Get in my Shoes, Discern the Sky is Limitless
My career started way back in November 2008 as a Programmer Analyst Trainee at Cognizant Coimbatore. Being a B.Tech Biotechnologist by graduation, my dream was to pursue my higher studies in Cancer Biology. Born and bought up in a small village, there were many restrictions for a girl child like me to travel out alone either for studies or work. Due to unavoidable reasons I had to leave my dream back and opt for job that I got placed in the On- Campus drive during my 3rd year of college. Clueless about the nature of the job, I stepped into the training academy with mixed emotions. It took months for me to understand the Testing process. I quickly regained confidence and started working on the Validation Testing projects that involved testing apps related to Medicinal field. I was once again happy to use all the bio-science related words after getting out of college. After almost 6 months I excelled the testing process and was working with content & satisfaction. My strengths are perfectionism, punctuality and empathy. I can easily get along with any kind of person. My friends have always looked up on me whenever they need guidance in personal issues, academics or any other decisions. My Project Manager allotted me an additional role of taking care of the projects timeline reports and I was happily accepting it as I enjoy learning and love competitions. As the boat set to sail smoothly, it was like a fairytale to work in an MNC with all fame & recognition in small span of time.
The twist in the sailing came when I got engaged to a business man in Tirupur. I had no option left other than resigning my job as I had to relocate to Tirupur. It was really hard to overcome the emptiness of leaving the job and being a housewife. After 3 years of career break, I decided to move on in my career. It was difficult to concentrate with my 2 year old little one around. With confusion in mind on what to choose and with very little options open up in Tirupur, I was blank for a while. Finally I used my free time to create a blogging website especially for women. Naming it,”itswe.in” I started writing blogs. Itswe stands for “IT’S for Women Empowerment”. It was to create awareness about work from home jobs for the home-makers who aspire to get out of the little world. With no experience in blogging, it was difficult for me to manage and upload blogs. The mistake I did was in investing for a website rather than choosing free blog sites. As a beginner, my husband advised me to go for free blogging sites but being overconfident I opted for the paid one. It was really difficult for me to manage the templates and had no idea how to work at the backend to make my page attractive. And openly speaking it was a great lesson for me “Things doesn’t seem Easy the way it looks from outside”. Each act of you ends up in a Success or a Lesson, how true it is.
After my son started his schooling, I joined my husband’s Apparel Export Organisation with no defined role in the beginning. I started learning the processes involved in the Manufacturing of Apparels from yarn to finished product. As months passed by, I gained knowledge about various sections and started a supervising role and it’s been almost 4 years now as a Manager here. Management happened naturally for me. I was happy to be a part of our Organization. But from the bottom of the heart, I dint feel complete about my Career. I searched for part time options from my home as a freelancer, as an online Math tutor and everything failed. My free time used to be with search engines searching for trusted jobs. My main aim is to be independent, well recognized and pursue a unique career. That’s when I had a thought to help people like me who are looking for career options and students who have no idea about the colleges and courses. It’s Google which paved the path way for me to approach Edumilestones and I made an enquiry about the CCA program. The detailed explanation and their profile were likeable. The training being Online was an added advantage.
After a brief thought, I decided to go for it. Also, I thought having a basic knowledge about psychology would be an added advantage and took up an online course on “Introduction to Psychology” from Udemy. Once I finished the course, I approached them to start the training. Amaze Career Counselling happened in end of November 2018 (exactly the same date when my career started in cognizant, a decade ago, I felt I was fortunate to get the same start and it will be definitely a success). The training about introduction to career counselling, tool and marketing was insightful. Still I was doubtful on how will I face a candidate and give them an apt solution as it’s a life-based decision.
I started preparing Flyers & Brochures and shared it across all social networks. One fine afternoon, I received a mail, with the subject – New Assessment Submission and I was delighted to the sky. From then my journey started as a Career Counsellor. The initial assessments and report preparation was a challenge and I was able to complete them with the help of my training team. They helped me on how to handle the counselling session. My hesitation to approach people slowly vanished and I started marketing through Social media. I approached a school, as their Wise- Principal was my Well wisher. I got an opportunity to conduct assessments for 2 of the candidates there and the higher management strictly said the decision of the Management is final. And as the final exams have started they were easy to postpone the session to the next academic year. The approach to the next school was also not fulfilled without further call back. I felt it was not as easy as it seemed before. It was empty for quite some weeks and I never stopped working. I concentrated on Social Media marketing and distributing flyers in the town. I utilized my free time to keep myself updated on the current trends and entrance exams. Getting CCA certification at the end of December’18 was another Milestone. I felt proud with the unique signature – Certified Career Analyst.
The first few candidates were the ones I approached voluntarily to take up the exam (Peers, close friends & relatives). Slowly I gained confidence about how it works and how will I take it out in a positive way. Marketing & lead generation was highly demanding and challenging. I grabbed the opportunity of showcasing the report and its benefits in a school expo conducted during April’19. It was a great turning point where the response rate was higher than expected. Candidates & parents started approaching me for Career guidance and things fell in track slowly. Now having counselled more than 20 candidates in a short time span I am very confident about the success of the new Venture “Amaze Career Counselling”. I decided to upgrade myself to be a White- labelled Channel Partner of Edumilestones and it happened smoothly. Now my new website “amazecareercounselling.com” is running successfully and attracting candidates. Another milestone is a voluntary tie-up offer from an established Educational Institute in Tirupur, who is already working with more than 45 schools in and around the city. Sure to reach heights in the forthcoming years.
Currently am all set to approach schools in and around Tirupur with Great Confidence to make it a Success. Counselling 2 candidates each month from a low background for free is my service resolution for this year and I planned to increase in forthcoming years. I am really proud to be VERY FIRST CAREER COUNSELLOR in Tirupur. Knowledge is Power and I am very happy to be a tool to spread knowledge. No matter what, I will keep spreading Knowledge & Awareness in all possible means I can, forever. Success is not a destiny but a Journey. My Journey started very well and satisfaction is the key element to keep me motivated. I have found my best career journey for the rest of my life and sure to help others find theirs. To put it in a Nutshell, AMAZE is an amazing journey that happened to me. I am ready to face all the hardships & break all the barriers just to hear parents and students say, “Thank You So much mam, We are absolutely clear about the Future”. The Journey begins.
“Never sit idle, it ruins your mind and body. Be ready to face the life with a smile. I believe no setbacks are permanent, put in your best in whatever means you can and that’s the spirit which keeps you going”.
