The AdNews NGen blog: A Fascinating Journey

I remember standing on my balcony in Bombay one warm and wet June night in 2007. Gazing at the stars and wondering what's next. Wondering how my life will shape out. Being fresh out of university and young and naïve I wanted all the answers to be given to me on a silver platter. I dreamt of the perfect corporate job. Wearing a suit and flying to different parts of the globe every week. I dreamt of money falling into my lap and being a well known name in the corporate world before I was 30.

I was 21 then, and I was about to embark on the most wondrous journey of my life. Coming from a family of wealth and affluence, I never had to lift a single finger until I was 21. I never learnt to wash my clothes, cook my food even tie my own tie. For some reason I decided to give it all up and make my own life half way across the world in Australia. It all sounded very rosy back then. University parties, meeting new people and living my own life. Too bad nothing prepared me for what was to come.

I arrived in Australia with just $600 determined to make it on my own. I immediately found work and started to earn good money. I stayed in a house with a pool in the backyard overlooking the bush and had a wonderful time. Then life decided to bite in the bum. The recession soon hit and I was laid off from work. It was the start of two horrible years which shaped me into who I am today.

For almost 2 years I couldn't find work and was left with no money. After all, who would want to employ an international student? I ended up living on only a $100 a week. I remember my daily food intake would consist off no breakfast, fruits for lunch and a cup of noodles for dinner. I was too proud to ask my parents for money and never told them of what happened to this day. Every time my mum would call, I'd tell her everything was alright and leave it at that.

I started to question myself, started to feel sorry for myself, started to blame everyone and everything around me. But the one thing I never gave up was hope. Too often today I see people who give up too easily when the going gets tough. I remember giving up was not an option for me.

I sent hundreds of resumes each week and got back hundreds of rejections. The one thing I did do during that time was try to learn from my mistakes. Every resume rejected was tweaked. Every interview failed was scrutinised. All this time I still maintained my dream of making it big in the corporate world.

One day, I got an email from my current employer bearing the good news that they wanted to interview me. The interviews went on for over a month but I finally got the job. I finally found a job I love and at a place I felt I belonged.

While I may not be jet-setting across the world just yet I know it's only a matter of time. While I may not be earning the big bucks just now I know it's only a matter of time.

I look back at years gone by and don't regret a single moment of it. It taught me a lot.

To all my readers out there, never give up and never lose hope. When you have your back against the wall, stand up and fight and persevere. If you give up at the drop of a hat, you will never truly win.

It is after all true of what they say. It is darkest just before dawn.

Karan Jaiswal
OMD