Career Today: Help Tarun!!!

CAREERS TODAY: COUNSELLING
Help Tarun!!!

I am a 28-year-old management consultant, working with an established consulting firm. My immediate boss recently left the firm to start his own recruitment company. He is doing quite well and has used his contacts to build up an impressive client-roster. Now, he has asked me to join him. He is not only offering a higher designation, but also some stake in the firm. Should I quit to join him? or, is it advisable to stay and work in a secure environment?

There is always some risk involved in leaving a well-established firm. The recruitment industry is not an easy industry to be in and just having contacts and building up a client-base will not translate into revenues. You really need to think carefully before taking a jump. If you want to keep your avenues open, you should tell him that this is not the right time to leave and that you need a little more time. This would give you some time to find out how his business is panning out.

I am a 27-year-old with a Master of Computer Applications degree from IMT-Ghaziabad, working as a software professional with a large Bangalore-based IT company. I have received a job offer from a relatively small US-based company. I am doing well in my current job and am being regularly trained in new technologies. When I had applied for the job in the US, the software sector was booming. The situation has completely changed now. Should I take up the offer?

I would say that it is a big risk at present to go to the US, especially to work for a small company. The only reason for taking up such an offer would be that you desperately want to go to the US and plan to use this as a stepping stone. If you are happy with your current job, I don't see any reason for a change. You can always apply for better jobs in the US later.

I am a 35-year-old general manager with a Delhi-based FMCG company. I have a PGDBM from IIM-Ahmedabad and have been working in the same company for the past 10 years. A Mumbai-based insurance company recently offered me the post of Vice President (Marketing). My present company has identified me as a high-performer. I enjoy the field I am in at present and have never before considered insurance as a serious career option. Will it be a good career move to join the insurance industry?

Insurance is a good industry to be in at the moment and is slated to grow in the coming years. It is also a profession that can be your launching pad into the services sector. I assume that you have also been offered a good salary. If the company is reputed, I see no harm in exploring the option-unless, of course, you want to continue to stick to the FMCG industry. Since you are an experienced professional with good qualifications, you will find no difficulty in returning to the FMCG industry if you do not like working in the insurance sector.

I am a 40-year-old senior Vice President (Finance) in a large Hyderabad-based software firm. I joined the firm a year ago. Before that, I was working with a dotcom as its Chief Finance Officer (CFO). Unfortunately, the dotcom went bust. Recently, I received an offer from a Bangalore-based dotcom to head its finance department. The project is very exciting and the dotcom, unlike the previous one I used to work for, seems financially sound. Though the offer is tempting and I enjoyed working in the dotcom environment, my earlier experience is forcing me to look at the security aspect of the job. Please advise.

Firstly, I don't think you should get obsessed with a CFO designation. Vice President (Finance) is a highly respected designation (unless, of course, there are three vice presidents in the finance department, in which case it is the job that makes all the difference, not the designation). Secondly, while evaluating the offer you have received, the questions you need to ask yourself are: is the business model sustainable. And, in case this does not work out, will I be able to land a good job again? It seems to me that at 40, you are looking for a fresh round of excitement. However, it is time you considered all aspects of the job seriously, especially since you are already a dotcom veteran.

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.

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