Employee Spotlight : Prathyusha Venkat
In 2014, Prathyusha Venkat joined GrayMatter (GM) as a new hire. This April, she completed ten years with GM. Prathyusha has had varied experiences, starting her career in Java technologies and leading to her present role as a senior technical lead in TCC. She has also won several awards for her excellent work, including the “best fresher” award a year after joining and quarterly awards. She was also nominated for “Best Employee of 2024.” Prathyusha talks about her journey in GM, her views on Ownership, and a few other topics.
My Career: Ten years ago, while focusing on Java Technologies, a hot topic, I faced the challenge of transitioning to SAP front-end analytics, later to ETL Tools, and further on to Power BI. Today, I am proficient in analytics on Microsoft and SAP platforms because I embraced these opportunities. When I got to work on the Winnipeg airport project in Canada, I took it as it helped me understand the entire project implementation life cycle, from requirement gathering to delivery. At the TCC project, I also learned about data modeling, overcoming another hurdle in my career journey
Continuous Learning: Accepting opportunities that come your way is the simplest way to upskill yourself and adapt to the changing world of technology. Learning new skills has increased my confidence and job satisfaction and advanced my career. Some of the skills I learned on my own, seeking the help of experienced colleagues. Training helps you learn faster, but don’t worry if training is unavailable—self-learn from platforms like Udemy.
Don’t shy away—Don’t get scared: Most people avoid taking on new opportunities or ownership because they fear failure, escalation, and termination. If you start worrying about the outcome even before accepting responsibility, your career will never grow. Be confident about yourself and take on the responsibility. If you face any issue, be frank and seek the help of your senior colleagues or manager. They will undoubtedly help you.
Take Ownership: Be bold, take ownership. I have noticed that people take ownership in their personal lives but not at work. To me, taking ownership at work means taking the initiative and responsibility for our growth and the success of our team /company. In my career, I learned several new skills because I took ownership. Taking ownership benefits the company and contributes to personal growth and development.
Work-life balance: This topic has been debated and discussed extensively. Poor work-life balance is also a commonly used excuse for low work output. However, balancing work and personal life entirely depends on us, not the company. I have a two-year-old daughter who needs a lot of attention, but I can’t use that as an excuse to avoid my responsibilities to our customers. “From my experience, we can all have an excellent work-life balance if we learn and practice ‘prioritization.”
We should prioritize our tasks – what can we do in a day, make a list, and stick to it. Sometimes, I list what I am working on and put it on Zoho so my teammates know it. The other thing to remember is, to be frank and tell your team or Manager if any additional work lands on your desk so they know when you can complete it. If you don’t have a priority list, start creating one daily, marking each of your tasks in the order of high and low priority so that you know which one to address first.
What I have learned: My experience has taught me the following, which I am sharing. Hopefully, it will be helpful.
- Please don’t get stuck in one domain or technology, thinking it will make you a specialist. Keep learning new technologies to grow your career faster and enjoy your work.
- If you are dealing with clients directly, present them with alternatives when asked for something to be done within a short time frame.
- Always ask yourself these three questions: Why am I doing this? Where is the client going to use it? And how is it going to help them? If you don’t have an answer, please ask your manager for help and try to understand the client’s business and requirements
before you get involved in the project. If you do this, ownership will come to you automatically.
My message to beginners: Do not hesitate to come forward and take the initiative at work. Failure will happen; it’s expected, so don’t let that scare you. GrayMatter is the best place to learn, so use this opportunity. You are responsible for your career. Pay attention to what you are doing and keep learning to improve yourself. My best wishes to you all.
