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Siddharth Sharma

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Siddharth Sharma

Assistant Manager - International Relations

Manipal Global Education Services

Siddharth Sharma is a member of:

My strongest Skill

Team player, Energetic, Data driven, adaptable, receptive

My achievement

Most Valuable achievement: well there is no single one. Any task that is successfully done felt like an achievement and any failures even a bigger achievement. One thing, that I feel is a decent achievement, is adapting to and learning the ropes of various domains during my career in Information Technology and then adapting those leanings to the education sector.

Views about 'Tech product Introduction is weak among Indians'

Not a very easy question. It has a lot to do with the mindset and the support given to young entrepreneurial mind. In India, if someone wants to quit their job and start a company, they are looked at with weird eyes. Firstly we have to build that attitude from school.
Secondly, in a simplistic way,product companies require innovation and innovation requires time and money. Shareholders and investors need to understand this and let companies have their breathing space for the same.
Thirdly, innovation can happen at any level, thus building the required infrastructure for fostering the same needs to build in.

Family Background

My father, who is my role model for the professional world, has a hobby of studying. He's studied law, homeopathy, finance, banking and recently at the age of 67ish he cleared Company Secretary and is currently pursuing Corporate Governance.
My mother, is the epitome of networking and relationship building. With three masters in her kitty, she never had the opportunity to work in the old days of India, but still kept her skills updated and used to teach kids till a few years back.

Making job easier

According to me there is only thing that helps you make your job easier. Start loving it. If you don't love your job find a job that you love.
What I would tell the graduates who are at the start of the careers is the fact that, if possible and applicable, the following principles may be adopted
Learn something new everyday
Understand your company
Your boss is your client
Work hard or smart but work!

Challenges faced in job

The challenges are everyday. Improving on previous works, exploration of new avenues. I get to learn something new on the job everyday. This adds value. When one adds value to herself/himself, the company is definitely benefited. When one benefits the company, one is basically adding more value to the company and hence is helping one's own future.

Goals and Ambitions

There's a good quote that I am reminded of "Yard by Yard life is hard, inch by inch life's a cinch." I do not mean to say goal setting is bad or flawed but even when you have a plan there are various unknowns in the sphere of business or personal gamut that can have a major impact.
Broadly speaking, my goal is to lead a marketing team in the next five years and my ambition is to be a more experienced 'marketeer' by the end of it.

My advice

Well it varies from person to person but on a general level
1. Be ready to unlearn old fundamentals
2. Apply whatever you have seen in your previous organization
3. Understand the flow of business and cash
4. Map your role, understand from your manager what is expected and the path to be fulfilled
5. Start loving your job

My role model

My role model would be Madan Padaki. He was my manager at Manipal. His energy and his oratory skills are just out of this world. He had the talent to make a dead subject come to life and make it interesting. His analysis of data and insights were just brilliant.
His work ethos is just top of the world.
And that's why he inspires me.

Books recommended

1. Goal
2. The Tipping Point
3. From good to great
4. The Chasm
5. The Monk who sold his Ferrari
6. Who moved my Cheese

Current Trends

Trends that will change the education domain
Firstly online education: Availability and access will define this trend's success
Secondly will be the foreign exposure a student will get during his tenure as a student
Thirdly convergence: Most branches now are taught in silos; what we are seeing is breaking of these silos and creation of new programs which combine arts, science, technology, engineering and maths.

My important career decision

The most important career decisions
Never say no to an opportunity. You might fail but you'll learn something.
Switched from a technology role to a pre-sales role. At that time even my manager's manager asked me to think twice but I side yes. Though it was at the bottom of the management ladder; it gave me good insight into management and helped me decide on higher studies.
Switch over domains
I switched from core development to management in IT and to the education sector. I believe I have learnt a lot more about the way management works and businesses work

Being different

Although technically I am no more an engineer, but being an engineer is something of pride. Yes, you are not saving lives or crunching numbers. But engineers build the world of tomorrow. Engineers are those select few people that are able to apply scientific minds to any problems and come with logical conclusions and not gut feeling

Managing professional as well as personal life

Well that's a tough one. At the beginning of your career work hard, get a good reputation and make sure people around and especially your boss knows you work earnestly. Also make sure that you are at home on time whenever it is possible. Work till an acceptable limit and some days stretch till you can. But do not take work home everyday, even if it means sacrificing some of the good will you might have.
Secondly I am at 90% of the home functions, and I try to keep that up.

Company and job profile

Marketing enthusiast, cricket lover and data driven person. I have a total experience of 54 months across strategy, international partnerships,pre-sales and application development, My current job is in the education sector (Manipal Global Education Services) in the realm of Business Development. I am responsible for managing and forging new international relationships for my organization and the respective Universities. My work also involves competition mapping and market research.