Mystory@Kaushiki Srivastava: It is all about learning from your mistakes

Growing up in a family of historians and litterateurs, my obvious leaning was towards Humanities. When time came to choose a field in undergrad, I remember facing a dilemma because by then I knew I wanted to pursue either Psychology or Anthropology as a specialized subject for my graduation, and eventually make a living in that area of interest. However, under the education system at the time, to be a Clinical Psychologist/Psychiatrist or an Anthropologist, it was necessary to pick Biology along with these aforementioned subjects. But one could not choose between individual subjects. So, it was either pure Humanities, or pure Science. I decided to make the best of the choices I had before me and picked Humanities – with the combination of History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and the languages.

During college admissions, I chose Sociology over Psychology – purely because I realized Sociology was a lot to do with human social behaviours & systems created by those behavioural patterns (among other influences). Now I was getting the chance to study human behaviours, their social implications and origins (Psychology), the various cultures and historical relics that exist around us across the world & how they shape human and social behaviours (Anthropology), and social structures, norms, practices and systems (Sociology). I wanted to pursue Sociology for post-graduation; but there was a bigger part of me that wanted to enroll for a professional course that would enable me to get into the rat-race that looked appealing from a distance. So, I did the math – with my father due to retire in two years from graduation day, I did not want to depend on his pension to further my academic pursuits. A two-year professional course from an imminent institution would qualify me for a job in hand, and I could then continue with academia on the side with the money I earned.

Incidentally, this phase also happened to be the time for Students’ Body elections in college, with my name being pitched to contest. Having already had my hands in too many things I wanted to pull out of the elections which was not accepted (flattering of course, but also a daunting situation to wiggle out from). Cornered by my classmates and professor who demanded I either convince them or concede the role, I blurted out in panic “I’m applying for MBA!”, and everyone suddenly seemed to lay off me. There went my quasi-political career, and in came the preparation for corporate living.

I chose HR as my specialization in MBA as I realized my strength lay in Observation, Analysis and Application, coupled with the sensitivity imbibed through the years towards human behaviour, cultures, group norms etc. I wanted to use these skills to partner with business – after all, an organization may be what it manufactures or sells, but most importantly, it is the people that make or break it. And I wanted to work with those people.

I could have researched more in the career field I eventually chose to be better prepared – nevertheless, the journey of self-discovery continues with each new assignment that comes my way and in the end, it is what you do with what you have that makes it worthwhile.

I may have stumbled upon each step that led me to my career choice, but I strongly believe that when passion meets its match in a vocation, very less can deter you from exceling in it. Each time I successfully deliver an intervention/solution in partnership with business managers I realize that maybe my choices were supposed to lead me here and discover there’s more to my learning curve.

Lessons learnt on the way

I have made the mistake of not attempting to study an out-of-course subject additionally to complement my undergrad studies; of not exploring other avenues that open up for a Psychology major; of jumping the gun and prepare myself to work rather than continue studying for a few more years and get out of my comfort zone; of not trying my hand at less conventional fields of study – Travel & tourism, field researcher, advertising & media; of not being better informed about human resource as a field; of not asking enough questions to my summer internship guide when working on a live project I could not make sense of; of lacking the ability to connect theories learnt in MBA to the bigger picture; of not networking voluntarily and effectively with stalwarts in the field I met during those days; of taking every reprimand in my early working days to heart and deciding on my next move basis that; of still being slightly impatient in the face of dullness at work.

However, I have learned from each such mistake and it is these learnings that have so far worked for me – I learned to ask more questions till I was satisfied; I learned that most of one’s learning comes with getting your hands dirty, so I got them dirty. I learned that sometimes in order to be able to do the things you enjoy, you have to do the things that you don’t consider worthwhile. I learned to be meticulous from the times my reports were sent back for a factual or formatting mistake. I learned that just like me, everyone else will have a different threshold for tolerance and that empathy is a term easier said than applied. I learnt that the “faster finger first” can sometimes lead to careless mistakes at work. I learnt that each job I changed, changed a part of me and it was up to me to pick the good parts and keep practicing them, leaving behind the unnecessary baggage. I learnt the importance of keeping your personal and professional lives separate, and the art of temperance. I learnt that you need to balance your drive for results and calm attitude to develop into a healthy aggression that leads you to goals with minimum or negative collateral damage on the ecosystem, and on your careergraph.

Patience is the key

When selecting a career, my advice is to get “unstuck” from that one career path you see yourself doing and let serendipity play a part too; if you have the luxury of time and choice in your hand, take that time and explore a few choices before finally settling into what excites you the most. Look for maximum yield from the career you choose – not just in terms of the money and growth it offer, but more importantly in your personal development. In today’s times, choices are aplenty and there is an element of surprise to the business landscape – it is important to start your career with a patience and large threshold for tolerance, but an immutable grasp on ethics and integrity all through.

About the Author:

I am Kaushiki Srivastava, currently the Zonal Lead – HR at West & CSD. I did my graduation in Sociology (Hons.) from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi University and MBA from Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi. I am an avid reader, an experimental and aspiring writer, die-hard music buff and a travel enthusiast.