biswajeeta rath shares her digital marketing journey
BISWAJEETHA RATH
Growth Partner & Co Editor (Hashtag Magazine)
The scariest thing one has to do is when – they have to talk about themselves.
This is exactly how I felt when Gowardhan asked me –“hey, what If we write our Growth Partner’s story in the magazine?”
Without wasting a second, I said, yes let’s do it. “so let’s start with you.”
I must admit, I hesitated, and then said, “Yes, sure.”
In my five years of experience, the one thing that I’ve learned about building a personal brand is –
You will be asked to talk about yourself, again and again and again.
You JUST have to be okay with it, otherwise, no one else is going to do it for you. – My story is going to be around this.
So, here I am.
With Hashtag #9, telling my unfiltered story, all at once.
If you think you don’t know about me, then buckle up, this is going to be a rocky ride (with a happy ending.)
Who is Biswa?
If you’ve interacted with me in person, I’d like to believe that you’d be having this image: – Biswa is a nerd, talks about marketing and sometimes about the book or the newsletter or something nice she found on the internet.
Recently I discovered that I’m known as the “kindest person in DM,” because I try helping others or at least try to connect the person with the right person who can help them.
I’m okay with being “kind.”
As long as people are coming together-with-purpose.
You see, I’m a community manager and the passion for people goes way back to 2013, when I found I have a knack to become a people person.
Back in 2013, when I was just completing my B.Com.
I figured, with my limited cognizance, that
People person = Human Resources Typical, isn’t it?
Now that I found HR is something I’d like to go with, I tried for TISS.
Didn’t get, obviously.
Got MBA in Ravenshaw, Cuttack (Odisha) and Amity Bangalore, decided to stay in Odisha as my mom wasn’t keeping well.
Being in Ravenshaw gave me ample time to visit her when she needed me.
What happened during MBA?
They say, MBA prepares you for the “corporate life.”
Whoever they are, they are not wrong. If you have done an MBA, you’d be knowing that the first year is typically hectic with weekend classes, classes going on till 09:00 PM etc.
First year being hectic, I turned into a complete nerd and topped my first and second trimester in college.
(I’m particularly very proud of this as this was the reason for mom’s smile back then.)
During the second year, I found out about Digital Marketing.
Digital Marketing fascinated me big time, as you can guess.
In the dorm room, I used to read up the blogs by Sorav Jain and Digital Deepak.
And within a week of getting to know of this, I got two international NGOs to volunteer with.
Afghan Women’s Writing Project (on a hiatus now) and The Arts at Henson Parks (closed now.)
That’s when I actually worked behind the scene of a Facebook page.
The interest for social media grew stronger each day. Now when I look back, I thank myself for keeping that fire alive.
During my MBA I got placed in a financial company as a Regional Manager.
But I left the job (or got fired) in a month.
Reason: I didn’t report in Nashik, within a weekend, from Hyderabad.
I had one day to book my ticket to Nashik, one day to look for accommodation and the same day to prepare for a 15 day trip. All. By. Myself.
This was a policy of that company, the new employees used to undergo rigorous training and arranging these things all by themselves – was a part of their – “preparing me for the job” training.
I was off to a bad start.
That’s when my volunteering experience came as handy and I took up a job in an ad agency in Hyderabad.
I learned a lot in two months, after which I had to come back as my mom was fighting last stage cancer.
I lost my mom the month after that. In four months, I picked myself up. Because NO ONE else is going to do it for you.
Pitched my interest to my family members and one of my cousin brothers patched me up with the Marketing manager of Byju’s.
After a few rounds of interviews, I found myself in Bangalore as a Content Writer for Byju’s CAT exam portal.
What happened next?
Everything went well until 2016, when I left my job in an Ad agency in Bangalore.
I left the job cold turkey.
No back up, nothing.
I found myself in the middle of nowhere.
Thankfully, I used to take up online classes and certifications to upskill myself and understand the basics of processes.
That helped me tremendously during my job search. I picked myself up again.
But this time, with experience and certifications.
I pitched about my experience to everyone, but one person extended his hands to partner up with the IIMB project.
That became a turning point in my life.
In a month, I became the Social media consultant for IIM Bangalore that helped me learn and implement my knowledge on social and content marketing.
Where am I now?
Gleaned all my learning from the past, right now I’m working with really smart people at Sprinklr as a Senior Associate in the Community Management department.
It took me a while to conclude that ·
Your life will not be linear.
If I go back to the person who I was in 2014, the nerd who topped classes, and tell about all my experiences to her – I’m pretty sure she’d be shit scared.
But, this is the reality and no matter what – your journey is never going to be the one you planned.
Be determined. You want something, go get it.
Even if you have to pitch yourself shamelessly again and again, because no one else is going to do it for you.
Start your personal branding early on This is a no-brainer. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to be a person who knows how shit gets done.
Share it with the world. Show that you know stuff. And this brings it to the last one:
NO ONE IS GOING TO DO IT FOR YOU Hope you enjoyed reading my story.
Connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook Also if you liked my journey, share it with someone you care.
Biswajeeta Rath is a community manager at Sprinklr. Biswajeeta is a Content Writer turned, PR executive turned, Social Media Manager turned, Community Manager.
1 thought on “biswajeeta rath shares her digital marketing journey”
That’s really inspiring @Biswajeeta