Added: 15th January 2024 by Cytiva
I came to the USA in 2013, putting my career in India on hold. Raising my two sons became my priority and I invested my time in volunteering activities for local non-profit organisations in my town as an independent writer and publicist.
Fast forward to 2020, I wanted to return to work but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed me. When I looked again for work opportunities, I found Cytiva. My professional background is in journalism and communications, so applying for a role in commercial marketing was a big step into the unknown for me – but I am so glad that I took that step! I joined Cytiva in Jan 2022.
Looking back when I was interviewing for Cytiva, I saw a challenge in learning about the life sciences industry, with a lot of passion. The passion to create value in human life drives me personally. I could see my personal life goals blending with my professional ones.
Cytiva’s vision and mission struck a chord with me, and I saw a path forward. Fortunately, things worked out at the right time. My hiring manager, David Rubin recognised my willingness to learn, drive for growth, collaborative skills, and my readiness for a challenging work.
During my onboarding, I received huge support from David and my mentor, Radhika Jayakar, who helped me understand the organisation and the work that we are doing. My manager’s role has been imperative in helping me align my personal development with my professional goals.
And my mentor has been a strong guiding force in my learning journey. She has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has faced similar challenges of being a woman in business. Working predominantly from home, I relied on my mentor to help me navigate the organisation and manage the balancing act of a full-time employee and working mother with ease.
As a mother returning to work with a big career gap, I recognised Cytiva as a company that was willing to accept diversity of culture, invest in me and to transition my skills to the role. I love what I do because Cytiva embraces me as a working mother with flexible hours whilst offering learning and professional development opportunities.
Attending virtual meetings with industry experts and leadership teams seemed intimidating initially, but with the support of my team and peers, I always felt included. Just three months into my role I was involved in the Enterprise Solution and Automation and Digital Summit for 2022. The purpose of this three-day remote event was to create awareness across our sales and commercial organisation about our current Automation and Digital and Enterprise Solution offerings.
The agenda focused on sharing how we can understand, differentiate, and sell our solutions. What are the challenges customers have with our implementations and how we can best address them? This event brought together 300+ associates including global account executives, account managers, modality specialists, enterprise solution business development managers, product managers, and other stakeholders who benefited from the event.
This project massively fast tracked my learning. In preparation and during the event I was virtually meeting with experienced individuals, seeing the behind-the-scenes work and actively participating in the entire process. In terms of success of the Summit, the attendance stats speak for itself. We wanted the teams to have greater confidence and feel energised after the meetings and the feedback showed just that. The Summit organising team was proud of the event’s success.
ShapeWorking at Cytiva is an empowering experience for me, as each day brings a new challenge. What I love best is that I have the freedom to advance my career, and work in a diverse culture that fosters inclusivity in terms of culture, industry experience, skills and many more.
Working in a respectful environment is important and fulfilling for me. I challenge myself the way I do things and try to continuously improve myself. With no biotech background, I am enjoying my development journey of how a life sciences business like Cytiva works, its products and processes. And I know that somewhere I am playing a crucial part for our customers and their patients.
