Four years later...

Hmm... Had this Long Post Long overdue. Many things kept coming up and it got delayed. Wasn't sure that this'd be so long. An exhaustive read, I guess.

August 12, 2002.

A very important day. The day from when I had to start taking control of my life gradually. It was when I started my professional career. The first day of my first job. At the head office of this company in Bangalore. It could not have been any more picture-perfect, well atleast for me. Got placed at my first ever interview for a job during the campus interviews in the final year and that too at one of the most reputed organisations in India.

August 12, 2006.

This day, I complete four years in my career. And I am still at my first job. And have no wish to move out of it atleast for sometime, unless anything "drastic" happens. Now that I consider is an achievement, specially when job-hopping in today's times is as common as Himesh Reshammiya songs on TV. It was easy for me to get lured by the extra money that the other companies would offer and probably hop on a better looking boat.

So this day, I look back and wonder what are the factors that have actually made me stay in this place. Rather than asking these questions to myself alone, I did ask a few friends of mine, who also happen to be my colleagues, the same question.

Name any three reasons why are you still in this organisation.

I got a lot of different answers. Almost every answer that I got makes up one of my reasons as well to stay in this organisation.

Anyways.. so here are the responses from them one by one....

1. A good friend from my London team, who also happens to be here.

a.Great work
b.Great work culture
c.Timely promotion
d.Onsite opportunities

2. My training batchmate and another close friend

a.Onsite Opportunities
b.Stock Options
c.Fair and Transaparent Working Environment

3. My roomie nicknamed "Newton"

a.Because he did not get a job anywhere :)
b.Relaxed Life
c.Onsite Opportunities

4. My "Mumbaikar" roomie

a.Great Office Campus and Great Infrastructure
b.Great people to work with
c.Salary
d.Onsite opportunities with spouse

5. A lady in my current project team

a.Employee Interest
b.Onsite Salary
c.Good Managers :)

6. Mr.Hasmukh Swamy of my current team.

a.Brand Name
b.He was one of the lucky folks to join the company during the recession in 2000-01.
c.The founder of our company :)

7. Monsieur Z.

a.Lethargy
b.Lethargy
c.Lethargy

8. The soon-to-be married guy in our group

a.Bangalore - That the office is in his hometown.

9. My Current Boss :)

a.Culture
b.Emotional Attachment considering that he has spent quite some time here.
c.Brand

10. One of the three ladies from whom I learnt a few lessons as to why ladies go shopping.

a.Joining this company was one of her million dreams. And as not all dreams are fulfilled, she loves being with it.
b.So far so good. No never thot of hopping
c.Gets world wide recognition for being an employee of this company

11. Finally, Boss. Not my boss, but a very close friend whom I call "Boss".

a.Inertia & Laziness to go out and find other options.
b.Onsite Opportunities
c.At home here - with the people and the environment here.

My Story of why I am here is almost the summary of all the points above.

1.Environment/Culture/Work
This has been the the most common answer from all. Well when I say culture, I talk about people, the warmth that these people bring along, the flexibility that I have had. I have got away with coming late to the office as long as I ensure my work is done on time. I have, during all these times, been blessed with good managers. None of those wicked or evil types that appear
on the Dilbert strips. Hence, so far have managed to keep my career graph at an acceptable growth.

2.People.
In these four years, I have made a lot of friends and quite a handful of close friends. I had an excellent time during my training days. It is one of the times in my life that I would like to relive. My first project has probably set the tone for my time here. It was all fun. We had a lot of parties during my first project. The motto of the project was "MTV mein just party, guys!!!" (The project was called MTV :D). Another of the most memorable of my times has been with the CustDB team in London. That was an amazing time. We used to play COWS and BULLS in office after lunch and that too at client's office. I have spent some real nice time, be it the short and sweet trip at Dublin or be it the trip to Chennai, specially when it was raining or even the time now in US.

All this has been due to the lots of friends that I have made over these four years.

3.Travelling
Before I started out on my job, the list of places travelled was mostly governed by the places where our relatives chose to stay. Usually it used to be a trip to the North of Maharashtra, which coincidentally is my native place, in the scorching summers. But things have changed since I have started working. I had my training in Bangalore, later moved to Pune for a project and
then to London for my first onsite and well almost since then I have kept on moving. In these four years, I have moved almost 14 times from one place to another which makes my average stay at a place for four months. Never ever had I imagined in my life during my engineering that I'll travel so much.

And now I enjoy travelling and hope to complete my list. :)

4.Pune
Now this is probably the most important one. That I can be in Pune is very important for me. Its a place where I am very close to my family and friends. During my engineering days, I used to travel every weekend home. Its that close. Most of my friends are planning to get settled in Pune. It is a place where I have spent a lot of time, been comfortable and loved it.

5.Financial Aspects
I have been able to make my own ground and stand on my own feet. I can say I am financially sound. The dreams of owning a decent car and a good house seem feasible in the near future.

6.Brand
The brand or the image that this company has created today simply makes you proud to be associated with it even if you know that you are just a tiny drop of the ocean.

7.Inertia/Lethargy
Despite these positives which keep me bound, there are times when I do want to move out. But then there is so much of inertia to take the effort of looking up for an alternative option that is better than what is now.

Finally quoting a part of what "Boss" wrote to me and with which I agree fully,

I know hundreds of people here; hundreds of people here know me for something… I can identify with the campus, bldgs, meeting rooms, processes, and so many such things.. The immediate higher mgmt knows me & what I’ve done… So, its more of a feeling of - At Home here in this company… And there is a certain reluctance to go out and make a home again..!!!!

With this, I do not say that this place where I work is the best place in the world. All I say is I have probably got more than what I had expected from this place.

I wish the best for this organization.

Hope that it goes even a longer way than what it has completed.

And I just hope to be a part of it till wherever I can...