Staying composed and confident during placement will come in handy to handle stress with authority in your life ahead, said Pooja Mehta
Born in Jodhpur, was brought up in Indore and got her career break in Pune. This is the story of Pooja Mehta, who, despite coming from a conservative family from Rajasthan, has made her mark many from her town would never dream of.
As she ventured into the one of the top corporates, the Birla Sun Life Insurance, as Business Development Manager, Pooja, an MBA in telecom and management from a prominent college in the city, feels that hard work never goes waste. It is not the perks she looks at but the stable job in a reputed company she has got into, which has brought a smile on her face and on her near and dear ones. It is not only in school and college that learning happens, but all through life and every walk of life. Every minute and hour is a learning process, and that is what makes one prefect, feels Pooja.
Pooja shares glimpses of her journey from school to Birla Sun Life Insurance, with Corporate Citizen.
Being self-motivated and patient are keys to success, and that was what made Pooja confident and come out a winner in the placement cell. “The entire placement process was a lifetime experience in itself. From studying about the companies to preparing for the placement process, it taught me a lot about myself as well as the industries. I learned a lot about how to go through the entire placement process keeping myself calm and composed,” she says. And it was here that this Jodhpur-born girl felt such experiences helped her handle stress. “I would say that those few hours were undoubtedly stressful, staying composed and confident, but this comes in handy to handle stress with authority. Never look at others for inspiration but yourself, and getting placed will automatically fall in place.” She goes on to make yet another important point: “Never think about perks as a fresher just out of college. A stable job in a good company will take care of that, but do not let hard work take a back seat. Great achievements will fall in place.”
“My happiest moment in life was when my father decided to send me to Pune for higher education, followed by the moment when I returned to my family after getting placed with one of the leading brands of India, the Birla group, and seeing my family happy and proud of me”
It’s all about learning in the early stages of anybody’s life, and Pooja’s was no different. “It is the most important time in life, as most of the learning happens then,” says Pooja. Coming from the second largest city in Rajasthan, life was simple, like for any school going girl. Growing amidst temples in a popular tourist destination, Pooja did have good schooling in Jodhpur, although it is a conservative place where tradition is followed every strictly. Technology and modernisation have changed life, compared to what Pooja’s parents and her grandparents went through. “Being the only girl child in the family, my parents were always cautious about my friends, but my brother was always with me. He did give me the liberty of going out with friends. This made me feel that I could become someone different.” It was in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, that she became confident, while pursuing her graduation. “Going out of the house and doing things all by myself boosted my morale, and it was here I realised I wanted to go ahead in academics.” After her graduation she wanted to go still further, and the best option she thought was an MBA.
It was her brother who has been the leading force for her. “It would not be fair to say that it was just my brother and father who were the driving forces behind my success story. My mother was always there. So I would credit my success to everyone in my family. However, brother and father motivated me, right from the time I moved out of the house. And stepping into Pune, the Oxford of the East, changed me overall. In college, teachers and friends helped me in their own way, and today I am in Birla Sun Life Insurance, one of the best corporates in the country. I should thank my seniors and teachers at college too, who not only taught me academics, but aspects that helped make me a better human being.”
School days are the best times one does not forget, but for Pooja it was the day her father gave her the nod to join the college in Pune that was the most unforgettable moment. “My happiest moment in life was when my father decided to send me to Pune for higher education, followed by the moment when I returned to my family after getting placed with one of the leading brands of India, the Birla group, and seeing my family happy and proud of me.” For Pooja, life is all about experiences, learnings, unlearning and again learning. It's all about accepting the changes as they come and moving forward with new ideas, all confident and motivated.
by Joe Williams
