Upskilling during the Pandemic: How VMware’s VMinclusion Taara boosted my career

Meet Santoshi Kodali, a Taara graduate who upskilled during the ongoing pandemic while being on her career break with VMinclusion Taara and future-proofed her professional career

Challenges are a part of life and in some cases, they bring out our best part. In my case, the ongoing pandemic took a toll on my financial independence. My journey to the tech industry was a little unconventional. My work life began in 2002 with the hospitality industry, post which I worked with call centers for a brief period, and finally secured a job position of Sales Representative in a leading technology MNC. While climbing the career ladder, my career continued to flourish as I started working with the EMEA business until 2015 and that is when I decided to take a break. The decision was driven by my responsibilities and needs as a working parent. I had worked in the industry for over thirteen years and had a fulfilling career. While I was also worried about preserving the long-term career capital, I worked so hard to create, I need not have. Right after a year, I was fortunate to restart my career with the same organization as a Program Manager. I continued to aspire for greater career heights as I efficiently balanced my work and my personal life.

Unfortunately, I had to take another professional exit due to circumstances that were beyond my control. This was during the outbreak of pandemics. The pandemic affected me tremendously as it led to a financial decline for me and my family.

It’s no surprise that success is strongly correlated to the challenges you face and the hard work you put in. The pandemic propelled me to get back at work and I began my lookout for job opportunities. I had been a volunteer and an evangelist and was, responsible for communicating details about VMware’s VMinclusion Taara program to the Sales Teams in my previous job role and the memories about the program came rushing back. I was fortunate to know about the details of the program, the specifics of upskilling, and how it had helped thousands of women. I got myself enrolled in the program immediately as the program was exclusively designed for women like me. I strongly believe that by continuing to learn, we can step out of our comfort zone and take on dynamic job opportunities. I completed the first level of the Taara program and have already restarted my career as Senior Manager in a reputed firm.

According to a survey conducted by JobsForHer, 34% of women have mentioned reskilling as a necessity for their career restart, progression, and job role changes. Women, who come back and restart work after career breaks, tend to feel out of the loop in the new work environments. Adaption to new technical skills, learning agility, and creative thinking act as key differentiators in the marketplace. So, signing up for programs like VMinclusion Taara lets women like us acquire and apply new skills while developing our confidence for working environments. My mentors at the program helped me with upskilling but also helped me recollect the basics along with reskilling for related areas. Getting the opportunity to experience both upskilling and reskilling is amazing because it also offers an opportunity to move to different job roles should you spot an opportunity. The journey with Taara and the return to what I am sure is a thriving career, has left me stronger, more confident and a better professional than ever before. I would urge every woman who is keen on restarting her career to consider a program like VMware’s VMinclusion Taara. It’s the stepping stone to the second innings of your career.