Posted: 21 Sep. 2022 5 min. read

Making a return to corporate

Lepakshi’s journey with the Encore program

Lepakshi N is an electronic communications engineer who joined Deloitte US-India offices (USI) as a reporting analyst for the IT Infrastructure team in 2021. This is when she made a comeback to professional life after a five-year break. Here, she shares her story, reminisces the challenges she faced, and relives the wins, with a smile lighting up her face with every plot turn.

 

Embracing the new

I have always been very passionate about working in the IT sector. I worked for three years in my previous job. During this time, I entered a new phase of life, where I got married. As this was a new phase, nurturing my family became my main focus, and so I decided to take a break from my professional life.

As I considered returning to my career, a few doubts cropped up and I definitely felt nervous, seeing as I am from a Telugu-speaking household, I felt I had lost confidence and a fluent grasp of the English language over time. However, the one aspect I was certain of was my passion and willingness to restart my career with confidence. With that in mind, I kept on the lookout for opportunities that would help me fulfill my aspirations.

In my understanding, most organizations in the talent marketplace were accepting of a maximum of three years’ pause in one’s career. However, this did not deter me from my decision to pursue finding opportunities to return to work; instead, I felt this was the nudge I needed toward putting in the effort.

When I got the opportunity to appear for the selection process at Deloitte USI, I did not think twice. After qualifying the four-round process, I got selected for the role that gave me the platform to kickstart my career again.

 

Balancing it all

Having invested myself into developing my career again, I ended up realizing through my experience, how it is not only important to keep your own form of balance between work and family, but also to indulge in activities that can keep you happy and fulfilled.

My well-being breaks include singing sessions and dancing activities, leading to moments that keep me energized, be it for a project at work, or quality time with family.


Lepakshi N

 

Marching forward

My journey at Deloitte has been adventurous, with opportunities that help bring the best out of me. The transition from being a homemaker, a mother, and a caretaker, for five years to being a professional again, has been tough but also fulfilling.

At times, it gets challenging to manage work with two kids. I usually plan my day in advance to ensure that I can do justice to various aspects of my life—being a mother, a professional, and a person.

Multi-tasking is not my forte, but my family is very supportive, which makes my work-life balance an easier ride than I would have managed if I were on my own. Additionally, my coach at work is immensely invested in my professional development and well-being. Having kind and helpful members on the team has also helped me overcome challenges and contributed to the professional I am today.

Ever since I joined USI, I have been appreciated and recognized for my contributions, and I feel valued to be a part of the organization.

The views expressed here are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of her current, former, or future employers or any organization with which she is associated.