Srujana Bhetalam

I think it's a combination of hard work and also finding the right mentors. In the beginning of my career, I found my manager, who was great, who always supported me. That's really important, right? Woman supporting woman. She is like a huge part of my life, and there are a couple of people, a couple of managers, who really supported me and encouraged me, and one of them was like Erica, and another one is Kelly, so they both are the reason where I am today. Along with hard work, I think finding right people is important, because if you're only hardworking and if you don't find the right mentors, you will not see the path forward. You have to advocate for yourself, of course, but then having a backup is always like a boost for your career as well. I was always inspired growing up looking at my father, because he was into the pharmaceutical world as well and owns like a couple of industries, so looking at him, I always wanted to get into the pharma field, help the patients and help the companies. I think all the way through, I was doing what I love the most. That's the reason I've been where I am today.

I think some good advice I got from my colleagues and also from my mentors is, like, when I was in my early 20s, live your life, this age wouldn't come back. I did not understand that, but if I think back, I should have enjoyed my walks, had some fun with my friends back in the day instead of working so hard for my career.

I would say learn as much as possible in the beginning of the careers, and every day, consider it as like a learning opportunity, even when you miss something. Don't be scared of anything. You can achieve anything.

I think growing is, like, right now, with everything going on in the world, I think your opportunities are very limited, especially right now with how the market is and stuff like that, but finding something to do, finding something to learn, I would consider that opportunity right now, so I'm like exploring the certifications. To find the right opportunity, you always have to be open, so right now I'm just like open so that I can find other opportunities, better opportunities to be in a better position eventually in my career. Sometimes you also like you become stagnant, but that's when you have to find the resources to not continue to be there. I don't consider challenges or conflicts first. I try to like understand from the other person's perspective, so that it can be better handled as a group or as a team. Personally, I consider challenge or conflict like something as a learning point. If you ask me, if I think back, I would consider like every day that something comes up as a challenge or a conflict that is not similar to any situation.

For me, being centered and being grounded is really important, no matter what you achieve. I think having a positive attitude about anything is also really important for me, and working with empathy and kindness is like the third one I think every person should have. I think younger generations should make it better than what it is today, definitely.