Soni Shaw on LinkedIn: #careergrowth #mentalhealth | 11 comments (2024)

Just because my LinkedIn Premium got activated, does not mean I am looking for a job.It can also mean that LinkedIn offered me a free trial for a month and I just gave in to the urge of seeing who actually viewed my LinkedIn profile 😂 #reversestalking

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Mentoring is a manager’s first job.When one someone joins a team, onboarding the person, introducing him/her to important people, sharing the important documents and sharing the basics of the culture is something a manager should be responsible for.It should not be that you need to find your way from day 1.Otherwise, the only job of manager remains to ask of project updates and share the appraisal feedback which is mostly critical.And a manager's role has to be more than that.#manager

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Most people are all about networking. They want to know more and more people so they can reach out to them whenever they need any favor. Very few people are about building connections. They genuinely care for people. They are always willing to help others without any expectations in return.The first category of people grow and are always able to call in favors because of so many people they have networked with.But the second category of people win because everyone else would be vouching for them.#altruism

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One of the biggest red flags in the interview is when the hiring manager says - "We are expecting you to deliver from day 1."This simply means four things -1. There is no onboarding process in place and you will be hardly given any KT.2. The team is in a chaotic state with a lot of pressure from leadership, other teams, etc.,3. Your manager wont be available to mentor you. You have to start in the autoplay mode from the first day without any manuals.4. You will be scrutinized on your performance from your joining day the company without any buffer to learn.#onboarding #growth #workculture

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There was a colleague I worked with who was used to sending important emails after 10 PM or very late at night.It was not that he was busy because the calendar looked empty on most of the days. Itwas to leaders that he works a lot and even beyond the working hours.Some people replied at night to those emails. Itwas creating pressure on others toreplyas well. Itis difficult to resist the urge toreplybecause you feel like it is just an email and won't take a lot of time.But there are three problems with replying to such emails and messages at night (until and unless it is very urgent and something is burning) -1. Youare encouraging the other person to keep doing it.2. Youare removing the boundary between your worktime and yourhome time.3. Youare conveying a message that you are available to cater to your work things beyond your office hours.I did give in to the urge to reply for almost a monthbut,thenInoticed that it was taking a lot of mental space beyond that reply.Isimplyturned off my email notification on my phone after that.And guess whatthe companywas not on fire just because I did not reply to some emails after 10 PM.#boundaries #mentalhealth

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Does not smoking and drinking impact your career growth in career?Honestly,it should notbutit does in a lot of places.In an ideal world, you would expect your leaders and stakeholders to be impartial and judge you only based on the quality of your work.But it is not always the case.A lot of decisionsare takenin the smoking rooms of offices itself.A number ofappraisal reviews are written based on the closeness colleagues have developed over alcohol at office parties.I know several people who do not smoke but keep accompanying their managers and leaders to smoke rooms because of the kind of unfiltered conversations they can have there.But this does not mean that you need to smoke or drink.I do neither of themandI did decently in terms ofmy growth.I am not willing to do anything against my principles.But, I have also accepted that there will be certain biases and bonds due to this where others can have an edge. And I am okay with it.#culture #biases

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In the first year of my MBA, I could not make it to any club except one.I did not know anyone in my senior batch or the best way to write my club applications to get into those clubs.Everyone was making too much fuss about the importance of getting into these clubs to make connections and build resumes for summer placements. I got a decent summer internship and I got into many clubs in my second year because my batchmates knew me and trusted me in some way.Eight years down the road, I do not have enough space in my resume to accommodate most of these club points because I have done more significant work after that.Similarly, if at any point in your life, something did not work for you, don't worry too much about it. You will do something better than that going forward.So just keep moving.P.S. - I do remember the crazy club application process and the club run with my friends. I still cherish those memories. People who were not present for the 11.30 AM classes were awake at 6 AM to be a part of this craziness 🧡

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How do you deal with a toxic manager at your workplace?Find a new job or a new team (internally) and leave.No one is going to change and become a better person because you are nice. Toxicity of a person has so much to do with themself and their past experiences than anyone else.So, stop making yourself responsible for changing someone else' s behaviour and just leave.And it does not make you a quitter, it makes you a smart person who cares about their own well being and mental health.#manager #mentalhealth #workculture

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What was the biggest blunder I made in my IIM Ahmedabad interview?I was nervous about my IIM Ahmedabad interview because it was my dream college.It started with a common intro question - “Tell me aboutyourself”Sir asked me several questions about my technical skills as I was working as a Software Developer. He even asked me to write a piece of code in my notebook. I still hope that I did write the correct code.Then, Mam started with her set of questions. Her first question was - “ Sowhois the CEO of TCS?” (I was working with TCSand,I should have known this by heart)But I got nervous, and I replied - N Narayan Murthy.I understood my mistake immediately and corrected itsaying“Sorryit is N Chandrasekran.It was a real blunder in an IIM interview to say the wrong name of yourowncompany’s CEO.For a few seconds, I thought that I lost my only chance. But then I had to complete the interview and instead focussed on the next set of questions one at a time.The questions started getting more complexand,I was required to use my logical and analytical abilities to answer them. It was around global situations, industrial trends, leadership, etc.In the end,the blunder was forgiven, and I got through the interview.Similarlyin real life, we all make mistakes, but we should keep moving beyond them.A thing from our past should never hinder us from giving our best in the present.

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