Since I first remember, I have been writing – composing poems and short stories were my go to. As I grew up, I discovered the joy of theatre and dance, besides training in Indian classical music as a singer. With time (and age), I discovered the joy there is in volunteering for a strong cause – be it education for girls in India, or working on generating awareness around and advocating for diverse and inclusive workplaces in Denmark through ProWoc and otherwise.

Nearly seven years ago, I moved to Denmark to be with my now-husband, who’s Danish. While the decision to relocate was mutual and practical, I was surprised to be labelled a “love refugee.” It took some time to grasp that this term is commonly used and widely accepted here, though I still find it odd to apply it to someone who made the move by choice.

First impressions of DK: work, School and Social situations
Denmark was very welcoming, mostly due to the family that welcomed me. I was used to hearing about the distant and cold attitudes but my experience was different, although I appreciate that each person’s life experience is different. While studying economics in school and university, I had come across the term “welfare state” and it was a learning experience to see this in action. While it was good to see efficiency and cleanliness in infrastructure, it took me a long time to understand the job market. I heard from people around that as an expat looking for jobs in Communications, you’d need a strong network and get proficient in Danish at the earliest. How could one work through a network when they barely know people beyond their family? Having worked in the UK, USA and Singapore besides India, I was fairly confident that getting a job wouldn’t be an issue – but boy, was I mistaken! I needed help from reframing my CV, understanding the unique requirements of the Danish job market and the culture of communications before I could find myself in a place where I was employed and confident in my career growth. It is worth mentioning that the job market in Denmark is unique in that the approach is far more direct, the CV and the cover letter had to have a certain tone of voice and the interview process also had to be dealt with a different approach. A simple example would be of using a photo on a CV. This was new as it was not a must in the previous attempts outside of Denmark. I was able to benefit from ProWoc’s CV workshop that not only prepared my CV but also helped me frame my experience in a correct manner.

What important choices have you made in your journey so far?

Two key choices stand out. In 2014, I made a choice to take a break from work without having a backup plan. It was necessary as I was close to a burnout, which pivoted me to study and work in the UK and build another muscle of what it takes to survive as an expat student and professional. While doing all this, I was also able to focus my attention on photography, travelling, trying out new experiences in performing and creative arts that truly brought me joy, but I wasn’t able to do while employed. This rejuvenated me before I could get back to working. It was also a moment that made me reflect on how my body and mind are doing and I take the time to check in if something seems amiss or out of sorts.

The second was to move to Denmark amidst a strong career at Microsoft in India. This was more to focus on my personal life which had always taken a backseat until then. I made up my mind to be OK with what this move meant – being unemployed for a short while, not having my close ones around me during trying times, and being exposed to the cold, dark, long Danish winter nights. The challenges and learnings included learning a new language, which I was able to do within a year (completing my Prøve i Dansk 3). I also intentionally engaged myself in understanding the culture by taking an active role in signing up to dance and fitness classes to observe how people conduct themselves. Taking on professional roles and diving in deep to understand and contribute to the much needed work around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was also made possible through this move.

What is your greatest achievement and/or career highlight? Why?

My outlook towards life has always been to let the laurels weigh light and the challenges disappear soon. In other words, don’t let the compliments bloat your ego and don’t let the tough times bring you down. What I am incredibly proud of are the different experiences that I have had the absolute honour to be a part of. While I worked for Dow Corning, I led communications for a pro-bono volunteering project in a village in India, where 10 colleagues from all across the globe came together for a month and shared their expertise whilst taking home transformative learnings. As a student in London, I discovered my skills as a documentary producer and curator. My final project was a documentary titled ‘A day and night in the life of London’s Black Cab driver’.

On moving to Denmark, I found out that my hobby photography was marketable as a service. And so I did many photoshoots for families and others and got paid for it too!

Another highlight was when I joined the ProWoc board as the Director of Communications and Visibility, and worked on creating some inspiring and engaging content. All these show how malleable we are as humans and how much we can accomplish if we don’t let our labels and tags constrain us from trying new things.