Starting Fresh—Again!

Recap - Last time, I shared how I ended up in a BPO job right after engineering—a path that was equal parts random bus ride and impulse fuelled decision-making. It wasn’t what I’d planned, but it set the stage for what came next.

Welcome to chapter 3

Fast forward to my first job switch: I joined a new company where, somehow, the starting line was the same whether you had a decade of experience or just a year like me. Got hired in Batch 5, I was officially the new “kid” of the team. No beard didn’t help either—my teammates were quick to remind me I looked too young to be in the team. Even after me scoring monthly performance awards on repeat, the “kid” label was almost impossible to shake.

Beards and “Adulting”

So, what do I do? Simple (or maybe dumb): grow a beard. Because in the world of adulting, sometimes a beard is just what you need to level up. I attempted two interview & tests to get promoted to a tech lead level. Rejected. Twice. Reasons? Still a mystery.

It was one of those “Was joining a BPO the right move?” moments. [edit from 2024 - I had got this thought atleast 20 times each year - more details in upcoming posts]

Stay Tuned

Am I learning resilience, or am I just taking beard-growing a bit too seriously? Guess we’ll find out in the next chapter!