PERSONAL CAREER SPECIAL............ FOUR PLANS FOR YOUR NINE-TO-FIVE

FOUR PLANS FOR YOUR NINE-TO-FIVE





Do you dream of rebooting your career this year? Learn from professionals who have been there, done that and survived to tell the tale

It's only a few days into the new year, and you're probably still reeling from your first weekend hangover. But let's just rewind to when you were four drinks down. Were you whining about how your job wasn't right for you and how you'd rather follow your passion? Or, how you didn't know what you wanted from life, but it sure wasn't the job you currently hold?
Mirror talks to professionals who were in your exact same position a few years ago and hopefully, their tales will keep you inspired till the end of the year.

KHUSHBU GOTECHA THE PERPETUAL LEARNER

From finance to entertainment and trading, she's done it all

Her story

: After completing her MBA, Gotecha worked as a branch manager in Citi Financials. Two-and-ahalf years into the job, her work life stagnated. “I hit the saturation point,“ says Gotecha, who felt like she wasn't learn ing much. Over drinks with friends one evening, she learnt about vacancies at a radio station and she jumped at the opportunity to try it out. The role was completely different from her previous one and for the next couple of years, she learnt eagerly. “But one day, I realised that while I could continue to grow hierarchically, my real job would remain the same. I decided to quit and start my own venture.“ Gotecha was still unsure of what she wanted to do, but she did know that she wanted to travel across the world. “Exporting was a great option. My clients would be abroad so I would get to travel for work. I took up a Foreign Trade course for eight months and started exporting copper jewellery, which had good profit margins. Kalgi Arts India was born with nothing but my own seed money and sheer will to learn.“

Where she is today:

Gotecha sold her company in five years and is now working for another radio channel. She loves the entertainment industry, but won't bet on where she'll be tomorrow.

Her advice:

“If you want to change careers, do it. Some people want to excel at one thing while others want to do a little bit of everything. Figure out where you fit and go for it.“

SAYAK SAHU THE ENTREPRENEUR

Corporate lawyer turned e-commerce merchant

His story:

When Sahu decided to quit his job as senior manager, Legal, in Fox Star Studios and start something on his own just one month into his marriage, his par ents were not amused. “But some times, you've got to take risks,“ says Sahu. “However, I made sure I didn't surprise any one with my decision. My then-fiancée and my family knew about my inclinations.“

Sahu quit his job with nothing in hand. He took about six months to figure out what he wanted to do. He discovered a friend who shared similar thoughts and together, they bounced ideas off each other, evaluated revenue models and logistics, met with vendors and suppliers, looked at entry barriers and narrowed down five potential ideas to one. “We did spade work, ground work, went out and met many people.Only then did we decide what venture we would start,“ he says.

Where he is today:

Sayak is the co-founder of Smiledrive, an e-tail site that deals in gadgets and electronic accessories. The company has grow from one product to more than 500 products, two cofounders to 12 hand-picked employees and a few lakhs to a few crores in revenues. “The journey has just started to become exciting,“ he adds.His advice: “Don't let hesitation, self doubt or questions come in the way of you starting a venture.Seek advice, but don't be negatively influenced. There are going to be blind spots in your future plans, but you've got to take a plunge.Don't fall for the glamour of entrepreneurship. Identify risk factors and see if you have the appetite to digest worst case scenarios.“

RUCHIKA MAHARAJ THE SOCIALLY INCLINED

In pursuit of inner satisfaction Her story: After four years of working in HR for various companies in Kolkata, Maharaj ditched it all to become a two-year full-time Fellow for Teach For India in Mumbai. She recalls, “I wasn't happy with my routine. I kept asking myself, `Is it the money I'm working for?', `Am I growing as an individual?', `How do I give back to society?' and most importantly, `Do I feel satisfied?' The answer to all those questions was a resounding no.“ As a teacher in a lowincome school, Maharaj was assured that she had found her calling. She was helping solve problems at the grassroots level.Where she is today: Maharaj joined Pratham as part of their Programme Management Group after her Fellowship with TFI ended. She manages their Second Chance programme that supports drop-outs, especially women, to complete their secondary school education. Her role is strategic and combines the skills she picked up from the HR field and the NGO sector. “I have never been happier,“ she smiles.Her advice: “If you are socially inclined, don't think of salary as a hurdle. Even if you take a slight hit in salary, it only makes you live more consciously. Earlier, I used to buy a lot of useless things because I didn't have to think twice before spending. Today, I think of purchases as investments.I ask myself what the returns on every purchase will be. I have saved myself from a lot of junk.“

SIDDHESH NAYAK THE COMEBACK GUY

The one who returned to his previous field His story: In a conglomerate like Hindustan Unilever, Nayak had the advantage of moving laterally within the company itself. So within a couple of years, he changed departments. But soon, however, he realised that in such a large organisation, he would always be the small fish. “I decided to join Ernst & Young, another big brand, but in the consulting space. I would be in a smaller team. I would be exposed to more industries since I would be dealing with different clients,“ says Nayak.However, just nine months into this career shift, he was unhappy.“There was nothing wrong with the company,“ he explains, “but this just wasn't what I wanted to do. I realised that I loved being an operations guy. I did not want to design other companies' processes on Powerpoint. I wanted to be in the middle of my organisation's problems and solve them.“ Nayak had to tackle some tough questions during his interviews while attempting a switch back. “In my first two interviews, I was not able to convince the employers why I wanted to move out so soon, that too from such a renowned firm.Finally, my honesty paid off when I told one interviewer that I made a mistake by changing my field and I just wanted to correct it as soon as possible. He hired me.“

Where he is today: Siddhesh works with Alliance Tires doing what he loves best -supply chain planning. He is, however, thankful for his past experiences.His advice: “If you're not happy with the career change you've made, you can always go back. So make the jump. In today's India, there is enough room to experiment,“ he shares.

MM3JAN16