Sanjeeta Aggarwal
Senior Business Development Analyst,
Advanced Analytics and Insights team at Transport for NSW
Sanjeeta is Senior Business Development Analyst, Advanced Analytics and Insights team at Transport for NSW, and a volunteer marketing coordinator at FitT. She has over 15 years of experience across business engagements, team leadership, large scale system implementation, and service delivery activities within different sectors such as Government, Banking and Financial Services.
She is passionate about Inclusion and Diversity, and is an active Ambassador of Women in Technology Network and an advocate of Women in STEM at Transport for NSW. She has a growth mindset and drives to be a lifelong learner. She shares some of her key tips for skills development below:
My mantra for success and growth is: “The best investment you can make is in yourself. The more you learn, the more you’ll earn” – Warren Buffett.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technological change, wherein every person has had to adapt to change and quickly acquire the skills and capabilities needed to stay current. ‘Upskilling’ equips you with training and development opportunities, which in turn allow for a larger range of job opportunities and higher wages.
Learning to level up or take a new direction
Whether you want to chase a senior position at your company or are thinking about moving to a new industry, it’s important to invest in yourself to acquire new skills. Technical knowledge or hard skills can be acquired by undertaking training courses or career education, whereas soft skills can be acquired with experience, and by how you work with others. I upskill regularly to keep abreast of the latest technological ways of working. For example, in order to lead my organisation towards Business Agility and become a Lean Agile leader, I studied a Leading SAFe course to become a certified SAFe Agilist.
Looking for new opportunities or new experiences
‘Seize the moment because some opportunities don’t come twice’ is my attitude for raising my hand at every appropriate opportunity. Opportunities open up new doors and allow us to connect with people outside of our normal personal and professional circle of influence. Taking on new tasks and responsibilities or working on something that is unfamiliar challenges us mentally, providing an immense sense of achievement upon completion.
Saying yes to new experiences has given me opportunities to work as a Digital Lead at the Women in STEM Network at my organisation, coach an employee who has identified himself on the autism spectrum, and go bungee jumping in New Zealand. These experiences are the challenges I will always remember, and they enable me to share my learnings with others.
Joining professional associations or networking groups
There is a great saying ‘A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future and believe it can be obtained’. Mentorship offers the opportunity to learn from someone who has been working in a particular area for years, or to give back by sharing your expertise with someone new to the field. It also offers numerous networking opportunities to connect with leaders and expand your professional network. It adds to your continuing education, wherein you can stay updated on everything happening in your industry.
I recently commenced as a marketing volunteer with FitT; an organisation that empowers women in IT by giving them a voice to drive the gender diversity agenda in Australia. This has provided me with a platform to connect with like-minded women; sharing similar interests, listening to their viewpoints, and enriching myself with new ideas and outlooks.
