The CV of Rejections in my Product career
Having Amul Butter with bread at home was a luxury, back when I was growing up in 1980s. I grew up in a very average middle-class family.
I remember once sleeping on the floor of an Indian Railways train next to the toilet with a General Class ticket.
I paid for my higher education as I earned at work. I paid back my loans, took care of my financial and family obligations through whatever my career afforded.
Challenges of Not Having a Mentor
I never had a mentor. Ever. No one coached me about the polish, the sales-skills, the political skills, and finesse required in an experienced professional.
No one gave me advice on how to navigate the corporate world, negotiate a bad manager, a career change, a salary hike. My father left the medical representative job of corporate world early in his life and became a small business owner.
Figuring out my career
I began my working life unsure of what the word “career” means. I grew up in a small town with a very simple and non-competitive outlook. I didn’t even know what career path I wanted to take.
In early 2000s I discovered Product Management and started doing it in India. I enjoyed it. I knew I understood how it worked. That became my career. Back then the name of this career path didn’t really exist.
I was often confused by friends and some work-colleagues with a Project Manager, Program Manager, Technical Writer, Marketing Specialist and everything in between. I did make a call — that I will try my best not to get mixed up with diluted career descriptions and learn as much as I can and be as good as I can become.
It has been a struggle to even be recognised for my career path — until lately when Product Management has become mainstream and hot in India.
I laboriously learned about the interview process and do’s or don’ts. There weren’t video interview guides on youtube earlier. In about 25 years of my work-life, I have been rejected for 100s of roles or college seats to which I have applied to globally. My interest or applications have been rejected from startups and large brand name companies -99% times even without meeting. This post is a humble attempt to let aspiring PMs know that the journey to career development can be marked with a lot of rejections. Breaking into Product is hard, even now. Keep-at-it!
Startup Struggles
Then, I have seen my start-up Taggle shut down after raising funding. For years my heart bled at the closure of Taggle. I have my start-up ideas rejected. I have seen startups I was working at, shut down. Each rejection was humbling. Painful.
And, I have been rejected, bullied, or circumvented many times on the basis of age, colour, career change choices, personal choices, principles, current compensation, total-experience and so forth. Sometimes subtle words have been used but I could read between the lines of what it was all about.
I have given interviews where people spent 40-60 minutes without discussing the role, the future, the challenges of the responsibility. The discussion focus was solely on interrogating me about why I left a specific company or moved from company A to B. Not the match of the JD and my skills, mind you. No. The interrogation.
When Things Go Well
And it hurt each time. However, my life and career have progressed by an unseen grace of the Universe and goodness of some people — despite numerous setbacks, derailments, trials, bewildering-betrayals, deceptions and rejections. I have absorbed all disappointments and taken things in my stride. Slowly getting up and walking again. I have to do good. I have to serve — the best ways I can.
I have met some very nice people also. I have learned from some very generous people who cared to give feedback and share their insights and knowledge. Several who understood me as I coped with multiple health setbacks of a young child and older parents.
These people didn’t judge me for a paper trail or the calendar time, but for my capabilities and what I achieved with them at work. People who trusted me for my integrity, passion, and honesty. People who saw a human being not the summation of a paper profile.
I have given back in advice, training, talks, mentoring. You should too.
Here I stand with my CV of failures. Believing that sometime, somewhere the Universe will figure a way to give back. This is a lovely story of Tyler Cohen rejected 39 times by Google but offered a job on the 40th attempt. Keep Walking!
There is no overnight success, nor necessarily is there a template for the popular notion of the easy “successful” life.
Most importantly, through my CV of rejections, I have learned the importance of gratitude for all the good that I have in life!
Here is this post on LinkedIn
