Career Today: Best Jobs; Ask Tarun!!!

Arvind Singhal, 41, Managing Director, KSA Technopak, on the qualifications required for a career in organised retail.

What kind of a background is required to embark on a career in organised retail?

Organised retail is a cache of career opportunities for individuals from varying backgrounds. Professionals with training in manufacturing, finance, sales and marketing, infotech, and general management are well-placed to enter this sector. Retail organisations require people across functional areas like product development, sourcing, merchandising, supply chain management, store operations, and marketing, and in support functions like hr, finance, and infotech.

The sector is still nascent in India, and has only recently begun to attract talent from the better B-schools. An MBA degree is not a pre-requisite for a career in retail, and opportunities exist for competent graduates in many operational functions.

What are the skills considered desirable for a successful career in this sector?

The spectrum of skills required for different operational areas in retail organisations range from an aptitude for figures in merchandising and inventory management, to a strong knowledge of specific product categories in buying, and to inter-personal skills in customer service. For management posts, the skills are more aligned with those that are required for other consumer products businesses-strong customer orientation and people management skills.

With the sector set to explode, and the entry of large corporates and international retailers imminent, growth prospects for entry-level and middle management job aspirants are terrific.

CEO; Transnational Infotech Firm; USA, UK, Japan, and India; Relevant qualification with experience; Akiko Sherman Infotech, 13/19 Padam Singh Chowk, Ajmal Khan Road, New Delhi-110005.
e-mail: asherman@giasdlo1.vsnl.net.in

CEO; To be based in Calcutta; MD with at least 10 years of professional and management experience in hospital systems of the United States, Europe, and India; B.M.Birla Heart Research Centre, 9/1, R.N. Mukherjee Road, Birla Building, Calcutta-700001;
e.mail: hmlcorp@vsnl.net

Vice-President; New Delhi; Graduate/MBA in marketing, 10-12 years of relevant experience; Ansal Housing & Construction, 15, UGF, Indraprakash, 21, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi-110001.
web-site: www.ansalhousingltd.com

General Manager (Marketing); Relevant qualification and experience; SECO Advance Equipments, 217, Sri Ram House, Ashram Chowk, Mathura Road, New Delhi-110014

Deputy General Manager (Marketing); New Delhi; Graduate/MBA with 5-6 years of relevant experience; Ansal Housing & Construction, 15, UGF, Indraprakash, 21, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi-110001.

Project Manager; USA; BS/BE and MBA with relevant experience; Reliable Web Solutions; 11-4-641/A, A.C. Guards, Hyderabad.
e-mail: careers@reliablecorp.com

Marketing Executives; Automotive industry; UAE; graduate with relevant experience in sales and marketing in the automotive industry; Personnel Search Services; Engineering Cell, 222, Parabhadevi Estate, Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400025.

Sales Executive; Trading Enterprises; UAE; Graduate with relevant experience in automotive industry; Personnel Search Services, Engineering Cell, 222, Prabhadevi Estate, Veer Savarkar Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai-400025.

Jobwatch

Retail is being revolutionised! With the Tatas, the Piramals, the Rahejas, RPG Enterprises, ITC, and S. Kumars entering the fray, the race for a slice of the retail pie has never looked keener. Add to this, the big retail chains like Crosswords, Shoppers' Stop, foodWorld and MusicWorld, and you see a sudden explosion of opportunities in this sector, slated to become a whopping Rs 30,000 crore market in the next two years. The Crossroads chain has plans to expand to around a million square feet of built-up space over the next 24 months. The Tata-owned Trent, which operates the Westside chain of stores, and the s. Kumars-owned S. Maart too have ambitious growth plans, with the latter mapping out a foray into smaller cities like Indore and Hyderabad. Positions are certain to open up across functions-both retail-specific ones like merchandising, visualising, front-end management, and logistics, as well as corporate ones like marketing, finance, and hr. Are you sold?

Wanna sell? Large-scale retailing is far more difficult than it seems to be at first glance. Glitzy environs and cool sales-lingo apart, it also means coping with stress, long hours, and the occasional irate customer. The pressure to keep the till ringing is also considerable. Check out whether you have the necessary attributes:

Regardless of the function or position you are in, you have to have a genuine willingness to serve and be of assistance. A liking for interacting with people and a generous dash of humility are also desirable.

An ability to handle stress, work under pressure, and juggle deadlines is absolutely essential, along with strong communication and inter-personal skills.

In functions like buying and merchandising, an ability to select the right products at the right price is vital. Translated, this means a good understanding of international and domestic market and prevailing purchasing trends. Similarly, in visualising, a strong sense of design and familiarity with design trends is a must.

For other functions, experience in FMCG, hospitality, and service industries, or even in advertising, would be preferable.

The Top Level: CEOs, CFOs, head of sales and marketing, head of hr, head of merchandising and buying, head of operations, and head of distribution/logistics, and head of projects.
Qualifications: MBAs from top B-schools, with extensive professional experience in relevant industries. An engineering degree for positions in projects. Specialist qualification for positions in merchandising.
Compensation: Rs 20-45 lakh

The Middle Level: General managers in sales and marketing, operations, finance, visual merchandising, logistics, projects, and hr. Senior designers and fashion forecasters in garment retailing.
Qualifications: MBA for the corporate functions along with relevant experience. Specialist qualifications for buying and design.
Compensation: Rs 8-15 lakh

The Lower Level: Executives/officers in marketing, operations, visual merchandising, in-store management, finance, distribution, projects, fashion design and forecasting, administration, and hr management.
Qualifications: Graduates with diploma in sales for sales positions. Specialist qualifications for buying, merchandising, and design.
Compensation: Rs 1-6 lakh

Lease of Life
The rise and fall of what could have been the country's largest horizontal portal sent shock- waves through the dot.com community. But its ex-president seems to be made of sterner stuff. Yes, Sunil Rajshekhar, the former head of Indiainfo.com, who quit a mere six months after promoter Raj Koneru poached him from Bennett, Coleman & Company, has already bounced back. He is reportedly looking at a slew of offers to head various cyberspace ventures, but is most likely to join Aptech Internet, as a Director. Here also, his responsibilities are expected to include content and marketing. Track record, perhaps, is not what the recruiters have in mind. But, this time, hopefully, history will not repeat itself...

Bubbles Bursting?
Is the fizz finally falling flat? Despite the emphasis on hr as a turnaround tool, Coca-Cola India (Coke) seems to be struggling with disgruntled employees; even losing them. The latest one to quit is Ravi Deol, the Head of Operation (Capability Services), who looked after retail execution and distribution, including channel marketing. Deol is moving as the CEO of Java Coffee Company, the company behind the Barista chain of coffee bars. It is a great move for Deol, no doubt, who before joining Coke, handled the consumer and lighting businesses at Wipro. The twin challenges at his new job, are creating a company and category-building, says Deol. Presumably, the thrill was missing in his previous assignment... Another possible exit that is creating a buzz at Coke is that of director (Northern Operations), Sunil Sawhney. The grapevine says Sawhney, may be joining a prominent Coke bottler, the Jaipurias. Coke, however, has denied this. Coke insiders cite lack of transparency and new career opportunities as possible reasons and say there could be more such exits. Jo chaho ho jaye or ...

Going, Going, Gone
One more down! Dabur India Ltd (DIL) has lost one of its senior managers again. CFO Yogesh Mathur is leaving the portals of the herbal products giant to step into the glitzier environs of the FMCG major Indian Shaving Products Ltd, a subsidiary of Gillette, as its Director (finance). For Mathur, it is probably a step-up. After all, Gillette is a transational with operations across the globe and can offer a global career. For DIL, well...

Yet another departure, this time from the hallowed corridors of Kelloggs India. Its high-profile Marketing Director, Sukanya Kirpalu, has left rather suddenly. Kirpalu, who has had a long stint with Cadbury India, before Kelloggs, is known in FMCG circles as a smart marketer. Kirpalu's destination, however, is unknown yet.

Snakes and Ladders
Restructuring affects even star managers. Take the erstwhile head of Visa India, Vishal Pandit. Pandit, who has had a glittering corporate career so far, spanning top-notch transnationals such as ICI, GE, and Visa, may have been kind of caught on the wrong foot. He did not quite settle down at the GE-SBI credit card JV which he headed. Subsequently, he joined Visa and even toyed with the idea of joining ANZ Grindlays, till the Stanchart takeover threw his plans out of kilter. Now, after he has left Visa and joined financial services company, The Associates, there is talk in corporate circles of the company being acquired by Citibank. With his credentials, though, Pandit is not likely to find it difficult to find a new job. After all, he could look upon Anuroop 'Tony' Singh, as a role model...

Postscript
Ernst & Young has had its share of problems with its hr consulting practice ever since the Cap Gemini deal happened. Now the practice director, A. Sudhakar, is himself leaving and reportedly taking a few deputies with him. Sudhakar is going back to the industry-most likely to be an insurance company-in a bid to lend his cross-industry expertise to the fledgling sector. Going by the rate at which the professional services industry is merging and de-merging, it looks like a wise move. After all, it seems he could do with a strong dose of his own medicine now.

I am an MBA (marketing) working for a dot.com as a content developer. However, with the present uncertainty in dot.coms, one can never say what will happen six months from now. Should I switch to a more conventional marketing job? Also, would my present experience be of any value? P.S.: Apart from the insecurity factor, I am actually going great guns.

It is obvious that you are torn between your short-term and long-term interests. Assuming that the present job is alright from the perspectives of monetary rewards and learning opportunities, you should ask yourself whether this dot.com you are working for can sustain itself? And will you grow with it if it does? Are the skills and learning transferable to other functions/industries, especially in the brick-and-mortar world? Finally, try to visualise yourself five years from now and see whether this assignment is a logical step in that direction.

I am a 22-year-old professionally-qualified company secretary (CS). After working for three months with a family-managed concern, I don't want to be a part of this profession any more. Should I go for an MBA? Or, should I opt for a qualification in chartered accountancy instead? Would my CS degree add value to my resume? Would a long-distance MBA have as much value as an on-campus one?

Don't go for degrees and diplomas, just for the sake of it. You need to know what your aptitudes and interests are. So, instead of just adding to your qualifications, ask yourself what you would like to do. A CS is a specialised qualification-other complementary qualifications are CA, MBA (Finance), and LLB. However, as each qualification adds to your knowledge, you could go ahead with what you think would be suitable. I also recommend that you get a feel of the other functions before you decide. Your dejection could be the result of your immediate work environment which is not conducive to the secretarial function. In that case, you can simply change your job, while sticking to your profession.

I am 23 years old and doing a B.E. course. I have already cleared a diploma course in mechanical engineering with a first class. But frankly, I am floundering. I have skipped one semester exam and am not really confident of maintaining a high percentage in the course. Should I abandon the course? I could then perhaps specialise in e-commerce or go for an MBA?

It is surprising that you are floundering with a first-class diploma under your belt. Please keep in mind that for most post-graduate courses, you will need a basic degree. You could specialise in e-Commerce, but be warned that a qualification does not ensure professional nirvana. In my opinion, you should treat what you are going through as a strictly temporary phase. Snap out of it and do whatever you decide, but only after you have finished your course. Chances are, everything will work out in your favour.

I am a 43-year-old science graduate with a diploma in materials management. My present job in a manufacturing organisation is neither creative nor lucrative. How can I enhance my qualifications and switch to a better job? I know that my age is going to come in the way of a regular corporate job. Therefore, I am not averse to doing something part-time to complement my present job or even starting a business. Would a management degree from IGNOU be a help or should I acquire any other qualification?

It is going to be difficult to switch to another job, given your constraints. Also, you are not in a profession where there is a regular movement of people, and thus not too many vacancies get created. A long-distance MBA will help add to your knowledge and skill sets, and make you more saleable in the job market, particularly if you decide to join the private sector. It could even help you perform better at your current job. However, the gains are unlikely to be instantaneous, and you will have to be wait for things to happen.

Tarun Sheth, the senior consultant at the Mumbai-based recruitment and training consultancy firm, Shilputsi, addresses your career concerns every fortnight. Write to help, Tarun!!! c/o Business Today, F-26, Connaught Place, New Delhi-1.