Ella Hopkins’ Post

About to complete 6 months in IBM..Till now the journey is incredible.. Just want to share an incident happened with me so apparently 2 days back an employee from one bank came to me from my father reference to ask for help to join Ibm ....He told me that I can work with bare minimum salary too as he was under so much pressure of work in bank and he can't quit from job due to family responsibilities. so I told that I'll see what can I do ..the next day I told my father ki papa uska resume lekr muje dedena ,my father told ki he got expired at night dnt know the reason why ..I was literally so shocked ,may be the reason of death is different but till now I have guilt that I should have told ki m krwa duga . So guys In a demanding corporate environment, it's crucial to remember that seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness. The pressures of work can sometimes feel overwhelming, but there are always avenues for help. Whether it's talking to a trusted colleague, reaching out for resources, or seeking professional assistance, remember that you're not alone. Your well-being matters, and there are people and resources available to support you through challenging times. Take care of yourself; your health and happiness are invaluable. #lifematters #corporate #ibm

I was laid off in the recession of 2009. But what I learned from it helps me to this day. It was early in the year and our entire team at IBM had received the heartbreaking news. Even though folks were performing - including myself - it wasn’t enough to keep our jobs. I was recently married. Got a place of our own to rent. Single income. Money was tight. I was only 2.5 years into my Sales career, not having a ton of experience under my belt. Lay-offs were as common as they are now Interviews were tough to land… and the ones I did land didn’t pan out because of the talented pool of folks I was competing against. Took me almost 4 months, but eventually landed an AE role at a company that certainly wasn’t at the top of my list. Didn’t have a choice, though. Times were tough back then. Took a pay cut. 1-hour one-way drive to the office, 5 days a week. That year was a tough one financially. Couldn’t save a dime. It was a tough pill to swallow. Worked my tail off, closed some deals almost a year passed… then noticed a field Sales role opened up at IBM. I’d be selling the same product line that I was before. Went to a job fair where some of the leadership team was going to be and knocked their socks off, given my prior experience and product knowledge. Lo and behold they offered me a role and I came back to IBM in a coveted field Sales role. Got a nice bump in salary and OTE. And from there, my career took off ……………………………… Times are tough for a lot folks currently. If you’re in a tough situation at work. If you’re out of a job. If you’re struggling at landing interviews. If you’re landing interviews but not getting an offer. Remember, when one door closes… another door will open and that new door will be so much better than the last. Be patient and keep your head up. Good things are on the horizon.

I believe this article is something we all should read to survive in this crucial job market and get some motivation especially for freshers, not to panic stick to the plan and have patience you deserve the best and the best is yet to come. There is one famous dialogue of one of my favourites Bollywood filmstar. “SHAH RUKH KHAN” | “अंत में सब कुछ ठीक हो ही जाता है, और अगर कुछ ठीक नई हुआ तो, पिक्चर अभी बाक़ी है मेरे दोस्त “ | Translation “IN THE END EVEYTHING WILL BE GOOD, AND IF IT IS NOT GOOD THEN IT IS NOT THE END, THE CLIMAX IS YET TO COME” . . . . . . . #jobopportunities #opportunity #hiring #hiringfreez #2024hiring #usaitjobs #recruiters #google #meta #blackrock #analyst #businessanalyst #dataanalyst #hiringmanager #directors

December. This is one of the most vulnerable posts you'd read from me. It might feel disjointed, but stay with me. Throughout 2023, this month marked my most inconsistent period on LinkedIn. It was an internal struggle of trying to show up here and I hate it when my posts start to feel monotonous. I post on LinkedIn to share my journey, raw and unfiltered, so that people are impacted by it. I had set a goal to reach 8k followers before the end of the year, and I knew that consistency would have quickly brought those numbers. However, I chose self-care over numbers, combating self-doubt and imposter syndrome that crept in with intrusive thoughts like, "What am I even doing?" and "What do I know that I am sharing?" I had set a goal to work for an international company before the end of 2023, but I couldn't achieve that. I didn't get called back for an interview after my summer applications to Google, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan etc. I also said I would work at Paystack, but I don't remember seeing any open applications. The truth is that it sucks. It sucks to feel like certain things are outside your reach, and you can't seem to reach them. At some point, my only contract job was not renewed because of the harsh economic reality, and I started to lose hope. As much as I hate to admit it, this slightly affected my performance in my examinations because it happened when I was writing them, and I couldn't manage the uncertainty. I am grateful for how my support system carried me. However, as I sat to do a review of my 2023, thanks to Moyinoluwa Anoma, ACIPM's template: https://lnkd.in/dqQCxk_s, I realized that so many good things happened to me this year. I had so many beautiful firsts. 🏆 I secured my first full-time product design position, even though it came with an immediate layoff due to startup uncertainties. Thankfully, I secured another about two months later. 🏆 I honed my design skills, witnessing a 7x increase in my monthly income from the year's start. This is indeed a far cry from the frustration of past salary delays. 🏆 I improved my ability to understand product requirements, translating them into effective design decisions. I equally got better at presenting to stakeholders and managing their expectations. 🏆 I worked with four international clients, which exceeded my expectations; I need to find the time to document them and add them to my portfolio. 🏆 I took my health seriously and established a routine at the gym. My highlights were the days I was tired and almost did not show up, but I still did. Next year, we go harder. 🏆 My academic results were the best since my 100-level days, and this is a huge feat for me because I have always wanted to balance being a student, working full-time and volunteering. To be continued in the comment section ✨

"After Getting Laid Off in Tech, Here’s How I Got a New Job in Six Weeks" by Gary Niemen. A super-interesting example of resilience but also a practical guide to the many people impacted these days. Real-life example with many practical tips that someone can be inspired to follow. Recommended read. https://lnkd.in/d8kC3cNF

Hey network!   👨🎨 It feels like yesterday, but it's been a few months since I left HPE last year. Time changes, so did the priorities and that's why I left a great product company. The amazing team I left continues to provide one of the most solid technology foundations found today. I wanted to pursue a different career in sales, services/software and have been finding ways to bridge this with a passion of building micro-services, enhancing data structures and flows and, as everyone else on this planet, exploring the world of AI and ML.   🤖 While I've been busy deep diving into some of the modern tech stack like React, Node.js, the underlying modern infrastructure and making sense of different architectures to effectively deploy elastic services that could potentially be infused with AI, I've also been enjoying the networking part of finding my next challenge. This is what I find to be a natural part of me where I truly enjoy most social contexts. I have been fortunate to earlier have served major companies with consulting capabilities on the broad topic of digital transformation - yes, I guess we still talk about transformation in broad terms, but shouldn't we call it AI transformation going forward.   👨👩👧👧 When moments like this come along you need to make the most out of it and it's not just to gain new knowledge to stay relevant or hunt for jobs, it's about continuing to be a present parent, partner and friend. This also keeps you in healthy routines and you have the opportunity, as I did, to hear words like "the best father ever" - sadly not from my kids but from their school who saw a much more present father.   💡 A word of advice I wish I heard multiple times when seeking new assignments: if it takes more than a couple of months of intros, tests, contract negotiation and close, either you or the counterpart are most likely not that interested or something else doesn't add up. I've been on both sides, and it rarely ends well. I was recently misguided by an intriguing market portfolio and role in a recruitment and spent over two months (closer to four) in a recruitment process with this company while I should have left already after the first delay, there were several... 💪 This career-changing move have left me with newfound purpose and drive to contribute in an organization that is built on the belief of diversity, talent and long-term customer results. I have some really exciting opportunities lined up but felt I had to write this as a closure to the excessively prolonged recruitment process that just ended. Nonetheless I'm always open to network and reconnect with former colleagues and friends! #backtowork #opentowork "When you're stuck you need to dig yourself out"

Someone sent me this article after they read how I got a job at Chase US When I started practicing for interviews the first question on Data Lemur asked me to imagine I was an analyst at Jp Morgan & Chase extracting credit card data. maybe it was just reminding me why I'm doing it. To people who are looking for jobs and to people who lost theirs, hang in there! I know you are going through a challenge that nobody should be going through. Reading layoff news everyday is a nightmare for people with or without jobs. All I can motivate you to do is to believe in yourself and maybe read this if you want tips. This is for people asking me for help and for those I couldn't reply to. Just know I understand you in a way words can't describe. I'm following the same rules and maybe I need to tweak some things. We will walk away from this with patience, resilience and a drive which is invaluable. Maybe it didn't work out because your calling is higher. The only way through is to never doubt yourself and ask for help because you're the best champion you have. Stay Tuned because this job market isn't winning against us! We weren't raised to be quitters. We are the catch! All we gotta explain is why you even deserve to get the chance the right way. Network! Thank you Aditi Somani for this reminder.

"Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" I hear and read that question a lot lately. To be honest, my answer is a resounding YES for many reasons. Four years ago today, I was laid off due to the business effects of COVID-19 on the company I worked for at the time. It was the catalyst that got me unstuck from a career without direction or purpose. Had that not happened, I would not have had the opportunity to reinvent myself as an L&D professional. I wouldn't have connected with all of the amazing people I met between April 2020 and November 2020. My first job after my layoff taught me much about what I want in a career, in an employer, and the working conditions I thrive in. (And oddly enough, finding my next job and being able to put in my notice gave me closure on getting laid off.) In August 2022 I started my second post-layoff job. Working at Cognizant has allowed me to bloom and grow into the professional I am today. I'm so grateful to work remotely for a company like this. They're not perfect (no company is), but it has the foundational principles that create a working environment conducive to how I work and show up at work. None of this would have been possible without my layoff. So, if this has happened to you, please take heart. It will get better. In the meantime, look around and listen to the lessons life is trying to teach you. Your journey will probably not look like mine, but that's okay. Your journey is yours to experience.

I am Lost Ask most Gen Zs and they will say - I am lost, I don’t know what I want in life, I want to do something big, I am miserable, I have no purpose in life. Life was so simple 2 decades ago. Small desires, small aspirations, small dreams and a small set of people around you. I started my corporate career (70+ Hour Week) in 1999 with a salary of INR 9,000 per month and I was super happy. Today, I see kids starting their careers at INR 9,000 per day and yet are miserable. If you do a survey of freshers who want to resign from their job in year 1, I am sure you will be shocked by that number. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan – Brilliant movie on this Gen Z. Wonderful message at the end in the form of New Year Resolutions. They are as follows: Resolution 1: Keep your phones aside and look life in the eye. Life is about living without filters and lenses. Resolution 2: Take it easy and keep it real. It doesn’t take much to be happy. Only when you come close to your truth can people come close to you. Resolution 3: Stop the comparisons. You are one of a kind and you don’t need to be like anyone else. Resolution 4: Be grateful. Say, thank you every day for all that you are blessed with. Resolution 5: Find your tribe. Who needs followers when you have friends?   Make Life Simple Again. "Life is very simple. Sometimes sit by the side of a tree - just feel. By the side of a waterfall - listen. Lie down on the beach and listen to the roar of the ocean, feel the sand, the coolness of it, or look at the stars, and let that silence penetrate you. Or look at the dark night and let that velvety darkness surround you, envelop you, dissolve you."  

Question 1: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 ? Sharing my Journey of the year 2023 (January 2023 to December 2023), which was - Full of tough decisions - Getting out of my comfort zone - Confidence building - Learning & exploring - Got in a renowned MNC - More than 100% salary increase I really feel a huge gratitude to God 🙏 for everything that I get in my life 😇 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 ? At the very start of the year, I resigned from my job profile during the time when lots of people were already getting laid-off because of Market crisis. Honestly, I was also having the mixed feelings, but I knew I had to take this decision for my better future. So, I decided to build myself up, take a break and rewire my mindset. Like everyone, I was getting a few job offers, but at a very low salary hike, almost every recruiter was saying that the market is not right this time, "Everyone has their way of cost cutting, Some were laying off the employees, and the rest were hiring new employees at lower wages." Time passed, and after declining few offers and getting more rejections, I landed into a company with a gap of around 2 months 20 days where I got a better role and better raise. Ohh!! actually the thing that you can't say in the corporate, not VOLDEMORT, but the "CAREER GAP" 😂 Yes, I had this thing, and I embraced it, utilized it to get more knowledge, explored myself, and came back stronger 💪 So, There is nothing to hide anything for an interview, you just have to be confident with your answers and reason. So, I got into new company with new environment, challenges, learnings etc. This went well for months, worked on various projects, handled clients, projects and peers. But, again the so-called, market crisis came and I got unsecured with the future approach of the profile which I was handling. And, I was just 8 months in this job role, so was confused if I have to go to the next step to look for better option, or to leave as is. I again took a decision that I will stand by myself, not wait and watch, and in the search of a better opportunity, I got into HCLTech. And, I will answer the next questions in the next post(s), as this is already long enough for a LinkedIn post. So, Just be yourself, Be confident and Be Open for a better opportunity always. TAKE CARE 💝 Upcoming Questions- 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 ? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 ? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐂𝐋-𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 ? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ? #linkedinjobs #linkedindiscussion #linkedinindia #linkedin #story #amritsundaram #2023year NOTE: Please suggest/help me for my writing skills if anything you do not understand.