Last week, I read my friend and colleague Lindsey Nelson’s Blog it forward article and I was really impressed. Her story is great, and it’s one I have watched up close and participated in. Reading her blog inspired me to share my own story. I truly believe if more of us get our SAP story out there, it will help us, as SAP employees working in different teams across the world connect more with each other. It will also help folks outside SAP understand what it’s like to work here. What kind of people work at SAP? What are their lives like? I often find myself wondering these things about the Google’s and Microsoft’s of the world and since SAP is right up there with these behemoths of the Industry, I applaud this initiative.
Who am I?
I joined SAP in 2009, as an Intern in Global IT. Since then, I have had various roles in IT and am currently a Project manager with Business Innovation and Application Services - Financials. I have had an interesting journey in SAP, from an intern to a contractor and then finally an SAP employee. I am glad things worked out for me here and truly believe from the bottom of my heart – SAP is a great company to work for, a company that takes care of its employees and provides them fantastic opportunities.
I love my job and love project management. I manage some of SAP’s internal implementation projects in the finance area. Most SAP employees do not have much visibility into how SAP run’s its own business operations. Let me tell you, SAP runs on SAP software and my group- Business Innovation and Application Services drives the implementation of some very challenging and exciting SAP projects internally. We are responsible for all the systems and applications you may be using as an SAP Employee to do your job. My team is responsible ISP (our backbone internal ERP system) in the Finance area. I have had the opportunity to lead and be part of some very interesting implementation projects, such as Brazil Tax Localization, ERP on HANA, Treasury and Risk Management and various M&A Integrations. Don’t be fooled by the boring unglamorous sounding names, Google these topics and you will find a lot of buzz around these.
These are exciting times for my group. We in IT have the opportunity to be the pilot showcase customer for a lot of our own SAP products and play a critical part in improving these products by our feedback. We also have the opportunity to influence customers and help drive up the adoption of SAP products through programs like SAP Runs SAP. Compared to many other more popular groups at SAP, we tend to be low key and in the background as we are internal. But life in SAP IT is very good. Many really smart folks work for SAP IT. We are one of the biggest organizations in the company and are located all across the globe. Work here is always exciting, and always with opportunities to learn new things and grow.
What makes me Run with a Purpose at SAP?
“If you love your job, you haven't worked a day in your life.” This is one of the most common quotes about being successful at work. But I think reality is somewhat different for most people. I love my job, but do I love it all the time? Work can give one purpose and a sense of achievement when one is successful and the going is good, but it can also at times be stressful and frustrating. These are cut-throat high pressure times after all.
I believe if you love the reasons you work for, be it the fact you want to be the best provider you can be to your loved ones so they may have the best opportunities, you want to have the satisfaction of a job well done, you want to make a difference and improve someone’s life, you want to challenge yourself, you want to reap the benefits of being a professional success story OR as in most people’s case – a combination of all of these things. The “Why” is very important. To me if you have found a job that answers all your “Why’s” – you are in the right place. If not, you need to re-think your choices.
I focus on the “Why am I doing what I do?” This grounds me and tethers me firmly in my profession of choice and gives me a healthy attitude, through professional successes and failures too. And I love my job here, because it answers all my “Why’s”. I run with a purpose at SAP because I am internally driven and at SAP – I truly can achieve my professional and perhaps even personal goals. I just have to do my best.
Being Passionate about whatever your “Why” is, makes all the difference. SAP values “Passion” a lot. If you have such a passion then sky is the limit here, because here hard work is rewarded, opportunities to grow and learn are plenty if you are self-motivated, work ethics of colleagues are strong and there is a culture of respect and trust.
The standards of quality are very high, but if you are motivated and passionate- you will be successful here. The atmosphere here brings out the best I have to offer to my profession. Aristotle rightly said, “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work”. I take pleasure in what I am able to achieve in my day to day work. I don’t have to think about doing a good enough job. I want to do my best and the fact that my work is able to bring that out of me, day after day, is amazing.
This is why I love SAP. It has truly brought out the best in me and given me great opportunities – be it all the training I have received, the experience of working with people from different parts of the world, the faith, encouragement and trust my management has shown me in giving me greater responsibilities and credit for my achievements .
If I look back in life, getting that internship at SAP was a life changing event for me. The butterfly effect was phenomenal. Ending up here is the reason I have made many BIG life choices. I am from India and had only come to the United States to do my Masters. I had no plans of ever living here long term. But I decided to settle in America permanently because I found immense happiness in my life here and working at SAP was a big part of that, along with some amazing people I met here who are now my friends outside work.
I thank all those who have played a part in my journey. I am more grateful than you will ever know. Writing this blog has made me sentimental. To the readers of this blog, I reassure you, I say this from experience. I am not from recruiting or anything. Just a happy SAP employee sharing her story!
Blog It Forward
To continue the challenge, I will blog it forward to MaryLouise Cox who will be sharing her story next week.
If you would like to join in on our conversation, please post a blog with “Blog It Forward Challenge” in your blog title and add the tags "run_with_purpose" and "blog_it_forward" to your post. Please respond back to one of the following questions:
My purpose in my work is definitely not ___. I tried ___ out and after this experience I realized it really wasn't for me, but ___ is. (Give an example of something you tried that may not have worked out, or has helped redirect you to work that has been more enjoyable and rewarding for you.)
What inspires you the most about your work right now?
How do your passions contribute to your work here at SAP?
How does having purpose/passions in your work at SAP allowed for success or advancement?
How do you think your work create a positive impact for other people or the world?
What does it mean to run with purpose and how does it relate to the work you do at SAP?
Want to find a career you can really be passionate about? Browse all of our open positions at http://jobs.sap.com Learn more about the workplace culture at SAP, see pics of our offices, talk to recruiters, and get real time job openings by connecting with us on our social pages like Facebook and on Twitter @LifeatSAP
