Q: I am 36 years old and am working for a bank’s commercial vehicles finance division. I am just a graduate and feel that I should probably go in for an MBA. Will that qualification help boost my career prospects?
Abhijit Mondal
A:You should go in for an MBA with specialisation in investment banking or finance. There are great opportunities in fund houses and loan disbursements which you could cash in on.
Q:I am an MBA in marketing from IISWBM. I have a total work experience of 10 years, six of which were spent in a small firm dealing with brand management and accounts functions. For the last four years, I have been looking after the field operations of a leading market research firm. I am looking for a change. What kind of industries can I look at? Also, I keep on sending my CV to a lot of companies without any response. What should I do?
Name withheld
A:Keeping in view your job experience, you are suitable for a job in marketing or communication. You would do well to look for an opening in internal or external branding. Jobs should not be difficult to come by. If you have hit a roadblock in your search for a suitable job, you could go through referrals, headhunting firms or placement agencies.
Also, you could approach your friends who are employed in organisations where you think you could get a suitable opening as many organisations have policies regarding employee referrals where your friends could be rewarded for introducing you as a prospective employee.
Q: I am a 42-year-old electronics and telecommunication engineer working in a reputed PSU (Government of West Bengal undertaking) as assistant manager for the last 15 years. I also have an MTech. My job responsibilities include project engineering, turn key project management, design and development monitoring, manufacturing, schedule monitoring, project tendering, estimation, costing, system engineering, project planning, installation and commissioning co-ordination at sites all over India, control and execution in the field of broadcasting and communication mainly for All India Radio and Doordarshan.
I am fairly conversant with MS Word, Power Point, Excel and MS Project. I want to boost my prospects. What should I do? Should I opt for an MBA? If yes, where can I do it from and what should be the area of specialisation?
Arpita Chakraborty
A: An MBA would definitely help further your career prospects. The area of specialisation has more to do with your interests. It could be finance or marketing depending on your personal choice. Opt for an MBA from a reputed institute for it to be recognised by companies when you are trying to further your career prospects.
Q:I am pursuing my final year of chartered accountancy. I have been working as an accountant in an MNC for the last five years. However, I am not too keen on sticking to this field. I am interested in SAP and project management. Could I do any relevant courses?
K.P. Biswal
A:You should get enrolled in a certified SAP course. When there is an opportunity for a SAP in a project in your company, you can make a switch. These days there is a huge demand for SAP, so shifting to a field which interests you more shouldn’t be that difficult.
Q:I am a postgraduate in commerce with three years of accounting experience. About three months back, I shifted to the BPO industry and I’m now working with GENPACT at Gurgaon. Should I pursue a SAP FI/CO module or an Oracle Financials 11i module?
Name withheld
A: You can pursue either a SAP FI/CO module or an Oracle Financials 11i module as the fundamentals and basic structure of both are the same. Their usefulness depends on which module your company is using at present.
If you specialise in a module that is specific to your company, you can leverage your new skill for negotiating a better job role with them.
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