This is not my story but my mum’s.  It was early 1980’s and I was a new born. Both my parents are career govt. servants and it so happened that just after my birth my father got promoted and transf...

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

This is not my story but my mum’s.

It was early 1980’s and I was a new born. Both my parents are career govt. servants and it so happened that just after my birth my father got promoted and transferred to a new location and office.

Unable to cope up with the added pressure of managing a newborn and manage her job as well, all alone, my mother wrote to her superiors for a transfer to my dad’s location, but the request fell flat.

She went up the hierarchy to no avail. After months of frustration, she typed a letter to then prime minister of India, Smt. Indira Gandhi herself, narrating her plight and seeking recourse. After a fortnight, she got a response, from the Iron Lady herself, assuring that this will be looked after.

Within a month mum got transferred to where dad was deputed. The rebel in her did not give in!

To this day Ms. Gandhi letter is one of mum’s prized possessions.

This may not be a typical rebel story but she had the guts to fight against the system and win. It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose but what’s you “rebel” story?

Lots of stories..the rebel!

Senior Program Manager

Lots of stories..the rebel!- Grapevine

Welcome to Product Managers's Private Community

I am from a lower income family. My father is a blue collar worker and my mom is a home-maker. I have a few siblings.

Entire life my parents made close to ~6L in a year combined. They let me do anything and never pressured me into pursuing a career that I did not want to, especially as a woman.

They gave me 100% freedom, support, and never once asked me to take care of them after I made it.

Like most Indian parents from tat background, they have no retirement fund. Every bit of money went towards food and essentials.

I went to a shit college in the middle of nowhere for my Bachelors. Chose my degree in CSE and grinded tf out. Got into PM after a few years and never looked back.

My parents can’t tell the difference between Product Management and Project Management. It doesn't even matter anymore. I am prepared to take care of my parents but more importantly I plan to take care of my sister's higher education so that she can decide a career without having to worry about ROI/LTV of her course fees because of loans.

It has been a journey of a lifetime till now. I can only be grateful for what has happened and continue working hard.

How being a PM lifted my family out of poverty

So what if your parents don't know the difference 🤷🏽‍♂️  
 Even I don't know the difference, no one cares about PM

Analyst

A faded memory dawned on me early this morning while commuting to work, as I saw few kids leaving for school. 

A few years back, I was teaching underprivileged children in a distant government school as a part of a social initiative.

We asked kids, What do you want to become when you grow up?”

I really felt humbled and privileged when the kids responded with Policeman, Driver, Mechanic, Patwari(govt official who keeps record of lands) etc. 

We even remarked that whether they would prefer to be a pilot. And they responded with No. Perhaps, it was representative of things that they knew could achieve and things they could not.

It may even have been that their initial choices were likely due to positions of power that they had witnessed and wanted to emulate. Probably, they were not exposed to various options that exist out there.

As my cab whirred away, I was left with a deep sense of gratitude upon recollection of those memories. 

I really hope those kids achieve whatever they set their sights at.

[Thread] Have you ever been humbled despite your privilege?

I grew up in a small village in Bihar, where dreams were often simple and humble. There was only a small government school, but I never went. Instead, I worked in a vegetable shop and my uncle's store, dreaming of having my own shop one day. 
  
 Then I found work in a cyber cafe, and the internet opened up a new world to me. I discovered a university in Delhi NCR and earned a scholarship there. I graduated with honors and now work at a fintech as an APM. 
  
 I know I wasn't supposed to be here, but I am. People believed in me, and I made it. Next time you find yourself among those kids, tell them about the skies and how it feels to soar.  Who knows? Maybe one day they'll take to the skies, not just as pilots but as legends, their wings crafted by the belief that they can be more than what the world expects them to be.

Product Manager

Today, I had a realization about workplace communication that I wanted to share.

During a meeting, I found myself in a familiar situation - my manager wasn't listening to my input and was criticizing my work unfairly. Frustrated, I raised my voice and responded rudely. At the time, I justified it as the only way to deal with such a difficult person.

Later, my mom overheard and questioned my behavior. When I explained the situation, she said something that really struck me: "It doesn't matter how the other person is behaving or how rudely they speak. You should always remain polite."

Her words made me pause and reflect. I realized that toxic managers can create toxic coworkers if we let their behavior influence us. By mirroring their rudeness, I was perpetuating a cycle of negativity in the workplace.

This experience taught me an important lesson: we shouldn't let difficult people change who we are or how we conduct ourselves. Maintaining our composure and speaking respectfully, even in the face of rudeness, is not just about professionalism - it's about preserving our own integrity and mental peace.

Moving forward, I'm committed to finding more constructive ways to address workplace conflicts, even when faced with challenging personalities. It's not always easy, but it's a step towards creating a more positive work environment for everyone.

Mom vs. Manager: The Unexpected Lesson That Saved My Career

Data engineer

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

During my B.Tech, I balanced my studies with active participation in clubs and committees, and also engaged in sports and exploration. Aspiring for a non-core placement, I didn't participate in hackathons or apply for internships. After graduation, I pursued various paths, including preparing for the CAT exam with only three months of preparation time, but I didn't succeed. I then applied to several companies for data analytics roles but kept making new mistakes in each attempt. In one instance, I was rejected for oversharing my passion for data science in a final interview.

To improve my chances, I optimized my resume and completed significant projects, but these efforts haven't yet yielded the desired results. Realizing the challenges of relying on a single target, I also started preparing for the GATE exam. Reflecting on my journey, I recognize that I should have applied for on-campus opportunities, as off-campus job hunting is challenging and unpredictable, regardless of one's preparation.

Tell me your story? In order to get some hope that we can make it and it's never too late

Let me tell my story

Life has become so dry and meaningless nowadays. Struggle connects us on some level. I’d love to hear your stories of struggle and how you overcame it.

Here’s my story.
I studied B.E for 7 years because of backlogs. Every year was a new batch, no friends. Extreme depression, humiliation everywhere. Isolated myself from an extremely judgmental society. 
Confidence had no meaning in my life. 
Somehow struggled and cleared all the backlogs. Studied programming and web design. Started working for free.
After 1 year, first salary was 2k per month.
Then 18k. Then 30k.
I always felt dumb because of the backlogs. Want to rectify it. So went to the US with the only admit I got. Studied my ass off. GPA 3.95. But I was broke again. Cried my eyes out multiple times because I had no money for food. Couldn’t tell this to parents.

Found a job later after many many applications. 
Happiest moment of achievement was when I bought my first 43 inch LED TV. With my own money.

Current pay: over 2L / mo.

Tell me your story of hard work and difficulty

Product Designer

[TL;DR former National quizzing champ dropped out of B. Tech in 2020 during peak of addiction and depression . Got over it and sober in Jan'23, resumed college and completed my B. Tech in Feb'24. Picked up coding again and feel ready for a job now Should I be honest or lie about the gap? Been ghosted my few recruiters whom I was honest with.]

JS developer here. I used to be a decent student, public speaker and one of the best quizzers in the college scene (former National Champ). But I never addressed some traumatic events that took place in my life before I turned 16. My depression took refuge in substance abuse and I abandoned all studies/career prospects during the pandemic. Eventually after 7 years of using, I got clean/sober in Jan'23 and resumed my studies. I earned my degree but on paper it took me 8 years to complete a 4 year B. Tech (2016-24).

Reasonably I get asked about the gap in my academics by hr/recruiters whom I push my CV to. I've been dead honest to them about my struggles with mental health and addiction in the past. And I've been getting ghosted. (It could be because of skill reasons on my part but I'm not even getting a feedback).

Should I not tell recruiters the truth about the gap? Should I leave the addiction bit out? How should I word it? I've never held a real coding job before but been slogging for the last 6 months to get better each day (my github and projects will reflect that). Please help me out with all your valuable suggestions. If you're a tech recruiter let me know how you would perceive my case.

Sorry if this is the wrong board to post in, I'm desperate. Should I be honest about my past struggles of depression/addiction with recruiters while explaining the 4 year gap in my resume?

You don't have to. They are not your friends and you don't know how someone might take it as.  
 You have been brave enough to come out of it but unfortunately not everyone will see it.

Investor

What is a belief you held strongly in your youth that you have since changed your mind about?

Did you have a teacher like that?

Consultant

2 days back cracked the customer support role for the Flipkart CMB process at tech Mahindra.
But the salary they offered me was just 14500 and my recent salary in hand was 18000.

But the HR didn't agree and neither provided me with the cab service offer. So my conveyance cost calculation was 3000 -4000 from my home to the office in a month.

Lol, and that hit me very hard. I told the HR about it and she was not willing to do anything about it.

Got an offer from Tech Mahindra.

Strategy & Operations

Posted this in Deloitte private group, sharing for everyone to see the reality of Deloitte:

Last year, I worked the hardest I had every worked. I had the most toxic environement with my client and my team. I still stayed extremely quiet and silent, continued to work through some of the darkest days in my life. I thought of offing myself atleast 2 times in the last year.

I was given a 16% hike which was the highest in my entire team. I was not happy. The reason was that my mom was extremely sick last year. I sent my sisters money to take care of her but she had severe upper respiratory distress that had made it's way to her lungs.

I could only meet her last Diwali. I was completely torn when she left us forever last February. I had to man up and act in accordance with what society expects from me. I did not cry at all, I finished her rites and came back to Gurgaon.

My girlfriend has been a solid support to me. She has been my rock through all of this pain. But my only regret is that I didn't see my mom more often. I have gotten my hike for the hard work.

Was my mom really worth 16% hike?

FUCK YOU DELOITTE. I AM LEAVING SOON.

Lots of stories..the rebel!

Discover More

Product Managers on

by Anise Carmden

Meesho

How being a PM lifted my family out of poverty

Misc on

by Jordon Dean

Gojek

[Thread] Have you ever been humbled despite your privilege?

Adulting on

by Matilda Taye

PWC

Mom vs. Manager: The Unexpected Lesson That Saved My Career

Indian Startups on

by Jordon Lee

Student

Let me tell my story

Misc on

by Dezi Taye

Stealth

Tell me your story of hard work and difficulty

FAANG on

by Jordon Lee

Student

Sorry if this is the wrong board to post in, I'm desperate. Should I be honest about my past struggles of depression/addiction with recruiters while explaining the 4 year gap in my resume?

Adulting on

by Jordon Dean

cult.fit

What is a belief you held strongly in your youth that you have since changed your mind about?

Adulting on

by Kendall Everett

EY

Did you have a teacher like that?

Product Managers on

by Jordon Nadeen

Cityfurnish

Got an offer from Tech Mahindra.

Big 4 on

by Karilyn Hyrum

Deloitte

Got my hike but lost my mom forever...