How I Faced my Biggest Fears to Build an Extraordinary Career

In my career I have worked with and coached many CAs, many of them have been rank holders and exceptionally bright students. But not all of them had an extraordinary career, many of them ended up having very ordinary careers – working in small firms or companies, never reaching the true potential or living the life of their dreams that had imagined. 

In fact, this is what happens with a majority of young professionals who spend years trying to become a professional accountant or a finance professional. It is extremely disheartening. We do what we are asked to do – study for countless hours, staying up all night to prepare for our exams, despite facing failures and then we also spend countless hours completing our articleship. We have all gone through it, I have too.

 And yet, when we finally start seeking that dream job for ourselves, we start facing rejections. Despite of all our skills and knowledge, we are told that we are not good enough because we can’t ace the interviews. And finally, when we do get a job, we find it even harder to successfully navigate through the corporate culture and competition. Again, we are made to feel as if we are not good enough.

Now let me share very important news with you:

To succeed in our career, we need a whole new set of skills that are never taught to us!  

It has somehow been assumed that we will learn these new skills ‘on the job’. But that is too much to ask for. It can take people 5-10-15 years to learn the skills that will help them navigate the road to success. I am saying this from my own experience.

I faced an incredibly tough time in my early career because of poor English speaking skills, lack of confidence and limited awareness of the corporate world. In fact, there was a time when I was so low on confidence while going in for an interview at a Big 4 firm that I was turned back from the reception. The Senior Manager took one look at me and decided that I will not make the cut. That’s how bad I was!

I have few more stories that I can share. When I finally got the chance to work in the audits division of a Big 4 organization, I had no idea how audit documentation and filing was meant to be done or how client engagement was conducted. The small firm that I had done my articles at had never taught me those skills. Needless to say, I had a terrible time. I had to show a lot of reliance to survive that phase of my career. 

It was only after facing these odds and failing a few times that I learnt to not just survive but thrive. The skills that helped me forge a hugely successful career with some of the biggest names in the world came about only because I was willing to learn, adapt and evolve. After the initial mishaps, I was fortunate that I found some good mentors and leaders who saw my potential and decided to invest in me and back me. Their confidence in my abilities urged me on to learn new skills and give my best at workplace everyday. If you are in the early stages of your career, I strongly recommend that you find yourself a guide or a mentor who can help you along in the tricky early years of your career. 

As I grew through the hierarchy over the years, I had the privilege to work with many youngsters. Many of them were starting out their careers in the finance and accounts domain. These youngsters often reminded me of my own past and the struggles that I had to undertake. I have always said that it is possible to learn any leadership skill, as long as you are willing to change your habits and practice with patience.

This holds true for any leadership or communication skill. People often say that they have to suffer because their “English is poor”. Well, you have a choice in such a scenario:

You can either spend your entire career feeling sad for yourself and your poor English or you can commit to make an improvement. By becoming committed and by practicing diligently, I can guarantee that your English speaking skills will get transformed in just two years.

Success has no short cuts, if you want to have a magical career, you have to learn how to do magic. It takes time, but once you learn the trick, you can create magic every single time!

I have made a commitment to myself to learn a new skill and get better every single year of my life. Over the past five years, I decided to sharpen my coaching and mentoring skills. I got the terrific opportunity to learn from two world leaders – Dr. Marshall Goldsmith and Jack Canfield; both legends of the coaching the training universe. I chose to invest in these new skills because I wanted to make a difference by working with young professionals like yourself. 

Having enjoyed great success in my career as a Chartered Accountant, it is now time for me to give back. I left my secure corporate job behind to coach and mentor young professionals in the accounting field. It is with this passion and purpose that we have curated the “Communicate with Impact” Masterclass.

This unique program will help you navigate the tricky and often treacherous career journey. It is imperative that ambitious young people like you stop waiting and take charge of your career and success.

It is time for you, to become extraordinary!