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Everyone has a story waiting to be heard. We’re highlighting some of the amazing stories from within CleverTap — from our very own CTzen’s — because we believe in the amazing people we work with every day and want to share the exciting work culture that we’ve built together. Presenting: the CTzen’s of CleverTap.
The English poet Robert Browning once said, “Our aspirations are our possibilities,” and this is something I try to live by every day. I was born in Kanpur to a lower-middle-class family. Although we didn’t have many resources, my parents had big educational dreams for my brother and me. They wanted us to be financially secure and taught us early on that education and hard work were the only way to reach this goal.
Since my father was the only earning member in our family, we often struggled financially. The house that we lived in was in dire need of renovation. Of course, no one ever wants to find water leaking from their ceiling, but our parents prioritized our studies and ensured we focused on the same. I wanted to make sure their efforts weren’t in vain and give them the happiness they deserve.
I was a bright student, and after completing my schooling from Kanpur, I began preparing for my Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) in 2016. A few months before that, I was selected for a scholarship that offers fellowship to students. Only 2-3% of the total applicants are chosen for the exam all over India, and I was one of them. I appeared for the JEE (Advanced) exam but made a mistake that I regret to date. I did my submissions and failed to mark the paper in the specific manner required. Thus, all the marked answers were ignored and the sheet was marked as zero. I was so devastated that I was in no state of mind to do a good job on my second paper, and I ended up without securing a rank.
I was utterly heartbroken but didn’t lose my confidence because that was not an option I could afford. I took a break for a year and went to Kota with a friend, and we prepared for JEE 2017. Both of us secured ranks, and I finished my graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi. The most important things that IIT life inculcates in you are: becoming a better decision-maker, facing reality, becoming more hardworking, and learning to manage time.
Meanwhile, my elder brother got an opportunity to work with CleverTap, and he always praised the work culture here. I was awestruck to see the range of options he got as a professional. I began to aspire for the same. As soon as I was eligible to look for career opportunities, an internship opportunity at CleverTap opened up, and I grabbed it.
I joined CleverTap as an intern on February 08, 2021. Like most newcomers, I was nervous and anxious but never doubted my capabilities. I knew I was in the right place. Our Day 1 experience was great and the welcome call with one of the leaders calmed our nerves. There was something said that stayed with me: “This is just the beginning of a path that will skyrocket your growth.” I had made up my mind to do everything required to succeed.
As part of my internship, I was aligned with the DevOps team in Engineering. DevOps is a highly equipped, tech-enabled team that demands elaborate certifications and challenging projects to qualify as a full-term employee. So I decided to take up AWS Cloud Practitioner certification.
While pursuing this certification, within two months of joining, I was fortunate enough to be assigned on a cloud commission project where I collaborated with the Infrastructure team to upgrade Cloud to a newer version. My keen interest in programming and knowledge of Linux made me eligible to work on a live project, which is uncommon for an intern!
I knew that the work I was assigned would be impacting millions of people worldwide and this inspired me to give my best. I have been a proactive learner and have instilled discipline in my career, so I began working on the scope of a project that was already live while attending the certifications simultaneously. I enjoyed the process of utilizing my theoretical education for practical implementation. After all the hard work I put in, I was delighted with my success on the live project.
I find that the projects at CleverTap are technologically advanced and have the most robust infrastructure found in a SaaS company. The learning experiences at CleverTap have amplified my skills to a whole new level. And, whenever I feel challenged, my manager takes time to reach out and motivate me.
While doing all this, we decided to prioritize the renovation of our house that wasn’t in perfect condition. Working at CleverTap gave me the flexibility to plan my workday, and no one tracks the number of hours as output is what matters. I could choose to work at night time and focus on repairing my house during the day.
Despite being pulled in multiple directions on the personal and professional front, I didn’t lose focus. After extensive work on the live project, I was offered a full-time role at CleverTap. I now also extend help to new inductees in enabling their onboarding, and I hope to inspire some of them while continuing the learning process.
All I know is, my journey will only get better from here. I am gratified with the opportunity and support that I have received here, and when I had two offers in hand after my internship, my obvious choice was CleverTap. I followed my dreams and I encourage young aspirants to join product companies like ours. I can confidently tell everyone to take a bold step towards realizing their goal. As quoted by the American basketball player Carmelo Anthony: “Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them.”
#chaseyourdreams #aspirations #hardwork #ambitions #youcandoit #successstories #ificanyoucan
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