Employee Stories

Vijaya Shanthi

A fast career trajectory

It might have taken six years from finishing her engineering degree to starting her career, but once Vijaya Shanthi got going, there was no stopping her.

I come from an orthodox Indian family, born and raised in Vizag, South India. Although a bit unusual for my generation girls, I was married when I turned 18 to the son of a childhood family friend as both the families decided we were perfect for each other (and our matching horoscopes were an extra push!). However, I laid down a condition that I would stay at my mom’s for the next three years to finish my degree in Engineering.

Luckily, both sides of the family realised the importance of my studies and encouraged me in every single way, instead of pushing me to move to Singapore to live with my husband. Of course, the next three years were spent juggling between my duties as a student, wife and a dutiful daughter-in-law! It wasn’t easy…

In the final year of my degree, I got pregnant with my first son, Tej. He was born just before my final exams, but I still managed to score a distinction! All those late nights of studying paid off indeed. After completing my degree, I moved to Singapore where we had our second son, Anuj a couple of years later.  Having two toddlers kept me on my toes all day long and while my classmates were busy pursuing their Masters or handling new jobs, I was busy changing diapers. Of course, I consciously chose to be a stay-at-home mom so that I could be there for both my sons in the first few years of their lives. Needless to say, my career needed to wait a little longer.

After a few years in Singapore and USA subsequently, we decided it was time to move back to India so that I could pursue my career back in my home country. My boys were now at school and I realised this was my time. I applied for a junior role as a technical writer at the Innovation Lab in Scope International, Chennai. It was intimidating indeed because I hadn’t done anything for myself since my studies, so I felt I had a lot to prove.

Fast forward sixteen years, and I’ve enjoyed so many different opportunities to make up for the lost time. I’ve found there are always open doors available to you and I’ve raised my profile with senior management several times, which is a great reflection on the culture within the organisation. Spurred on by my time blogging in California, I had specialised in communications, employee engagement and business planning within the T&O world.

And after almost 12 years in corporate communications, I found myself in the fast-paced world of Cybersecurity, leading the space in Cyber Risk Culture as Behavioural Insights Lead – where I am responsible for a Bank-wide metric that was developed to improve management of human risks through data-driven insights. It’s a very exciting space and has given me the opportunity to learn and grow in the world of cyber!

Needless to say, I’ve found there are always open doors available to you if you are ready to explore and learn, which is a great reflection on the culture within the organisation. And yes, I’ve enjoyed so many different opportunities to make up for lost time that I can’t thank this organisation enough.

I’m proof that if you’re brave and hang on to your dreams, it doesn’t matter when you start your career.  All that matters is what you put into it.

Vijaya Shanthi

Lead Behavioural Insights – Cyber Risk Culture, Information And Cyber Security