I'm 24 years old and have a B.Tech in Electronic Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai. I had the opportunity to go to United States for further studies but gave up that option and started an embedded systems venture with some friends having similar backgrounds. Though the venture has been moderately successful, I have fallen out with my friends and want to quit. Now, while looking for a job, I have developed a niggling feeling that I have lost the edge vis-a-vis my peers. Is experience with a start-up given due weightage in industry or do I have to equip myself with another degree for a fast-track career?

The answer to that depends on what your ultimate career goal is. A person your age could not be having more than one or two years experience and, as such, that will be given weightage only in a similar industry. A start-up experience is likely to be given more weightage in another start-up, but most large companies requiring other skill-sets may not give it the same weightage. Your IIT degree will certainly hold you in good stead. On the other hand, you are just 24, and in case you want to pursue further studies, this is the right time for it.

I am a graduate from Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi, and have six years of sales and marketing experience with a Chennai-based company. I have resigned because of extreme work pressure and low compensation. Since I am a mother of two small kids, I need a job with fixed working hours or, preferably, with flexi-timing. But at the same time I don't want to lose out on the quality of work. Am I asking for too much? Which industry would best suit me? Sitting at home is not an option for me.

To find a job that meets all your requirements may be extremely difficult. I know a lot of people who are looking for such jobs. You could do part-time work in market research, marketing consulting, or training-all these areas offer you flexi-timing. You could also work with an NGO. Teaching in management schools is another option you can take up if you are so inclined. But don't be disappointed if you find your dream job elusive.

I am a 21-year-old graduate from Pusa Institute of Hotel Management, Delhi. The hospitality industry has been badly hit because of the global slowdown. I am working as a junior assistant to the chef in a small Mumbai hotel. Some of my more affluent classmates have gone to New Zealand to do a specialised course in hotel management and will probably get a job through campus placements there. Should I try something similar? I don't want to continue at my present job for the rest of my life. What options do I have?

There is a certain pattern of progression in the hotel management industry. The recession will not last forever. However, it would be better if you joined a larger and more professional organisation that offers greater opportunities to learn and grow. So you should either try and get a job like that or consider going in for higher studies. There are institutes in various parts of the world that offer scholarships. Your success, however, depends on how hard you work and how good you prove to be at your work. So don't ever feel that you won't be successful because you haven't studied abroad.

I'm a software engineer working at the middle management level in the US with an Indian firm. I am not too happy with my work profile. I would like to return to India. However, it is tough to find the right position in India from the US. Should I come back to India with my current company and then start looking for another job or should I continue hunting from the US for a job. Will my new employers be willing to pay my relocation expenses?

It will be very difficult for you to find a job in India sitting in the US. The best, most inexpensive and secure way to come back is to get a transfer with your current company. That way, you will still have a job in India when you get back and you might actually find that things have gotten better-or you could look for a change. However, such a move may not be very fair to your present employer. To answer your other question, I don't think too many employers will fund your relocation unless you are in a very senior position or have some special skill-sets that they are direly in need of.

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.

"We Are Pioneers In India"

Kelly Services' Brad Shaw: Going for volumes

The Michigan-based $4.3 billion, hr outsourcing company, Kelly Services, launched its services in India in May 2002. With operations in 26 countries, Kelly provides its customers 700,000 employees annually, with skills that include office services, accounting, engineering, it, law, science, marketing, education and healthcare. Brad Shaw, the company's Regional VP (Asia Pacific) spoke to BT's Mily Chakrabarty.

On why Kelly decided to launch its services in India: We felt that the Indian market is ready for staffing services. There is no real organised player and Kelly would be the pioneers in the staffing service. World over, Kelly services is the fourth largest staffing company. The head-count is a problem at the senior level, but we operate at the entry-level or the junior-level of the management in high volumes with low margins.

On Kelly's quality benchmark: At Kelly we maintain very high standards and it is reflected in our client portfolio-96 per cent of our clients are Fortune 100 companies. Kelly has several proprietary tools to test candidates and they help us to decide on what job profile would suit a particular candidate. For example, we have ''Kelly pin-point'' for administrative staff and this module is used on the candidates for various skill tests.

On services being offered in India and the industries they will be focussing on: Initially, we will be offering just four services-permanent staffing, contract staffing, outplacement, and vendor on-site services. To start with, we will concentrate on the retail sector and more specifically on hospitality, lifestyle stores, garment retailers, international chain of book stores and call centres. We have already tied up with 70 companies in India, Pfizer being our first client.

For A Lasting Impression

Reading the book put Your Best Foot Forward would be like taking your personality to a doctor for a master checkup. You may feel uncomfortably poked, prodded, and palpated, but you will perhaps be the better for it. More precisely, it helps you get along well with others. The authors Jo-Ellan Dimitrius and Mark Mazzarella, experts in psychology and human behaviour, tell us the kind of impression that seemingly trivial things like wearing a polyester shirt for a job interview or an excessive use of "filler" words like 'Okay', during a conversation, can create. It's a common sense, day-to-day how-to book for fresh graduates and young executives wanting to create a lasting impression because people might forget what you said and what you did, but they'll never forget how you made them feel at your first handshake.

-T.R. Vivek