I quit my job post marriage to embrace new responsibilities. A virtual internship helped me get back on my feet.
About the Author: Kamakshi Pareek is a homemaker who left her highly rewarding job after marriage. She shares how a virtual internship helped her regain her independence.
After doing various live stage shows and modelling assignments, I joined Genpact as a process associate in an insurance process that dealt with the renewal of Fortune 500 companies. Within 2 years, I got promoted to process developer. To further my career prospects, I quit my job there and joined Iyogi as a renewal executive. I worked there for a year and a half and then joined TCS as a subject matter expert for a medical company. There, I was responsible for giving a rebate to high-end clients. This was an independent and self-sufficient me who was flying higher each day.
Then came the time to get married. I took a break from my job and entered a whole new world of responsibilities. We had a joint family at my husband’s place. Soon, I gave birth to a child and another member entered our family. Playing the roles of a daughter-in-law, a wife, and a mother, I got busier with each passing day. For four years, I couldn’t even think of returning to the workforce. Time passed by, and I grew restless. The thought of getting back to work kept crossing my mind. Even though I couldn’t get any time for myself in these years, I felt guilt within. Money was never a concern; it was the regret of not being self-dependent that haunted me.
While I was struggling to make peace with my situation, my husband introduced me to Internshala. We discussed it, but I couldn’t gather the courage to apply for internships and go out to work leaving my kid behind. However, the desire to have my own identity swelled up, and I registered on Internshala. I couldn’t go for the internships that resonated with my profile, international operations, as working from home wouldn’t have been feasible. So I applied to virtual internships in human resources as the profile had always piqued my interest and during my initial days at Genpact, I had worked as an HR catalyst too. I applied to organizations like Buyers Go Happy, Catalyst, and Integer Innovation. I faced a lot of rejections and could feel my hopes of restarting my career being shattered. After a couple of months, I applied to another internship at Zenfinet Solutions and to my surprise, this time I got a call back from them regarding a telephonic interview. I was asked about my educational background, reasons for quitting my job, my hobbies and interests, etc. My heart pounded as I heard the interviewer say, ‘We will let you know’. I had been quite desperate to get this opportunity and my wait finally got over when Ben Mukherjee, the CEO of the company, contacted me for another interview. He showed faith in me and hired me as an HR consultant.
Ecstatic as I was, I joined the organization. Now, I am working for a company and looking after my family simultaneously. Initially, it took a great deal of patience and hard work to manage both but once I was settled in the routine, it became easy. The best part of this virtual internship is the flexibility it offers me. I manage my schedule according to my own preferences. For example, many times I work when my son is asleep or busy playing, thereby making sure that my family’s needs are not compromised. Thank you, Internshala and Ben, for giving me this opportunity to regain my confidence and self-dependency.
Does your career break haunt you too? Do you also want to create your own identity? Apply to these internships for women and begin your journey for independence.
