THE BRAIN WRITES

  Pic Credits: Google Images Sometime back, a client who runs a content creation agency reached out to me with an urgent requirement. She was on the lookout for copywriters to join her team and wanted me to draft a job description for the same. Here's what I came up with: If you can craft masterpieces out of words, we have an offer you cannot refuse.  We at company_name are a vibrant group of individuals who innovate, inspire, and revolutionize. But we are far from perfect. You see, there’s a disconnect between our ideas and what comes on the paper. And so we seek a witty, empathetic copywriter who can bridge this gap. At the same time, if writing on marketing, advertising, sales, brand & consumer behavior is a child’s play for you, we cannot wait to have you on board. What do you get in return? A paycheck which many in the industry cannot rival, the backing of a team to bolster your network, skills, & presence, and access to resources & creativity toolkits many ...

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash So the job opening has been put up on LinkedIn, on the careers page of the company, and on various other job boards. Several individuals have applied for the same and the interviews are in progress. The talent acquisition team has ended up with a few shortlists. And an overqualified individual is one among them.  The recruiting process doesn’t come cheap to organizations. Travel expenses for applicants and staff, recruiter salary and perks, advertising charges, and so much more – companies deal with administrative, monetary, and operational struggles to scoop up the best hires. An overqualified candidate – being educated beyond what is requested by an employer for a position with the business – is another significant bottleneck in the hiring process; a gamble which some employers play and others overlook. Ask employers why they would pass over overqualified people and you get a number of reasons. A survey by Sp...

Number of graduate schools you should apply to | Master's degree So you have decided to tread further on the path of education and pursue a higher degree. Great! How many graduate schools should you apply to? A question that often brain-fogs aspirants, getting it wrong can wreak havoc even for the most well-rounded grad school applicant. Stellar undergrad performance, strong extra-curricular involvements, and decent work experience/internships need to be aligned with the right educational institutions. And coming up with a well-researched list of target schools is pivotal to this alignment. I would say a list of 6–8 should suffice. It should be categorized into three: safe schools , moderate schools , and ambitious schools . Safe Schools: The admission committee doesn’t have a reason to reject your candidature. You tick all of their requirements. Moderate Schools: Selection-Rejection ratio of 60:40. Ambitious Schools: You don’t stand a good chance. More of a shot in the dark. Pr...

Social Entrepreneurship: What it is and why it exists. Image Credit: youmatter . Entrepreneurship is the talk of the town today. Individuals rooting to do something of their own are sprouting up like never before. Even governments across the globe are encouraging home-grown entrepreneurs through funding and support of all sorts. What has inspired people to tread down the path of innovation? The underpinnings of ‘pioneerdom’ are well-documented in Professor Chuanyin Xie’s paper titled “Why Do Some People Choose to Become Entrepreneurs? An Integrative Approach” . He attributes venture creation to individual and environmental factors. The former comprises characteristics related to a person’s trait (need for achievement, risk-taking ability, etc.), demographics, and cognition. The environmental approach focuses on an individual’s surroundings in three contexts: immediate (role model(s) in the family or workplace), broad (political, legal, economic, cultural, and support institutions)...

      Image credits:  Pedro Araújo Before anything else, what is writer's block? According to Oxford languages , writer's block is "the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing" . If you're even remotely associated with writing in any form, the stress and frustration of not being able to put your keyboard or pen to work shouldn't be new to you. Everyone has been a victim of writer's block at some point. Luckily, there's no dearth of articles on the internet and videos on YouTube on how to overcome writer's block. And that means umpteen number of ways to break through this creative obstruction. Some people advocate listening to music, others suggest taking a brisk walk, and so on. Different individuals, varying opinions.  Even I've my own mechanism to cope with writer's block. I seek inspiration from others' written works to come up with my creations. Scrolling through Quora, reading news editori...

So you've made up your mind to pursue a master's degree. The list of universities you'd be applying to is ready, you've either taken the required tests (GRE/TOEFL/IELTS) or are scheduling the dates for the same. And your letters of recommendation (LOR) are almost ready or done. It's time to address the elephant in the room: your statement of purpose or SOP. Table Of Contents Why have I written this post? What is an SOP? How long does it take to write an SOP? How do you prepare your SOP's first draft? The next steps once the first draft is ready. What is the ideal word limit for an SOP? Common SOP mistakes. Sample SOP format. Need my help with your SOP? Why have I written this post? I wasn't content with just a Bachelor's degree. Pursuing higher education from globally renowned institutes in the United States, Canada, Europe, etc. is alluring and rewarding. People may digress by citing eye-watering tuition co...