6 learnings from Shivpuri to Silicon Valley
-- I’m excited to kick off this series of newsletters where I’ll be sharing my experiences, learnings, - and best practices which helped me to grow both in my personal and professional life. My hope is to - give back to the community and help anyone connect directly with me who may have got impacted with - recent layoffs, dealing with immigration challenges. -
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- - This is not about layoffs, it's about living with whatever life throws at you.. -
-- Over the past few months, as the macro-economic events have unfolded, I have heard voices filled - with anxiety, helplessness and general lack of confidence to deal with this ambiguity from my - mentees, colleagues, friends and family. I was laid off from Meta last November and I firmly - believe this is nothing but a bump in the road that might seem like a steep climb in the - short-term. I may not have all the answers but this has inspired me to share my story. If you - are looking for a sob story, you can stop reading now. Ever wondered what it takes for a girl - born into a conservative family in a small sleepy town in India, who lost one of her parents at - age 17, earned her living while pursuing engineering, moved to the UK by herself and ended up - working in big tech in Silicon valley? My goal with this series of posts is to inspire and share - my mental models that helped me throughout my professional and personal life. -
-- After completing my engineering, I started my career at a small software company in Bhopal and - then worked for TCS(Tata Consultancy Services), one of the largest IT-outsourcing companies in - the world for almost 5 years. Over the past 14 years, I have worked for big tech companies like - Meta (Facebook) and Google, wore multiple hats, led strategic programs, scaled multi - billion-dollar businesses, built teams and helped achieve business operational excellence. - Throughout my career, I’ve dealt with several challenges from execution to scale to building a - high performance team. A lot of my early struggles were about how to assimilate in a new - culture, create a network in a new environment, earn trust, create and nurture work - relationships into fruitful friendships and so on. -
-- I was born in a conservative family in a small town called ‘Shivpuri’, also known as ‘Mini - Kashmir’ because of its natural beauty. My father was a civil engineer working on Madikheda Dam - on Sindh river and was a strict disciplinarian. He was gone from dawn to dusk and was always - focused. My mother was a teacher in a school that was about 30 kms from our home. We (me and my - sister) would often be left with neighbors to be taken care of and this led us to become - independent at an early age. Our otherwise slow paced, simple life with only a few families - around in the government quarters that were set up to support construction of the dam was filled - with natural beauty, wildlife and a community of close friends. Our lives were balanced and - while my parents worked hard to provide basic needs, we were satisfied. There were only a few - schools with Hindi being the prevalent language as the medium of teaching. There were no - colleges for advanced studies and most girls did not go to college often married off by their - 18th birthday. Generally speaking, we had a joyous childhood with just the basics. While most - folks we interacted with were not highly educated nor ambitious, earned lower middle class - salaries and lacked exposure to the outside world but there was plenty to learn from them. - People had learnt to stick together in good and bad times. They embodied the old school - qualities of hard work, dedication and commitment. Be willing to give it all- hard work, - dedication and commitment. -
-- In 2003, my father passed away suddenly and we found ourselves in crisis. My mother was a - teacher and she did not have time to deal with her grief. Rather, she was struggling to garner - support to get transferred to a school in Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh to be closer to our - maternal grandparents. As we uprooted ourselves from Shivpuri to Bhopal, one of my father’s - loyal friends came to help load the moving truck. While he had nothing to gain out of us, he - continued to serve us until the last day in Shivpuri. Remember, in crisis your team matters more - than any other time. Advocate for them ruthlessly in good and bad times, they will come through - in crisis. -
-- Eventually we found our footing, my mother’s job was transferred to a local school in Bhopal and - I got admission in a government engineering college. My sister was still attending high school - and both of us were teaching tuition classes to middle school students in the evenings to make - ends meet. I also started a tiffin service for a few out of town students while attending - college to pay for my transportation and cost of supplies. We refused to give up. Persevere when - all else fails. -
-- Our 5 years went by quickly in Bhopal as we worked towards improving our financial situation and - I completed my Bachelors in Computer Science. This was the time I first stepped out to live in a - metropolitan city, Mumbai for my job at TCS. This was a paradigm shift from Bhopal and I was - blown away to meet so many talented folks in Mumbai. In my head, I did not belong in this place. - I had imposter syndrome and felt like an outsider trying to make it in a new city. Most people I - met were fluent in more than 1 language, well-dressed, communicated openly and with confidence, - and presented themselves well. I was always in a dilemma when it came to adopting values. It - took me a while to adjust to it but I was still not confident about my work and communication - while my hard skills that I learnt in engineering were top notch. I kept questioning my - abilities but persisted. This was not the first time I was out of my comfort zone. Persist, when - in discomfort. -
-- I worked with multiple global companies who were clients of TCS and was presented an opportunity - to move to Scotland, UK for an year to work for GE, who was also a client. This was my first - opportunity to explore a different culture, food, music, languages etc. I remember working on my - english when in Mumbai, in preparation for my UK trip. It was really difficult to understand the - accent in the UK, even though language was not a barrier. I still remember certain words would - just not get across no matter how hard some of my colleagues tried and they would end up using - signs to convey. Be prepared, opportunities come to those who are prepared. -
-- In 2013, I came to the US on a dependent visa after marriage and quickly realized the curse of - H4 visa. I paved my path by going back to school at UC Berkeley and then jumped back into - building my career from scratch. While working in the US over the past years, I realized college - degrees with good grades and certifications definitely help you to get your foot in the door but - are not enough to be successful in your career. As I was again starting from scratch in a new - culture, determined to do whatever it takes, having done this a few times before, it doesn’t - scare me as much. Never be afraid to start from zero again! -
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