My Personality journey to Success

Dear SAP,

It has been a privilege for me to be a part of your transformation journey of innovation and growth.You have not only provided me with a platform to excel professionally but have also helped me shape my career and personal life in more ways than I can express.

As I complete my 5 years of service with SAP, I am proud to receive the Long Service Award. On this milestone year, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to my colleagues, who have been an integral part of this journey.

Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to my family, colleagues, well-wishers, and the people who have supported me through this journey and helped me achieve this significant milestone.

To begin with, I want to acknowledge all the SAP colleagues on this important milestone and accomplishment, for their innovations and contributions to SAP.

The second part of this article comprises my professional journey from other IT industries to SAP...

Disclaimer: This article may be considered lengthy, so to make it easier to navigate, I have divided it into two parts

#Part 1:

Thanking SAP Colleagues :

Over the past 5 years, SAP has become my second home. The work environment and culture encourage employees to go the extra mile and focus on the success of our customers. This has led to my deep commitment to SAP.

The leadership, innovation culture established by SAP leaders, the opportunities, the people, and the experiences have transformed me. I am thankful for every moment I have spent at SAP.

Working at SAP opens many doors and opportunities for career growth. If you're looking for a company dedicated to new ideas, individual growth, and a strong sense of purpose, with a fun, flexible, and inclusive work environment, then SAP is the place for you. The sky's the limit, and you can go above and beyond your role tag.

SAP is committed to diversity and invests in the development of its diverse employees. SAP values the unique competencies and qualities that each person brings to the company.

I am thankful to my managers, Sachin Gupta, Paramita Biswas, and the panel for trusting in my potential and giving me the opportunity to work for SAP."

My first team is Gateway Team in SAP, I want to express my gratitude for being a part of my journey. You were my first team, my first Scrum Master, my first office friends, my first team outbound, my first demo, and my first sprint planning meeting. I learned so much from each of you, and I am proud to have gained some of your qualities.

To @Mary, Divya, and @Arun Bhaskaran Nair, I was inspired by your actions to "learn more and do more". Your knowledge of different technologies, design patterns, and best practices was a great learning experience for me.

@Oyshik Moitra, thank you for giving me a great learning experience during my second technical interview.

@Girimurugan Natarajan, you are a senior in SAP with vast domain knowledge, yet you remain simple and down to earth. You were my product owner in Agile software development, and I learned so much from you.

@Vaidhiyanaathan Lakshminarayanan, I was inspired by how you promote the use of Agile Engineering Practice. I even applied some of the learnings from you when I became a Scrum Master. Thank you for sharing details of my natural strengths during my tenure.

@Paramita Biswas, thank you for being an amazing manager and positive influence. Your thoughtfulness and generosity have empowered and encouraged me to do my best in SAP.

To my first hackathon team, @Ashwin Vijayendra, @Vinayak Adkoli, and @Girimurugan Natarajan, thank you for teaming up with me. It was my first hackathon experience, and I learned a lot about how such events happen in SAP and about brainstorming new innovations.

@Holger Bruchelt, you are an excellent Technical Solution Manager for SAP and Microsoft integration. You are a great influence in a positive way, and your meetings always motivate me to learn more and do more.

@Amit Nigam :"I am thankful to you for sharing an open position at SAP on Facebook,your follow-up enabled me to apply for the position, and I am thankful for the opportunity"

Thanks, Jamini, for reaching out to me as part of the hiring process to work at SAP.

I would like to extend my congratulations to @Nitin Verma, Srimathi, and Vinay Kumar on their 5th work anniversary at SAP. It is wonderful to see that we all started at the same time.

Lastly, I owe a great deal of thanks to my family for their moral support. My dad is the most inspirational person in my life and has taught me valuable life lessons.

Photo courtesy of @Bharali, Kulapradip. Thank you for the wonderful photo capturing genuine emotion. It is a nice gift. My colleague has good photography skills.

I express my gratitude to Shilpa Krishnaswamy for creating a diverse team that fosters an inclusive work environment.

#Professional Expertise, IT Solutions & Innovations Involvements, and Career Development at SAP

During this tenure in SAP, my professional expertise and skillset encompass extensive development and support experience on SAP products such as CPI-OData Adapter, SAP Cloud Platform SDK (CAP), Productivity Integration Hub (PIH), Gateway Productivity Accelerator for Microsoft (GWPAM/GWM), Visit Management System, Territory Planning, and more. I have also showcased flexibility across profiles and technologies, having worked as a Senior Developer, Scrum master, Developer Evangelist, Technical SME, Agile coach, Open Source & Third party expert, Security standard expert for product standards, and Threat Modeling expert.

Flexibility and Innovation:

I have showcased flexibility across profiles and technologies, allowing me to adapt to different roles and projects within SAP. I have also demonstrated innovation by successfully completing one patent application in SAP and participating in Hackathon 2014, 2016, submitting several patents and ideas to SAP.io 2016 and creative IT programs.

Principles:

I believe in and practice Agile development principles, accountability, transparency, empowerment, respect, standing up for the team, embracing differences, and courtesy.

#Vertical and Horizontal Career Development at SAP:

My experience in SAP has allowed me to develop both horizontally and vertically in my career.

Gyan

During this tenure in SAP, I have learned that skills alone are not sufficient to manage talent effectively. To manage the talent life cycle, a consistent, structured, progressive, and unified system is necessary. Competency is made up of three facets: skills, knowledge, and abilities. Employees need to demonstrate the right mix of all three to succeed on the job.

For instance, programming in an IT context is a skill that requires analytical, logical, and interpretive abilities, as well as the technical skill to write code in a specific language. However, underlying the ability to use that skill effectively is a set of competencies, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. Without these underlying competencies, it is virtually impossible to write an effective program, irrespective of the programming language.

Competency affects user productivity, organizational efficiency, and project success. Professional competencies, behavioral competencies (life skills), and technical competencies are all essential to demonstrate.

For example, empowerment leads to increased ownership and accountability, which, in turn, leads to a higher level of success. Accountability is about being committed to working effectively, efficiently, and ethically. The old adage, "two heads are better than one," has been around for over four centuries for a reason. More effective problem-solving happens when resources in talent, experience, finances, and infrastructure are combined. When teams collaborate, they learn new things from each other, which enhances their capacity to go beyond their comfort zones and take your business to new heights.

Besides, life skills play a vital role in enhancing competencies. Mindful self-awareness can be practiced by actively observing yourself when communicating with others. This includes your reactions to verbal and non-verbal forms of communication and the way those reactions influence your responses. This type of awareness also contributes to emotional self-control.

According to theorists, mindfulness cultivates empathy, which is another critical life skill. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, allowing you to work effectively in a diverse team and create an inclusive work environment.

In summary, Competency-based talent management involves identifying, developing, and tracking the underlying knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform job responsibilities effectively. It requires a structured, progressive approach that includes assessing, identifying gaps, and developing individual development plans.

#Essential Competencies for Success in Software Engineering

During this tenure in SAP, I have learned that competencies are essential skills that everyone can (and should) work to improve, regardless of where you are at in your career.

Here are essential Competencies of a Great Software Engineer should possess

Essential Competencies of a Great Software Engineer

Empathy: A Key Social-Emotional Skill

Empathy plays a crucial role in predicting lifelong success, as it helps individuals thrive in school and life. Children who develop empathy can impact their communities in positive ways. Additionally, social intelligence can help in understanding people accurately and predicting their behavior.

Continuous Development is a Journey

Taking charge of your own development is essential in the volatile IT industry. Focusing on competencies throughout your career can keep you working at the top of your game in your current role and prepare you for the skills of tomorrow.

Essential Competencies of a Great Software Engineer

Great software engineers possess essential competencies that have a positive impact on their success. Success depends on hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and love for what you do. Moving among different groups can also boost your chances of career success.

Conclusion

Having wealth is not enough; it is crucial to also have richness in thoughts, happiness, and satisfaction. We should always be grateful for those who positively impact us in our personal and professional lives and aim to be a well-rounded individual.

It is important to acknowledge that even as we become successful and famous, we should never underestimate the kindness bestowed upon us by others. I am grateful to philanthropists and bloggers who share their experiences and knowledge.

I am particularly thankful for my organization, which has provided me with an excellent platform to perform effectively in my daily work. The people I have encountered in my professional and personal life have impacted me positively, making me a better person, and I strive to maintain balance in all aspects of my life.

Too much Gyan

If you're reading the entire article, don't worry, there's no need to rush! :) As promised, this is just the first part, and it may not be as epic as Bahubali since I haven't encountered a Kattappa-like character in my journey

As promised, this is the second part of my blog post where I will share my professional journey from other IT industries till SAP.

Family Background

Let me start with my family background. I was born and brought up in a South Indian village in a middle-class family with a lot of expectations. Being the eldest son with four siblings, I used to mirror my parents' beliefs and attitudes. They taught me many important lessons growing up.

Early Career Struggles

After completing my master's in computer application (M.C.A), I struggled to find job opportunities. If either my college would have had campus placements or I would have found a job off-campus, my journey would have been different. However, the education system for students in India is confusing and based on a very theoretical and traditional approach, which is not an effective way to prepare us for the real world.

Many top tech companies disproportionately hire from top tech colleges, and I was expected to join some company and start earning right after my graduation. However, opportunities were limited, and I was even ready to work without a salary. I was getting interview calls for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), but for me, coding and development were my interests, and I was looking for a career path in a software development company.

Job Search Struggles

Unfortunately, I failed in many final round interviews, including a Software Engineer opening with National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Delhi. I faced a 10-member panel for the first time and was not nervous. The panel had a nice discussion, but a few days later, I learned that I was not selected. Even a few famous Indian multinational companies rejected my applications.

One good thing I did during this time was creating a network when I went to interviews. I used to ask if anyone knew of any job openings, and we would exchange information. However, this did not help me much in getting jobs or openings for software development companies. I always worried that, despite my good academic results, I was unable to find a job, and I felt guilty asking my parents for money to survive.

Skill Development and Startup Experience

To improve my chances, I tried to improve my English speaking skills and spent hours editing my resume, preparing for interviews, and networking. All that hard work finally paid off when I was selected for “Skills program helps underprivileged youth of AP – MR. YS Rajasekhar Reddy, CM of AP,” and through this channel, I got selected for a startup company.

Starting your entrepreneurial journey early on is ideal. I scratched my startup itch early and worked for more than 20 hours a day. Little did I know, working at a small startup software company had its benefits. It was an excellent opportunity to kick-start my career and make a more significant impact. During my tenure there, I learned valuable Microsoft technologies such as ASP.NET, C#, and SQL Server. I also got the chance to work on FullStack mode, meaning I worked on both the front-end and back-end portions of an application, including deployment, testing, and more, also known as DevOps.

Due to my hard work and potential, I was placed at Indian clients to work in the client's location, understand their requirements, and enhance their existing application and create new features. Even with restrictions on public emails and internet use, I was able to deliver beyond the client's expectations and suggested a few other ideas as well.

There is a sentence that “MONEY ISN'T EVERYTHING BUT EVERYTHING NEEDS MONEY”. While money isn't everything, it is still necessary. To leverage my technical skills, I had to sacrifice many pleasures and luxuries that others were enjoying. However, my desire to earn, make my parents happy, and fulfill family responsibilities as the elder son kept me motivated and ambitious. I believe in working hard and maintaining my integrity.

I remained focused on leveraging my technical skills and avoided unethical ways to make money. My hard work, potential, and internal strength have always been my guiding principles.

After clearing the Accenture interview for a Sharepoint developer position for the AON project, I joined Accenture as my next job. The technical panel was impressed with me and spoke highly of me to the hiring staff. Although I wasn't offered a permanent position at Accenture right away due to company policies, I had a proven track record of customer satisfaction and high-quality work.

Working at Accenture was a special experience as a multinational corporation, where I learned a lot about the importance of quality code, design documents, and demos for US clients. I enjoyed my time at Accenture and received many emails of appreciation for my work. My team lead even showed me a career path within the company, which inspired me to think about my own future.

During my time at Accenture, I met the MNC team lead, Rahul, and manager, Deepak. They taught me the importance of focusing on the quality of code, design documents, and demos for US clients. My contribution was outstanding, and I received many appreciation emails for my work.

I have a proven track record of customer satisfaction, high-quality work, accelerated project go-live, and decreased total cost of development (TCD). My customers appreciate my dynamic and innovative approach in guiding them towards the best possible solution. I have worked on various projects with different clients and am skilled in all aspects of the software development life cycle (SDLC) including analysis, design, implementation, deployment, and support.

Later, I joined Infinite Computer Solutions as a permanent employee. Although it was a CMMI Maturity Level 3 company, I was hesitant to join initially due to suggestions from my Accenture colleagues to try for bigger MNC companies. However, I did not receive many calls despite my potential, and Infinite provided an enriching experience. During my Infinite tenure, I teamed up with a few friends to work as a freelancer without affecting Infinite projects or violating company policies. This experience provided good takeaways, and in just one year, I became the best employee of the organization and received awards.

Even my freelancer experience helped me in answering technical questions from my manager in SAP.

Despite facing setbacks, my dreams of a successful career in software engineering were not shattered. After leaving Infinite Computer Solutions in Whitefield and deciding to switch jobs, I was fortunate enough to land a position as a software engineer at SAP Labs, India. It was surprising to me that I would be working for the same company that I used to see while traveling to my previous job. However, due to the heavy traffic conditions in Bangalore and my lack of transportation, I avoided traveling far distances for interviews and was thrilled to have the opportunity to work for SAP Labs.

The Power of Desiring Something from the Heart

?Kehte hain agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaho ... to puri kainaat usse tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai

Believe in yourself and your dreams. As the saying goes, 'if you really desire something from the heart, then the universe has conspired to help you.' Fate and circumstances may sometimes try to change the course of our lives, but with hard work and motivation, nothing can stop us from achieving success.

Sometimes, life can throw unexpected challenges and obstacles in our path, but it's important to stay motivated and not let these setbacks hinder our progress. With hard work and determination, opportunities will come our way.

In my own experience, I strongly desired to brighten my career and professional life, and the universe conspired to help me achieve it. Despite facing challenges such as traffic conditions and limited transportation options, I landed a job at SAP Labs, India as a Software Engineer.

Fate and circumstances can often conspire to change the direction of our lives, but with a strong desire and unwavering determination, we can achieve our dreams and become successful in our chosen paths.

So, keep working hard and be prepared to seize the opportunities that come your way. Thanks for reading. I hope this helps.

Thanks for reading . Hope this help