George Bernard Shaw said, "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds, cannot change anything." After spending more than half my life in Oman, and another half in India, I whole heartedly agree, that my progress and growth as an individual would not be as fulfilling if it hadn't been for this constant wave of change. Change is what drives the world, be it in technology or business. Technology is constantly evolving, and I am fascinated with how both business and technology intertwines to cater the changing market needs. I aspire to be a business consultant, who understands the intricacies of the both these worlds, and who can use his global exposure cultivated over the years, to successfully provide clients with the services they need.
I was born in a small city in Oman, where I lived for more than 18 years of my life, after which I moved to India for my under graduation. I studied at xxxxxx, where competition was high and cut-throat, and each student bought their own flare and insight into the classrooms, which sparked in me the interest to stay and work in an always evolving environment. They always encouraged me to question existing norms and creatively explore other options. Till date, I believe this is the reason why, whenever I look at a process, tool, or solution, I always wonder how it could be made more efficient.
In school, I discovered I have a knack for managing. I could get tasks done effectively while on the lookout for new ideas, and I had the appropriate platform to pull off the same, since I was class representative, Indian scouts 2nd leader, member of Model United Nations, and captain of various sports teams. I realized early on, that leadership is not merely about giving orders, but the ability to listen, grasp what is important, and implement it effectively.
Upon graduating from school, I wanted to continue my education in India, as I realized I have never really lived in my home country. With India emerging as one of fastest growing economies of the world, and Bangalore at its epicenter, I knew I could learn a great deal. Since management is what I gravitate towards, and technology has always interested me, I decided to pursue Bachelors in Information Science and Engineering at xxxxxxx), because it covered all the main courses of Computer Engineering with more focus towards Management. However, I knew it was going to be an incredible change, shifting from way of life to another, and challenges will arise, but I understood this was essential for my growth as an individual.
To say I had trouble adjusting would be an understatement. I always did well, and people expected me to continue this trend in university as well. However, when I started my admission process in VIT the seats allotted for Information Science and Engineering were all full and my next best option given to me was opting for Bachelors in Mechanical and Energy. I must admit that, I was hasty in my decision to take up the course and it was never in my back up plan.
I quickly realized that the syllabus was very hard to keep up with because I did not condition myself well enough. It was soon very evident that I was lagging even before professors got into the core of engineering. The level of knowledge my classmates possessed in the subject astonished me. I was beginning to get lost between keeping up in classes, understanding the new social etiquettes, and battling severe case of homesickness. Consequently, grades started suffering, and my confidence took a plunge when I saw my poor marks after my first semester exams. Family and friends expressed their doubt in my capabilities. Maybe Mechanical and Energy was not my cup of tea.
I realized soon enough during the course of my second semester that I did not want to pursue a degree in Mechanical and energy engineering. Without wasting further of my time and money I decided to drop out of college to find my other alternatives. Dropping out of university, I had mixed feelings I have never stopped anything halfway, but I knew I did the right thing, because what I do now affect me in the future. I needed to plan my career path. I returned to Oman and decided to work. I was always interested in how business and technology were dependent on each other. I got a job with UPS as a marketing executive.
During my time in UPS I was really fascinated with how business systems were incorporated and tailor made to the organizations need. I had to directly deal with and manage clients, act upon feedback and make their Shipping/Air orders, working with business systems, Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD) and their own in house parcel tracking software made it even easier. Working for me was by far the best decision I made because of the exposure I got and constant interactions with my clients and seniors on different topics was invaluable. I knew what I had to do, get management hands on experience and get a management degree. Without a degree I was performing and much more efficient than my peers because my urge to absorb was peaking. However ladder to success in an organization needs a degree.
After gaining a year's invaluable experience, I traveled back to Bangalore to pursue a degree but this time changing my direction to a Bachelor's in Business Management. I wanted to learn about business management from the ground up in order to know the different kinds of businesses and the system structure they will require. I got my admissions under ABC. Practical knowledge helped me streamline in class. There were many subjects that caught my interest and enjoyed studying like Project Management and Management of Information Systems. My time at university was never wasted because I kept myself pre-occupied with university fests and being involved in co-curricular activities.
For my final year project I did an internship at Unilever in their market research division, where I did a study on Consumer Satisfaction in Luxury Products this involved us studying various consumer satisfaction and consumer product knowledge graphs and data given to us from the previous years, going on field and conducting surveys to produce a satisfactory result for the company. I graduated in July 2012 with my Bachelors in Business Management (Global). My next goal was to work for a company that uses efficient business systems. I was looking to get into banks, supply chain or logistic companies.
I got job at Bank XXX as a Relationship Officer in the Retail Banking Dept.; Bank XXX is the youngest and fastest growing bank in Oman at the moment. My job description requires me to be into back office operations of the various products offered by the Bank from activation of accounts to processing personal loans, corporate loans, gold loans, verifying signatures in the system and making salary payments. As part of my training I worked with managers from many departments. I worked with Branch Support, Payments, Events and Marketing Team and Non-resident Banking. I was the most efficient when working in Branch Support. During my time there since the whole Bank runs on Finacle, software developed by Infosys, we were given core access where I had to modify and approve personal accounts and make payments. I was the quickest to verify and activate 700 accounts in a week with only 2 days of training. I realize working with technology implemented the right way saves time, increases profits and efficiency. In the future I would like to get into the consultancy side with my knowledge in Business Management and Business Systems.
Real-world knowledge cultivated from two countries, college, and present work experience has instilled within me a unique, yet systematic approach. After losing out on Bachelors in Information Science Engineering, I opted for a longer route, wherein I pursue my Bachelors in Business Management followed by a Master's program which will help me specialize in Business systems; I wanted complete understanding from the management and technical side. I perceive a MSc. Business Systems Analysis and Design as unification of my passion and skills, thereby providing a path to the career I've always wanted. I am attracted to the contents of the course especially Information Systems Planning and Strategy where I can evaluate information system strategies and apply common management issues to information systems, Project Management, System Specifications to understand the evolving techniques and tools to develop the systems and Information and Knowledge Management are a few, which I believe would be a perfect fit for me. The opportunity to work under the esteemed guidance of the distinguished professors at the XYZ would be greatly conducive to my technical and managerial progress. The rigorous and challenging course structure provided at the institution will help me gain a firm understanding of these subjects. In the future, I hope to contribute substantially to the wave of innovation and to play a role in the effective marriage of business and technology.
