How Kayathri recovered from a terrible tragedy
Kayathri Karuppasamy’s life changed dramatically when her husband passed away suddenly when they were living in the UK. Kayathri had quit her job at HCLTech as a software engineer in 2014 to move to the UK with her husband. It wasn’t easy finding a job in the country at the time. “There are multiple rounds of interviews even for junior roles,” she says.
After two years of job search, she managed to find one, but it wasn’t a technical role.It was also a very basic job – she just had to validate licences of products. But Kayathri continued so that she would not stay idle. It was also an opportunity to learn from colleagues.
A year into the job, she had a baby and she quit her job.
The tragedy struck two years later, in 2019. Kayathri had to return to India. She had to fend for her daughter and herself. With her parents and in-laws helping to take care of the baby, Kayathri was able to start taking online and offline courses in data science and Python.
“For a year, I was just figuring out what to do. At one point, I thought of skilling in testing, but figured the work hours would not be conducive. Testers must work late, which was not an option for me,” says Kayathri.
Kayathri looked for a job as a Mainframe developer, which was her role before moving to the UK. But this was a niche skill, and there weren’t many openings in the market.
Like most people with a break, Kayathri too had trouble finding a job despite her skills. She would clear the technical interview rounds by demonstrating how to write code, but the career gap was a hurdle at all the five firms she applied to.
“HRs would invariably ask me about the gap. They did not view it well,” she says.
During this phase, she even considered studying to sit for a bank job exam, because she felt it would give her time in the evenings to be with her child. But she did not meet the age bar.
The turning point came when she discovered Bounteous’ return-to-work programme. Bounteous is a US-based digital experience consultancy. “Bounteous was the only firm that focused on my technical skills and my seven years of IT experience, and not my four-year break,” Kayathri says.
The Covid pandemic enabled a smooth transition, because she got to work from home for some years. Now, with offices fully open, Kayathri lives in Chennai with her daughter. There is a house help who looks after the child.
Bounteous initially put her on a three-month training course where she learned new technologies along with others who came with career gaps. This period helped her get into a project knowing the work culture and technical requirements.
She advises mothers who want to return to work not to compromise on their requirements while on the job hunt, be it work hours, wanting to work from home, or the role. “Believe in yourself,” she says.
After two years of job search, she managed to find one, but it wasn’t a technical role.It was also a very basic job – she just had to validate licences of products. But Kayathri continued so that she would not stay idle. It was also an opportunity to learn from colleagues.
A year into the job, she had a baby and she quit her job.
The tragedy struck two years later, in 2019. Kayathri had to return to India. She had to fend for her daughter and herself. With her parents and in-laws helping to take care of the baby, Kayathri was able to start taking online and offline courses in data science and Python.
“For a year, I was just figuring out what to do. At one point, I thought of skilling in testing, but figured the work hours would not be conducive. Testers must work late, which was not an option for me,” says Kayathri.
Kayathri looked for a job as a Mainframe developer, which was her role before moving to the UK. But this was a niche skill, and there weren’t many openings in the market.
Like most people with a break, Kayathri too had trouble finding a job despite her skills. She would clear the technical interview rounds by demonstrating how to write code, but the career gap was a hurdle at all the five firms she applied to.
“HRs would invariably ask me about the gap. They did not view it well,” she says.
During this phase, she even considered studying to sit for a bank job exam, because she felt it would give her time in the evenings to be with her child. But she did not meet the age bar.
The turning point came when she discovered Bounteous’ return-to-work programme. Bounteous is a US-based digital experience consultancy. “Bounteous was the only firm that focused on my technical skills and my seven years of IT experience, and not my four-year break,” Kayathri says.
The Covid pandemic enabled a smooth transition, because she got to work from home for some years. Now, with offices fully open, Kayathri lives in Chennai with her daughter. There is a house help who looks after the child.
Bounteous initially put her on a three-month training course where she learned new technologies along with others who came with career gaps. This period helped her get into a project knowing the work culture and technical requirements.
She advises mothers who want to return to work not to compromise on their requirements while on the job hunt, be it work hours, wanting to work from home, or the role. “Believe in yourself,” she says.
