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| Image from Daksh Christ University webpage |
Stumbling upon Daksh (Christ University's flagship annual career fair) I came across Mr. Suresh Ramu's address to the university students. As a Coach, it is my endeavour to mine learning resources for guiding students. However my happiness for this serendipitous discovery, is for a very personal reason. I had the privilege of working under Suresh Ramu's guidance way back for several years during my formative years in my professional life. These were my early days in my career, soon after completing my post-graduation, from MAHE (Manipal Academy of Higher Education).
There are so many anecdotal stories each one of us would have about Ramu. Let me share one, which has stayed with me over the years which always makes me smile. As a new Team Lead during one my quarterly meet with him, I was seeking his mentorship on a challenge I was facing. I with him, "When my team members make same mistake after repeated guidance, I get angry. In that state of mind, I am unable to guide them effectively. What should I do?" Ramu replied to me unassumingly - "You can show your anger, without getting angry."
Honestly, speaking, it took years for me to comprehend and inculcate this in my toolkit. Such were his mentorship - Simple yet so Profound.
I remember, whenever we had deliverables with steep timelines, Ramu inspite of being the Head of a Business Unit would silently volunteer to take print outs, carry loads of documents from archival room to team member's working desk and sit with us to help with even routine tasks as data entry and QC. We learned so much about teamwork, humility, inclusiveness and leading with empathy, just by observing him.
Indeed like me, many of us who had the opportunity to work with Ramu in their early years just out of university, were very lucky to have a mentor like him, which helped in laying a strong foundation of work ethics and professionalism in us.
Hence stumbling upon Suresh Ramu's Talk, at Daksh Feast Christ University, I felt it's my obligation to help spread his career advices through my blog, so that many more students can benefit from his wisdom, experience and guidance.
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| Image from Daksh Christ University webpage |
Listed below is the transcript from Suresh Ramu's talk, highlighting his key general advices to students on building a successful career, across any industry:
- Comfort Zone: One enters into an area, a domain with certain kind of mindset, but if one is willing to give some time and willing to learn, it takes them on a journey of betterment.
- Growth Mindset: We all should be constantly thinking - "What are we willing to change about ourselves?" (willing to let go about yourself and willing to acquire new into yourself). If one can train their brain to keep an Open Mind and Willingness to Change on a daily basis, Success is bound to follow you.
- Motivation and Goal-orientation: Be self-motivated and one can develop their self-motivation by setting goals for themselves and tracking it's progress.
- Empathy: Learn to understand before disliking something. Different experiences makes one a better person.
- Self-Management: Self-discipline and Time-management are important skills in one's career. In today's work from anywhere work culture, time management is so very important - how do you manage work? how do you manage life? how do you prioritize deliverables? how do you make an impact?
- Repertoire of Demonstrable Skills: Creativity, Innovation, Independent Thinking, Being open to feedback, Good listener, Using Data for taking decisions and Communication are important career skills. Knowing their importance is one thing, but demonstrating them at work is more important. One's Values have to be demonstratable through one's behaviour and actions.
- Team-player: WE is more important than I. Team work and what WE have achieved Together as a Team, is more important than individual success.
- Know thyself: One can't be an expert in everything. So figure out what you are doing at, what is your uniqueness and what value you bring on the table.
- Change the Script: Spend time in understanding your value system, your belief system, your biases (your cultural learning which has been inherited subconsciously). Recognising them and freeing oneself from the negatives is important, as our value systems makes a long lasting impact in one's decision making and conduct in the career journey.
- Grit (perseverance, determination) is critical and in work-life grit becomes one of the key differentiating factor for success. One needs to be focus and pursue their passion/goals/values inspite of all the challenges and hurdles, which will come along the way.
- Break the silos in your mind! No career today is verticalized and operating in silos. So appreciate the intersection of careers/domains/fields and based on what you are naturally good at, make the most of the opportunities these intersection will offer you, in your career journey.
- Tips for campus life: Develop soft skills, Do Internship, Learn about the industry and the company before going for the job interview. Focus on behavioural skills, on competency building and showcase you did actually learned and not just earned a certificate/degree.
Hi students, to listen to the full talk and especially Life Sciences students who are interested to build their careers in Clinical Research and Healthcare industry, you can access the video on Christ University YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okgknJe56CA&t=2750s
Know the speaker:
Suresh Ramu is the Co-founder and CEO of Cytecare Cancer Hospitals
https://cytecare.com/our-leadership/