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PODCAST

The First Two Years

An early careers podcast from the newsroom of The Ken, hosted by Akshaya Chandrasekaran, The First Two Years will ask—and answer—the most important and interesting questions about learning to succeed at work.

business careers

All Episodes

26:35

Season finale: Finding joy in your first job

The First Two Years ·

2024/09/24

In the final episode, host Akshaya Chandrasekaran searches for what makes people in the first two years of their careers happy. And the right way to say goodbye to the listeners. One last thing before we go. You can always write to us at podcasts@the-ken.com with feedback, tips, and suggestions for upcoming shows. Thank you for listening. The First Two Years is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive business

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23:26

Best early-career advice we've got so far (part 2)

The First Two Years ·

2024/09/17

Take the happiness survey to be a part of the season finale here.The debut season of TFTY was jampacked with insight, international guests, and interesting takeaways. This season, we learned how to ask for help without worrying about looking stupid, turn a job that you have into the one that you want, network when you hate networking, look for a Dravid in a mentor and build a personal brand with no work experience. On this episode of TFTY, Akshaya Chandrasekaran and Rahel Philipose (from

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23:54

Best early-career advice we’ve got so far (part 1)

The First Two Years ·

2024/09/10

The debut season of TFTY was jampacked with insight, international guests, and interesting takeaways. This season we walked away from unhappy jobs, built trust with difficult colleagues, asked for feedback even when we dreaded it, fought for promotions, and bounced back from mistakes. We spoke to forensic psychologists working in maximum-security prisons and former poker players turned decision strategists. On this episode of TFTY, Akshaya Chandrasekaran and Rahel Philipose (from The Ken’s

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24:46

How to take a gap year without being left behind

The First Two Years ·

2024/09/03

Graduates entering the workforce are no longer quitting jobs because they are unhappy. They are doing so because they realize they could be happier. After facing one of the most challenging placement seasons in years, many are left with the feeling of compromise. They either compromised on the role, the company, or the pay package. Instead of, making do with what they have, they are relooking at their career paths. This leaves many contemplating a gap year. These are all questions our

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26:09

Special episode: Know when to walk away from an...

The First Two Years ·

2024/08/27

Have you ever struggled with knowing when to walk away from a job? You know you’re not happy with where you are, but you are scared about taking the next step. You don’t entirely know what the future holds. This is especially harder when you are starting out in your career. You don’t have the benefit of hindsight or years of experience to leverage. Every decision you make – whether to stay or quit – feels like a big, life-changing decision and you want to get it right. You don’t want to

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33:09

InMobi's Piyush Shah on ditching passion in favour of...

The First Two Years ·

2024/08/20

Career paths are spoken about as though it's linear. When we say climbing the career ladder, we mean no change in directions, no jerks in movements, only straight ahead and upward. But today’s guest has a career path which is anything but linear – Piyush Shah, co-founder of InMobi group and President of Glance. His entrepreneurial journey has seen numerous pivots, innovations, and many unconventional choicesIt resembles somewhat of a road trip. When you set off on a road trip, you don’t

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25:31

"Can you even have a personal brand without any work...

The First Two Years ·

2024/08/13

It is conventional wisdom that building a personal brand is good for you. But in a tough job market, it can become your competitive advantage. Something that will set you apart. Something that will give you an edge. Something that will get you a foot in the door. But how does one build a personal brand without any work experience? Is there a way to do it without coming across as inauthentic and cringe? Where does one start? This week's listener was exactly in this predicament. On this

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23:28

How to say no to ‘non-promotable tasks’ and advance...

The First Two Years ·

2024/08/06

A year into her first job, Shreya feels like she’s not learned anything concrete. She said yes to every task, every request, and every opportunity that came her way as an associate product manager. “Proofread your colleague’s presentation.” “Take notes at a meeting” “Plan an intern’s onboarding” “Participate in someone’s brainstorming meeting”Shreya wanted to be reliable and become indispensable. So, she did it all. But soon enough, her calendar filled up with a list of Non-Promotable Tasks

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29:42

Your first salary will determine your career...

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/30

Your starting salary determines all your future raises and bonuses — meaning it will have a long-term impact on your career earnings. Still, most companies have fixed pay ranges for entry-level positions with little to no scope for negotiation. You are new. You don’t have years of experience. You probably went to a decent college. But you have very little bargaining power even if you have to negotiate. You also risk losing your job in an ultra-competitive employer’s market. There’s a good

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26:14

Why you need a 'boomer bestie' at work

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/23

In his first few months at his first job, Arya had made some lifelong friends. Unlike many work friendships, his just happened to include a nearly three-decade age gap. It all began when Arya, a multimedia producer, decided to join a TV news company. Shy and new to the city, he looked around to see there was nobody in his age bracket except him. “Initially, it was a bit daunting,” Arya says. “But slowly, we became friends only to realize that, despite the age gap, we are all the same. That

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8:26

Introducing Two by Two, a new premium business...

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/18

From over here at The Ken's newsroom, we have a very exciting announcement: our first premium podcast – India's first premium business podcast – is now live! It's called Two by Two – and this podcast will be your personal investigative brain. Each week Two by Two will be where hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan will be joined by a few interesting and opinionated guests to discuss some of the biggest questions from the world of Indian business. But, why's it called Two by

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25:57

Thinking about an MBA? Here's how to hide your plans...

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/16

The first two years are the foundation of one's career. But for many, it is just a stepping stone to an MBA. Our listener this week, Priyanksha, knew she didn’t like her first job within three months of joining the company. An MBA was her escape route. She stayed at the company for two reasons a) to gain work experience which is a pre-requisite for an MBA b) to support herself financially during her MBA preparation. Right from the beginning, she knew the company would not support her future

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27:27

Do you manage your manager or does your manager...

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/09

Shantanu loved his first job. He had great admiration for the senior leadership. The work was fulfilling and meaningful. And his peers were great. It was the perfect job for him, except for one thing – his manager. He was "caught in the chaos" of unrealistic deadlines, shifting goalposts, and vague feedback. Is there anything he could have done to make the situation better besides quitting? How do you deal with a difficult boss? On this episode of TFTY, host Akshaya Chandrasekaran brings

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27:43

How to make the leap from "grunt work" to real work

The First Two Years ·

2024/07/02

You just started your first job at a new company. You’re ready. You’re eager. You’re smart and capable. It’s all the makings of the take-the-world-by-storm career. But to your dismay, you end up with “grunt” work. It feels like all your achievements from college have been wiped out clean, and you’ve to prove that you can be a high achiever in the office as well. This continues to happen week after week. You feel like you're stuffed with tasks that nobody wants to do. You feel like you're

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24:03

How to get people to listen to you when you have no...

The First Two Years ·

2024/06/25

You’re new and young and people just don’t trust you. Have you ever struggled to be taken seriously at work? How do you get the results you want if people don’t trust you or cooperate with you, especially when you have no title or authority?On this episode of TFTY, host Akshaya Chandrasekaran brings on Dr Nashater Deu Solheim who is a pro at making connections, building trust with difficult co-workers, and connecting in a more meaningful way. She’s a psychologist who’s worked with certified

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20:54

How to 'fight' for your promotion

The First Two Years ·

2024/06/18

Most people believe that if you’re smart, work hard, and meet your goals, a promotion is guaranteed. But the truth is a lot of talented people fail to get ahead while seemingly ordinary peers blow right past them. So, how do organizations decide who gets promoted over whom? If it’s not entirely based on performance, does it mean you have to suck up to your higher-ups? Play office politics? Be everything everywhere all at once? These were the questions, host Akshaya Chandrasekaran, was

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20:26

How to ask for feedback even when you dread it

The First Two Years ·

2024/06/11

Our listener Harshit has reached a plateau. He joined an early-stage startup in the EV charging space with a lot of enthusiasm. He believed in the company’s mission. But very soon things started to take a turn for the worse. When the going got tough, the culture of feedback disappeared. His role kept changing to keep up with the changing business needs. But without feedback, he felt directionless and lost. The leadership was so busy putting out fires that they completely deprioritised

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22:50

How to network for people who hate to network

The First Two Years ·

2024/06/04

Networking can make you feel dirty. It can feel unnatural, forced, and almost cringe to reach out to people for networking. You know it’s important. You value what a good professional network can do to one's career. Eighty-five percent of jobs are still secured through networking, according to a 2022 LinkedIn survey. Even LinkedIn is built on the premise that professional networks can make you successful. But even the time you got past the initial awkwardness and reached out, it did not

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21:11

You think you're doing well at work, until your...

The First Two Years ·

2024/05/28

This episode was written, hosted, and produced by Akshaya Chandrasekaran with inputs from Snigdha Sharma. The audio engineering is by Rajiv CN. The survey is designed by Anushka Mukherjee. Podcasting is truly an ensemble act. A whole bunch of us had to come together to make this episode happen. By virtue or working together so much, we found a camaraderie. But there is also a friendly rivalry that sets us apart in unique ways. A work life without friends is lonely and scary. In fact, the

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22:30

Three big myths of asking for help

The First Two Years ·

2024/05/21

What’s the best way to ask for help? Many common, intuitive thinking around asking for help are often huge misconceptions and quite unproductive. Host Akshaya Chandrasekaran digs into the science of why so many of us are willing to offer help but reluctant to ask for it, learns what makes some people better at it than others, and busts lasting myths around what prevents us from unlocking the true benefits of asking for help. This episode features author and professor Wayne Baker, and

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