Mehar Sindhu Batra, CEO & Founder @ MSB Vision

Welcome back to another episode of The Garage Guide. Today we're joined by Meher. Meher, welcome to the podcast.

Thanks, Peter. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, so, um, I think there's a few ways we could take this conversation, but, um, I think I really want to delve into your experience as a content creator and a coach in helping all graduates, but mainly focusing on international students, as, you know, I believe they do have it tougher than anyone in, you know, getting their dream UK job or career. So, yeah, just start off, maybe you explain exactly what it is you do to help.

Sure, so I am from India originally, New Delhi, and I moved to the UK in 2016. And I came here as an MBA student, and I had a great experience moving here because I always wanted to live in London. I just had, you know, you have that childhood dream of living and moving into this foreign land. When I moved here, there were of course challenges, ups and downs, and when I started working here, I used to get messages from students on LinkedIn who used to ask me questions like, 'How did you navigate moving? How did you end up getting an MBA at Imperial College?' And I'm also a chartered accountant by profession. So how did I pivot my field a little bit? So I think because of those messages were so— they were so repetitive, I felt like there was a need to help people on a larger scale because it was similar types of questions coming again and again. And one random day I decided to make a YouTube video and started to just share my experience. And I feel a lot of the content back then this is 2019, wasn't focusing much on people's failures, right? People mostly shared their success stories. Like if you go on LinkedIn, it's mostly about their success stories. But I wanted to be really vulnerable and talk about the challenges. So I talked about why I decided to do an MBA, why did I choose London, what was my whole journey like, and how was my student life here adjusting? What are the things to keep in mind when I started working here? What are the adjustments that I had to make? Because the work culture here is very different from where I come from. So all those things were, were just, you know, me basically sharing my, my journey. And I think a lot of people resonated with that. And the comments that I got, the messages that I got just kept me going. It was like the fuel to make the next piece of content.

Yeah, I was going to say, because you now have like a massive following on both LinkedIn and Instagram, but in the initial stages, content creation is never as easy as you could build up in your head or how it you perceive it when other creators, you know, seemingly just go viral overnight, but there's got to be a bigger why for doing what you're doing. And, you know, you alluded to the comments and people saying that it was helping them so much, but, you know, for you, why is this your career? Because, you know, you are a chartered accountant, you have got a way to go into whatever career you want, and you're in London. Ultimately, you've done it, you've maybe you've already hit that success point already, you've made it here. But yeah, so why have you dedicated this stage of your career to helping students and graduates?

Honestly, Peter, I ask myself that question again and again when I feel demotivated, because not every day you're going to feel productive and motivated. And I think I have this folder on my phone which says best messages, So I go back on it and I see messages that students have sent me saying, you know, I got— because of you, I got a job at Goldman Sachs, or because of you, I was able to get into my dream university. So, you know, I think that's the fuel to my fire. And you're right, there are not— obviously it all comes back to your why. And I don't know how long I'm going to keep creating content, but right now I enjoy it. I like being on the camera. I like sharing tips and tricks. I like it when, you know, something happens with me during the day and I want to go back and talk to my community about it. So just, I think it's just I'm a creative person and I, when I was pursuing that degree, I just, there was a part of me that wanted to do something else. And luckily I've been able to exploit, exploit that creative side.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. And I can relate in a sense that, I mean, so I'm a recent graduate and maybe a little bit earlier on in the journey, but you know, I, Whenever I get on this podcast and chat to people, like, it's hard for me to like call Just Doing This a career. Like, for the longest time it was a university passion project of mine, and at various different times, you know, tried and tested to see is there a business fit here, is there, is there not. And, you know, all the time working on whether it's my university degree or a different company, never fully committed to it as a business. But I realized The thing that keeps me coming back to this company is I just find it so inspiring and infectious at this stage in my life to be, you know, creating content and doing something that you only really get one opportunity in your life to do it. And you know, you have years and years to go into a different corporate job or build a different style of business, but you know, we, at the end of the day, we have our fingers on the pulse of what students are going through having just done it. And I think it is kind of now or never, and if it's a business, it's a business, if it's not, it's an amazing experience that you've learned so much from. So, I don't know, can you relate to that?

I completely agree with you. You know, when you were saying, it's like you're just reading my thoughts. And that's what I told myself when I quit my job, that, okay, if it doesn't work out, I can always go back to the corporate world, right? Like you said. And, but this opportunity, this community, this whole people tuning into your podcast, people tuning into my videos, this is not gonna come back, right? Like you don't know how long this is going to last. And honestly, Peter, when I started creating content, there weren't many career-related content creators on YouTube and Instagram at the time. So it was really like me doing whatever I wanted to do, right? Like, so if I wanted to make a video on, let's say, how to introduce yourself in a job interview, I would really, really do my research and figure out what were the things that I did wrong, you know, in my initial years and what are the things that I do right now. So I think it's just about, like you said, Finding that, that need that people— I'm sure there's a, there's a gap in the market that you're trying to fill, right? Similarly, I feel that every industry, there's, there's something that we all could add to the table.

So yeah, yeah, I think we now nicely understand why you do this and what it is exactly you do. But, you know, we do on this podcast like to deliver as much value as possible, and I think, you know, there will be some Instastudents listening here that, you know, they're seeking inspiration, maybe the job search is feeling lonely and repetitive, and you know, they're just thinking, is this ever going to end? And I know you've had your trials and tribulations with the whole process, but ultimately you did it and you learned from it, and now you're taking your learnings and you're giving them back. So, you know, I think there's so many problems to address, but I mean, let's just start a little bit more like, you know, overarching. Why should international students still want to come to the UK for a career? Like, what would you say to them to reinstall their faith in that position?

I think that's a great question, given there's so much going on with the economy right now. If I were to start my career again, I would still come to the UK in spite of, you know, the recession and this inflation and so much, so many other problems. But I feel that this place really brings so many cultures and people from all over the world together. I was a part of this cohort which had 66 people but from 30 different countries, you know, and I think the UK is in that position. It's just an amalgamation of so many different, so many different people, so many different cultures. Like you can go for Ethiopian food for lunch and then, you know, go for an Irish dance class in the evening, for example. So for somebody who's looking to push themselves outside their comfort zone and also be in a place where it's like a global country, I feel. And I've never experienced any sort of racism here. I've never experienced people, you know, trying to put me down. I think people value where I come from and they want to learn more about me and my culture. So I feel if you're just thinking about, you know, moving to a place which is very global and international, this is the place that you should come to.

Yeah, and it's interesting, that's obviously your perspective from coming into London from a different country, but you know, for me being a Londoner or in and around London my whole life, like, I do think, you know, I had the choice where should I go to university and having always lived in and around here, I think a lot of people normally flock out and, you know, go live their life elsewhere for a bit and I just found it very hard to take myself out of London and a lot of it I think does come down to that melting pot idea and it's that all those different cultures, I think the worst thing you can do really in life is pigeonhole and bubble yourself into being with one type of group or being, you know, one type of person for your whole life without truly like delving into different cultures or different things that fascinate you. And yeah, I think there's no telling what that can do in your career as well.

Of course.

It's not a, you need to do this, this, and this to equate to this in a career sense, but it's just like living and breathing it every day. And, you know, I often use this terminology of, if you treat London well, London will treat you well. If you treat it badly, it will treat you badly. And I think you've clearly made the most of London. What did that actually look like then? Okay, so you arrive at Imperial, obviously a very prestigious university. What were the immediate, like, things you noticed? Okay, this is going to be tougher than I thought.

Firstly, I just loved the energy of the city, so I was very excited to start a new chapter of my life. I think the first thing I felt was imposter syndrome. Like, I just questioned myself, do I even deserve to be a part of this class? And I think, I guess a lot of us face that when we are in a situation where there are bright people around us and you're like, okay, what did I do to get here? You know, like, you question yourself, you go into that self-doubt.

Do you still believe in imposter syndrome?

I think I'm much better at it now. But yeah, 5, 6 years ago I was still struggling. What really worked well for me is, Peter, is that because everybody was from different parts of the world, they were all starting from scratch in a way, right? So, and even the people who were local were very, you know, like I said, supportive and wanting to, you know, make you feel comfortable. And I was just incredible. I felt incredibly grateful to be a part of this city and, you know, live my dream of studying here. So, yeah. Yeah.

Well, I mean, that's always a good start, I suppose. But, you know, you're in university, you're studying, and I think like, it's weird, university can often feel quite sheltered times of your life where you know, you've got clear assessors of success and it's like, you know, you get this grade and you're doing this well, whatever, but then, you know, you go out into the world and, you know, you really are just competing with everyone in your cohort across the world, or across the UK at least at that point, and I think nobody has it more difficult than international students in terms of like sponsorship visas, they've got to deal with like, you know, all those extra barriers that's just stopping that seamless, okay, you're obviously the best person for the job, we're going to take you. So yeah, when you were applying to these jobs, um, what were the things you noticed initially, like, okay, um, I actually need to go above and beyond here and, and separate myself not just from my own cohort but a massive cohort of international students that are trying to get jobs in the UK as well?

Yeah, I think, um, So one thing that I learned very quickly in the UK is that, and this is different from where I come from, so they taught us how to network with people, right? And I started literally messaging people on LinkedIn, and this is me not knowing how LinkedIn works, it was 5 years ago. So I used to message people and I used to say that, you know, I really like your career path, I really, I'm inspired by your career journey, 'Would you have 5 minutes to talk to me about, you know, there's an opening in your organization,' for example. And I would send these messages and I would get 2 replies out of 15, maybe. So it wasn't a great success rate, but there was still some momentum. So I met so many people for coffee chats. I understood what worked for them, what didn't work for them. I built relationships so that they could refer me in their organizations. I also did 4 internships during my master's. So while I was studying, I was also working on the side just to, you know, get some work experience, understand how people work here in the city. So I would say that my number one tip for somebody who is trying to find an opportunity is that if you are going to be— if you're going to just send in your CV, you're going to be sitting on a pile of CVs, right? But if you have like what I call a backdoor entry, is that somebody who can vouch for your work or vouch for you being a great candidate for that position, that always works a little bit. It gives you the edge, sort of, right? So, and like I said, here people mostly want to help other people because they have been in that position before themselves. So I would say don't be shy to, you know, ask people for a coffee chat or even ask them for a favor. And I wouldn't say that message 10 people, say, "Hey, can you refer me for a job?" Like you have to build that relationship and you have to show that you are the right person for that job. Recently I got a message on my LinkedIn saying, 'You know, I'm also from Imperial, and can you help me?' I said, 'Okay, of course I can help you. Like, what help do you need?' And this person said, 'Refer me to jobs around the city.' And I was like, 'You know, that's something that you need to do. You need to find the jobs that you want to apply to, and then maybe I can connect you with people who work there.' So I feel a lot of the groundwork has to be done by the student themselves and really pushing themselves outside their comfort zone, building those relationships, and then seeing if there are opportunities in those organizations where they could be referred to.

Yeah. And what does your actual coaching of students and recent graduates look like then? What are you trying to deliver them that will help distinguish them in the job search?

I help them with a lot of career planning. So sometimes they're confused between whether they should stick to their current job or study, or whether— or the second thing that I help with is interview preparation. So communication, doing their research before they go in for the interview, helping with job applications. And the third thing that I do is helping Indian and Asian students come to the UK to study. So these are the three buckets of work that I do.

So the actual like UCAS entry point into university as well?

No, I just help with the general application. I never give any recommendation on what university to go to because I don't want any bias, right? So that decision and that research has to come from them, but I can help with uh, like let's say the essays or how to put your whole profile together in that application. So yeah, that's what I help with.

Yeah, and obviously this is your career now, but you know, there probably would have been a point where, you know, you were still in a traditional career path and building your social media following. Like, and what did you find in those initial stages was the benefit of building that personal brand, just in terms of like how it made you feel within your own career?

I don't know if you'll echo this, but when I started creating content, I wasn't a very confident person. And creating content, speaking to a camera just made me a lot more— I think my communication skills improved. I got comfortable being in uncomfortable positions. I got comfortable talking about myself with a little bit more ease. And yeah, slowly and steadily my confidence started increasing. So I've done about 25 to 30 university talks now, and if you watch the video of the first talk that I gave versus the most recent one, um, yeah, yeah. So I think it's, it's— I, I would say everybody should create some type of content just because it increases your confidence and, and maybe your vocabulary and the way you just, you know, frame your sentences. It really polishes you in ways.

Yeah, no, it's true. I think that's a really refreshing answer because a lot of people normally focused on the vanity metrics or the following or whatever, but I think I would agree, like, the biggest thing for me is, is that, that confidence in yourself where, like, I think often, you know, I talked about how university can feel quite sheltered, it can almost be a comfort blanket. In some ways it can feel like you're very low in confidence because you're so just assessed on academia and like very like, you know, subjective topics. And I think when you sort of take yourself out of that world and start just saying what you think and seeing if people buy into it and resonate a bit, like you will find your audience and you will find like a new level of understanding of what you actually want to do and who— what kind of people you want to do it with, almost as just as importantly, right? And you're a massive community builder, um, and you know How many are part of your community now?

Uh, more than 700,000 across YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Does it feel crazy to say that?

I bet it's crazy, but I want to reach a million only because I feel there's so many more people I can help. Um, but yeah, it is crazy, it's crazy.

So what would you say, you know, as one sentence or, you know, one answer to what is the power of community and why did you build it?

I feel like you said, you know, every content creator, every person has something that's different about them. And I feel like 2 years ago there was somebody who was copying my content word to word, like literally making my videos again from scratch word to word. Like, I'm not even kidding, they didn't even change one word of it. And I was so heartbroken. And I— and, you know, they started going viral and then they reached 1 million followers on Instagram. And at that time, I was just so— I was feeling so, you know, cheated. Um, and I shared that with my community. I, I went really vulnerable. And, and, you know, so many people reached out to me saying that, you know, we are with you, we're going to report this, uh, account, and, you know, don't worry, we follow you for these, these, these reasons. So I feel that, um, the power of community is that, um, a lot of people similar to you follow you, uh, right? So, uh, I'm a positive person, just naturally. So a lot of my audience is also, you know, optimistic, positive. And I feel like your vibe attracts your tribe. So the power of the community is that tomorrow if I'm feeling low and out, if I put a story about it, I know that, you know, 100 people are going to resonate with that or they're going to give me their— send me their best wishes. So I feel— and the whole part of— the whole point of community is that you talk about your failures and not just your successes, because that's when people you know, connect. I recently put a video about a toxic workplace that I used to work at, and I can't even tell you, like, it went viral because it's not just me whose face is out there. So many other people, and they were just, you know, sharing their thoughts and experiences in the comments. And I feel that's amazing. That's a great place we live. That's a great world we live in where people are actually, you know, sharing their lows as well as their ups.

Do you find it interesting You know, you're saying, you know, a lot of things reflectively, maybe, maybe you're a toxic workplace you used to work at, and I think, you know, you didn't have that community that you built up while you were going through it, and I wonder how much, just, you know, whether that's like publicly or just in a community, in a group chat, like being around those like-minded people would make you aware of like when it's time to make a change or, you know, when you should stand up for yourself, because I think Honestly, like, that's, you know, you can talk about confidence socially or whatever, but like, I think that's the most important type of confidence, just to believe in yourself and that you're not crazy for thinking that this is the wrong job for you or that this isn't right or you deserve more. And yeah, would you— is there anything you'd say to someone that might be listening to this, like, in a job they're not feeling fulfilled in, or, you know, working in a team that they're not inspired by? You know, how can you reinstall their faith in careers?

Wow. As you were talking about, you were sharing your thoughts, I was just thinking back to that time and it just makes me so emotional because you feel so lonely in a workplace where you feel maybe singled out or you feel like you're not smart enough. I think I would just, if I could go back to my young, what I could say to my younger self or to anybody listening right now, I would say that You know, write down the pros and cons of being in this job. You know, are the pros outweighing the cons? If you are being, you know, mistreated or not valued or underpaid or, you know, just being belittled on a daily basis, that it's not the place to work at. You need to be respected for who you are and what you bring to the table. And that's why you were hired in the first place, right? So if they have forgotten it, then I think it's time to make a change. And sometimes that change can seem, you know, scary, but you really need to sit down by yourself and make a list of pros and cons and ask yourself this question that, am I really happy here? And I feel like the Gen Z is really making those changes. They don't want to be in a workplace that doesn't value them, or they're not even joining organizations that don't align with their values, for example. So I would say that it's time that we you know, start voicing what's going wrong at the workplace, or maybe find one or two people at work who could be your coach, coaches, or mentors, and you can talk to them about it.

Um, yeah, yeah. And you, you said with this voice that you're building, um, that you want to ultimately, you want to reach 1 million followers, a community of 1 million people, and, and that's a great ambition. But I wonder, you know, not looking at statistics or anything like that, what is, you know, the effect that you really want to leave on on your community, you know, in a couple years' time, what is it you'd like to be known for? And why would they like search your name up, for example? What feeling would you like them to have?

I just want to be known as the career mentor that made a difference in somebody's career, right? Whether it was helping them get a job or leaving the toxic workplace or voicing what they believe in or becoming a more confident version of themselves. Recently, my sister was sitting in her organization back in India and she said somebody new joined her team and they said that they were able to join that job because of my videos. So I think that's, that's what I want to leave. That's my little mark on the world. I don't know till when I'll keep creating content, but I hope they search for me as a career mentor that they could always go back to and watch the videos.

And I'm sure they will. Yeah, I'm curious. I know this is personalized to each person, the coaching that you give, and you can't just say many blanket statements about how to get a job in the UK. But if you could give 3 pieces of tangible advice that you could give to a student listening right now, you know, okay, action plan, this is what you can do in the next day. What would it be?

I think my number 1 thing would be figure out what exactly you want to do. Peter, I see this all the time. People are just making random job applications to every company that has an opening. If you don't know what you want, how are you able— how will you be able to get what you really want? So when I was looking for a job, I was very sure that I had already worked at the big corporates. I wanted to be a part of a small company and I wanted to work in strategy. So I literally made a 10-point list of what would my future organization look like. And, you know, that just helps you narrow down your search. So you really, really need to know, why do I want to work at this organization, these type of organizations, and what type of work do I want to do? And once you've made that, you know, list of target companies, for example, you go there, you go and search for jobs in those organizations. That's step 2. Then the 3rd step would be, like I said, you know, networking with people, reaching out to people who currently work there. Maybe it could be recruitment agencies who are affiliated with those organizations, reaching out to them and really proving your candidature to them. And that will only happen if you do the last step, which is going through the job description and really tailoring and customizing your CV according to that specific job. Don't just copy-paste the same resume and send it out to 100 companies. That doesn't work. You have to maybe make quality applications. So I always say less applications, focus on the quality and not the quantity. That always gives a better success rate.

That's great advice. And my final question to you—

sure—

I ask every single one of my guests. So when you first moved to the UK for your career, you would have a certain idea of what a successful career would look like then. And fast forward now, with all that you've learned and the community you've built and the jobs that you've worked in, you must have a slightly different idea of what success means to you. So yeah, what is your definition of success in a career sense?

My definition of success is really personal to me, and that is when my work, uh, when I'm able to help somebody else through my success, that's success to me. So whatever work I'm doing, if it's impacting even just one person, I feel successful. So I think I've reached a good place in my life where I, I wake up in the morning pretty content with how my career's spanned out.

So yeah, yeah, I think it's really important to make success somewhat attainable, otherwise you're just going to be forever chasing it. So, um, No, I think that's some amazing advice to graduates and students, and you know, I feel like we'll have to do some work together too, you know, maybe a live event for those listening and delve into this all a bit deeper. But yeah, thanks for coming on.

Thank you for having me, and it was great talking to you and learning about your story too.