“People are attracted to stories because we’re social creatures and we relate to other people”. So, Where did you picture yourself 3, 5, or even 10 years ago at this point in your career? Chances are your path looks different than you thought it would.
During these unprecedented times of remote work and social distancing, I’ve had the chance to think back over my career trajectory, where I thought I would be and where I am. During my engineering days, I thought I’d be a great Coder hypothetically. But life had different plans for me.
I started my professional journey with Infosys In 2015, after being trained in SAP and and gained a great experience. I realized I always wanted to work in consulting in India’s best Metro cities.
Over the next 2 years, I took on new roles — first an internal one and later worked for a prestigious Client. Each time, I became more comfortable with change, and knew it would require me to learn new aspects of SAP. I was committed to learning everything I could, cracking open books and reaching out to my team mates for guidance and advice. I always knew I wasn’t much of a risk taker in my career, but I knew the more I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and took on new challenges, the more I would grow professionally.
After a stint of 2 and a half year with the Firm, I went to pursue my MBA in HR from one of the reputed Symbiosis Colleges in Pune.
Fast forward 2 years, I had the chance to join the Consulting sector again as a HR Business Partner, a business vertical in which I had no firsthand experience but a lot of interest. Encouraged by successfully making big changes earlier in my career, I jumped at the chance.
Before joining, I did my research and I was drawn to the opportunity to make an impact at a company like Birlasoft that touches every aspect of the business world. And after I met with the company’s leadership team, I came away impressed by their vision for the future and knew I had found my new home. As HR BP for Digital Transformation, I can think of almost no other role that would afford me the opportunity to develop the next generation workforce while at the same time ensuring we have the talent today to help our clients solve some of the world’s biggest problems.
And that’s where I am today. I’ve made many moves throughout my career, each one a little scarier than the last. I’m sure there are many of you listening this that prefer sticking to what you know. Believe me, that’s how I was too. Change can be a difficult thing for most under normal circumstances, but change during uncertain times can be debilitating.
That’s especially true today for many people facing new and unprecedented realities. None of us can predict what the future workforce needs will be. But what I have come to realize through my own career journey is that I grew the most during times of uncertainty. So, “Make an effort to understand who you are and then have the courage to just be yourself.”
There are so many twist and turns in everyone’s career. Some take it as challenge but others fear to fly in open sky. Hence I would like to sum up with a quote, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop”.
