It was a beautiful Bangalore evening, you could hear kids in the society splashing about in the pool below.
Though the walls of my Bellandur apartment that evening were hearing a different sound,
I was trying to mask my sobs with a firm “Yes, I understand”.
The catch-up with my managers had ended with a deep dejection. I was in a never ending pit of loathing and self doubt, am I not good enough?
It was my first ever corporate gig after college and the joining date wasn’t for months after receiving the offer letter. The months of buildup had me excited beyond limits.
Though I did not know what to expect, questions on my abilities were not on the list.
That was the evening I realised I needed to move on. The questions of self doubt still persisted
“Am I giving up too soon?”
“Am I taking things too personally?”
Looking back it was one of the riskiest and the best decisions I made in 2022.
Haters will say that we were coerced into writing good things about our workplace, why else would 2 newsletters be about how great it is to work at Perfora.
But as a young startup, the last thing you expect to hear is how nice the workplace is. Though, trust me when I say this (and I hope I speak for the team), working here is fun.
I joined Perfora in October last year, so this will be the first of many newsletters with my name on it.
So, Hello there!
I am Sanchi, and I am an Entrepreneur in Residence at Perfora. My role here includes taking up special projects, building new business functions and helping improve the existing ones.
I get to make my own JD and currently I am working on building Corporate Sales
(drop me a note at sanchi@perforacare.com to give gifts that bring smiles on everyone’s faces, literally ;), developing new products, and helping out in sustainability initiatives.
In the limited corporate experience I have, I’ve had the opportunity to work with 3 “real” corporate organisations or startups. The other 2 being sizable international and national companies, leaders in their own respective markets, touted to have great culture.
Not to diss any workplace, but the “LinkedIn’s best place to work at” award seemed quite gimmicky after spending some time there.
Now, my judgement might be premature or skewed, but I do feel that a big reason why I am having more fun at my current workplace as compared to the previous ones is directly proportional to the people who work here and the era they were born in.
So, just hear me out:
The acceptance:
I think, collectively, as a society we can agree the younger generations are more accepting and understanding of a whole lot more.
Things like understanding that no one reaches the peak of their corporate selves in 3 months. Every employee is different and has a different learning curve.
Despite being a fast paced startup, I feel like I have more time and get more chances to prove myself here.
Things I could not even dream of from my previous overlords (jk).
The job roles:
In India, young millennials and GEN Z grew up in a time when information, albeit a lot of it, from all parts of the world was easily available. Which meant we grew up watching people make loads of money off of youtube videos or instagram stores.
So, being satisfied with the generic corporate roles, where you choose your field of work and only worked within the boundaries of the role was out of the question.
Most folks I meet these days cannot comprehend how the words “Entrepreneur” and “Residence” go in tandem with each other, but that's just the freedom of it.
You get to dabble in multiple fields just like you grew up dabbling in academics, sports, arts, everything together.
To each their own, Hustle and Balance :
Young workspaces are a judgement free zone.
What one priorities in life varies from person to person, employee to employee.
If you choose to log off at 5 pm everyday and wish to spend rest of your time with your loved ones, you won’t be labelled a “bad employee”
Understanding that employees have whole lives outside of work, and spending time with family and friends is important. Taking a break is important. Having hobbies outside of work is important.
On the other hand, if you feel you are at a point in your life where you wish to prioritise work more, it’s completely your call.
For lack of better analogies, Perfora feels like working on a case competition with really talented college seniors, staying up till 5 am solely on gatorade and schezwan maggi. Though, you know it’s hard to crack, the excitement of the opportunities is so infectious, you end up giving it your all.
I hope that as we grow, our team continues to provide opportunities to more young and enthusiastic people who maintain the same infectious energy!
If you wish to contribute to this infectious energy and be a part of this amazing journey, drop us a note at future@perforacare.com.
Until Next time,
Sanchi