It was January 2021, and Guddy Bahirwani was new to Malaysia and looking for a career challenge. As she started her job search, online reviews of RBC piqued her interest.
“I didn't have a strong network in Malaysia,” she explains. “So I was going through the job search endeavour and I came across reviews online,” she continues. “An RBC employee said it's a great company, great culture, great people.”
She says it came as a pleasant surprise, considering she wasn’t aware that RBC was in Malaysia.
She applied, got the job and began her career with RBC as a Senior Risk Analyst.
“It was a big learning curve for me because the work was new and the team was new,” she explains. “Gradually, the scope of work expanded and the team also grew,” she notes. “I feel like there's a lot of growth, a lot of career opportunities at RBC and I'm really excited about my future here.”
Turns out, an opportunity for career growth was just around the corner.
“I was promoted to the manager position in August 2022,” she explains. “Our scope of work then enhanced to include APAC risk reporting.”
She says this expanded scope really pushed her beyond her comfort zone – in a good way.
“I was new to the people manager role and learning how to lead within this larger scope,” she says.
“I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to work with the team at a time when we were working really hard.”
Balancing new people management skills and risk management skills is a fine art, and Guddy relishes the ability to take part in team building and team strengthening exercises as co-lead of the People Agenda Working Group, and the Malaysia Corporate Citizenship Initiative (MCC).
She explains that a key initiative of the MCC is to make a meaningful impact in society, and notes that a recent opportunity to mentor underprivileged female high school students about career awareness was a highlight.
Guddy’s career with RBC has already taken her beyond where she had imagined a few short years ago.
“You know, looking back from when I started to now, I'm a completely different person, personally and professionally,” she chuckles. “And I'm very grateful for it.”
