It's amazing how a job change can change so much about you!
Since I left my high-profile trading job in search of something more meaningful to myself, I have experienced a certain sense of freedom that I had last experienced when I was in college! The feeling of being free, being able to choose what path you want to walk, being able to choose your pace, being able to choose what you work on. I am not even sure if I can properly express what exactly it feels like.
After a month of interviews, I joined the company that I was in awe of and the only company I interviewed with: InMobi. I get an intense feeling of satisfaction when I think about this decision to change. A couple of days back, my wife actually complimented that I have started seeming younger. No, not by looks (I wish!) but by mindset. That comment made me so happy, I can not tell! To give you some context, I am a computer engineer by training, and more recently, an MBA. While I really like what an MBA does to a person in terms of packaging, brand value and personality development (apart from the usual suspects - business insight and understanding), there is one side effect it has (or at least, had on me) - templatization. I felt this urge, while doing my MBA, to fit into one of the 'templates' created by the Indian B-school universe. The Consulting template didn't suit me as much as the Banking one, and the Marketing one was not even in my consideration (I laugh to think about this now!). And technology? Well, that was never the hot stuff anyway!
After two years of trying to reconcile myself with the Banking template, I realized that I was just trying too hard and it wasn't working. Mind you, it's not that I wasn't doing well at my job - in fact I was doing quite well according to people around me, including my manager. But I was not doing well according to myself. And doing well according to myself was not even a consideration when I was a student. It only came up when I had worked for some time, and kept gaining more and more importance as I tried to answer to myself questions like 'What am I meant for?', 'How am I adding value?' and 'What am I doing that I can always cherish and be proud of?'
I learnt several things about myself and life during this career transition. The most important one, I just love technology! Building new stuff using technology, and enabling the world to accomplish their tasks more efficiently, is too exciting for me! And after having been almost out of deep touch with technology for a few years, it almost feels like I've arrived. Actually, more like, I'm back! The second, glamour is overrated. You could be in the most sought-after place, doing the most sought-after job, but if it doesn't kick up your heartbeat and make you feel like you're onto something great, it's probably not worth your time. The third, and a very interesting one: Risk is underrated! Taking risks (calculated ones, of course, and risks not just for the sake of taking risks) is really exciting. Today I almost want to go back to the time, 5 months back, when I had no job, and was uncertain where I would end up. I am not encouraging you to be jobless, but trying to convey that uncertainty keeps your heart beating fast, and also makes you introspect regularly, making you a much more mature and thoughtful individual.
While this feeling or undercurrent of satisfaction that I now feel is really deep inside, there are some surface events every now and then that make you realize the undercurrent. I recently took part in a Hackathon (and finished runners up, though that's beside the point, but then I love to boast don't I?), something that had moved out of my comfort zone over the past few years. Or shall I say, my comfort zone had shrunk? I now read a lot about technology, music and cars - three things that interest me a lot. And I now blog :-) (though I am still not as frequent as I would like myself to be).
I have attributed quite a lot of the change in my feelings and situation, to the decision of moving back to the tech world. However, I must say that a lot of credit also goes to the particular workplace I am lucky to be a part of, and my team. It is an intellectual workplace of sorts, with such a high percentage of smart and stimulating minds, that even if you went with a closed mind to the office, you would learn something! It is so important to be in such company, that I would give up a lot for it. I was complimented in my previous job for 'single-handedly raising the average IQ of the workplace'. I'm not sure if I am still doing that, but the opposite is definitely true now. Kudos to InMobi for being able to attract and retain such kickass talent at such a large scale. They must be doing something right in terms of hiring, which most companies don't know how to do.
Another change that happened along with my change of job, was my move back to India, and to a fantastic city called Bangalore. So lest I put it off like I always do, I pledge here that my next post will come up very soon, and will cover how that move has turned out, what's great about being back in my own country and what I miss about London.
PS: If you are an entrepreneur, you will probably read the above and say 'But at the end of the day it's a job. What kind of job can give you as much satisfaction as running your own company?' You are likely right, I have heard this from many people. But that does not take away the fact that even among the many jobs I could be doing, there are some that suit my persona and passion much more than others. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, and not everyone can take the associated risks and pains. I have a lot of respect for those who do. Some day, I may be one of you. Just saying :-)
Since I left my high-profile trading job in search of something more meaningful to myself, I have experienced a certain sense of freedom that I had last experienced when I was in college! The feeling of being free, being able to choose what path you want to walk, being able to choose your pace, being able to choose what you work on. I am not even sure if I can properly express what exactly it feels like.
After a month of interviews, I joined the company that I was in awe of and the only company I interviewed with: InMobi. I get an intense feeling of satisfaction when I think about this decision to change. A couple of days back, my wife actually complimented that I have started seeming younger. No, not by looks (I wish!) but by mindset. That comment made me so happy, I can not tell! To give you some context, I am a computer engineer by training, and more recently, an MBA. While I really like what an MBA does to a person in terms of packaging, brand value and personality development (apart from the usual suspects - business insight and understanding), there is one side effect it has (or at least, had on me) - templatization. I felt this urge, while doing my MBA, to fit into one of the 'templates' created by the Indian B-school universe. The Consulting template didn't suit me as much as the Banking one, and the Marketing one was not even in my consideration (I laugh to think about this now!). And technology? Well, that was never the hot stuff anyway!
After two years of trying to reconcile myself with the Banking template, I realized that I was just trying too hard and it wasn't working. Mind you, it's not that I wasn't doing well at my job - in fact I was doing quite well according to people around me, including my manager. But I was not doing well according to myself. And doing well according to myself was not even a consideration when I was a student. It only came up when I had worked for some time, and kept gaining more and more importance as I tried to answer to myself questions like 'What am I meant for?', 'How am I adding value?' and 'What am I doing that I can always cherish and be proud of?'
I learnt several things about myself and life during this career transition. The most important one, I just love technology! Building new stuff using technology, and enabling the world to accomplish their tasks more efficiently, is too exciting for me! And after having been almost out of deep touch with technology for a few years, it almost feels like I've arrived. Actually, more like, I'm back! The second, glamour is overrated. You could be in the most sought-after place, doing the most sought-after job, but if it doesn't kick up your heartbeat and make you feel like you're onto something great, it's probably not worth your time. The third, and a very interesting one: Risk is underrated! Taking risks (calculated ones, of course, and risks not just for the sake of taking risks) is really exciting. Today I almost want to go back to the time, 5 months back, when I had no job, and was uncertain where I would end up. I am not encouraging you to be jobless, but trying to convey that uncertainty keeps your heart beating fast, and also makes you introspect regularly, making you a much more mature and thoughtful individual.
While this feeling or undercurrent of satisfaction that I now feel is really deep inside, there are some surface events every now and then that make you realize the undercurrent. I recently took part in a Hackathon (and finished runners up, though that's beside the point, but then I love to boast don't I?), something that had moved out of my comfort zone over the past few years. Or shall I say, my comfort zone had shrunk? I now read a lot about technology, music and cars - three things that interest me a lot. And I now blog :-) (though I am still not as frequent as I would like myself to be).
I have attributed quite a lot of the change in my feelings and situation, to the decision of moving back to the tech world. However, I must say that a lot of credit also goes to the particular workplace I am lucky to be a part of, and my team. It is an intellectual workplace of sorts, with such a high percentage of smart and stimulating minds, that even if you went with a closed mind to the office, you would learn something! It is so important to be in such company, that I would give up a lot for it. I was complimented in my previous job for 'single-handedly raising the average IQ of the workplace'. I'm not sure if I am still doing that, but the opposite is definitely true now. Kudos to InMobi for being able to attract and retain such kickass talent at such a large scale. They must be doing something right in terms of hiring, which most companies don't know how to do.
Another change that happened along with my change of job, was my move back to India, and to a fantastic city called Bangalore. So lest I put it off like I always do, I pledge here that my next post will come up very soon, and will cover how that move has turned out, what's great about being back in my own country and what I miss about London.
PS: If you are an entrepreneur, you will probably read the above and say 'But at the end of the day it's a job. What kind of job can give you as much satisfaction as running your own company?' You are likely right, I have heard this from many people. But that does not take away the fact that even among the many jobs I could be doing, there are some that suit my persona and passion much more than others. Not everyone can be an entrepreneur, and not everyone can take the associated risks and pains. I have a lot of respect for those who do. Some day, I may be one of you. Just saying :-)
