Career Today: Best Jobs; Ask Tarun!!!; Tracking; The Sabbatical

CEO; Mastermind Network; New Delhi; Relevant qualifications and experience; LG-13, somdutt chamber-1, Bhikaji Cama Place, New delhi-110066.
e-mail: mnetwork@vsnl.com

CEO; 300-mw power plant; Bangalore; Engineering Graduate/MBA with 15 years of relevant experience; Box No-5678, GPO, Bangalore-560001.
e-mail: hrd_power@yahoo.com

General Manager (Business Development); Chancellor Infotech; Delhi/ opal/Raipur/Nagpur; B.Tech/MCA/MBA and with relevant experience of 3-5 years in related areas; Chancellor Infotech, 45/7 East Patel Nagar, New Delhi-110008.
e-mail: cil@usa.com

Head (Marketing); Mastermind Network; New Delhi; Relevent qualification and experience; Mastermind Network; LG-13, somdutt chamber-1, Bhikaji Cama Place, New delhi-110066.
e-mail: mnetwork@vsnl.com

Vice-President; Chancellor Infotech; London/ Vienna; M.Tech/MCA/MBA (Marketing) and with 5-10 years of relevant experience in related areas; Chancellor Infotech, 45/7 East Patel Nagar, New Delhi-110008.
e-mail: cil@usa.com

Circulation Manager; Fastest growing publishing company in hongkong; Graduate/ MBA with three years of experience as circulation manager in the industry.
e-mail: Cybee@cmlink.com

Management Consultants; KPMG Consulting; Bahrain; Graduate/MBA required from reputed institutes with at least 2-3 years of relevant experience in consultancy; KPMG Consulting, Bahrain.
e-mail: mmajeed@kpmg.com.bh

Bishops For The Battleline
Big plans and big money is something the Kerry Packer-HFCL combine has no shortage of. What was missing was the right people to bring in the results. But now the pieces are being put in place. The latest bishop on the battleline is the 50-year-old Lalit Sawhney. An 18-year HLL veteran, Sawhney has been selected as CEO of Excel Net Commerce, a B2B e-commerce JV that will focus on network infrastructure, or as Sawhney likes to put it, put the commerce into e-commerce. From heading information systems at HLL, he now gets the chance to work with an array of companies.

The Pros And Cons

The benefits
Sabbaticals, granted to qualified employees, were once associated only with tenured university professors. But today, this gift of time, paid or unpaid, and usually for less than a year, is on the rise. Employers are beginning to view sabbaticals, usually study breaks, as a way to help employees recharge their batteries. Sabbaticals are likely to become more common as companies see their benefits. Besides, sabbaticals are ideal for greater loyalty and increased productivity.
Why Individuals Hesitate
You are heading for an extra increment along with your next promotion. Your equation with the forces that matter are at an all-time high. Can you afford to walk out for a few months? Some companies that offer sabbaticals find their managers reluctant to take a break for fear that they will lose precious time and opportunity. It is a question of weighing short-term benefits against long-term ones that will always be the individual's prerogative. Some tackle the issue by opting for shorter sabbaticals instead of one long break.
Why companies hesitate
One of the main concerns HR professionals have when considering sabbaticals is how to cover the work load of the absent worker. Very often you find that companies are wary about letting their people go on sabbaticals. Most companies value the continuity that sabbaticals interrupt. In companies that have a larger development programme, a sabbatical is considered as a paid leave. In those where there is no formal programme, it is usually an unpaid leave granted on a case-to-case basis. For an increasing number of employees in senior positions, companies are paying for the sabbaticals. The cost can be quite high-an advanced management programme from one of the reputed universities in the US will cost anything between $15,000-25,000.

The other back liner on the chess board is Anshuman Kankan who has joined as EV-P (it-enabled Services) of Consolidated Futuristic Solutions-the software producing JV. Kankan comes in from GE Capital where he was V-P (Finance & IT-enabled services).

Bangkok Party
Another job...another party. Well, what do you expect when you work for Bacardi-Martini? After his Bacardi blast in India as GM (marketing), Bacardi-Martini India, Mahesh Madhavan is all set to hit the oriental city of Bangkok as the Marketing Director of the Thai Bacardi subsidiary Caldbecks Macgregor and will takeover as MD from 2002.

Eye-Opener
After the break-up with Ray Ban it was evident there would be some churn at Bausch & Lomb. And so as Shailendra Tandon made a quiet exit as CEO, his successor was all ready in the form of J.P. Singh, currently vice-president, Bausch & Lomb Eye-Care India. Singh has been moving up the ranks since he joined the company in 1994. Well, he couldn't have set his sights higher.

Up And Away
Even the fact that the funds he's floated are not doing well hasn't stopped Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company's CEO Ajay Srinivasan from making waves. And that's why the 36-year-old Srinivasan has landed the plum post of Regional Director for Prudential in Hong Kong. The IIM-Ahmedabad graduate has been one of ICICI's star performers for some time now.

Meanwhile, it is ex-Citibanker Shailendra Bhandari who is stepping into his shoes. Bhandari has been pulled in from the Kale Consultants office in New Zealand for the task of revving up the nonchalant performance of the India funds. Apart from varied exposures in Citibank, Bhandari is one of the pioneering architects of the now-successful HDFC bank. That's quite a track record. But given the task ahead, he'll probably need it all.

Homecoming
When Tupperware wanted to set up operations in India, it called home Hong Kong-based Pradeep Mathur. With Mathur back in Hong Kong as VP (Asia region), Tupperware is now calling in another Indian, Kanwar S. Bhutani. Bhutani, 36, was working in Florida as VP (salesforce compensation). With 16 years of direct marketing experience-10 years in Avon and six in Tupperware-he's raring to start ringing doorbells in India.

I am a 26-year-old officer in a public sector bank and have completed both parts of CAIIB. I am now doing MBA in banking and finance from IGNOU. I am interested in joining one of the new private sector banks. However, I fear the job insecurity that hovers above the private banking sector. Please advise me on this.

There are always opportunities in private sector banks, but yes, the culture is performance-oriented-mergers and acquisitions are as much a reality as are downsizing and restructuring. So if security is your raison d'etre for working, then you do have reason to think twice. On the other hand, the salary and perquisites are good as are the severance packages. If you think your personality is more suited to the functioning of the public sector bank, then you should stay on-there is nothing wrong or right about it-we are all different people and therefore are suited to different work environments. However, if you feel that you are better suited to the private sector environment and are willing to risk it, then go for it. You are still young and will be able to make the change easier.

I am 25, pursuing a part-time MBA from SIMS, Pune. I am working with a music company, where I am handling sales, collections, events, branding, and public relations. But I am not sure of my future in this industry. Do you think I should stay on? Within this industry, which are the sectors or areas with the greatest career potential?

On the one hand, the music industry can be treated as part of the entertainment industry (music, television, etc.), and on the other, the kind of work involved in your job can put you in ambit of the retail and consumer industries. Therefore, both these are definitely open to you as options as are event management, public relations etc. The question is which part of the job do you enjoy the most and which part do you think you are really good at. However, do not let the choice of industry dominate your career plan-a job is a package involving a whole gamut of factors, and must be looked at in its entirety.

I am a 34-year-old Professor with a doctorate in Physics and an MBA in Information Technology. I want to put my theories to practice in the corporate world, and get in on the software boom. Do you think it is a prudent step-how can one go about it? Should I go in for a the latest course in software or should I apply directly for a job?

You have an MBA in it, and that should stand you in good stead as far as job applications are concerned. Courses in software should help, but I do not know when you got your degrees. You will need to scan the market in terms of courses available, their relevance, and suitability. Checking out the job ads would give you an idea about what would suit you. You can also go in for software training simultaneously. Then again, you could always go back to teaching if the change does not meet your expectations.

I am a 22-year-old B.Com (H) graduate completing final-year LLB. I am currently working in a reputed law firm as a trainee in their corporate department. I am also doing a PG diploma in International Trade Law. But I want to enter the corporate world, and am planning to join a management course. Would it be a wise given my law background. Do you feel it is too late for me to do an MBA? Also, would my legal qualifications and work experience be of any use if I pursue a management degree?

It is never too late to change one's course of life. Having dispensed with that issue, let's look at the more fundamental question-to be or not to be (a lawyer that is). You can always join the law department of a company-however, you need to know that then you are there as a functional specialist and your growth may be limited to the function more or less (though I dare say the Vice-Chairman of Levers comes from this function). You could also do an MBA in a function like finance where your knowledge of law would be very useful-in other functions may be a little less so. So whether or not you want to do an MBA is more about your inclination, aptitude and ambition, and the career path you want to choose.

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.

BUILDING ME-INC
The Sabbatical
Taking time off from work can be used to enhance your life as well as keep your career on the right track. In the first of our series on 'Building Me-Inc.' Careers Today caught up with some of Corporate India's frontrunners who have taken a sabbatical to study in the recent past.

Raj Jain
One-and-a-half years back, Raj Jain, the recently-appointed CEO of Whirlpool India, was at a critical juncture in his career. From the operational aspects of management, he was moving to the strategic level. A thought had been nagging him at the back of his mind-an urge to brush up on his theoretical knowledge; to sit back and reflect and to pass his thoughts through the filter of modern knowledge. Which is why he decided to go for a four-week Advanced Management Programme at Kelloggs Business School. Yes, it was a difficult time to get out of the rat race. In fact, the course was held during peak season for consumer durables. Yet, he was determined-something he is very happy about today. Says Jain: ''This was something important, but not urgent. Yet, I felt it was important enough for me to find time for it. Today, thanks to the sabbatical, I am updated on the latest thinking in management.'' Besides direct learning, the programme gave him an opportunity to interact with senior managers from across the globe, discuss how they were handling various issues like ERP. Says Jain: ''That kind of shared learning I would not have got from anyone.''

Amit Kumar
In the case of Amit Kumar, Area Head (India & South Asia), Guidant (a medical equipment company), it was his self-determination that got him to a one-year management course at the International Institute for management development, Lausanne.

It was something he had always wanted to do-the limiting factor being the requisite funds. Once he got over that hurdle by assuring assistance from the institute there was no stopping him. And if that meant quitting his job in Overseas Trade Services, so be it. So he went through the drill of taking GMAT, rounds of essays and interviews, before he got the call from Lausanne. Says Kumar: ''The difference I feel is as a person, the skills they teach you are no different, than what you learn in an MBA course. Our group had 82 students, from 32 countries. The process of cross-cultural working was a experience. For a person who aspires to an international career it was a great training ground.'' And the icing on the cake-he was picked up by his current employer from Lausanne itself.