Sanjanaa

Life has a funny way of teaching us that the best stories rarely follow a straight line.

Hi, I am Sanjanaa Thiruvadi, and my mad story begins with rejections. I was all set for my Masters in the US - great university, and had the perfect plan. Then boom, my visa got rejected. GOSH, right?

What followed next was a lot of chaos and what I remember was me being on my way to the University of Bath in the UK for a 1 year course. I didn’t know this "Plan B" would turn into one of the maddest, most growth-intensive chapters of my life.

Just when I thought I had it figured out, landing a dream job with a Big Four firm before I graduated - life threw another curveball. The offer letter had a start date a year away, and six months in, visa rules changed. Offer revoked.

It was painful, to put it decently. If there's one thing I learned (the hard way), it's that silver today is worth more than diamonds tomorrow. Time truly is King in this mad journey!

Being from a middle-class family with student loans, I couldn't just focus on studies and job hunting. I did some questionable part-time jobs before finally landing a stable retail position.

The academic part was manageable, but cracking the job market was the challenge. The gap between my understanding and reality was massive, and every rejection email (there were many!) made me question everything.

Then came Unimad. Their CV builder saved me from Word formatting nightmares, and I used their Value Proposition Document for cold emailing recruiters. Getting candid feedback from Shaki was exactly what I needed. I soon realised everyone's job search journey is unique - copying others' strategies just didn't work for me.

From September 2022 to September 2024, my journey has been more about rejections than success, more about falling down than standing tall. But that ONE job offer made it all worth it. Now I'm here in London, with a 9-5 I can proudly call my own (though I still gotta get that visa sponsored, boys!).

To everyone out there on their own mad journey: start early, stay consistent through the rejections, and expect volatility. And please, take care of yourself - physically and mentally. Stay hydrated, hit the gym, and never underestimate the power of a self-care Sunday with friends.

If I had to start it all over, I’d jump on those part-time applications the moment you land in the UK, first dibs on initial vacancies can be a super helpful.