Learnings for Post Grads: Advice from Geetha Kumari Kommepalli
Geetha Kumari Kommepalli began working as an accomplished member of the IT Team here at Skillsoft just over 3 months ago. She comes to Skillsoft with more than 22 years of experience in technology and leadership, and currently holds the title of Vice President of the Business and Tech Solutions on the Digital and IT Team. I had the opportunity to speak with Geetha about her advice for post grads as they enter the workforce. Here are her top four learning lessons for post grads:
1. Learn from your mistakes. Speaking from her 8 years of experience at Deloitte, Geetha says, “every project, big or small, will give you an opportunity to understand different perspectives.” She says that these projects will turn into lessons that you can leverage to do things for a new project differently. Whether it be big or small, any mistake can be turned into a learning experience that will allow you to grow in the future.
2. Never stop learning. Geetha became quickly captivated by technology in the 90’s, amazed by the “magic” that was happening in real time when writing a program. This love made her a happy learner as she always had the ability to jump into something and adapt to the new technology at hand. She says that learning to do things differently and understanding how we can create an impact within our lives and the people around us is what truly inspires her to learn. She says, “especially when you are fresh from college, very young, you will have a lot of energy and you will be a very quick learner,” so make sure to take advantage of this period as an intern and absorb as much knowledge as you can.
3. Never be afraid to say no. Learn and prioritize how to say no, and never think twice about asking for help. There is nothing wrong with saying no when you do not have the time or capacity to complete a task. There is also nothing wrong with asking for help along the way and saying that you do not understand something, it is a part of learning.
4. Step out of your comfort zone. “Always think big, step out of your comfort zone” was one piece of advice from Geetha that really stuck with me. Being able to see how you fit into a bigger puzzle will allow you to complete your job with more success and may even allow you to help someone else along the way. Geetha says that every solution should have a 360-degree view to really allow you to understand all potential outcomes. I think this stuck with me the most because, as an intern, the projects you are working on can often be smaller pieces, but understanding how they fit into the bigger puzzle can motivate you.
Being able to leverage your learning experiences through mistakes, successes, saying no, and stepping out of your comfort zone are skills that we all must learn to succeed. No one starts off knowing how to become a VP. All these skills can be learned along the way. If there is anything that you take away from reading this piece let it be a quote from Geetha, “Spend as much time as you can to learn, and enjoy it.”
