Magic Before Magic - part 2

A continuation from my previous post
https://philowini.blogspot.com/2018/03/magic-before-learning-magic-part-1.html

I learnt so much in Morgan Stanley ..made friends for life and for the first time in my life felt appreciated for my work.My professional life definitely benefited as I learnt professionalism, how to keep calm even under pressure and most important I interacted with myriad of people across the world from Japanese who referred me as ‘Chube san’ to Europeans, Americans, Asians and realised that the world is such a diverse place. 

In October 2009 I was introduced to The Secret- a book by Rhonda Byrne. I remember reading the book and finishing it in a night. I started implementing the Law of attraction for everything and started seeing great results in life. I started spreading the word among colleagues and friends and very soon law of attraction became a way of life. My performance got better and quality of life got even better. That was the time I started sending motivational quotes to friends too post which my friends named me”philowini” by combining philosophy and Ashwini😀(now you know where i got the name of my blog)

By end of 2009 - I realised I had to grow more in my career and was looking for internal transfers. But it wasn’t happening. I started putting my resumes on various job portals and also started sending it via friends. Also I used to travel all the way to the other end of the city since my office was based in Malad the western suburbs of Mumbai . Somewhere I always used to feel I wish my office was closer to home in mid Mumbai so I could hop on a cab and reach office. Lower Parel in south of Mumbai had become the new office hub in early 2000s. I always wished my office was in lower parel so that I would not lose time in travel. 

In Jan 2010 I got a call from the Royal Bank of Scotland- for a job interview and they asked me if I could come for an interview in Lower Parel. The profile they offered wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. But I decided to go. I kept imagining and visualing that I m getting an offer letter for the exact profile I wanted. During the first round of interview - while talking about me I did something different. I spoke my mind out. I for the first time in life I was bold enough to actually speak up and I asked the HR person “ Well the profile you are offering is good but not exactly what I am looking for.Do you have anything in M&A. If yes I d be more interested in that”

She definitely had a perplexed look on her face. But she started pondering. I for a moment thought I made a big mistake by asking- would she think of me as too aggressive?

“Can I check and let you know?” She said

I simply nodded half scared and worried. As I waited for her plethora of thoughts crossed my mind. Would I lose out on what I was offered? Well as a woman in a male dominated industry I felt I was being too aggressive and ambitious. Infact many of my male classmates and colleagues had mocked me for being dominating and over ambitious. Was it really not my cup of tea?

At that moment I heard a knock on the door and another lady entered .” Ashwini Chube?” 

“Yes “ I said

“ Hi - So My colleague told me that You are looking to get in the m&a team - well we have 1 opening there however you d need to pass a written test for that. Are you prepared?”

Honestly I wasn’t at all but I nodded confidently and said yes

She took me to another conference room. The conference room was full of candidates atleast 8-10 of them. I was the only female candidate among them. A few of them were in blazers all suited up. 

“ Oh God - I don’t think I have a chance. They all look far more experienced and skilled than me” 

Also knowing that the investment banking industry was a male dominated industry and had heard a lot from my colleagues that while hiring too they don’t prefer women unless you are exceptionally talented have better analytical skills and are will into work long hours like a donkey-knowing the long hours . And then my mind started playing games” And I m the only female candidate. So I think I have no chance. I have lost the chance which I was offered too. I have already said No to the less challenging role. I cant even go back”but then I took a deep breath and said” I know you can do it Ash. You know it too . Give your best. If you don’t get hired you are still at a very good place. And well if you get hired - you ll have your dream job”

Without preparation I attempted the written test having primarily math related questions. For the record I hated maths in school but was still very good at it. 

Most people were cream B school graduates and I was a bit afraid to be in direct competition but however I gave my best to the written test. 

The next day almost 24 hours later I got a call from them . I was the only one who cleared the test. I not only cleared the test but also scored way higher than the rest of the candidates. I was called upon for a grilling round of interview the following day and had 6 more grilling rounds in the upcoming weeks. The interviewers with extra straight faces and stern attitudes made me feel like being a criminal interviewed by a cop.I analysed almost every industry from IT telecom Pharma and spoke about all models available in the history of Financial Management. In short I cracked those interviews  and slayed all the rounds(thanks to reading and over reading  Aswath Damodaran and Economic Times, FT,WSJ and all the gyani publications for the last few years).

The last round was with the head of the department and he too seemed to give a green signal to hire me.

A week passed ...not heard from them ..another month passed.. I got in touch with the HR and they said they are waiting for an approval from the UK head office...I waited like a lover waiting for her beloved.. this was exactly my dream job ..M&A .. Modeling ..Valuation.. I had been practising working on mock merger models.. and reading like crazy ..a couple more  months passed and still more . I almost gave up on the dream. I was still applying the Law of Attraction and was ofcourse was doing good in my Morgan Stanley job. But I felt my learning was done and was getting stagnant. I tried internal transfer too but nothing relevant was open . 

It was Navratri time and the city was bustling with the vibrant colours . My phone rang and it was the RBS HR. 

“ Ashwini Chube - wanted to know if you are still interested in a role with us “

I was definitely but it was a pleasant surprise. “ Can you please come for another round tomorrow ?”

The so called next round went well and the subsequent 2 more too. The person who took my interview looked at me and said “ Well we have a bad and a good news- The bad one is the position which you were initially interviewed a few months ago is already filled up . The Good news is we have another role for you and it is in Indian markets . Can we let you know in a day?” I was quite looking forward for it and readily agreed too.

2 days later I received a call from them offering an amazing role to work with head if India team- the best work exposure any youngster would have asked for. I worked for 2 years in that role. I spent total 5 years in the organisation with 5 different roles  including an overseas assignment in Head Office at London.

I made amazing friends for a lifetime in that organisation and learnt a lot. I grew from an analyst to a senior manager, onboarded and managed a team of 60 and learnt that the higher you go in the corporate ladder- the more humble  you need to be. I quit my job in 2015 to follow my calling of being a speaker ..inspirer..influencer. 

And Royal Bank of Scotland is still a name close to my heart. I started my own training company Unicorn Insight in 2016 and a few months ago came to know that Unicorns are national animal of Scotland. There definitely is some connection I have with Scotland. May be a past birth 

If you are reading this today and are looking for a dream job, dream career,a dream relationship...know that it is right around the corner.

• Be Bold enough to ask the Universe for it ;
• Have Faith and Patience
• Surrender it to the divine
• Because you are in the right place at the right time
• You deserve all your dreams - so let them come true

Love to all my readers