Finding my way back to and through Infosys

Ajay Mishra joined Infosys back after 2 years being away. Read more to find out his journey and what bought him back.

• What made you gravitate towards Infosys the first time around? How long were you with the company and what was your role??

I graduated in computer science in 2011. Like many, once I had my degree, it was always my dream to join an organization like Infosys.

But given the high standards at Infosys, it took 6 years of work experience to get selected. It was a dream come true when I finally got an offer from Infosys to join their subsidiary called Infosys BPM (BPO) back in 2017. I came with 3 years of experience at TIG, a technology group responsible for managing the IT infrastructure for BPM clients.

I was a part of a growing team, managing all the servers located across the globe for BPM, including infra-related, client specific servers. During that stint, I learned a lot both personally and professionally. It has helped me develop the ability to approach unforeseen challenges in positive new ways.

• How would you describe your first tenure with Infosys? Did the experience meet your expectations?

I am, without a doubt, blessed and lucky to gain exposure to the whole gamut of infra-related server management during my first stint, which is very rare to get in today’s segregated IT world. Initially, our team managed servers for local DCs, and as demand arose, BPM leadership helped us hone and improve our knowledge, earning us the responsibility for managing the entire global server infrastructure.

As it was a complete transition from managing a local DC to managing servers globally, I was empowered to deliver the biggest project of my life in the form of Active Directory Migration (Consolidation), which helped me learn AD in detail, a once in a lifetime opportunity for IT support professionals. With this project, I came closer to the details of project planning, defining deadlines & getting things done in a set timeframe while clearing all roadblocks.

• What led you to take a role with a new organization?

I never wanted to leave Infosys, but it was solely due to my financial liabilities that I had to switch organisations. Needless to say, the new role could not technically match with what I was doing with Infosys.

• When you were with the new organization, did you see Infosys in a new or different light?

I joined the new organisation during Covid-19, so it was a completely new work environment for me. From the time I joined, I missed the work culture at Infosys.

Personally, I missed the opportunity to work on new technical tasks and being involved in preparing the futuristic road maps to manage server infra. And most importantly, I missed the confidence and guidance from my mentors at Infosys which helped me learn & grow from strength to strength.

• What brought you back to Infosys and the Consulting Team in particular? Did any new developments influence you to return?

I returned to Infosys in April 2022 for multiple reasons, each of which played a big role in my decision to come back. I was always missing Infosys while I was away, reminiscing about my first stint. I had kept in touch with many of my old teammates and managers, and their spirit of innovation was something I wanted in my professional life again.

The opportunity came as a Senior Consultant with Infosys Limited this time. As my pervious stint was with Infosys BPM as a Technology Analyst, I joined back as a lead for the VMware infra support team which was a US banking client. And this time, it was a completely new experience. It was also a challenge to me because I would be a part of a project-specific team instead of a core infra team as I was previously.

This gave me the opportunity to work with a US-based client and lead a team managing escalations. Instead of working individually, I now have to think from a team perspective to manage the infra & support the client while incorporating Infosys values of C-life.

• How was your experience of applying and interviewing to return? How has the onboarding and rehire process been for you so far?

This time, the interview experience was fairly easy as I was already aware of the processes at Infosys. The only change this time was that it was all virtual. I had my onboarding done virtually, and the company laptop was delivered to me within 3 days of joining.

The onboarding HR executive provided all the joining forms & details beforehand for a smooth virtual onboarding, something I found truly impressive.

The joining formalities were smooth and I was moved into production once the client ID was created, and I’ve been engaged and deeply involved ever since.

• Do you have any advice for someone considering returning to Infosys?

I don’t say this lightly, that no other organization has so much to offer in terms of learning and development as Infosys does.

In my experience, Infosys was and remains the best company amongst IT service-based organisations in India. Here, if you are willing to take on new challenges and are keen to learn, there is no stopping you from finding your way to the top. The entire world of ever-evolving technologies is always at your fingertips for you to learn, grow, and be ever more relevant in the industry. And that only happens at organisations with legacies like Infosys.