Aditi Mahale’s journey at work has moved from Advertising and Marketing to a maternity break and on to entrepreneurship; she has useful pointers for all those who believe it’s extremely difficult to find that elusive work-life balance after marriage.
During her graduation, Aditi did a course in advertising and decided to pursue it as her career. Joining Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA) was the first step in her career as it gave her an opportunity to work with three of India’s leading communications agencies - Mudra, Publicis Ambience and McCann.
After 9 years in the advertising industry, she consciously took a maternity break to spend some quality time with her toddler and reassess her priorities. However, she always kept in touch with her ex-colleagues and the industry. Her networking brought her an opportunity to join the marketing team of Lenovo India in a freelance capacity and she started working from home, eventually becoming the Marketing Manager of the firm a few years later.
When her daughter turned four, she took another break since she felt that the child needed some undivided attention. Now, she is the managing partner of AtomicAds BrandComm since the last 2 years. Let’s hear her story in her own words.
“Thankfully most of the transitions in my life so far have been quite serendipitous and therefore, seamless. Being a homemaker was a conscious choice taken with the intention of getting back once the baby was slightly older and started going to school. Hence I always kept in touch with what was happening in the industry and with my ex-colleagues. I did a few small projects for friends during this time. This made getting back to work that much easier.
When I decided to go back to full-time work, we consulted both sets of parents who graciously agreed to shuttle between their houses and Bangalore (where I live) in alternate 2-3 month stretches and help with the baby. I believe putting the right support and backup system in place and co-opting them reduces the pressure of working.”
On being asked how she finds working from home, she said, “Well, it does help me in achieving a work-life balance. The productivity levels are often higher since there are no external disturbances. Once I start my work day I rarely get up except for the occasional cup of tea and lunch. However, sometimes I do feel an overwhelming burden of self-reliance and a sense of inertia. Being a very people-oriented person, I miss the office buzz and conversations over lunch.”
Having worked for Lenovo (a large firm) as well as for smaller firms, Aditi holds the view that one’s individual contribution may not be recognised as much in a large firm since one is part of a big team.
Aditi also shared her mantra of success for upcoming women entrepreneurs:
Believe in yourself and your idea.
Network with people.
Trust your gut while choosing a project.
Commit yourself to your promised deliveries.
Be confident.
As Aditi’s story clearly shows, taking a career break no longer means you have to let go of your career.
Written by Sonalika Arora