Abinaya’s campus to corporate journey at Freshworks
Abinaya Ramakrishnan’s journey from campus to the corporate world is paved with nervous anticipation, self-exploration, excitement, and a solid ambition to carve her path in the ever-growing software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry.
Finding her feet and learning to grow
I always wanted to work in an environment where I could wake up with a happy face, eager to connect with people who have my back.
As a child, Abinaya always dreamed of being part of the “corporate world.” The fascination started when she accompanied her father to his workplace on a “Bring-your-kids-to work” day.
Almost a decade later, twenty-year-old Abinaya found herself at crossroads—trying to find a career where she could see herself eager to come to work every day. In the final year of her undergraduate degree in information technology (IT), she realized that although she enjoyed IT, she “was more interested in connecting with people and building relationships to help customers than coding.”
After researching various career options, she realized she was naturally drawn to “helping customers with the right solutions.” Luckily, she came across an internship opportunity with Freshworks. After going through company reviews on LinkedIn and employee testimonials on Glassdoor, she realized that “this is where I wanted to work. So I started building my skill sets.” She learned about the SaaS industry and its various segments (B2B, B2C, C2C) and took classes on content, social media, digital marketing, and SEO.
In November 2019, she turned up for her first-ever interview at the Freshworks campus in Chennai for an internship position. “The interview was one of the most challenging days of my life,” reflects Abinaya. She was tested on her communication skills, product and industry knowledge, and eagerness to learn and adapt to new situations. At the end of the day, “When the recruiter finally confirmed my selection, I was so happy!” she says.
Abinaya entered the workforce in high spirits.
As I stepped into the first phase of my career out of college, I was so excited. Everything appealed to me—the beautiful campus, colorful workstations, endless food and beverages, and dedicated break rooms with table tennis, foosball, and whatnot!
After a quick onboarding, she started her training as part of the request for proposal (RFP) team—commonly known as bid management in the industry. The RFP team is part of the larger go-to-market (GTM) organization, which offers a unique value proposition to customers with superior products and resources.
She describes her role in simple words.
As a member of the RFP or bid management team, my primary responsibility was to evaluate customer documentation for the right product to pitch and write detailed RFP documentation for them based on their industry and segment, but I wanted to do it creatively to incorporate a better understanding of the industry and our customer’s unique requirements. My mentors helped me identify the scope of my work and helped me do a better job.
Working with fervor—through uncertainties
“The journey from college to adulthood is a paradigm shift,” says Abinaya.
She recalls that the first weeks of her training felt “daunting.” She elaborates, “I had to learn about our products, complete assigned tasks, and work on my final semester exams—simultaneously!” But as weeks turned into a month, she started easing into her role. “I joined as an intern, became a graduate trainee, and worked my way up as an RFP analyst.” The RFP team was at a nascent stage when she joined. But as the team grew from five to fifteen members, she learned to adapt and grow with the team. “I was also given the opportunity to help build the team, despite being just an intern. This was my major motivation!”
Unfortunately, just about when she found her pace at work, the global pandemic forced employees to work without their teams—remotely and in a somewhat disconnected manner. “It was March 2020, only three months after I joined. At first, I found remote work very difficult.” Not being able to share her thoughts or let off steam with various activities on campus made it hard for her to stay positive.
Luckily, she had her team to fall back on—through the rectangles of Zoom screens. “My team helped me find new ways of working and staying connected. We shared our problems on regular Zoom calls, connected on virtual game nights, enjoyed remote wellness sessions, and found our place again,” she says.
As the pandemic surge started to decline through mass vaccinations and safety protocols, Abinaya says she couldn’t be happier to be back in the office again.
Feeling empowered at work
Abinaya says that the one thing that always surprises people about Freshworks is “the flexibility, the endless supply of free food, goodies, and team outings,” but for her, it’s “the culture of empowerment and community.”
Knowing that my team and the entire organization are invested in my success keeps me going. Starting as an intern, I had very little knowledge of things. But the leadership team at Freshworks empowered me to build mission-critical collaterals to delight our customers. They helped me take charge of collaborating with stakeholders and working on reputed deals. They also awarded me for my efforts. In return, I try to help my team to the fullest of my abilities.
Abinaya calls her campus-to-corporate journey “wholesome, fun, and free of stress.”
In a watercooler chat for ‘A Freshworker’s Life’ series, she offers her own take on feeling F-R-E-S-H at Freshworks.
Keep reading to know more about this brilliant Freshworker.
Interested in working with passionate Freshworkers like Abinaya who have discovered their potential, passion, and purpose at work? Look no further! At Freshworks, we empower people who power businesses, and we are hiring across roles.
