Advice From a Winding Career (Interview with Prof. Shiva)
On this page 6 headings
Start here Hotel receptionist. Travel agent. Computer salesman. Lawyer. IT consultant. Nature-inspired design expert. That’s one person’s career. A career doesn’t have to be a straight line, and every turn can teach you something.
Who is Prof. Shiva Subramanian?
| Stage | Role |
|---|---|
| 1 | Front-office assistant at a big hotel (about 1.5 years) |
| 2 | Travel agent (about 2 years) |
| 3 | Selling computers (about 1 year) |
| 4 | Lawyer at the Madras High Court |
| 5 | Senior consultant at TCS |
| 6 | Co-founder of Biomimicry Compass, a company started at IIT Madras |
Biomimicry means copying nature’s clever solutions. If nature faced a problem like yours, find out how nature solved it and use the same idea.
Lesson 1: Don’t regret for too long
His life had many setbacks, and the switch from law to TCS was a big one.
- It’s natural to feel bad after missing a job, a promotion or money.
- Feel it for a while: stay home, watch films, read, meet friends.
- Then get up and start again. Don’t spend years regretting.
Lesson 2: His view on work-life balance
Prof. Shiva says that, when you’re young, you should give your work almost everything. Doing well at work is how you take care of your family.
Lecture example — the house loan He wanted a ₹10 lakh house. The company would lend only ₹3 lakh, and he had ₹2 lakh. Because he had worked hard for three years and everyone liked him, the HR head asked the chairman for ₹5 lakh more, and got it.
Note: this is his personal view, and he says most people disagree. Many experts say very long hours over many years can harm health. Decide your own balance. The lasting lesson is that good, reliable work builds trust, and trust opens doors.
Lesson 3: Do it right when no one is watching
Lecture example — Madhava (from Subroto Bagchi’s book The Professional) Madhava lost his mother as a small child and grew up in a Bangalore hospital. Later he took on a sad job: giving unclaimed bodies a proper burial. Every time, the grave had to be deep enough and the right size. Nobody checked his work. He never cut corners.
A true professional does the job right even when no one is watching. That is integrity.
Lesson 4: Tips for interviews and your first job
In the interview:
- Talk about what you’re good at. Don’t worry about the gaps.
- Employers want problem solvers. Solve a few real problems (a money problem at home, settling a fight between friends) and share one example.
In your first 3–4 years:
- Get involved: picnics, parties, events, training. Volunteer. He always offered to be the master of ceremonies, so everyone knew him.
- Show your talent: singing, dancing, anything. Don’t be shy.
- Help people: he drove colleagues to hospital and stayed with them.
- Own problems. Try to solve them first. If you’re stuck, go to your manager with 2–3 possible solutions, not just the problem.
- Act like an owner (an entrepreneur inside the company).
In one line: Careers twist and turn, so don’t dwell on regrets, do your work honestly even unseen, solve problems, and get involved like an owner. Exam words: biomimicry, don’t over-regret, work-life balance (his view), integrity, “when no one is watching”, problem solver, get involved, take options to your manager, entrepreneur inside the organisation.