Story of CA who is a CNBC Journalist
Your life Journey – Sonal Bhutra Maloo
How you grow as a person has to do a lot with your surroundings, the people you spend time with and your family as well. I have stayed in 5 cities in the country. Two small towns, two Tier I cities and right now in a metro, Mumbai. So I have seen a lot of changes, met too many people and learnt a lot.
I have always been an active kid. From studies to extracurricular to society events, I liked to be everywhere and participate. My parents were very supportive as well. While I was growing up, I always saw my mother teaching both me and my elder brother everything. And by that, I mean household chores, cooking, and making your own bed, so I did not have the concept that some jobs are for girls and some for boys. And that shaped the way I looked at the world as a whole. And at the same time, I have seen my parents run the house together, like a team.
In the initial years, I was in Rajasthan, followed by Andhra Pradesh for a bit, then Gujarat and now Maharashtra. So I wouldn’t say I have covered all of India, but yes that’s still a fair bit. And that of course gives you a different perspective. I could do well in my studies as well, so changing schools for me study-wise was not an issue but yes, I could not stand farewells, that was a difficult thing for me.
And now I am married to a family which is extremely supportive and understanding of my professional life.
What made you do CA
As I said earlier, I was good at studies and I come from a family where most of the people are Chartered Accountants, so the natural progression for me was to be a CA. But, I did not want to be one. I always wanted to be a journalist, do something where I was able to tell stories, and do something that either would help people or at least bring about a change. But this is not the traditional career option that anyone would choose. We like comfort, and predictability as humans and journalism is not the conventional career move, at least in my family I am the first. After a lot of discussions, my father told me “become a CA and then do whatever you want to. Just have a backup in terms of CA. It is a great degree and you will be able to do well for yourself”. My mother and brother were on my side but then I took up CA with some reluctance (now I am so glad I did) and just thought to myself, I will ensure I will be a journalist who is a CA.
My brother came to Mumbai for his graduation and CA studies so I had a blueprint ready for me. Did the same, studied Bcom at HR College of Commerce and economics and was an article at Haribhakti& Co for a year and then the rest of the time at Ernst & Young. I will also worked at EY for some time after becoming a CA.
Work-Life Balance
This is the most debated topic, right? How to balance work and life. What I realized is that this is my thinking that there is no perfect balance, it is not possible to balance both lives every day. There will be days when you will have to give more time to work and some days more time to your personal life. So instead of perfect schedules best to work on a realistic schedule.
The first thing that we all need to know is that more working hours is not equal to better work. You can work for 8 hours and still be efficient. So sitting for long hours every day is not the solution. Set boundaries and set goals as well. Of course, when there is something urgent, putting in some extra effort is important.
The second thing that I realized, but a little later in my professional life that working on your health is very important and that was majorly after I got married. My husband ensured that I prioritize my physical and mental well-being and it did not have to be anything extreme or radical but just simple exercise and practising mindfulness it really helps in connecting with oneself and helps us become more aware and makes us efficient for sure at whatever we do.
It is also okay if one just takes a break, it helps us come back with more energy. So taking a day off when you are overwhelmed is totally fine. It helps us re-align.
How did you pursue your passion?
So as I told you earlier, even after getting into the CA course, I knew I wanted to be a journalist. But at the same time, I loved numbers and so I thought let’s combine the two and become a business journalist. So I knew, I wanted to be at CNBCTV18, what better than the channel you have grown up watching. I quit my job at EY to join Xaviers College for post grad in mass communication but then after speaking to many business jounalists (I think I spoke to too many people), I came to the conclusion that I need to be closer to stock markets and learn more about that field. I joined Motilal Oswal Financial services as an equity analyst. And at one of the conferences organized by the company, in a session, thinking that I will never get this chance again, I asked a question to Union Minister Mr Piyush Goyal who was there for a keynote address. Editors from CNBCTV18 were there at the conference as well. I spoke to them and asked them if I could join the channel, they heard me asking the question and told me to write to them and if there is a vacancy they will call me and six months later they did! I joined CNBCTV18 in April 2017 and it has been an amazing journey!
Message to young CA
It is an amazing institute to be associated with. Agreed the syllabus is vast but the 4 years of hard work is worth it. It teaches you a lot,. And also, I could not clear my CA on 1st attempt. For a person who always was a topper in school, that was a heartbreak. But that failure made me stronger and made me realize that failure is a part and parcel of life. And it will not always be easy. So our reaction to failure is very important.
One might think it’s very common, but since I have experienced it myself, I just know that if you really want to achieve something in life, you should go for it. Never ever give up, work towards it continuously. One would fail, and be disappointed but such experiences only make us grow as an individual. Also, failures never define who you are, in fact, they only make you stronger. While you work on increasing your IQ, do not forget EQ (Emotional Quotient) because managing yourself and people is not an easy skill. Also, never be scared to be yourself and just keep upgrading it to be the best version of yourself!