Q: I am a commerce graduate with 21-years of work experience in branch accounts and commercial work. I also have an LLB degree. I am 44 years old and am not employed at present. I was forced to quit due to a cost-cutting exercise.
Because of my age and also since I don?t have any professional qualifications, I?m finding it difficult to get another job. What should I do now? Should I go in for a professional course?
Amar Sahoo
A: You can bank on your rich experience in accounts and taxation. The dominant trend in the job market is to employ older people in order to utilise their experience. Finding a suitable job in the current scenario should not be a problem for you.
Q: I am doing an MBA in marketing and have worked with HLL, HCL and Siemens. However, I want to shift to HR since my poor health doesn?t permit too much travelling or outdoor work. What are the prospects in HR? I am not interested in studying further.
Rimi Sarkar
A: You can easily opt for a lateral shift to HR within your organisation. The core skills for a good HR professional are those related to developing good interpersonal relationships and an ability to gain the confidence and trust of other people. HR has many areas requiring different kinds of expertise, so it should be easy for you to find a slot, which will suit both your temperament and needs.
Q: I am an ex-apprentice under the 1961 Act in a Navaratna oil company. It?s a Central government undertaking. I have done my masters in chemistry. Due to a lack of availability of posts in my designated trade, I opted for a position lower than the one I trained for. My company has recently gone on a recruitment drive.
My question is, will I get any preference either due to my employment status or under the 1961 Act? And if yes, then what privileges should I as a senior employee get in comparison to junior trainees appointed by the company?
Name withheld
A: I think it?s better to get in touch with your HR department because this raises a number of questions regarding the company?s procedures, policies and precedents, if any. Usually, most companies prefer to promote people internally, but it may be not be the case in your company. Alternatively, they may also go by competence alone while selecting candidates for certain jobs. In that case, you will be selected solely on the basis of your performance.
Q: I am 29 years old and am working as a senior executive (sales) in one of the leading telecom companies. I have a BSc and have also completed a one-year postgraduate diploma in management from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. I have been working in the same organisation for the last four years.
Since I don?t have an engineering or an MBA degree, would it be very difficult for me to switch jobs for better career prospects? I feel that I have made a mistake by opting for this job without an engineering background. I am now planning to pursue an MBA through a correspondence course. Will this help to advance my career? Should I go for a job change and join an insurance company instead? What would be the best course of action to take?
Rishi Agarwal
A: If you can afford to take time off for a full-time MBA, it will be an asset for your future. Correspondence courses have limited value. Gaining more work experience would be a better option. So if you don?t want to compromise on career opportunities, a good work experience along with an MBA from a reputed institute will stand you in good stead.
Q: I am pursuing a PhD on credit risk management (CRM) after completing an MBA in finance. I want to join banks or go for software jobs related to risk management. However, these jobs ask for specialised computer skills. Given my background, what should I do?
Avijit Bakshi
A: With your profile, you would be suitable for working with financial institutions or with a firm of investment analysts.You could also look at a line function in software. For this, you would require a knowledge of basic computing skills like MS-OFFICE.
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