How a letter of a 27-year-old gets him a job with Ratan Tata
- In 2014, Shantanu joined Tata group after completing his graduation
- Once he returned to India, Shantanu received a call from Ratan Tata with a job offer to become his assistant
Sometimes a letter can change your life and if you are lucky, it can end up landing you in your dream job. In a recent post shared by ‘Humans of Bombay’ on their Facebook page, a 27-year-old Shantanu Naidu shared how his hand-written letter got him a chance to work for industrialist Ratan Tata.
In 2014, Shantanu joined Tata group after completing his graduation. On his way back home from work, he saw a dead body of a dog lying on the roads. This unfortunate incident prompted him to make collars for stray dogs which has reflectors on them, so that drivers could see the stray animals from distance while driving at night. His work for stray dogs got covered in the Tata Group of Companies’ newsletter.
“Around that time, my dad asked me to write a letter to Mr Ratan Tata, since he loves dogs too. I was hesitant at first, but then I said to myself, ‘Why not?'” said Shantanu. Shantanu wrote a handwritten letter to Ratan Tata.
Two months later, he got a reply from Ratan Tata himself with an invitation for a meeting. Few days later, he met Ratan Tata at his office in Mumbai. Tata said “I’m deeply touched by the work you do!”
“I still get goosebumps when I think of it,” says Shantanu. Tata took him to his place to meet his dogs. Later, Ratan Tata also helped him to start his venture Moto Paws. Moto Paws make reflective collars for stray dogs that make them easily visible.
After that, Shantanu left for his masters and promised to join Tata Group once he complete his studies.
Once he returned to India, he received a call from Tata with a job offer to become his assistant. “I didn’t know how to react. So I took a deep breath, and a few seconds later said ‘Yes!’,” says Shantanu.
“It’s been 18 months since I’ve been working for him, and trust me even now, sometimes I have to pinch myself to know that this isn’t a dream,” Shantanu adds.
