Moving from healthcare to tech: Maya Modi's Capgemini journey

Business Transformation Consultant Maya Modi joined Capgemini UK in 2016 after leaving a career in healthcare to become an Oracle Applications Consultant. She describes the decision as "the riskiest career move" she has made - but says it turned out to be the best one.

Maya moved to the Business & Technology Solutions delivery unit in 2018 and has felt her development excel ever since. Maya shared her Capgemini career journey on the Capgemini website and via LinkedIn.

Maya's career path and everyday life with Capgemini

In 2016, soon after accepting her initial role at Capgemini, Maya was invited to the Women’s Business Network event held at the Burberry offices in London. She also attended the GAP Be Inspired induction week which she describes as "an intense but enjoyable week". That same year, Maya moved "off the bench" and into her first project.

Maya describes her life at Capgemini as "a happy one". She comes into work looking forward to her day and she doesn't feel intimated by her workplace. "It truly is a place that harbours a friendly culture and allows me to be myself at work," Maya adds.

"My usual working day consists of trying to choose healthy options for breakfast at my hotel when I’m on site, followed by a lovely walk by the River Avon over to my client site. I review the day’s load of e-mails and reshuffle my day according to priorities. Of course, in consulting your priorities are always changing, so organisation is key," Maya explains.

"As well as carrying out tasks for my client, I’m also heavily involved with Giving Back at Capgemini. I like to keep a bit of Giving Back activity in my day to break up intense client work and refresh my mindset. I try to power through my activities when I’m not on a conference call so I don’t spend my evenings overloaded with catch up tasks. The evenings, oddly, are when I’m most productive, but I’ve learned to shift that productivity for during the day so I have some sort of work-life balance. Work-life balance is very important for your wellbeing and it’s amazing how much more efficient you work when you’ve had adequate rest. On my current project, I’m lucky to work in a lively team that are keen to spend our evenings together having some fun. It can get lonely when you’re working away from home, but my team keep me looking forward to work the next day."

Many career highlights for Maya

One of Maya's career highlights was being promoted to a project management role by her client. "It made me feel empowered and rewarded that this recognition came from my client and they saw great potential in me. It encouraged me to pick up more responsibility and insight into my role, while giving me a chance to prove my worth even more. It also helped to being an even stronger reputation between my client account and Capgemini as a company," she says.

Maya has also enjoyed being a mentor and manager of Capgemini’s relationship with Aston University students. "Post graduate life is not easy and my story of coming into the tech industry from a non-tech background is what I use to inspire and motivate students. Students have come back to me telling me that their skills/experience feel valued knowing that they can use them in an industry they had not once considered," she explains.

Making the most of every opportunity

"I’m proud of my development as there have been times where I’ve doubted whether I’m on the right path at all. I’ve strived to take every opportunity I can to make the most of my potential and none of this would be possible if I didn’t have the opportunities from Capgemini," says Maya.

"The opportunity to be part of internal capabilities, be part of diversity and inclusion initiatives and the freedom to choose how I give back to the community is one of my favourite things about Capgemini. I have grown so much as a person since joining. I’m a person with a diverse skill set always itching for new challenges, Capgemini has been the exact playground I needed to bring out the best in me.

“I highly value companies that concentrate on your performance as an individual as opposed to seeing you as a statistic. I truly feel the culture that Capgemini pride themselves on and feel valued as a member of the company. As a result, I feel more motivated to progress in my career knowing that I will receive recognition and reward among a team that want to see you succeed."

Enjoying a vibrant life outside of work

Outside of work, Maya enjoys baking and blogging. "I love testing out new recipes and often do mini tutorials for my friends via Snapchat. I also blog about how to defeat dark circles under your eyes (@may.eyes on Instagram, if you can relate!) as it’s something many of us are conscious about. I’m awful at the gym, so I swim and go to Bhangra classes four times a week to keep my eyes away from my laptop screen and to keep fit," she says. "Like most grads, I like to spend my time off travelling to as many places as I can. Once you catch a travel bug, it never goes away!"