Since the last time I posted, lot of changes happened in my life. I left my previous job because things were getting stagnant, and I wanted a challenge. I decided that the next job I accept would be at an organization that is truly world class, and where I can learn new things. I wouldn’t accept any offers purely based on remuneration, but would look at factors like job satisfaction, work-life balance and the value the job provides for aviation industry. So I applied only to select organizations, where I felt work would be challenging, I would be able to learn as well as contribute. I gave all the interviews my full focus and diligence, I can still remember the feeling of excitement and tension while attending them. The one that I selected would mean relocation from Middle East, where I had spent most of my career. However, life has this habit of jolting us awake when we are sound asleep, and I decided to follow my heart. Though I had got opportunities in the Middle East, and that would have been simpler to manage, I decided it was time for a change. It was a great feeling, having decided to move on to a different place and a different role, still linked to aviation.
I had to face stiff resistance from my family, who always thinks they know what’s best for me, and they know better than me. But this time, I was determined that I will look at the value in the job and where it can take my career to, and so selected the one where the possibilities were enormous.
If I look at my career profile, it is a mix. I started at an aviation technology ot ganization. Spent almost ten years there. Then moved to airlines and spent the next one and a half decade there. Now you understand I am an old man. So be it, however, I now got the opportunity to work for an organization that represents, leads and serves the global airline industry. I really felt that this would give me a 360 degree view of the aviation domain as a whole, from an IT perspective, from an operator perspective, and from a regulator perspective. I leave it to you all to guess where this might be.
Let me share a bit about my job hunt.
First, it was about getting myself prepared. I buckled up and started researching good certifications. Selected four. Got two, two are still in progress. More than the titles, they helped me understand concepts behind Agile product development, and Program management. I had delivered significant transformation programs like Big Data, Refunds Management and RPA, which impacted the whole organization and involved managing senior level stakeholders, their escalations, handling dependencies and various other nuances that are not part of normal project delivery. So I was confident that I had the skills, but needed the exams to attach the abbreviations after the name.
Once I got the certifications, next step was to prepare a good resume and start showing the world my skills. I started learning that its not easy to pen down all you know and all you learnt in 23 plus years, into couple of pages. Nowadays resumes go through automatic reviews by HR bots, and there are specific key words that makes your CV stand out. So I got a good CV created by an agency.
I started researching organizations that I wanted to work with. Since all my experience has been in Aviation Technology, I could only look at airlines and airline technology product companies. I applied to organizations in UK, so I could be near my daughter. I also applied to a couple of places in India since I heard IT is really booming there. If the role was good, location was not a great challenge for me. Since I had a golden visa and also a place of my own in Dubai, I knew I would need to come and go frequently. In this era of mobility and connectivity, it’s not a big deal to hop on to a plane and reach Dubai, from almost anywhere in the world. If the organization also allowed work from home, it would be great. With my daughter in UK and parents in Kerala, this would give me some flexibility to manage family aspects while still fully committed to work. I did apply to some airlines in the Middle East as well. I believe everyone expected me to continue in an airline, since that’s been my area of strength. However, I have never been tied down with constraints in my life, and I believe there’s no fun in thinking along a straight rigid line. I also applied at a dream organization where I have always wanted to work, ever since I started working in the aviation industry. More on that below.
I realized that after applying, there is nothing much I could do. Since I was in a senior role, and the places I applied to may not have such roles readily available, it was a waiting game.
One friend’s contact brought me into a good opportunity, heading country wide IT delivery for a shipping company. I was really keen on that, thought it was a new domain . However, it felt like something I could grow with, and contribute to, and I was really interested. While I was discussing the offer with them, some other offers came and hence this didn’t materialize. However I visited their offices in Chennai, and even came to know that some resources from my last organization were working there. Strange how transportation world is connected.
While applying for a job, especially at this stage in life, we need a strong forgiving and accepting heart. We need to be patient, we need to realize that there are so many applicants and I am one of many. We need to be stoic and heroic about rejections and not rejoice too much about progress as well. I was in touch with a consultant who told me that the next job I get would be through my contacts and not really through him, though he will try. So I reached out to some of my contacts on linked in, but not all. Like I said, I was clear what I wanted.
My friends were always close to me and kept supporting and encouraging me. I dont’ want to take names, they know who they are. They raised my self-belief and made me think that I don’t need to settle for anything equal or less, I can actually aim for something higher. I am forever indebted to them. When I grow in my career and life, it will be because of their unflinching support and I will be there for them always. I salute them.
In July beginning, I went to India. My daughter had finished her first year at college and was awaiting her results. She was trying for an internship at UK which hadn’t worked out so far. Hence, she wanted to intern at some organization in Trivandrum. I took her and my wife to Kerala and we spent some time there. One day, I got the offer from a great Middle East airline. I had given the interviews almost two months ago, and approvals took a long time.
The very next morning, the dream place I had applied at, contacted me and said I was selected! It came out of the blue, when I was least expecting it. Like Maradona’s Hand of God, this truly was my Hand of God. If the airline had got their approvals earlier, I would have joined at least two months earlier. However, due to some reason or the other, the approvals took time, and possibly during that time, God gave approval for my dream to morph into reality.
In this time, my daughter also received her first year results. She was really worried about failing in one subject and had done well in other subjects, but she got good marks in that. So a respectable first year for her. To top it off, she also landed up with a paid internship where she had to create a microservice, learn kotlin (which is similar to java she says). So she earned her salary the last two months, and it was twenty times the salary I got when I joined permanently. I was thinking about how strong the IT sector has grown, and the immense possibilities in the areas of AI and automation. She was working on an AI chat bot.
Of course, this involved moving from Dubai to the cooler and sunnier mountains and meadows of Switzerland. Though one really would need to struggle to find a huge difference between the heat in Dubai and Europe during the summer. The heat wave this time was really difficult. On top of it, there is no air conditioning here. So after I reached here, the nights were a bit difficult but overall I felt excited more than anything. Now weather has settled a bit and I have ventured out quite a bit, learning the community and the roads and facilities. I also took a monthly transport pass so that I can travel around and see places.
Switzerland is where I spent the first few years of my career. So, I am not a stranger though it’s been a while since I stayed here other than as a tourist. I used to visit here often with family, and the sights and even places are quite familiar. However, there is a big difference between being a tourist and working at a place.
The work environment is really pleasant, and the team bonds very well together. I can feel that the working culture is quite different from India and Middle East, with work life balance having a very strong consideration here. The organization also supports work from home, though I prefer working from office, at least till I understand the dynamics and work related nuances.
I rented an apartment and single-handedly moved all the stuff from my temporary accomodation to the new place. Every evening I would take a big suitcase and drag it to cover the fifteen minutes from between the two places. The place soon filled with five suitcases and lot of stuff. On top of it, all my furniture arrived from Dubai two days back. So last couple of days was spent assembling the furniture (the relocation staff did it), storing all the stuff in various places, and cleaning up the place. The rules here are strict when it comes to clearing garbage, and paper needs to go separate, kitchen waste needs to go separate, and bottles, plastic etc separate. I guess this is the level of maturity of a developed nation, when it comes to keeping the environment safe and focusing on the best way of getting rid of waste.
In my office, there is a colleague who is also into photography. Because of that, I revived my instagram page, and uploaded some pictures there for him to take a look at. My instagram id is ba.ab573. However I will upload pictures here as well.
There are a couple of Malayalee colleagues as well. I played badminton with one of them, and two French colleagues. Was nice to see this sport being favoured by Europeans as well. I was aware of Denmark doing well in badminton, wasn’t aware of French or Swiss.
After six weeks of work, I took advantage of a holiday here and made a short trip to Dubai. Since I got the offer and processed travel documents fast, I didn’t get the opportunity to say a proper good bye to my friends. So went there, took them all out and celebrated. They gave me a farewell gift which was awesome and out of this world. I treasure it a lot. I realised that I have made a lot of true friends there, and it’s not easy for me to go away fully away. So I guess I am going to visit Dubai every two months or so. Strong relationships last for a lifetime, and distance cannot break the bond. One of the good things is that some of my friends are now taking Schengen visas and will visit regularly now that they have a good base here. I welcome them with open hands and a happy heart. I am sure it’s good for Switzerland tourism as well 🙂
During the weekends, I walk a lot. There is an old town here, and it’s a blessing for someone like me who loves history. I walk through the old buildings and narrow alleys, thinking of the footsteps that would have passed through the same cobbled stones, and the people who would have lived and grown there. Life has a way of demonstrating to us that we are not really special in this world , and this is one great example. The architecture and strength of design even during the 1700s is astounding. In fact, we carry on from there.
I am able to regularly clock 10000 steps without much effort here. However, in Dubai for me to do that, I had to put in lot of extra effort. It shows how much more we are physically active here, compared to the Middle East. It could also be because I dont have a car yet. But it’s difficult to find parking in most places, so I think even with car, walking is going to be preferred.
There aren’t so many people from my part of the world here. I do miss the Dubai hands and hearts a lot. But life has taken me here, its closer to my daughter’s place, and I am determined to make the best out of it.
Dubai is always close to me, owing to the fact that my thirties and mid fourties were spent there. This is the time when we stabilize our lives, and the relationships we make then tend to last a life time. I have seen it all. Friends who are with me through thick and thin, people who are not sure what they want, people who have left me in times of need, people who have caused difficulties for me. But I have no complaints, and wish everyone a great future ahead. The world is big enough for everyone to live, and if it’s destined, our paths will cross in the future. Our confidence in ourselves is all we need in this life to succeed, though once in a while getting the support of those whom we hold dear is also good.
It’s been two months since I started work. I feel full of passion and energy and the desire to make a significant contribution to the airline industry through my role. God gave me a great opportunity and it’s upto me to make the best out of it. I am confident I will be able to perform at my best. Of course, your prayers are required.
I know my role is challenging, it is to transform the way airlines do financial business, but I equally believe I am now strong enough to face any challenge. I am very clear that God has given me this opportunity, which has allowed me to grow from my previous role whilst giving me an opportunity to lead one of the flagship aviation programs, with the added benefit of being at one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is also close to my daughters university, and having only one child, it’s been my top priority to be near her at least till she moves off with her life and job. At a minimum, it will be an eye-opener for me, working among some of the coolest minds in the airline world.
When my friends read this, I want them to realize that dreams can come true, and not just stay in the realm of fairy tales. I recruited several stars who have unfortunately become complacent and lazy and stopped aiming for the stars. Life is about learning and contributing and developing ourselves personally, professionally and socially. I want my colleagues to reach higher places than me and transform the aviation industry. I know that it took a huge leap of faith and courage for me to get out of my comfort zone and seek opportunities that will help me move forward.
I penned some of these thoughts 36001 feet above Europe, while I was flying to Switzerland. I was thinking about a new beginning, a new world and working with an organization that values my experience and wants to transform the aviation industry. Its an executive role and I am going to be meeting peers and seniors from so many nationalities, and really looking forward to growing within the organization.
Its not easy relocating to a new place and not seeing your friends daily. However, I believe in having a small group of mates who are bound closely by the ties of friendship and not impacted by distance. I might make new friends here, but not at the expense of my existing friends. And because of my close ties to Dubai, I plan to be there at least once every four to six weeks. With such good air connectivity, and places only a good night’s sleep away, life is all about discoveries.
I have also taken my camera and three lenses (one zoom, one macro and a standard one) along with me. I want to explore my new home, take as many pictures as I can, and share them through my blog. I am dreaming of walking daily and cutting down my weight to respectable levels. – wrote this in the plane, and it’s happening folks.
Let me put some pictures so you can enjoy what I enjoy as well.
