Aroonima
What would you say if someone told you that a dancer of 30 years, an interior designer, and teacher, with no prior experience or knowledge of IT, now works as a scrum master and delivery manager at one of the world’s leading software services companies? Unbelievable?
That’s right! And that also describes Infosys – an organization that rewards passion, patience, purpose, and helps create unbelievable tales of success.
Born in Bhopal, India, to parents who are architects, I was predisposed to becoming an interior designer. I am also a trained Indian classical dancer with over 30 years of experience in the art of Bharatnatyam. I have also assisted many NGOs and taught interior designing. In 2018, I decided to migrate to Australia and complete my master’s education in cross-disciplinary design – a course that included everything from service design to experience design and human-centered design. But in 2020, as I was on the verge of completing my masters, COVID struck. The global shock rendered me unemployed. But I was not one to back down. Coming from a family of strong women who believe in independence, I was motivated to not give up. I believed that I had it in me to find a way out and be independent. where I stumbled upon the Victoria Digital Jobs Program. It was an intensive 12-week program which helped, particularly women like me, transition into a more job-ready workforce. Over the next 12 weeks, I learnt front end web development. This enabled me to get noticed by Infosys. And so, in 2021, my journey with Infosys started.
After the intensive 12-week program, I was selected to be an intern at Infosys. And although the training was great, my knowledge of IT was still very nascent. This made me nervous. That’s when I realized the privilege of working under a good manager. My manager understood that I was nervous about my limited IT knowledge and hence tried to make the journey simpler. He gave me simple yet significant tasks each day that helped me upscale in the client project that I was matched to being educated as an experience designer. He even showed me the ropes of managing the team. Even so, when I saw my peers progress as developers and testers, my insecurity returned. I thought that my lack of knowledge was preventing my manager to give me a more hands-on IT role but rather help him manage the team. In retrospect, I appreciate that he saw me fit the role of a manager and was just grooming me for it.
I continued to work for the client that I was assigned to and after 3 months of learning and on-the-job internship, I was absorbed as a fulltime employee for Infosys. But my role stayed the same. I was still helping my manager manage the team and my teammates with the on-shore and off-shore delivery for my client.
In April last year, my manager decided to move on to a different role but what was in-store for me, surprised me. My client requested I step into my manager’s shoes! This was overwhelming as much as it was exhilarating. Since, I have been managing a team of 15 and I’m the point of contact between Infosys and the client. All of this was only possible because of the non-judgmental mentorship I received at Infosys. I truly believe that when you share knowledge, it multiplies.
What’s more, throughout my progression at Infosys, I have been able to maintain my passion for dance and my relationship with so many friends. Before my day starts at Infosys at 9 AM, I make time for dance. And for my friends, after work and on weekends. Thanks to the belief, mentorship, and development opportunities that Infosys has given me, I can say that it certainly breaks every notion of a typical multinational company.
