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March 26, 2020

You wish to work for that fabulous company. But when you search the Careers section on their website, you see this terse message: “There are no current openings,” or simply: “No Vacancies.” Or something similar.
Would you give up looking for a job with that organisation? Surely not.

The Next Step

In such circumstances, the best thing to do is to write an email asking for a job vacancy. Understandably, you would believe this sounds a bit embarrassing.
On the contrary. Companies appreciate a jobseeker enquiring about a vacancy since it is a clear expression of genuine interest.
There are chances your email might go unread or even unanswered. Now you might believe that your efforts to write and send an email were futile. Again, that may not necessarily be the case.

What is Happening?

The Human Resources (HR) or Administration departments at the organization could have stashed away your email for future reference.
Or they might be circulating your resume to various departmental heads to find if they have a suitable vacancy that matches your qualifications as fresher or skills if you’re experienced.
And all these processes take time.
How much time? There’s no saying. If it’s a gigantic organization, it could take a few weeks. And if they have operations across India, it could take a couple of months.
However, if you’re fortunate, you’ll definitely find work at this organization. Provided you have the guts to write an email asking for a job vacancy.
This brings us to the question: How to write an email asking for a job vacancy.
In this article, I will explain some simple steps you can follow to write an email asking for a job vacancy.

Tips on How to Write an Email Asking for Job Vacancy

Here’s something you should remember when you write an email asking for a job vacancy. That it’s not an application letter. Hence, there's no need to attach your resume, Curriculum Vitae or bio-data.
Instead, follow these simple steps.

Find the Right Recipient

Any organization whose website has a Careers or Jobs would usually have an email for the point of contact. If not, you can look around on their ‘Contact’ page and find if they’ve any email IDs listed for their HR or Administration departments.
If none of these are available, you can send a general enquiry by filling up the form on their website or using any email address they provide. However, don’t use this email ID for asking for a job vacancy.
Instead, send a general enquiry asking details of their HR and Administration departments and the contact persons there.

Title of the Email Asking for Job Vacancy

Once you know whom to send an email asking for a job opening, the next important thing is using a correct title. The title of your email should be specific and convey that you’re indeed asking for a job vacancy.
Therefore, use precise words such as ‘Enquiry about Job Vacancies’ or ‘Request for Employment’. Being specific helps the email recipient know what you’re looking for.
Avoid confusing titles such as ‘Enquiry,’ ‘Information Wanted,’ ‘Job Application,’ ‘Consideration for Job’ and others. The recipient will ignore or delete your email.

Addressing the Job Enquiry Email

If you know the name of the person in charge of recruitments, address them directly as Mr. or Ms., depending upon their gender. And always use the full name of the addressee. Never use the first name or family name only.
Furthermore, address the email using words such as: “This email is in your capacity as HR Manager, Administration Manager,” or any other designation that the person in charge of recruitments holds.
The reason for this sentence is very clear. It clearly shows it has got something to do with her or his role at the organization.

Introduce Yourself

The next couple of sentences on the email asking for a job vacancy should be your introduction. The recipient has to know who’s writing the email.
Never use words such as “I the undersigned.” You’re a jobseeker and not a lawyer. Nor are you entering into a contract with the manager or official in charge.
Therefore, use your full name and say where you live. For example, you can use a sentence such as “To introduce myself, people know me as XYZ, a resident of ABC.”

Get Down to Business

Once the brief introduction is over, get down to business immediately.
In the next couple of sentences, mention your academic or educational qualifications. And briefly mention your experience if any. If you’re a fresher, mention that.
Here, it’s very important to remember that you’re not writing a resume or CV or bio-data. Therefore, simply mention the last degree you have such as Bachelor, Master, Doctorate or Diploma, Higher Secondary Certificate, School Leaving Certificate or any other qualification.
There’s absolutely no need to mention your marks or grades. However, you can mention the college or university, but only if it’s a very prestigious one.
If you are a graduate of a private university or one that has dubious ratings, avoid mentioning that. You’re asking for immediate rejection by mentioning an educational institution that has no respect.

Speak About the Company

Obviously, the manager or official will have much more knowledge about the organization than you would. Therefore, mention only that area of operation of the company where you would like to work.
For example, if you’re looking for a vacancy in sales and marketing, mention how your qualifications would suit the company. Ditto if you’re looking for posts in production or customer care.
When you match a specific area of operations of the organization with your qualifications, you’re creating an interest in the reader. And the reader, of course, is the person in charge of recruitments.
Usually, at this point, the recipient will do a brief assessment of your interest in the organization as well as your qualifications and skills.
If they find you’re suitable, the email would usually go forward to some department head for further action.

Show Your Interest in the Company

The next step is to state in a couple of sentences why you’re interested in working for that particular company. What does working at that organization hold for your career and life? And how important it is for you to work with that company.
Again, just two or three sentences would be adequate. There’s no need to go on heaping praises upon a company just because you’re eager to work there.

Ask for the Vacancy

After you’ve written the above information briefly, it’s high time to ask for a job vacancy. However, use tacit rather than being blunt and precise.
You can do so by showing your interest in working for the organization and enquiring whether there’re any suitable opportunities.
Remember, I said suitable opportunities for you and not job vacancies. That’s a decent way to ask for vacancies.
The language and tacit you use in asking for vacancies indicate etiquette. It also speaks volumes about your education and not merely the degrees you hold.

Offer Your Services

Once you’ve done the asking for vacancies, immediately offer your services. Let the recipient know you’re eager to work with the organization. Mention how you would add value to the company if they hire you.
If possible, mention a clear date of joining. You can also add the area where you’d like to work if the company has operations across India.
Also, state that you’re open to relocating for work because a company might not have a vacancy at the location of your choice.
But select an alternative or any location only if you’re genuinely interested in working with the organization and not desperate for a job.

Call to Action

And finally, round off your email by thanking the official for the time and patience to read your email. Here comes the most important part. Request the official to revert on the email if they wish to view your CV, bio-data or resume.
You can provide the call to action by asking the official to contact you by email or your phone number. Also, provide your postal address with proper Postal Index Number (PIN) code.
Conclude the email with thanks and regards to the official. Write your full name again.

Things to Avoid

Avoid flowery or flattering language typically used by Indians such as ‘Respected Sir,’ and ‘Esteemed Organization.’
They are not only archaic but they also appear absurd and crude to the reader. Indeed, using such words can disqualify you for the job even if the organization has a vacancy and you have matching skills.
The above 10 steps may appear lengthy. Indeed, for a fresher or inexperienced jobseeker, they may sound tough as well. But they’re not.
Ideally, an email asking for job vacancy should not run over 80 words to 100 words. That’s because no official will spend time reading lengthy emails.

Wrap Up

In conclusion, I’ll also warn you against using those readymade templates for emails asking for job vacancies.
The person reading your email will believe you are mass emailing prospective employers and hence, have no particular interest in the organization. Use the 10 steps to create own email asking for a job vacancy.
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March 26, 2020 1

Bill Gates rebuked proposals, floated over the last two days by leaders like Donald Trump, to reopen the global economy despite the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, saying that this approach would be “very irresponsible.”
Gates did not mention Trump by name, but the American president has said that he may decide to relax some of the country’s “social distancing” in order to jumpstart the country’s shut-down economy. Gates, the country’s leading philanthropist, has been among the most active tech leaders in using his resources to try and contain the virus.
“There really is no middle ground, and it’s very tough to say to people, ‘Hey, keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner. We want you to keep spending because there’s maybe a politician who thinks GDP growth is all that counts,’” Gates said in an interview with TED Tuesday. “It’s very irresponsible for somebody to suggest that we can have the best of both worlds.”
Trump has suggested that this middle ground would indeed be possible — by letting some healthy people return to work, for instance, while keeping more vulnerable workers in their homes. Experts have said that drastic and widespread social distancing is required to keep the pandemic from spreading further. Trump has said he would make a decision at the end of the month but has said that he believes the “cure” could be worse than the “problem itself.”
Asked what he would do if he were president, Gates returned to his concerns about reopening the economy.
“The economic effect of this is really dramatic. Nothing like this has ever happened to the economy in our lifetimes,” Gates said. “But bringing the economy back ... that’s more of a reversible thing than bringing people back to life. So we’re going to take the pain in the economic dimension — huge pain — in order to minimize the pain in the diseases-and-death dimension.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has put up $100 million for programs to fund testing and science around the pandemic, and he has begun using his public profile, too, to shape the coronavirus conversation. This month, Gates himself resigned from the board of Microsoft, which he founded, and is now effectively a full-time philanthropist — and the country’s most famous one.
And Gates has tried to cast himself as an optimist. He has said that the social distancing measures might need to last as little as six weeks, but said that “we have no choice,” despite the economic impacts.
“It’s disastrous for the economy,” Gates said. But “the sooner you do it in a tough way, the sooner you can undo it and go back to normal.”

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March 25, 2020

A battery is “a device that translates chemical energy into electricity.” Batteries are composed of cells. These cells are what contain the actual energy. They store chemical energy and transform it into electrical energy on command. That’s what powers your devices, from your TV remote to your electric toothbrush.

How do car batteries work?

Most car batteries rely on a lead-acid chemical reaction to get things moving and grooving. These batteries fall into the “SLI” category. SLI stands for “starting, lighting, and ignition.” This type of battery provides short bursts of energy in order to power your lights, accessories, and engine. Once the battery jolts the engine to life, power for the car is supplied by the alternator. Most vehicles come with a generic SLI battery from the factory.

How Car Batteries Work

A typical SLI battery has six cells. Each cell has two plates, or grids: one is made of lead, the other of lead dioxide. Each cell is able to produce about 2-volts of energy. In most car batteries you have six cells, and therefore a 12-volt battery.
The plates are submerged in sulphuric acid that triggers a reaction between the two plates. In scientific terms, the acid acts as a catalyst.
This acid will trigger a reaction on the lead dioxide plate, causing the plate to produce two things: ions and lead sulphate.
The ions produced by the lead dioxide plate react to the adjacent plate to produce hydrogen and lead sulphate.
The result is a chemical reaction that produces electrons. The electrons race around the plates and generate electricity. The electricity flows out of the battery terminals to start your engine, turn on your headlights, and play the radio.
This chemical reaction is entirely reversible, which is why you can jumpstart your battery and continue to charge it throughout the duration of its life. By applying current to the battery at just the right voltage, lead and lead dioxide will form on the plates and you can reuse your battery, over and over again!
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March 25, 2020

The dreams of those who want to connect their brains to computers could be about to take another step towards reality, as Elon Musk took to Twitter to tease an "awesome" update around his neural interface start-up Neuralink.

Commenting on the findings of analysis firm ARK, which ranked deep learning as the number one "big idea of 2020", Musk Tweeted that the impact of high-bandwidth combined with high-precision neural interfaces is "underappreciated".

"Neuralink may have this in a human as soon as this year," he added. And then in another Tweet, the Tesla CEO said rather mysteriously: "Wait until you see the next version vs what was presented last year. It's *awesome*."

In a presentation a few months ago, Musk effectively pitched the first findings of Neuralink, which he believes down the line will lead to a perfect mesh of humans and artificial intelligence. The three year-old company is working on developing an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI), effectively a way of connecting the human brain to computer devices.

The research team at Neuralink rightly pointed out in a white paper that there are currently two ways to record the activity happening behind our skulls: either non-invasive means, which stay clear of actually entering the brain, but as a result are less accurate; or invasive electrodes, which creep near the cortex but are limited in the scope of the signals they can track.

Musk's plan is to combine the best of both. To do so, Neuralink has developed threads ten times thinner than human hair, which can be implanted inside the brain to wirelessly monitor neuron activity. A surgical robot, also made by Neuralink, is put in charge of implanting the microscopic threads into brain matter.


Each thread can carry 32 electrodes, and the researchers have demonstrated that the robot can rapidly implement 96 threads. That's 3,072 electrodes in one brain – "one thousand times more than the best systems out there", said Musk as he showed off the project.

The only caveat is that the technology hasn't been tested on real humans yet. Musk said during his last presentation that a monkey had already used Neuralink's BCI to control a computer with his brain; and the entrepreneur is "aspirationally" hoping to have the interface fitted to a human patient by the end of 2020.

In his tweets, Musk acknowledged the obstacles still lying in the way of the technology: "First, we need to make it super safe and easy to use, then determine greatest utility vs risk," he said. "From initially working to volume production and implantation is a long road."

If Neuralink's BCI was to become a reality for humans, Musk believes that the technology could have huge implications for researching, monitoring and potentially treating neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's or dementia.

An artificial implant could re-establish a connection where neural cabling has died, and let people with brain injuries recover from physical capabilities that have been lost as the result of a stroke, for example.

"It will ultimately be used to make up for entire lost sections of the brain," said Musk in his Twitter thread. "Don't want to get too excited, but the potential is truly transformational for restoring brain and motor functions. There is no other way to do it in my opinion."

Ultimately, what Musk wants to achieve with Neuralink is even bigger: to integrate human and artificial intelligence and have them work in symbiosis. In other words, the Tesla CEO wants to upgrade all of our brains and turn us into enhanced humans – with equal and democratic access to smartness.



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March 24, 2020
How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives often find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.
Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture and residues remain on (and in) the food we eat.
Organic food is often fresher because it doesn’t contain preservatives that make it last longer. Organic produce is often (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms near where it is sold.
Organic farming is better for the environment. Organic farming practices reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without pesticides is also better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.
Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal byproducts. Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and the use of antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised animals are given more space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep them healthy.
Organic meat and milk are richer in certain nutrients. Results of a 2016 European study show that levels of certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, were up to 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions.
Organic food is GMO-free. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) foods are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding, most commonly in order to be resistant to pesticides or produce an insecticide.
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March 24, 2020
Microsoft Surface Book 2
It goes without saying that you're going to want a good PC for working from home. If your home machine isn't quite up to the task of remote work needs—such as videoconferencing and multi-tasking across multiple applications and browser tabs—then you might consider getting a PC with a bit more horsepower than average. Microsoft's Surface Book 2 will have you covered, with its speedy processors and graphics and up to 16 GB of RAM. The laptop also features a detachable display, meaning you can switch into tablet mode—or even the turn the display around and use the keyboard as a stand—for maximal flexibility depending on what your home work setup requires. The notebook also has choices between vibrant 13.5-inch and 15-inch displays. 

Synology RT2600ac Router

The next thing that might need an upgrade for your work-from-home setup is your Wi-Fi router—the typical home wireless router just might not cut it for your work needs. Synology's RT2600ac is a solid choice, offering high-speed wireless with 802.11ac Wave 2 certified radios, MU-MIMO support, a 1.7GHz dual-core processor and capabilities around intelligent optimization of connection quality.

TP-Link AC750 Wi-Fi Extender

If you've turned your bedroom or another far-flung room into your home office, it's probable you might also want a Wi-Fi extender to get sufficient wireless. TP-Link's AC750 Wi-Fi Extender reduces dead zones by covering up to 1,200 square feet, while allowing for connections of up to 20 devices and speeds of up to 750 Mbps.

weBoost Home 4G

It might not just be your Wi-Fi that needs some help to enable work-from-home success—your cell phone signal may also need a boost. The weBoost Home 4G indoor cell phone signal booster can enable your home to get improved signal and preventing dropped connections for your crucial calls. The device promises to boost cell signal range by up to 1,500 feet in one to two rooms, and is compatible with the largest carriers including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Sonos One

Working from home may also reveal that your setup for listening to music and news is sub par. While many smart speakers have mediocre sound quality, the Sonos One is an exception. The Sonos One offers terrific sound and volume even in its relatively compact form factor, thanks to its two Class-D digital amplifiers along with a tweeter a mid-woofer.

Bose Noise-Cancelling Headphones 700
With many schools being cancelled, working from home may also mean working with your family around. Indulging in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones may be very much called for under the circumstances. While Bose's Noise-Cancelling Headphones 700 are not cheap, they sound amazing and pretty much make the outside world disappear (as we can attest to after buying our own pair).

PhoneSoap 3

Concerned that your smartphone might become a holding-place for germs? With a global pandemic underway, you might not be overreacting. The PhoneSoap 3 has you covered, though. The device promises to kill 99.99 percent of germs on a smartphone using UV-based technology. The PhoneSoap can safely sanitize both a phone and case, and even charges the phone in the process.

Oculus Rift S
Feel like you're getting a bit claustrophobic from working from home and avoiding public places? Slipping into a full virtual world for a while might help. And the world of virtual reality just keeps getting better, too. With the Oculus Rift S headset, there are some big improvements to the VR experience.

Upright Go 2
The Upright Go 2 is a small device that's worn on the upper back to combat slouching. The device works by training you to sit or stand up straight, using a gentle vibration as a reminder when slouching occurs. The gadget also connects to a mobile app that creates a personalized training plan for building upper back and core strength. Notably, the Upright Go 2 is 50-percent smaller than the previous version and designed to be more comfortable, while offering 30 hours of battery life.

Apple Watch Series 5
The gym may be off limits these days, but don't forget to get outside and get some exercise. The fifth-generation Apple Watch is packed with fitness and health monitoring features including training and tracking for activities such as running, cycling and yoga. Advanced capabilities for runners include cadence and pace alerts, while other fitness features range from personalized coaching to activity sharing. The Apple Watch Series 5 also offers a boost to workouts by being able to play Apple Music even without having an iPhone nearby.

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March 23, 2020
Robert Half, the American businessman, once said “it’s easy to make good decisions when there are no bad options”.
Gavin Williamson is now grappling with the opposite. Because it’s not only easy, but inevitable, that bad decisions are made when there are no good options.
In a fast moving crisis, you can’t afford to wait for good options. It’s become very clear in the last few days that schools have to close.
Given the timing and uncertain duration, it’s also clear normal summer exams can’t take place. It’s right to act on those decisions now – even when you don’t know yet what will happen in their place.
But thoughts now turn to what replaces the exams that Year 11 and 13 (and older learners) have been spending two years working towards. They’ll rightly be anxious – as will their parents and teachers. So here’s what I think the plan should be.
Logically, there are only three things that can now be done.
We can abandon the system altogether and no qualifications be awarded. Exams can be taken later in the year at an unspecified time. Or there can be some other system for awarding qualifications to the usual timetable.
The first is possible but highly undesirable. Qualifications serve to recognise student achievement, as well as a signal onto their next stage. That’s still needed.
It’s possible to have them taken later in the year. But at this moment we simply don’t know when – or if – schools will reopen. We can’t say we’ll definitely hold them in, say, September. Even if we could, it’s not clear we could reorganise all other elements of education, as well as work, around an extension of the school year.
So that leaves only the option of awarding grades by other means. How to do this?
We want a system that balances three things: maximum certainty for students and exam centres about how grades will be awarded; minimum bureaucracy and burden in generating these; and maximum reliability and disaggregation between students’ achievement.
Naturally – because why would things be simple – these three goals can be in tension.
We could set some other test – one that requires no additional learning, and is quick to mark. This would score high in certainty for learners; high (ish) in reliably disaggregating student outcomes, but poorly for bureaucracy (who, in practice, is going to design, check, give out, and mark all these tests?)
We could somehow make a holistic judgement on students’ performance to date. This would involve some form of best fit overall judgement on a student and award a grade on that basis.
This gives less certainty for learners, probably less disaggregation, but – as a brand new system – probably quite a lot of effort.
Or we could simply use predicted grades. This gives maximum certainty, a reasonable disaggregation of achievement, and minimal effort – because, of course, predicted grades have already been made, especially for A Levels.
The obvious pushback is how we ensure such grades are remotely valid. There’s a significant literature showing that teacher judgements are hugely variable because of human nature.
In addition, there’s a differential bias seen in the system when it comes to A Level predicted grades in particular between different centres and the curse of over or under predictions.
This is where Ofqual come in. Their job, after all, is to ensure that exam boards give out grades that are valid and reliable.
So my plan would be that all centres submit predicted grades to Ofqual for their GCSE and A Level students.
As they would do if the grades were submitted by exam boards, Ofqual would scrutinise these, and say – based on everything we know about that student (prior attainment etc), and everything we know about that centre (previous GCSE and A Level grades for that centre) – do these seem right? If not, they have the right to adjust the grades up and down accordingly.
Three more things need to happen.
Centres, and students, need to be given total clarity over how Ofqual will do this, and what the margin for error is – and as much clarity as is possible to help centres submit correct grades.
Secondly, students need to be reassured that Ofqual’s goal is to help support them to get the grades that are fair, and as close to what they would have likely got in their exams as possible.
Thirdly, if a centre or students really don’t want to do this, they must be supported as far as possible to resit some or all paper exams as soon as they can – perhaps next January, or even next summer.
There are – you don’t need to tell me – several perfectly sensible objections to this system. But in a time of national crisis, we need a best-fit decision – and to all back it.
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