Career journeys rarely move in straight lines.
Sometimes they pause.
Sometimes they shift directions.
It can happen that they come back to you in the end.
I have been thinking this after listening to one of the most recent episodes of our Culture and Career Corner Podcast (hosted by Anamika Rathore) featuring Neeraj Chopra, our Senior Technical Team Lead from Chandigarh Office.
His journey does not have many ups and downs. His journey is not filled with all the buzzwords that we typically hear in today’s corporate world.
His story isn’t dramatic.
It isn’t filled with buzzwords.
But it’s honest.
And honesty often tells you more about a company’s culture than anything else.
When “Second Innings” Becomes the Right Phrase
Neeraj first joined IT By Design in 2015.
At that time, he came in as a System Engineer, working on internal IT. The company was much smaller then. Around sixty people.
Like many engineers early in their careers, he was focused on building technical skills and learning how things worked.
Years passed.
Then in 2024, he received a call about a leadership opportunity.
This time, the role was Senior Technical Team Lead.
When Anamika asked him about returning, he described it in a way that made me pause for a moment.
He called it his second innings.
That’s a phrase you hear in sports. But in careers, it often means something deeper.
Experience changes perspective.
Responsibility changes mindset.
Leadership changes how you look at problems.
And when Neeraj spoke about returning to IT By Design, he said something even more telling.
For him, coming back felt like returning home.
You don’t plan a sentence like that.
It usually means the culture stayed with you long after you left.
Growth Looks Different the Second Time
Anamika made an observation during the conversation that I thought was spot on.
The Neeraj who joined in 2015 and the Neeraj who returned in 2024 are not the same professional.
Between those two chapters sits experience.
But also perspective.
Even though his work still connects to internal IT, the environment around him has changed dramatically.
The company has grown.
The teams have scaled.
And the technology landscape has shifted.
Neeraj spoke about something every technology professional is feeling right now: the pace of change.
- Automation.
- New implementations.
Keeping up with all of that requires constant learning.
Not because someone tells you to.
Because the industry demands it.
What Culture Looks Like When You’re Living It
When Anamika asked Neeraj how he would describe the culture at IT By Design, his answer was refreshingly straightforward.
He spoke about:
Helping others.
Supporting colleagues.
Learning together.
And he made an interesting point.
People here, he said, are not just coming to work.
They’re also coming to:
- Learn new technologies
- Build relationships
- Grow together
That’s an important distinction.
Because productivity can be forced.
But collaboration has to be voluntary.
When people naturally help one another solve problems, something about the environment is working.
The Aha Moments That Shaped Neeraj
One of the things I enjoy most about these podcast conversations is when Anamika asks guests about their “aha moments.”
Not career milestones.
But the lessons that stayed with them.
Neeraj shared a few that were simple but meaningful.
Feeling Valued
One moment that stayed with him was when leadership took the time to connect with him personally.
He mentioned a moment when I stopped by his desk, shook his hand, and spoke with him not just about work, but also about his health and family.
For him, that interaction mattered.
It made him feel valued.
Sometimes leadership impact shows up in surprisingly small ways.
Relationships and Teamwork
Another lesson he spoke about was teamwork.
Anyone working in a technical environment knows what it feels like to get stuck in the middle of a problem.
Neeraj described simply walking across the floor to someone who had expertise in a particular technology – whether it was Exchange, SQL, or something else.
And asking for help.
No hesitation.
No hesitation from the other side either.
Just support.
Ownership Changes Everything
He also spoke about ownership.
Ownership, in his words, means truly taking responsibility for a task.
Not just completing it.
Owning the outcome.
Even if someone else is the primary owner of a ticket or issue, others are willing to step in and help when needed.
That mindset builds accountability.
And accountability builds trust.
Continuous Learning in the AI Era
The final insight he shared was about something shaping every technology career right now.
Automation.
The way work gets done is changing.
For Neeraj, adapting to that shift means continuing to learn and staying open to new tools and approaches.
Technology evolves.
So, the mindset has to evolve too.
Why Stories Like This Matter
Listening to Neeraj’s story reminded me of something important.
Culture isn’t defined by policies.
It shows up in how people describe their experience.
When someone begins their career with a company, grows elsewhere, and later returns in a leadership role, that says something meaningful.
It suggests the experience stayed with them.
It suggests the relationships mattered.
And it suggests the culture was real enough to come back to.
What This Conversation Reinforced for Me
As the episode wrapped up, Anamika summarized the conversation in a way that felt right.
Neeraj’s journey reflected three ideas that shape long-term careers:
Growth.
Ownership.
And staying grounded while moving forward.
Listening to him speak, I was reminded again that organizations don’t grow simply because systems improve.
They grow because people grow.
And sometimes, the strongest signal of a healthy culture is when someone’s career takes them in different directions but eventually leads them back.
If you listen closely to conversations like this, you don’t just hear a career story.
You hear culture in action.
And that’s what makes IT By Design special.
