Episode Highlights:
- From Survival Job to Success: Pankhudi shares her experience of starting with a survival job in a new country and how she turned it into a stepping stone for her career.
- The Power of Networking: Learn how Pankhudi leveraged the power of networking to find mentors, opportunities, and valuable connections.
- Overcoming Obstacles: Discover how Pankhudi overcame obstacles, including cultural differences and professional challenges, to reach where she is today.
- The Importance of Seeking Mentorship: Understand why mentorship played a crucial role in Pankhudi’s journey and how to approach potential mentors effectively.
- Contribution and Gratitude: Pankhudi’s philosophy of contributing to Canada and how it can lead to a fulfilling and successful life.
Key Takeaways:
- Start Early and Network with Purpose: If you’re a newcomer, begin networking early and do it with a clear purpose in mind. Networking can open doors to opportunities you might not have imagined.
- Be Proactive in Seeking Mentorship: Don’t be afraid to approach potential mentors and ask for guidance. Acknowledge your struggles, but also show that you’re willing to put in the effort to learn and grow.
- Use Survival Jobs as Stepping Stones: Survival jobs might not be glamorous, but they can be crucial stepping stones to your desired career. See them as opportunities to gain Canadian experience and make valuable connections.
- Contribute to Canada: Instead of dwelling on challenges, contribute to the community and country that has welcomed you. Your positive attitude and contributions can lead to a more successful and fulfilling life.
- Conclusion: Pankhudi Singh’s journey from a newcomer to a successful professional in Canada is an inspiration to us all. Her story reminds us that with resilience, networking, mentorship, and a willingness to contribute, newcomers can thrive in their new home. We hope you found this episode insightful and motivating.
Where to find Pankhudi
Where to find Miguel
In this episode, we cover:
01:50 – Background and Decision to Move to Canada
05:54 – Challenges and Reality of Postgraduate Life in Canada
08:31 – Networking and Building Connections
12:31 – Mentoring and Networking
13:16 – Approaching Mentors
14:37 – Personal Growth and Networking
16:23 – AHA Moments
19:23 – Providing Value in Networking
22:19 – Balancing Mental Health and Success
26:53 – Advice for Newcomers in Canada
32:25 – Start Early, Network with Purpose
36:25 – Gratitude and Acknowledgment
AI-generated Transcript (Click here)
00:00
Miguel Abascal
Welcome to the Newcomers ON FIRE! show. Today, we’re diving into a truly inspiring journey that’s all about finding your way in a new place and making things happen. Our special guest is Pankhudi and her story is a powerful reminder that with determination and a little bit of help, you can overcome any challenges. She’s the kind of person that never gives up, no matter what. Moving to Canada from India to pursue her business degree was a big step. And even though she graduated from a top university, her road wasn’t that smooth. Pankhudi faced some tough moments, like realizing she needed to step out and connect with people to land her dream job. Networking turned out to be her secret weapon. Through school events and reaching out to managers before job openings even appeared, she made things happen. Pankhudi’s journey teaches us that a little bit of networking, a sprinkle of mentorship, and a dash of self-improvement can lead to something amazing.
01:02
Miguel Abascal
We also talk about the importance of speaking up and setting up boundaries. Pankhudi’s journey shows us how not speaking up can affect our happiness and well being. So get ready to be inspired by Pankhudi’s incredible story of courage, learning, and the magic of connecting with others.
01:20
Intro/Outro
Welcome to the Newcomers ON FIRE! show with your host, Miguel Abascal. Listen to people like you sharing their journeys, struggles, and their breakthroughs. Be ready to be inspired to take control of your time, career, finances, and future. Fulfill your potential, become the person you’re meant to be and make your dreams a reality.
01:50
Miguel Abascal
Welcome. I’m so excited to be here with Pan. This is amazing. I think she has an incredible story and yeah. So, Pan, tell us more about yourself.
02:01
Pankhudi Singh
Well, thank you for having me here, Miguel. I will share my story and a little bit about myself. My name is Pankhudi Singh. I’m originally from India. I came to Canada in 2017 to pursue my business degree from Rotman School of Management. So I finished my degree and I had interned with Toronto Police at that time, and I started working with TPS. Since then, I’ve been with them. And a few things about myself and why I’m doing this is that I’m an empath. I think my EQ is my superpower. And many people helped me with my journey. Coming to Canada with work and everything else, even studying for MBA, program, giving, GMAT, there were people helping me throughout the process, and I want to do the same. I want to pay it forward, and this is why I am here. Second thing that makes Pankuri is that I love to learn.
03:07
Pankhudi Singh
Sometimes people come to me and be like, hey, do you have answer for this? And I tell them that I don’t know how to do it right now, but give me a day or two and I will learn it, and I’ll tell you the answer how to do this. So that’s me. I learned English pretty late, after I was like 18. I didn’t go top tier school or anything, but I always made sure that I surround myself with people who inspire me. And I made sure that I tell them that I want to learn, I want to better, and I want to learn from them. And people really appreciated that. They helped me get there. So this is me here, learning as much as I want.
03:48
Miguel Abascal
What a journey. It’s incredible. Thank you so much for sharing. Definitely. Let’s break it down step by step. So you decided to come to Canada, you went to school. Tell us more. How did you feel when you made that decision?
04:03
Pankhudi Singh
When I made the decision or now.
04:06
Miguel Abascal
About when you made a decision? Yeah, exactly. When you made a decision, when you did it. And now that you’re here, what happened?
04:16
Pankhudi Singh
I think I decided I had my bachelor’s and master’s from India. I think I was in my bachelor’s degree when I had decided that I want to leave India due to different things. Patriarchy, caste system, social hierarchy and corruption, many things in together. And I was like, I want to go west. And that’s when I decided that, okay, I will do the things that are required to get outside India. I didn’t know where I want to go. I think it was 2013 when I started researching that. Which are the countries with good MBA programs and what are the benefits, where is it easy to immigrate? So Donald Trump came, I think, 2015. So I was like, I’m not going to US, that’s for sure. So Australia, Canada and UK were choices. Yes. But Immigrating to UK and Australia permanently was getting harder and harder. So I decided on Canada like that.
05:23
Pankhudi Singh
And I gave my IELTS, I gave my GMAT. I was working with Visa as a systems analyst when I started applying. And my friend was helping me with the concepts and everything. And I applied to rotman. I applied to a few other schools. Rotman was the first one that responded. And I got some scholarship as well. And I came here. Looking back sorry, go ahead.
05:54
Miguel Abascal
No, that’s incredible. And we’re so happy that you decided for Canada. Definitely. Having you here, it’s helping us a lot, and you’re going to help a lot of people with your story. But definitely, what a journey. So now that you are here, is everything went according to plan?
06:13
Pankhudi Singh
No. Oh, no. No. I had this vision that Canada will solve all my problem for myself. And I was like, I’m paying this exorbitant fee to this MBA school. I felt entitled that they would do my work for me. So when I came here, they asked me to write a resume and cover letter and cater it to different schools and network. I was baffled. I was confused at why I have to do all this work. I paid you the fee. Now you’re supposed to do the work for me, right? No, you are supposed to do the work. We are here to guide you. We are not here to do your work for you. So I think it took some time and I was struggling. I got diagnosed with ADHD, I think, in my second year, because I could not manage both studies and networking. So it was hard, but I’m glad that it was hard because now I know what I know based on those hardships.
07:25
Pankhudi Singh
So I understand the importance of networking. I understand that I should have done some work before I came here, be it communication skill, be it presentation skill, excel, and other technical skills, so that I would have more time when I came here. So those things now I know I should have started networking before I landed here.
07:47
Miguel Abascal
That’s okay. What is incredible is, to your point, you went to the best school in business in Toronto. And even though you are in the best school in business, because in Mexico, and I’m pretty sure india, when you go to a private school like that, it’s like you are set up for life. You are good. Everything happens for you and to you. But here, it’s like, hey, great that you are doing an MBA. It’s like, good luck, try to find your own job.
08:12
Pankhudi Singh
Yes.
08:14
Miguel Abascal
So now that you know that you should have done a little bit more of networking and that you should have prepared more, tell us more about that. What kind of networking was the one that worked or what was the discovery that you were looking for?
08:31
Pankhudi Singh
So, I think what worked for me, the first connection that I got for Toronto police was through networking event in school. So I’m lucky that I got that connection through school. So Toronto police came for a strategy intern position at Rotman. And I talked to the manager, I talked to one of the deputies who’s now in Ireland. So I connected through them. And because back home, I come from a policing family, so I think that clicked. I was like, policing is very corrupt india. I never thought of getting into that india. And I was walking one day randomly near Young Street, and I saw the building, and I thought that it would be interesting to work here. And it was just the thought. And when the position came, I was like, okay, I’m going to apply. And I applied. The interview went great, and I did that position.
09:32
Pankhudi Singh
And when I graduated, I reached out to my manager again, and he made the connection with the manager for budget and finance. And then she had a temporary position. And she said, why don’t you come and see how it worked out? My first manager didn’t have any positions open for me, but he made that connection and he saw my work ethic and he was impressed or he felt confident to do that for me.
10:01
Miguel Abascal
That’s amazing. So the secret here is like building strong connections where people know you, like you and trust you. And because of that you were able to just break through and have that moment in library and say like, wow, I made it because I’m pretty sure you were having this admin job which was temporal. But now the shift, they change.
10:24
Pankhudi Singh
I believe that networking has to be an active thing as well. It cannot be passive that you just make connections, connections after connections and you do nothing about it. So when I did my admin after budget, I wanted to get permanent. So I applied for this admin position which was permanent and a lot of uncertainties back home. So I took this, which gave me peace of mind and from there I started talking to people and I started researching, where do I want to go next? I didn’t want to go in finance or budget again. So this position looked interesting. Knowing about hate crimes and extremism, this looked interesting. So I reached out to the manager months in advance before any position was there, that, hey, I am interested in coming to this team in future. What are the things that I can do to make my chances better?
11:16
Pankhudi Singh
And he gave me a few pointers. I started doing courses, I started talking to different people and everyone would give me pointers that you can do this, you can do that. And when I applied, I had made connections from three different channels and everyone knew me. Everyone was asking that, hey, this girl is really good, I work with her, she’s really dedicated, she has MBA and she would be really good for this. So it has to be an active thing.
11:46
Miguel Abascal
That’s incredible. So just like to unpack it, first of all, you reach out proactively to say like, this is the area that I want to work and then after that it’s like, what can I do to improve my chances? So that’s a great, very powerful question. And then they started to coach you, but at the same time you became number one in the radar to say like, hey, whenever there is an opportunity, this girl, she’s rocking, she’s really good, you should bring it to the team and then that’s pretty much what happens. Wow, super good. Yeah. Tell us more. Now you’re working on your dream job.
12:25
Pankhudi Singh
Networking comes with a bit of stalking skill as well.
12:31
Miguel Abascal
Yes.
12:31
Pankhudi Singh
I feel bad about using this negative word, but like I said in my first point, that I’m someone who surrounds myself with people who inspire me and are there where I want to get to. So looking at their journey kind of helps to figure out what are the steps that you can take. And there are six degrees of separation between everyone on Earth. So trying to find out how can you get them to mentor you or how you can find someone who has a role close enough and then get that mentorship and start being very proactive, start being very active in your networking efforts and then your learning efforts to get to where you want to be.
13:16
Miguel Abascal
That’s amazing. So, for example, how did you approach people to ask for them to be your mentor? Is there any specific that you do or is like you try to find value first?
13:26
Pankhudi Singh
So I mostly found mentors through work and through education. In my MBA, I found some mentors and I am very upfront about, I am struggling in this field. People don’t see your struggle and they think that everything is fine. But when you talk to someone on human level that this is the area that I want to improve on and I don’t know anything about it or I know little bit about it based on my research, but what can you tell me more? So acknowledge your struggles, but do your work as well. When you’re finding mentors and then keep them engaged, it has to be you have to book calls with them every now and then to say that you gave me these pointers, now I’m here, what’s next? Or after every coffee chat? Professor Anne told me that you have to ask for feedback after every coffee chat, what can I do better?
14:27
Pankhudi Singh
How can I improve my approach and make sure when you meet them the next time you have implemented those things and then asking for further connection.
14:37
Miguel Abascal
Wow, one person can only and you are so good at networking. Were you always like this or you learned how to be good at networking?
14:49
Pankhudi Singh
No, I was not always like that. But I don’t come from a family that can give me a lot of support or guidance. So I kind of come from a broken family where it was difficult and growing up. So I started to rely on other people for what to do in life, in career. So I think that’s where it comes from, finding family and friends, finding network, professional network. So I think that’s where it comes from in my core. But I don’t think I was always like that when I was growing up. I thought that I’m the big shot and I don’t need to rely on anyone, I can figure it out on my own. As I started growing up, I understood that no, you cannot do everything yourself.
15:47
Miguel Abascal
That makes sense. And I can relate to your story so much. It’s incredible how you have transformed your mess into a good message, your test into a great testimony. So that transformation is incredible and I can see that you are walking that success in a way that how you connect with people, how you engage. And I’ve seen you and it’s like, yeah, I know that of course this is an incredible story of resilience, but also that transformation from a starting as an admin and now doing a great job that the one that you have is like I find it fascinating. So congratulations again.
16:23
Pankhudi Singh
Thank you.
16:24
Miguel Abascal
Is there anyone that any advice from a mentor that resonates with you or that make a shift in your mindset saying like, okay, now I get it. Is there anything a moment, like an AHA moment for you?
16:37
Pankhudi Singh
A lot of things. Like one thing asking for feedback and how to implement it. A lot of times it has also happened that a mentor has given me some advice and I don’t want to do, what do you call it? There is resistance or it’s a difficult thing to do. Like, someone asked me, you know, this person Luki? And I asked him how to figure out what to do next. I have learned everything about this job, what to do next. And he asked me, imagine when you retire, when you look back, what do you want to be in this time? Point in time. And it was such a difficult question for me because my whole life it was all about survival, getting to know where I am. So questions like this stick with me because how difficult it is. But it is important to acknowledge and work on that.
17:47
Pankhudi Singh
And I think that’s where I am here today because I go on tangent. But another mentor said asked me, what is your superpower? And I said my superpower is my EQ But I didn’t know how to connect my superpower and make it meaningful for others. I help people on personal level. So Luki’s question and another mentor’s question got combined. And I was like, okay, I got here with the help of all the people that helped me today. And I want to be that person when I grow up, when I’m at the age 65, 70 that enjoying retirement, I want to look back and see and be like, okay, I help these people. So I think multiple things, it kind of makes sense together. Different advices that I have got.
18:40
Miguel Abascal
You are so right, because sometimes success is like baking a cake. You have ingredients from different people and then you just put them into your oven in terms of like, okay, this is what I’m going to be doing. And then boom, an amazing cake comes out of it. Like something really good that is just for you. So I totally relate to you. Some of those questions are like, they keep you thinking for so long. So, for example, those questions about in the future, going back or what is your eulogy? Or things like that, it’s like, oh, wow, they are very different and they help you a lot. One question that I get a lot from newcomers is like, I don’t know how to follow up. I don’t know how to provide value to my network. How have you done it?
19:23
Pankhudi Singh
I have asked this question to my mentors, I’m sorry. And most of them have responded, paid forward. So that’s what I try to do. When someone reaches out who’s applying to Rotman or any other school, they ask for my honest feedback. Then I give my honest feedback. I don’t hold back. I tell them that it’s not going to be easy. I ask hard questions. What is your reasoning? Sometimes they’re like, oh, it’s the best school. That’s the reason. That’s not a good enough reason. So that’s my philosophy, that be honest, try to give back to the community one day, I hope my mentors, if they need any help from me, they would ask me. But that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to push because I’m very pushy, but I’m trying to create the next generation of people in my workspace as well. I try to find people who are good workers, good work ethic, and they’re quick learners.
20:36
Pankhudi Singh
I try to tell them that, hey, you’ve got to apply to better positions. This job, you did it for so long, you did it good. You have to move up for yourself and for the organization as well, because we need people like you. So I’m trying to do that as well. That’s just my way.
20:56
Miguel Abascal
That makes a lot of sense. And I do relate too, because my mentors were very similar in a way that, hey, I don’t need anything. Just like, to your point, pay it forward and help others. That was kind of like the first advice I got. But something that I learned is that by being yourself, you provide a lot of value. If you are your genuine, authentic self, like, who is happy to go and do X or Y or to do something specific with the mentor or with the people that you connect, I think that creates a lot of value. For example, if your mentor likes golfing or fishing or something, it’s like, hey, you know what, let me treat you. Let’s go and celebrate. Let’s go and do this very specific that you and I, we can connect. Italian restaurants, things like that. So that’s one way to pay it forward and also to pay it back to the mentors.
21:44
Miguel Abascal
Another way is just to be like, hey, I’m really good at Excel, I’m really good at data, I’m really good at this. Anything that I can do to help you, happy to explain, happy to go over, and that creates a lot of really goodwill. That’s incredible. Today you are in a way that is like, hey, you know what? You are doing really great. I’m pretty sure that you are completely busy and working a lot. How do you manage? How do you balance between taking care of your own mental health and also keep rocking, keep doing a lot of things that you do?
22:19
Pankhudi Singh
I do go for therapy. So that’s one, I don’t know the answer for everything. And I acknowledge that I cannot be the best at everything. So I do rely on other people a lot. Work wise. I have two people that are there to help me and other people in office. So I do delegate a lot of work as well. Hate crime wise, we do have detectives, detective constables. So a lot of times when I don’t know the answer, I ask them that, hey, can you look at it and can you tell me, is it a hate crime? Is it not a hate crime? Because I’m not an investigator. So I do ask them to help me with that sort of things. That’s me personally, I like to hang out with friends, help my friends, newcomers. I find newcomers that I can help and help them.
23:16
Pankhudi Singh
That okay, this is how you find a house. This is how you do this is how you do that. This is where you can reach out for free resources. I love finding freebies. If someone tells me that this is what they want to find, I help them. Doing things with friends and family, going for therapy, and I think providing feedback as well. Recently there was some work situation that I was not happy with. And I asked my friends, my mentors what to do and some people advised me not to speak up. And that was against my ethos, that was against my personal values, that if something is not right, you have to let people know, otherwise that sets precedence. So I had to give feedback. And I gave feedback for my own sanity that this is not the right thing to do, you have to change it.
24:20
Pankhudi Singh
But there is a way to say it. I don’t think that I phrase it professionally. And that was the feedback for myself personally, that even though it was necessary to speak up, there is a way to do it professionally. And I think I crossed the line a little bit when I addressed that situation. So acknowledge, if there are situations that are in your control, give feedback. If there are situations that are not in your control, then look at it and see that how this situation can help you in future. This situation, you cannot do anything about it. You can just acknowledge it and move on. So things like that, little things that you do every day that impacts your personal and mental well being.
25:11
Miguel Abascal
What I like about your story is that if you don’t speak up, then on your mental health, your confidence, your self doubt and everything will become louder. Sorry, yeah, I was just saying that when you don’t speak up, your confidence and the inner chat becomes louder. And because of that, then of course that starts creating more noise. That is like, oh, you should have said something. Oh, you know what, they are taking advantage of you or whatever situation it is. But what I love about you speaking up, and I think this is a very good recommendation across, is that you set up the precedents that there is a boundary and they are trespassing that boundary and that is not welcome or that at least you are not happy with that. And then at some point I remember because I also recommend going to therapy. I go to therapy a lot.
25:59
Miguel Abascal
And it’s amazing. It’s amazing because it’s like having a coach on your side saying like hey, you know what, let’s do a checkup on that thought or on that idea. And she told me once it’s like you get what you tolerate. And I remember that I was tolerating so much that created all the things to happen for me. That created the perfect recipe for a perfect storm and then ended up in burnout. But it was because I started accepting and I started putting myself on those situations where I was like okay, I should not speak up. Oh, you know, like there is a saying that the nail that sticks out gets hammered or another one that is the closer you are to the song, you get burned. So it’s like all of these things in my mindset, my cultural background. But another thing that is interesting in Canada is that hey, the squeaky wheel gets the Greeks.
26:53
Miguel Abascal
So you need to speak up, you need to say, you need to challenge. And that’s what is amazing about this country. Is there anything else that what advice would you give to somebody that is just very recent newcomer in Canada working in a survival job, frustrated, angry because things are not working out the way that they thought that they were going to work out and what can they do? What will be your message to them?
27:22
Pankhudi Singh
I think it is very easy to get a negativity bias towards the country, towards the workplace and everything else that Canada has to offer when you are in situation like that. I know that because I was in that situation and I was lucky that at that time I met my husband. So my struggles were not that hard. But still you have to recognize that this country it is a land of immigrants and it is very hard to verify your experience, your education from back home, wherever back home is. So you have to understand the employer’s frustration as well. They want Canadian experience. And Canadian experience is not just you have to work in that field where you want to get to or where you were before. It is that you understand the culture, you understand the work ethics, you understand the people. So you’re not standing out when you’re working with them.
28:22
Pankhudi Singh
So these survival jobs can be important to get where you are and take it at that this is just a stepping stone. This is just the beginning. It does get better. Utilize that job, utilize the people that you meet. Utilize the people. Like you said, Miguel, you met someone in coffee shop and they said that your accent makes their day. So just be kind when you meet people because they don’t know what you’re struggling with and you don’t know what struggles they are facing. And maybe one day you click with someone and they recommend you something that, hey, there is a position. What do you want to do? Sometimes strike a conversation with people in these jobs because everyone has something to offer. Everyone is expert in some field, be it personal level, professional level. So learn from everyone. Strike a conversation. Do not build resentment.
29:21
Pankhudi Singh
And contribute to Canada so that Canada can contribute to your life. If you start with negativity, you get negativity only because you’re thinking negative, negative, and you get consumed by it.
29:38
Miguel Abascal
I love your advice. It’s so powerful. Like, wow, contribute to Canada. Well, you want Canada to contribute to you, we should make that a poster because you’re so right. You are so right in terms of I remember myself. I even remember talking with a mentor saying, like, you know what? This is broken and doing systemic discrimination and racism. And I was like, in a very dark space because I was frustrated. I was looking for a job. I was looking to get into my profession for more like five years and nothing. So super frustrated, very angry. If you meet me back then, I would be like, oh, I don’t want to meet that guy. That guy is quite dark, and he’s like a cloud, a rainy cloud following me. And I remember this mentor just very bluntly told me, miguel, if it’s too tough, go back to your home.
30:26
Miguel Abascal
Go back to your country. And I was like, wow, I don’t know. I needed that. It was like a bucket of cold water. Then when he told me that, it’s like, no, it’s not that bad. It’s like, actually, I’m going to make this work. And thanks to that, I shifted my mindset in a way that is to your point. It’s like, I’m going to focus on the things that I can control. I’m going to focus on the things that are positive. I’m going to be the most energetic, passionate, and amazing person that anyone has ever met. And by being that, you become a magnet. You become somebody that is very attractive. And it’s like, hey, I want to know more about that guy. Why is he so happy all the time? And people used to ask me, it’s like, why are you so happy all the time?
31:09
Miguel Abascal
And it’s like, if only you knew that. I don’t know if I’m going to pay my rent. But it’s like, I’m very happy. I’m very grateful. I’m super like, things like that change, and that creates a really good change in a way that opens the door for you. And also to get to there. And another comment that you said about use the survival job as a stepping stone. You are so right because sorry, I think another comment that you mentioned about. Using the survival job as a stepping stone into the next level. You are so right because even though it’s not the most glamorous job and you might be cleaning toilets or floors, hey, guess what? You are this close. You are one years away from getting that job that you want for getting to the next level. And of course, build up your connection so you can get there faster.
32:04
Miguel Abascal
Okay. So as a final thought, anything else that you think people should pay attention or anything that they should do differently, what would you think it would be.
32:25
Pankhudi Singh
Like? I said that knowing where I am right now. Start early. It’s not all rosy here. It is difficult, but acknowledge your privilege as well. If you are privileged to come to this country, you’re still complaining there would be thousands of other people who would take your place in a heartbeat and do better than you are doing. So I was lucky that I didn’t have to struggle that much. And I acknowledge but I see people who are like, oh, back home is so better. Back home is so good here. People are racist. What makes you think that they are racist? Did they say something racist to you? No, they just didn’t give me the job. What did you do to get that job? Nothing. I applied for that position. Did you change your resume for that position? No. I have one resume. I listed all my experiences.
33:31
Pankhudi Singh
No, you have to do the work. You cannot expect everyone to understand or assume. Do not think that people would know what you’ve done because you wrote five lines on your resume, ten lines on your resume, and assume that they would know everything else. If there is a position that you like, change your resume to cater to that position. Word is better. If you don’t know how to do that, find people that can help you do that and do not stop it when you land that job. Do help someone else because that’s how you continue. That’s how you make things better for yourself and for others.
34:07
Miguel Abascal
I love your advice. Wow. I’m going to make a lot of quotes. I’m going to be big posters putting around me. Because it’s like it’s so true. It is so true. Sometimes we just assume that other people assume and then it’s just like in this circle of assumptions or perceptions, which is like, no, it’s actually different. They are not even thinking about that or about you in that way. So 100%.
34:27
Pankhudi Singh
Yeah.
34:28
Miguel Abascal
And I think just to close this up, I will say what I learned from you is networking. Start early. Number one, start early. But networking with purpose. Be active. Follow up. Ask good questions. Invite people within your journey. It’s okay to be vulnerable. It’s okay to ask for help. There are so many good pieces of advice that you just provided. And also how to follow up, how to ask for mentorship. That’s a really good one. And how to provide value by paying it forward. Just as a last thought, what you mentioned at the end when I was really sad or angry or mad, I remember that by helping others, you forget about your struggle, you forget about your issues because you are helping others and you are serving. You are using your gift for others. And because you do that, it gets paid back like tenfold or 1000 fold.
35:28
Miguel Abascal
So from what I understand from you, it’s like, hey, help others volunteer. Even though you might not get even though you are not in the job that you want by helping others, you just start putting out the seeds for that to happen. Thank you. Thank you so much, Monkuri, because this is an amazing every time I speak with you, it’s like, wow, I learned so much from you just because of your experience. And also I love how you are direct, but also direct in a good sense in a way that is like, oh, wow, I understand. And I feel it in a way. So it’s like, thank you for that because it’s very refreshing sometimes we might not be that direct in our culture, in our Canadian culture, and that takes more time to understand what’s happening. So thank you for that. As a last thought, anyone that you want to thank as a big contributor of your success, who would that be?
36:25
Pankhudi Singh
My mom. My mom. Because no matter how hard things were, and she’s not very educated either, she endured so much so that she could provide me education, stayed in a marriage that was not good, so that I can stand on my feet. And she didn’t know what I should do. So she just said, do something. As long as you’re doing something, I can hold off the marriage proposals and everything. Do something, study or whatever. She sold her jewelry. She used all her funds to send me here. I don’t want kids now because I don’t want to do all this for someone. My mom loves me this much. I want to love myself back. But yeah, my mom is the biggest supporter and now my husband. Every time I get successful in something and I’m like, okay, what’s next? Because that’s the Indian mentality, what’s next?
37:32
Pankhudi Singh
The day I landed this job, I was creating a chart with what should I do next, what should be the salary progression, what should be the career progression. And even people pointed it out in my job that you just got the call. What are you doing? And my husband would be like, we’re going out to celebrate. You’re going to stop now?
37:53
Miguel Abascal
Oh, wow.
37:55
Pankhudi Singh
These two people.
37:56
Miguel Abascal
What an amazing story to have. Exactly. Your mom sounds like a super mom. Like all the moms in this world, they do go above beyond for their children. So that’s incredible, for sure. We should talk with your mom at some point because that story is an amazing story as well. Of like, no matter what, everything on the line for my girl. And your husband also sounds like an amazing partner. That’s amazing. And you’re right. If we don’t celebrate, we don’t teach our brain and our biochemistry that’s what we want more. So by celebrating, we release dopamine and we live. Amazing. And then it’s, hey, we are telling our brain, it’s like, hey, just keep doing more of this because we want more of these drugs. That it feels so good. And that’s just a virtual cycle of you can repeat. So that’s amazing. Well, Pankuri, I had a tremendous time talking with you.
38:46
Miguel Abascal
It’s an incredible journey. I’m pretty sure we’re going to be talking more because you’re going to be just like a rising star of progress and success. So thank you so much for sharing with us all your insights and wisdom and I love everything that you have shared with us. Thank you.
39:02
Pankhudi Singh
Thank you for having me here. And it started and now it’s like a mentor mentee relationship, which is cyclical. I reached out to you for mentorship now. I’m glad that I was able to provide some insights that can help other people. So likewise, it’s always great to talk to you and hear more about your journey. And thank you.
39:25
Miguel Abascal
Thank you so much. Pankhudi, awesome. To your success.
39:30
Pankhudi Singh
To your success as well. To join to Mutual success. Thank you.
39:37
Intro/Outro
We hope you enjoyed this show and that it helps you to find your way or make your way. If you found value, share it with someone who needs it.
39:46
Miguel Abascal
Until next time.
39:48
Intro/Outro
To your success.