Today marks my 2 months as an Amazonian.
If I look back at the 12 plus something years that I spent working, there were multiple turns that led me to where I am today. I call them miracles because it involved leaps of faith, continued devotion, a lot of hard work in the dark and working up the right attitude.
The beginning
When I passed out of college with a job offer in hand in 2008, recession struck, putting at risk the yet-to-be-confirmed joining dates of hundreds of graduates that passed out that year.
Almost 4 months passed without a word from the MNC. We began to get nervous and 4 of us friends decided to do something as an interim job.
We found a run-down school close to our houses, that welcomed us engineers as teachers for 2500 rupees per month. The four of us chose English, Math, Biology and Physics as our subjects to teach. That’s how my career began, 12 years ago, in 2009.
The first miracle.
4 months into the part-time teaching job, my friends began getting emails about joining dates. I waited expectantly too, but mine never came! Disappointment was heavy, more so because my friends got the emails and I didnt!
In a frantic effort to not be left out, I tagged them on their first day of reporting to work, sure that I would be turned away at the door. But somehow I made it inside.
As they called out names, obviously mine was left out. I walked up to the coordinator, guardedly, and told her that my name was not called. She gave me a surprised look and double checked her list. Calmly, she informed me that my name was not in the list and that I should wait to hear from them on the joining date.
I walked out dejected and caught the bus back home. Half way, I got a call from the office saying that one of the reports couldn’t make it and they had ONE spot open. She asked if I could come back and report to them!! I couldn’t have asked for a better twist to my story that day!
I was 22 then.
The lesson:
What I did was totally out of character. I was never the one to put myself where I think I don’t belong, but it opened doors and possibilities. I am now more open to being uncomfortable and taking leaps of faith.
Miracles happen when you take chances.
The second miracle – A US opportunity.
2.5 years later, I had started at my second company just a week ago. I was travelling back home when I got a call from my manager. “What do you think of travel?”
Firstly, the call surprised me. Then I blurted out, without even thinking , “I travel by bus mostly and sometimes I drive my car.” Realizing how stupid it sounded, I added, “ Sorry, I dont think I got your question”.
“I was talking about on-site travel. To the USA, to our client’s location. Would you be interested?”
My jaw dropped.
Now my mind was racing.
How can they ask me to travel so soon? What do they know about me? How can they trust me with this? What if they find out I am not good enough? Am I even capable?
The imposter syndrome struck in full force.
“Yes, I would love to !” I quickly recovered, and answered.
A couple of weeks later, my travel was confirmed. I flew to the US soon after, for 6 weeks. This was the first time I boarded a flight. This was the first time I left home, and that too to a different country. Independent. With a big responsibility.
The 6 weeks I spent in the US was a huge turning point in my life. I met people that became my role models. I learnt newer ways of thinking. It was then that I discovered I had wings and I could fly. Ambitions began to take form and there was no stopping since then!
The lesson:
“Being at the right place at the right time makes a world of difference. A new team, a new initiative, a new client, a new startup – that’s where opportunities are. Any opportunity that is scary – grab them with both hands and take a leap of faith!”
3. Becoming an Amazonian
All the 9 years I worked at this company, I could never get rid of the tag “mainframe subject matter expert” even though I performed much more varied roles and picked up new skillsets.
I had executed many multi-technology projects, learnt new technologies, led multiple teams, did complex data analysis, helped clients solve their business problems, managed client expectations and relationships, but at the end of the day, I was always the mainframe developer on the spreadsheet.
So my aspirations were always throttled and limited by this belief that I was not enough. I overlooked all my other important skills, just like others did.
But I was dedicated to my ambitions of finding a better career path. I talked to a lot of people, reviewed my resume with them, asked for their feedback, shared my interests and vision for myself, sought advice, read books and joined toastmasters to improve my confidence and speaking abilities.
Slowly, my perceptions began to change. I began to see myself differently and started to believe in possibilities. I honed my skills, continually upgraded myself and invested more time building on my strengths.
The day I landed an interview with Amazon was beyond my wildest of dreams. I couldn’t digest the fact that Amazon thought a mainframe developer could fit in their world! Heck, I was so much more than that!
The day I received that email from the recruiter saying “We will catch up at 11:00 then. It’s good news :)” shattered so many walls I had built around myself. And NOT just me, but around those scores of my team members and friends who, like me, for years, felt that an arduous journey lay ahead of us to break free from the shackles of stereotype and find the kind of work we love doing and the compensation we deserve.
The lesson:
If you are dedicated to your aspirations, find avenues to build on your strengths, and understand and elevate your contribution in the large scheme of things, you will find your pinnacle.
Summing up
I hope you enjoyed reading these stories and encouraged you to look back at your own twists and turning points on your journey. Sometimes, a little bit of bravery and a little bit of crazy goes a long way and takes you places. I hope you find your crazy in work life too!
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.