Sangita Singh : Believe in Self

JOB PROFILE: Currently working as a chief manager in Secant Technologies, Sangita Singh is a self believer and an achiever. She heads the sales, purchase, and operation functions in the organization which has three sales divisions-retail, corporate, and sub-distribution. "There are separate people handling corporate sales and we are managing more than 50 resellers. The IT solutions team and the support team reports to me and there is cross-functional reporting of the commercial group to me. I daily interact with our vendors and distributors, which include IMIL, RIL, Savex, Neoteric, Compuage, and Rashi," says Singh. She also has a team handling retail in an HP-World and an MBO store.

BACKGROUND: Singh wanted to become a doctor when she was 10 years old. But as education progressed, her interest towards medicine declined and then she did her BA in Political Science, and later her Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications. She says, "I never imagined myself in this technical field of IT. And now, I feel I took the right decision. I have been trained by HP, APPLE, Intel, and Microsoft. I have taken short-term management courses to brush up my management skills."

GETTING INTO IT: After completing her BA in 1999, Singh shifted to Ludhiana from Kolkata along with her family. "Computers were considered to be a very suitable career for women at that time, hence I joined the diploma course in Computer Applications and before I could finish the Diploma, I got a job offer from Secant Technologies," says the elated lady. Singh joined the organization as a back-end executive and her job profile was that of an inside sales coordinator. "In the last 11 years, I have grown as the head of sales and operations of this fast growing IT organization," claims the lady.

CHALLENGES IN WORKING WITH MEN: The head-strong lady agrees that it was difficult in the beginning, but things smoothened out with time. Singh says, "Since I deal with both customers and vendors, I now know how to handle them. Women, now, work in both customer and vendor organizations and sometimes, we get an edge over our men colleagues, because I feel women are more sincere and hardworking than most men. Ethical work and professionalism are desired for any business to grow. Society is now open to working women. My team includes women and we make a good team."

STRENGTHS: Singh claims that sincerity and hard work are the pillars of her success and she feels these have contributed towards her career growth also. "I am a positive thinker. The positive attitude of my father and brothers has been my constant source of inspiration. My team is my strength and our CEO-Paramjit Singh Juneja-has been a constant guide to us," she adds.

ADVICE TO WORKING WOMEN: "Do not give up. Life is what you make it. Work hard and you will succeed," says the confident Singh. She believes that women should be career-oriented and must adopt a career.

 

BALANCING WORK AND LIFE: Singh believes that women have more personal responsibilities than men. "A balance between personal and professional life has to be achieved. My family understands my priorities. Their demands are low. In order to balance, I prioritize my tasks and then I stick to tight schedules, so that I can get more time for my friends and family.  And when I leave office, I normally leave my work behind. My company policies also allow the employees to take time out for their personal life. Holidays with family and a picnic or an outing with family or friends is always welcome."

HOBBIES: Music is the lifeline of this pretty woman. She claims, "My iPod is my best friend. I love singing and dancing." Apart from music, she loves spending time with her best friends and working. She says, "I love my work and I enjoy working."

FUTURE PLANS: Singh is a passionate worker and wants to ride the success wave in the future. She says, "I want to take my company to greater heights. We plan to open some more retail stores in Punjab, either company owned or franchised in the coming times."

Ranjeeta Bhattacharjee (ranjeetab@cybermedia.co.in)