Going places with French

Q: I did my BCom (pass) in 1998 and completed a diplome superieur from Alliance Francaise de Calcutta in 2005. What kind of jobs am I eligible for?

Mainak Ganguly

A: In addition to the obvious language-centric jobs like interpretation, translation and teaching, your knowledge of French can be useful, if grafted on to other skills in such fields as travel and tourism, public relations, mass communication and publishing.

You need to have spoken as well as some basic reading skills. A familiarity with the technical jargon of your trade will also give you a definite edge over others.

Increasingly, call centres are recruiting people with one or two years of multi-lingual experience as customer care executives. You can also work as foreign language specialists with translation and documentation centres catering to clients abroad.

The Cabinet secretariat also recruits interpreters for government jobs.

You need a bachelors degree or a postgraduate diploma in the language concerned. A high degree of proficiency in English is equally necessary.

The hospitality industry would also be a good sector to look at. This sector can provide you with an interesting opening, if you want to switch careers later and are interested in French cuisine.

There is a demand for language experts in fashion and export houses; they are also needed in companies dealing with the Francophone countries, apart from French companies operating in and from India.

Trade delegations and education fairs also require the services of specialist business interpreters. International organisations like the UN also require interpreters, but you need to be highly skilled and should have an experience of at least a few years to be eligible for such jobs.

Brush up your maths skills

Q: I have taken the Class X board exams. Although I am not very comfortable with maths, I am interested in engineering. Would it be wise for me to opt for a career in engineering?

Name withheld

A: Since maths forms a core component of all engineering courses, it makes sense to have your maths fundas absolutely clear. Besides, the entrance exams for all engineering courses also have a very significant maths section. So, you need to be proficient in maths in order to clear engineering exams.

If you are truly interested in a technical career, you can certainly improve on your maths skills within the next two years (i.e. by the time you complete your Plus Two) through regular practice.

And if you put your heart to it, you can certainly crack the engineering exams. Best of luck, and most importantly, believe in yourself!

Is work experience necessary for an MBA?

Q: Is it mandatory to have work experience for doing an MBA? I have just completed my BCom. So, what kind of jobs would account for relevant work experience?

Satish K.

A: While it is not mandatory to have work experience, it certainly gives you an advantage. In fact, most B-schools these days prefer their students to have work experience.

Business management is essentially a functional science, not merely an academic discipline. So, your work experience along with your commerce degree will be an asset in the future.

This way, you will be able to relate to what is being taught and discussed. Freshers who opt for management courses straight after graduation won’t have this advantage.

Work experience could be of various types. You could be working as a research analyst, or in other words, involved in financial research evaluating the performance of various sectors. Or it could be an experience in sales and marketing of financial services. Even banking jobs will help you gain the valuable experience of working in the field of commerce and business.

All said and done, work experience carries weight, although to what extent is still a matter of conjecture. Companies prefer people with work experience in their functional areas because they have a lot more to offer and build a better gene pool in the organisation.

Also, a stint in an organisation helps you to face the panel with a convincing answer to “Why an MBA?”

While participating in case studies, you can also relate better to managerial and professional problems if you have come across such situations in real life.

Work-experience fills the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It gives you a sense of clarity regarding your goals and a sharper perspective and overview of what’s happening in the market.

But too much experience can also work against you. Some companies prefer freshers for their energy, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. Also, freshers are easier to train and are more mouldable than people with experience who may at times be fixed in their ways.

However, it always helps in this competitive age to have a portfolio (that includes probably one or two years of work experience) that B-schools will find hard to resist.