Work Stories: My First realization at Companies to work for in future
I changed two jobs in less than 9 months of quitting my first job.
The first one was with a large Indian Insurance company- a joint venture with a global conglomerate. My role seemed a minuscule one that lacked any purpose and meaning. I worked at consolidating (of course intelligently) a couple of industry reports plus some performance update decks that were high on formatting and low on content.
Who possibly could go through such purposeless decks? I am sure they landed in recycle bins of immediate bosses though she reported to the CEO.
My boss had an indirect role without a direct revenue impact. I recall she engaging and interacting with other business heads who had their performance justified more measurably than hers.
I felt lost and purposeless and started finding an alternative. This time I did not inform my decision before having another option. Reason? It hardly mattered as I never felt the same connection as my ex-boss-cum-a-mentor.
In three months, I had an option to move on. The second job felt like a meaningful one, initially. This was a retail startup- the first year of operation since incorporation by a leading Indian business house.
I wondered how crazy hiring happened and could not make sense of the work profile assigned. I could have stayed longer had the illness in the family did not prompt me to relocate to Delhi (from Mumbai).
Every two hours at the office, the temple bell was rung for every new store launched. I wondered how significant was the milestone as we were years away to breakeven. Again, I felt being insignificant in the whole buzz to grow superfast.
When I moved to Delhi, I had little clarity on the profile of companies I should aim to work for. But luckily, there is no looking back since then. I do not have a tier 1 MBA program giving me a headstart.
I found my skills and temperament most suited for Startups and mid-size companies. Today, all companies I worked for are in the USD 60–100 mn range in annual revenues; growing from sub USD 5 mn.