Career Today: Help Tarun!!!

CAREERS TODAY: COUNSELLING
Help Tarun!!!

I am a 26-year-old doing MBA (part-time) from the Xavier Institute of Management, Mumbai. Having spent two-and-a-half years space selling in the tyre industry, I am now handling frontline sales in the same industry. But I am dissatisfied with my present job. Do you think that I should stick to my job or look for avenues in other fields? Taking into consideration my present position, which industry would be best suited for me?

You have the experience of both space selling and product distribution. Hence, it will not be difficult for you to get a job in either consumer durables or in a marketing or office automation organisation. However, with a part-time MBA degree, it may be a bit difficult for you to compete with the full-time MBAs for a product management responsibility. You have to find out what is it in your job that you dislike. If it has nothing to do with the industry, then I would suggest that you continue with your present job for some more time. Also, consult the HR personnel in your company regarding your growth in the organisation. This will help you take the right decision regarding your career.

I am a 39-year-old General Manager in a credit rating agency. I have been with this company for the past 10 years, and it has been a fairly successful innings. However, a kind of monotony has set in the job that has forced me to look for a change. A transnational bank has offered me a job as the head of its equity research department. However, the pay is only 5 per cent higher than what I draw at present. I am a little confused. I can't make up my mind regarding the offer. Should I first consider other options or accept this offer right now?

Opportunity has knocked at your door, no doubt, but you are justified in feeling that you haven't considered all the options. But smart jobs don't come in bulk, especially in your field. What is it that you are looking for in your career that this job doesn't seem to provide? If it's money you are stressing on, then I think the augment is not strong enough as far as the current scenario is concerned. I would suggest that if you have some time before taking the final leap, then look for opportunities and weigh them against one another as well as this one.

I am a 28-year-old MBA, working as manager in an FMCG company for the past one year. Since my school days, I have been genuinely interested in theatre and have been involved in theatre productions. I am not happy with my present occupation. It is not as though I am not doing well, but I do not find my work inspiring. Do you think it would be wise on my part to try my luck in the field of entertainment and media? I may not be pursuing a career in acting in these fields, nevertheless, being in a creative environment would be more suitable for me. Is this a good time to join the media sector?

I admire your interests, but please remember that any job is 90 per cent routine. To make your job exciting, you have to change the way you look at it. In the entertainment or the media industry, you can join either the creative or the production department, depending on your skills and, of course, vacancy. But media demands a mix of creativity and business. Hence, it may not live upto your expectation. I think it is not really necessary for you to join media to prove your creativity; you can always pursue acting as a hobby like Alyque Padamsee, Bharat Dabholkar, and Vijay Crishna.

I am a 27-year-old MBA from a second-rung business school. A year-and-a-half ago, I joined the marketing division of a dotcom company. Recently, we have been told that our VC won't be funding us anymore. My boss is confident that he will be able to find another source to ensure that we do not feel the fund crunch. I am confused whether I should wait and see what happens or start looking for other options. I have an offer from a more secure dotcom, with a comfortable funding position. But it's hard to rest hopes on the already crashed dotcom sector. Do you think it's time for me to quit my current firm and look for safer opportunities?

I would definitely recommend you to try and look for a good job that would ensure your stability in a company. Experience with such firms will add value to your resume. Nowadays, dotcoms are not the best in terms of resume value. So try looking for better avenues, preferably in a non-dotcom company. That would put you in a zero-risk situation.

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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