Gayathri Nayagam has a master's in international business. And at a point in her life, she wanted to work at Jebel Ali's Free Trade Zone. She fell in love, got married and moved to the small temple town of Thenkasi in South India, where her husband's family had a decades-old business.

Gayathri has a practical streak and a work ethic that helped her get through some of the most difficult stretches in her life. In a free-wheeling conversation, she talks of how a South Indian girl who didn't know a word of Hindi survived in Muzaffarnagar., where even the medium of instruction in the school was in Hindi

And how she bought a woman's touch to a business that had been run by men for generations.

Discover how she embraced her uniqueness and escaped the expectations of others. #EmbraceYourUniqueness #BreakFreeFromExpectations #BeYourself #PersonalGrowth #SelfAcceptance #IndividualityMatters #EscapeTheClonePressure #EmbraceYourOwnPath #Authenticity #SelfDiscovery

Her whole family were doctors — she was expected to follow. Deepika Sharma picked up a pencil instead, and now runs D Plus Y, the boutique architecture firm she built with her husband Yogi. An unconventional career story about choosing your own path against a family script. Hear it on My First Job.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Deepika Sharma comes from a family of doctors, but medicine was never her path — she loved sketching, and her father saw architecture as the natural professional fit. In this episode, she talks about building D Plus Y, the boutique architecture firm she runs with her husband Yogi, and what has kept her genuinely interested in architecture as a career, project after project, big and small.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN

• Why Deepika didn't follow her family's doctors-only career script, and how sketching pointed her toward architecture instead
• - How her father's early nudge toward architecture turned into a genuine, lasting career fit
• - What it's actually like running a boutique architecture firm as a husband-and-wife team
• - How she and Yogi divide and manage projects of very different scales together
• - What keeps her interested in architecture years in, and why she says she wouldn't want to do anything else

TIMESTAMPS (approximate)

00:00 — Intro: from a family of doctors to a career in architecture

03:36 — Deepika's background and why medicine was never the plan

13:17 — The turning point: sketching, her father's nudge, and choosing architecture

21:50 — Building D Plus Y as a husband-and-wife architecture practice

31:46 — Managing projects big and small — the hard part of running a boutique firm

41:28 — What keeps her interested, and advice for anyone choosing an unconventional path

45:30 — Closing thoughts

ABOUT DEEPIKA SHARMA

Co-runs D Plus Y, a boutique architecture and interiors firm, alongside her husband Yogi.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dplusy_architects/

TOPICS

unconventional career, architecture career India, creative careers India, family career expectations, career story

Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn.

How do you take a career risk without betting everything? Dr. Alby Anand Kurian built a rare career as marketing theorist and practitioner, teaching from India to the UK, now Senior Faculty at Exeter. His "Affordable Risk" idea reframes risk for anyone with responsibilities. Hear it on My First Job.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Dr. Alby Anand Kurian has built a rare, multifaceted career spanning both marketing theory and practice — teaching at universities across India, Singapore, New York, and the UK, and currently serving as Senior Faculty at the University of Exeter. In this episode, he unpacks "Affordable Risk," one of several marketing concepts he has authored alongside "Reality Plus" — a framework for taking calculated, affordable career risks without staking everything, even when you have real responsibilities and a family depending on you.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN

• What it took to build a career as both a marketing theorist and a practitioner — a combination he notes is genuinely rare
• - How teaching across India, Singapore, New York, and the UK shaped his view of global marketing and global career-building
• - What "Reality Plus" and his other published marketing concepts actually argue
• - The "Affordable Risk" framework — how to take calculated career risks without putting everything on the line
• - How to apply affordable risk-taking to your own career goals, even with financial responsibilities and a family to support

TIMESTAMPS (approximate)

00:00 — Intro: a career as a global marketing theorist and practitioner

03:59 — Dr. Kurian's early academic path and first roles in marketing

14:42 — The turning point: building a career across India, Singapore, New York, and the UK

24:09 — The hard part: balancing theory and practice, and life as Senior Faculty at Exeter

35:07 — Introducing "Affordable Risk" and "Reality Plus"

45:50 — How to apply calculated, affordable risk-taking to your own career

50:19 — Closing thoughts

ABOUT DR. ALBY ANAND KURIAN

Senior Faculty at the University of Exeter (UK); marketing theorist and practitioner who has taught at universities in India, Singapore, New York, and the UK. Author of published marketing concepts including "Reality Plus" and "Affordable Risk."

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alby-anand-kurian-0359911a3/

University of Exeter faculty profile: https://experts.exeter.ac.uk/40927-alby-kurian

TOPICS

career risk, unconventional career, marketing career India, global career, academic career, second career India

Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn.

Poornima Shenoy illustrates how comprehensive policy, backed by a talented team of industry leaders, helped companies enter the Indian semiconductor industry.

She knew the power of taking risks and embrace new opportunities after assessing what exactly needed to be done.

She also speaks of how her early upbringing ensured that she never put limits on her abilities or her imagination - and how men turned out to be her best mentors

Vishwadeep Kuila initially graduated in dairy technology and even got his first job in a dairy plant. But cracking the CAT exam and landing up at IIT Ahmedabad changed everything and made him a lifelong practitioner of marketing.

He speaks of what it took to build a career in advertising, followed by 13 years spent in marketing at GM Pens - the Indian company behind Reynolds. And how he brought professionalism into an entrepreneurial company.

Listen to how chance encounters lead to greater understanding - apart from the work required to fight the odds.

#success #careers #marketing #mentaltoughness #dairy #smalltown #information #overload

Ask most professionals to describe their career story and they go blank. Neha Parashar spent years in HR and recruitment before becoming an executive coach who swears by one habit — the "career inventory." A career growth story for anyone who can't explain their journey. Hear how on My First Job.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Neha Parashar built a long career in HR and recruitment before shifting into executive coaching, where she now helps senior professionals navigate career growth and career transitions. In this episode, she explains the "career inventory" — a simple, ongoing practice of tracking your experiences, accomplishments, and challenges — and why most professionals only wish they'd started it years earlier.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN

• Why a long HR and recruitment career gave Neha a front-row seat to how professionals mismanage their own career story
• - What a "career inventory" actually is, and why it's different from updating your resume once a year
• - How journaling career moments in real time gives you clarity and confidence in interviews and promotion conversations
• - Why most senior professionals struggle to articulate their own journey, and what that costs them
• - Practical steps to start your own career inventory today

TIMESTAMPS (approximate)

00:00 — Intro: from HR and recruitment to executive coaching

03:27 — Neha's career path through HR and recruitment leadership

12:44 — The turning point: why she moved from recruitment into coaching

20:56 — What most professionals get wrong about their own career story

30:26 — Introducing the career inventory — what it is and how to start one

39:43 — Advice for freshers and professionals starting their own career inventory

43:36 — Closing thoughts

ABOUT NEHA PARASHAR

Executive coach specializing in career growth and transitions for mid- to senior-level professionals, after a long prior career in HR and recruitment leadership.

TOPICS

career coaching, career growth, fresher career advice, career story, career doubts, executive coaching India

Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn.

An MA in Economics, a diploma in advertising, and a first job as a writer at Shilpi Advertising — that's how Narayan Kumar's career in advertising began. It led to campaigns for India's biggest brands, then a creative leap into programming. Hear how on My First Job.

About this episode Narayan Kumar's career in advertising began as a writer at Shilpi Advertising, straight after an MA in Economics and a PG Diploma in Advertising. In this episode of My First Job, he traces the path from that first writing job to campaigns for some of India's largest brands — Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Godrej, and Tata — and the later creative leap into learning programming, alongside rediscovering an old love: the classical guitar.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why an MA in Economics and a PG Diploma in Advertising led Narayan Kumar to his first job as a writer at Shilpi Advertising
• What it took to work on advertising campaigns for some of India's biggest brands
• How enlightened companies like Unilever, P&G, Godrej, and Tata evaluate and approve creative advertising ideas internally
• How to handle difficult clients professionally while protecting the integrity of a creative idea
• Why he later made the creative leap into learning programming, and rediscovered the classical guitar along the way

Chapters

0:00 — Intro: a career creating advertisements

04:32 — Narayan's first job as a writer at Shilpi Advertising

16:44 — The turning point: working on campaigns for the country's largest brands

27:30 — The hard part: navigating difficult clients and internal creative approvals

40:00 — The creative leap into learning programming, and rediscovering the classical guitar

52:12 — Advice for anyone building a career in advertising and creative work

57:18 — Closing thoughts

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Next up: Episode 7, Vishwadeep Kuila on building India's best-known pen brand, Reynolds. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn.

Usha Krishnamoorthy didn't plan her way into being a career psychologist — she took chances, tried several things, taught English, and volunteered before it clicked. A career doubts story for anyone who feels behind on a "plan." Hear it on My First Job.

About this episode Usha Krishnamoorthy's path to becoming a career psychologist wasn't the result of a clear plan — it was built out of taking chances, trying several different things, teaching English, and volunteering with Chennai Volunteers, an organization connecting volunteers with NGOs and individuals in need. In this episode of My First Job, she talks about how workplace mental health became her calling, almost by accident.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Usha Krishnamoorthy's career took shape through chance and experimentation rather than a fixed plan
• What she learned from teaching English and volunteering with Chennai Volunteers before finding her calling
• How she built a career specifically around improving mental health at workplaces
• What a career psychologist actually does, and why workplace mental health is an emerging area in India
• Her advice for anyone who feels behind because they don't have their career "figured out" yet

Chapters

00:00 — Intro: a career improving mental health at workplaces

03:32 — Usha's early experiments — teaching English and volunteering with Chennai Volunteers

13:02 — The turning point: chance, not a plan, leading her toward psychology

21:25 — The hard part: building credibility in an emerging field — workplace mental health in India

31:09 — What a career as a career psychologist actually looks like day to day

40:40 — Advice for freshers who feel they don't have a clear career plan

44:38 — Closing thoughts

About Usha Krishnamoorthy Career psychologist focused on workplace mental health. Previously worked with Chennai Volunteers and taught English before moving into psychology.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/usha-krishnamurthy-474552159/

Topics: workplace mental health, career psychology, career doubts, career growth, mental health careers India, unconventional career

From top student to Principal Correspondent — Lalitha Iyer broke barriers as one of the early women in Indian journalism, writing on everything from politics to women's welfare. A career story about the path to a dream career in journalism. Hear it on My First Job.

About this episode

Lalitha Iyer built a long, successful career in journalism — as Principal Correspondent at The Week magazine, after years at Eenadu — writing on everything from politics to beauty to wellness. In this episode of My First Job, she traces her path from top student to one of the early women breaking barriers in Indian journalism, and how she used storytelling to uncover issues of women's welfare and development.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- What it took to go from top student to a career as a journalist at national publications

- Why she chose journalism, and what her early years at Eenadu taught her about the craft

- What it meant to be one of the early women breaking barriers in Indian journalism

- How she used her platform to uncover and report on women's welfare and development issues

- Her advice for young people who dream of a career in journalism today

Chapters

00:00 — Intro: building a career in journalism

03:38 — Lalitha's path as a top student and her first steps into journalism

13:27 — The turning point: joining Eenadu and finding her voice as a reporter

22:06 — The hard part: breaking barriers as one of the early women in Indian journalism

32:09 — Becoming Principal Correspondent at The Week, writing across politics, beauty, and wellness

41:57 — Advice for aspiring journalists and storytellers

46:03 — Closing thoughts

About Lalitha Iyer

Journalist; Principal Correspondent at The Week (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), with an earlier career at Eenadu. Writes across politics, beauty, wellness, and women's welfare and development.

- LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/lalita-iyer-b87a9634

Topics: journalism career India, women in journalism, career story, storytelling career, media career India, breaking barriers

Enjoyed this episode?

Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Next up: Episode 4, Usha Krishnamoorthy on a career improving mental health at workplaces. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn

Gautam Sivaraman took his first job thinking it would last a lifetime. It didn't — but the twists that followed built a career at the top of India's healthcare BPO industry. A career growth story about coping, adapting, and coming out on top. Hear it on My First Job.

Gautam Sivaraman, Chief Delivery Officer at Access Healthcare, took his first job assuming it would be a job for life — it wasn't, and the twists that followed built a 30+ year career across India's BPO and healthcare outsourcing industry. In this episode of My First Job, he traces how India's BPO industry evolved from simple call-center work into the complex, high-skilled coding and process operations it runs on today.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why Gautam Sivaraman's assumption that his first job would last forever turned out to be wrong — and what he did next

- How India's BPO industry transformed from basic call-center work into complex, skill-intensive operations

- What high-skilled resources actually look like inside a modern healthcare BPO — coding, process management, and niche technical skills

- How to manage large, diverse production teams across multiple geographies

- What it takes to rise to Chief Delivery Officer in a global outsourcing business

Timestamps

00:00 — Intro: careers in a global healthcare BPO

03:38 — Gautam's first job — and the assumption that it would last for life

13:25 — The turning point: when the twists and turns began

22:03 — The hard part: coping with an industry in constant transformation

32:04 — How India's BPO industry evolved — from call centers to complex, high-skilled operations

41:51 — Advice for freshers considering a BPO or outsourcing career

45:56 — Closing thoughts

About Gautam Sivaraman

Chief Delivery Officer — Operations at Access Healthcare, with 30+ years of experience managing large production teams across multiple geographies. Previously Senior Vice President at Exela Technologies (APAC delivery), with earlier roles at Technosoft Corporation, SourceHOV, Tricom Infotech Solutions, Firstsource Solutions, and Tata Chemicals. Six Sigma Green Belt certified.

- LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/gausiv

Topics: BPO industry India, healthcare BPO, career transformation, coding skills, call center careers, career growth

Enjoyed this episode?

Subscribe to My First Job for more real career stories from Indian professionals. Next up: Episode 1, P G Subramanian on his journey from the shopfloor to the C-suite. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and JioSaavn.