“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
Someone who met me after a long time the other day asked me the reason why I was so enthusiastic and positive all of a sudden. I said it was because I love my new job. Having worked earlier in not one, but two large workplaces and established brands, I knew I suffered from workplace loneliness in my previous jobs. I did have a decent pay, was surrounded by colleagues whom I had befriended, but it was the job that I couldn’t connect with. There were times when my mind would go blank, distraught at my non-existent, dull career. At one point in time, the industry had been facing a severe crisis, the new super-ambitious Manager was assigning unrealistic targets to us salespersons, creating a culture of frustration at the workplace. The company was also experiencing major layoffs. My reaction to it went from being frustrated to one filled with dread.
Having made two mis-calculated career choices in less than 2 years, I then began introspecting upon whether I should be joining a startup or an established business, whether I should look at working in teams or to managing separate, individual projects, whether to seek opportunities under complete supervision (where most of the time goes by in updating and speaking about the job at hand), or to work independently and get the job done. Most of my job search activities led to the same kind of interviews – same standard questions, same prepared answers.
However, at Reculta, there were three rounds of interviews taken by four different people who majorly assessed my personal and interpersonal skills and my readiness to accept change. The selection process was a transparent and clear one of understanding each other, with room for expressing my expectations out of my job, and anything that I might have missed out on during the interview rounds. Once the process was complete, I was not just desperate to leave my corporate job that I had given my life to but was dying to join such a great workplace that offered working conditions perfectly aligning with my expectations and needs.
Effective delivery of training for employees is crucial for startups. To get it done frugally, our training and stay was arranged at one place – a comfortable Airbnb in Bangalore. We were four people with different experiences, skill sets and abilities to grasp, who ultimately learned what was needed to perform our jobs from a week-long training programme. Rather than a mandatory one-way communication of the company and its policies that I had experienced in my past companys’ trainings, we had engaging sessions at Reculta, getting to know the entire team by connecting over video calls, and knowing about the different departments, etc. The sessions were conducted by two individuals who balance each other out – the CEO himself, and a Manager. One, a patient listener paying close attention to detail and the other, who would take no nonsense. The sessions played out with us engaging, correcting and helping each other out. Thus, began our journey as employees at Reculta.
As team Reculta, we genuinely care, are crazy about and want our customers to have the best experiences using our services. As employees, we are asked to explore, to be innovative and to not restrict ourselves to a single role and title. To keep the learning process steady and constant, we are encouraged to fail, reflect and fail again, to be totally okay if we do not know something as there is always someone available to explain it to us. We are encouraged to foster the habit of teaching and learning from one another the smallest of our individual and collective experiences. My personal and professional growth are emphasized upon, I am asked to explore my passion and realize my potential, such as giving a shot at writing like this which has been long overdue.
When we are valued for our work and have the flexibility to attend to personal necessities, we naturally become responsible spenders of the company’s resources too. I know that I am at a company that walks the talk with regard to its core principles and values.
Changing jobs can be tough, depressing, and can take a toll on your physical and mental health. However, it can also bring out your strength, show your adaptability and resilience. A rich career path need not be based on a single job title or a similar job at different companies. By embracing past experiences and welcoming new changes, I know that I have finally found a job that I love.