment aspects (This report was published on October 13, 2011).

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Campus recruitment forecast

We have a big year planned ahead of us and are hiring from the premium campuses -- IITs, NITs, BITS and IISc for our Product Development Groups," shares Ackerman. There's also good news for students in State-level colleges as Oracle's additional business groups will focus on a combination of premium and State-level campuses. "With hiring for Oracle Financial Software Solutions (OFSS) fast approaching -- it holds a lot of promise for students from regional colleges across the country!"

OFSS, originally known as i-Flex Solutions, is essentially an Information Technology (IT) provider for the banking industry. Oracle will seek students with 70 % or 7 CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) for all Oracle groups except OFSS -- where the entry criteria is usually relaxed to a lower percentage or CGPA. This means more students keen to join Oracle, are eligible to appear in their recruitment process.

Campus hires are posted in these locations

• Server Technology Group -- Bangalore, Hyderabad and NOIDA
• Applications Development -- Hyderabad, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram
• Communications Global Business Unit -- Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune
• Primavera Global Business Unit -- Hyderabad
• Retail Global Business Unit -- Bangalore
• On Demand -- Hyderabad and Bangalore
• OFSS -- Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune

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Don't miss: How to get a job at Oracle

Getting selected on campus

Step 1: Online Technical test covering these areas: Advanced Coding Skills; Basic Computer Science Knowled#8805 Software Engineering Aptitude.

Step 2: Candidates will be short-listed for the interviews is based on the academic scores and the test scores.

Step 3: Interviews normally include two rounds of technical interviews, which will be followed by a Business Unit Round interview followed by the HR interview.

Results of the interviews are normally announced on the same day. "It's a hectic, thorough schedule but it gives us the chance to better understand each student and their potential fit for Oracle. It also gives the students a good opportunity to fully understand the role and environment that we work in," shares Ackerman. Besides technical and hands-on skills, being a team player is important as Oracle is a team-oriented company and employees have to interact with colleagues located around the world. In some job profiles, soft skills are more in demand than others. For instance, communication abilities (verbal & written skills) and attitude are especially important if you are interviewing for the role of Associate Staff Engineer in Oracle's Communications Global Business unit.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Job profiles on offer

Oracle is hiring across a number of Business Groups. We showcase some job profiles here (with inputs from www.campus.oracle.com/). Get more details on job profiles, eligibility and selection process, by logging on.

Server Technology Group

About: STG designs and develops enterprise products, including the flagship product, Oracle Database,  and solutions like Java technology.

Profile: Member of Technical Staff. The work is challenging and involves innovation and design of products and solutions to set the course for the industry and the market.

Degrees and branches considered: BE, B.Tech, ME, M.Tech, MS in Computer Science/Information Technology/Information Science.

Applications Development Group

About: Core Software Development across entire Oracle Applications product family including -- Fusion, which is Oracle's next generation application.

Profile: Applications Engineer. Develop, support the six product lines.

Degrees/ branches considered: BE, B.Tech, ME, M.Tech, MCA, M.Sc & MS from all branches.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Communications Global Business Unit

About: Oracle Communications GBU provides innovative, technologically advanced software solutions for the communications Industry.

Profile: Associate Staff Engineer. The work entails designing, building and test Oracle's Products for Communications industry.

Degrees/branches considered: BE/BTech with Computer Science, ECE, EEE; MTech/MSc with computer science specialisation

On Demand

About: Provides database & applications management services using Oracle's enterprise, Peoplesoft, CRM and Retail applications. The India team manages these applications around the clock out of facilities in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Noida.

Profile: Associate Technical Analyst and responsible for carrying out day to day database and application management activities.

Degrees/branches considered: BE/BTech with Computer Science, ECE, EEE/M.Tech/MSc with computer science specialisation.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Beyond campus recruitment

Candidates from universities outside of Oracle's radar have every opportunity to join at an entry level, shares Ackerman. A good place to start is to follow Oracle' campus team's social media initiatives. Oracle's JAPAC (Japan and Asia-Pacific) Campus Recruitment Manager David Talamelli, himself an avid blogger and confirmed social media addict kickstarted things. "I was finding that jcandidates interested in Oracle were contacting me increasingly, looking for information on what it is like to work here," he shares.

Oracle's recruitment blog features chronicles by fresh recruits, interns and recruiters about life at Oracle, and is a good place to track new developments. "The goal is not just to create traffic, but to have meaningful conversations with people and give them the full view of what to expect if they join Oracle -- this way people can make an informed decision if Oracle is the company for them," Ackerman informs us. One of the latest entries informs us of Oracle's recently opened Development Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, which "started up with a set of handpicked engineering graduates from the best campuses in Kerala to support Fusion and PeopleSoft". Recruitment executives regularly post job opportunities on LinkedIn, while Facebook pages offer a syndicated coverage of postings across social media initiatives, as well as photographs. It really depends on which platform suits you best. Students must note that though the opportunity is available, standards are not compromised upon, in terms of eligibility criteria. The technical online test and multiple interview rounds will be conducted based on the job profile.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Additional job roles

Job seekers eyeing Oracle can also explore the following profiles:

Consulting

As a key technical expert, the role requires one to translate client requirements into deliverable solutions and implement products and services on the customers' sites. This would include designing, developing and documenting solutions footprints and application architectures to meet client requirements.

Pre-sales

As a subject matter expert, one has to provide product expertise to the sales force, customers and partners. This includes participating in product presentations and demonstrations as well as advising customers and partners on how to best advanced products and services, working closely with global product development teams regarding new product releases and functionality.

Telesales (Oracle Direct)

Telesales reps have to turn inbound and outbound calls  into quality leads for the sales force. The role also includes order fulfilment and selling of products and services in high volume, low value, short-cycle transactions, and providing prospect database maintenance.

Oracle Sales Rep

To develop new business, maximize revenue growth and increase local market share, one will have to be a self-motivated team player.

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Don't miss! How to get a job at Oracle

Koffee with Oracle

Earlier this year BIT Pilani alumnus Atul Aggarwal visited his alma mater as part of Oracle's Koffee Konnect programme. Now a Senior Manager at  Oracle OWSM, Atul was part of a  21-member panel of senior leaders who visited 23 campuses! Here they meet students already slated to join Oracle through campus placements, six months earlier. "This is a gesture from our part to acknowledge their decision to choose and join Oracle," shares Ackerman.

Leaders talk about their own career journeys at Oracle and invite questions from students. This is usually followed by less formal sessions. "We invited them to join us for cold drinks in the famous Connaught place in Pilani campus," pens Atul on the Oracle blog. A positive spillover is that some higher degree students showed an interest in doing their practice school (mandatory training which is a part of the course curriculum) at Oracle itself. Students can visit the internship section at www.campus.oracle.com, register and apply for the online test.

Career growth

At Oracle, there are two tracks for growth - as "knowledge leader" (individual contributor role) or "people leader" (manager role). It depends on which route suits your interest and skills. Ackerman offers some advice on proactive career management. "You'll want to seek out the coaching, tools and advice you need to excel in your current responsibilities and to develop in areas that advance your career goals," he shares.