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Break the Bias with Mridula Ramaswamy
Break the Bias with Mridula Ramaswamy

March 22, 2022

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Introduction  

Hi, my name is Mridula Ramaswamy and I joined Concentrix after being on a break for over a year. The break was mainly due to a personal exigency, which led me to take a conscious pause from full-time work and concentrate on my family and settling into a new city. I completed 5 months in the organization today 😊 and feel I made the right choice of joining back, an opportunity I am truly grateful and appreciative of…I joined the Bangalore Delivery team, as a site and operations lead, after having spent over 20 years in other incredible global companies.

 

 

Tell us about how you restarted your career

In the summer of 2020, we relocated to Bangalore from the NCR, and I started actively pursuing opportunities through various avenues -reconnected with my contacts, enrolled on recruitment portals, connected with head hunters, among others.

Keeping in touch with people and the changes in the world, giving myself a chance to re-think my priorities, allowing myself the luxury de-stressing, helped me get back to work holistically. I consider myself privileged that I was fortunate to afford the break and also grateful to have got another chance, to restart and that too, in an organization such as CNX.

 

 

Did you face any bias when you got back to work and how did you #Breakthebias

No, I haven’t faced any bias.

 

 

What were your reasons for going on a break?

A very difficult period of my life wherein I had to deal with unforeseen situations that had a deep and permanent impact on me, including a very sudden and traumatic bereavement in the family, ill-health, coupled with work related disturbances and relocation after living in a particular city, almost all my life! With the outbreak of Covid, the prospects of getting back to work became bleaker and the intended break, longer. After the initial months, I was determined to restart my efforts to find professional avenues and pursue them keenly.

 

During your time away how did you keep yourself updated with the latest skills and knowledge

While I was on a break, I took on business writing and communication assignments based on my prior experience, that helped me keep busy and also stay abreast of the changes in the workplace owing to Covid and its  enormous ramifications. I also was lucky to support a global health, non-profit organization on their lead generation and corporate communication.

 

What motivated you to restart your career

I have a very supportive family and I missed my work-life, so was happy to be back! I feel I have lots to learn, more to do and accomplish professionally…

 

 

Do you credit anyone for support on your restart journey

My entire family really motivated me to join back work, and gave me the confidence that all is not lost…the inherent skills, the years of experience and expertise in the industry, but most importantly the fact that I was ready to take on the responsibilities and the deliver on the expectations head on, helped me gain clarity of the situation and strengthened my resolve.

 

 

How has the restart helped you

It has given the me the confidence and the boost to my self-belief, which is unparalled! Restarting my career, learning and adapting to a new city, new workplace, colleagues, friends, the remote/hybrid work dynamics are all part and parcel of this transition.  The fact that I have been able to embrace the trials and tribulations and welcome the joys of the workplace have helped me feel less apprehensive and more optimistic. It has given me back the opportunity of concentrating on many other aspects of my life and regain the financial independence that I always had. To use my grandfather’s quote, “I have fared better than I feared’, I most definitely hope 😊

 

 

Advice you want to give out to fellow restarters

Keep an open mind but be realistic

There will be a fair amount of re-skilling, upskilling, learning, unlearning, adapting, adopting and needless to say, re-building credibility from scratch – I haven’t done it all, but have encountered elements of these in the last few months.

It’s not as daunting as one imagines it to be – it’s ok to not know all the answers, seek help, ask questions and look for avenues that can strengthen your skills.

Re-joining work, post a break is no longer very uncommon and has become widely accepted in the world – from my own experience, I feel along with learning on the job, it’s helpful to explore additional learning and networking platforms that could help accelerate the process of settling into the work place and infuse greater confidence and motivation.

Finally, if I have come this far, I can assure anybody who is on this journey or contemplating the return to work, should, and I am confident will succeed!

Author

Mridula


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