I work with a consumer durables company as its general manager (marketing). I am 50 years old and have been working with the company for the past 15 years. The company has not been doing too well lately. It recently recruited a new vice president, 15 years my junior, for the marketing department. He has already begun to dismantle some of the systems and processes I instituted. Should I stay on or move to another company that has been asking me to join it? Though this company is offering me less money and is not as big as the firm I work for, the marketing head is an old colleague of mine.

If you want to wait and see if things eventually work out, the question you will need to answer is, how long will you wait? If you accept the offer and do well in the new firm, you will have a lot more options. Your current company may want you back in case its new strategy backfires. By moving on now you may achieve more than you would if you stayed on. On the other hand, if the company's new strategy works, you could find yourself being pushed out, and it might be too late for you to land a similar job as you have already turned 50.

I am the chief executive officer of a Bangalore-based software firm, which is a subsidiary of a large software group. I am 38 years old and have been with the firm for three years. Till recently, I was handling the group's marketing and communications functions. That also meant handling the media. In one of our company's recent conferences I made the mistake of letting out some information that was not supposed to have been made public. This caused a great deal of embarrassment for the management. The management has signalled its lack of confidence in me by stripping me of the communications function. I have always wanted to start a software firm of my own and have already lined up clients to support the start-up. Is this the right time for me to go ahead and start my own company?

If you want to start a software firm, you should do so for the right reasons. Are you sure you will have enough business and be able to sustain it? Times are not conducive for the software business, and unless your company has something unique to offer, it would be very difficult for it to make headway. What looks good on paper may not work out as well in reality. Another option for you would be to seek another job. Alternatively, if you talk your problems through with the management, it might be willing to give you a fresh break. If you are confident and really want to start a business, do so by all means. But consider all aspects of such a decision before taking the leap.

I am a 35-year-old woman working in a foreign institutional investor firm as an editor. I handle reports for the Asian region. It is a demanding, but well-paying job. I have just had a baby and I have asked the firm to let me work from home. The company is not willing to consider the arrangement. I cannot keep the kind of long work hours I used to keep earlier. What should I do? I do not want to go back to journalism. What other options are there for me?

You should talk it over with the management. If you are good at your work and if your employers value your work, they will reconsider the arrangement. In case this does not work out, you can consider working in a publishing house, doing freelance editing for other firms such as yours, or teaching the English language from home. You can also search for a job that offers a 'work-from-home' option on the internet.

I am a 25-year-old MBA working in the corporate finance division of a reputed foreign bank. The bank has announced that it is going to downsize our division. I don't learn much in my present job. What options are available to me? Given the current slowdown, should I continue with my present job?

Do you want to sit back and wait for the division to close down? You are only 25. At your age, you cannot afford to sit at home. Hunt for another job. If you are expecting a severance package, negotiate the timing of your joining with your prospective employers accordingly. You could apply for a job with the corporate finance divisions of other banks and financial services companies as well as in manufacturing firms.

Tarun Sheth, a 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-110001.