Meet Vaishali Kharade, our Product Complaints and Quality Process Developer

We met up with Vaishali Kharade, Product Complaints and Quality Process Developer, to learn more about her participation in Mitt Livs Chans mentorship program. Duni Group has been a proud partner to Mitt Liv for many years working together to support a more inclusive and diverse Swedish labor market. Recognizing that many top talents can be found in the program, we have taken action and hired four alumni at our head quarters in Malmö.

Vaishali, you participated in the Mitt Livs Chans mentorship program in 2018. Why did you join?

After a few months of moving to Sweden from India, I was confused with my thoughts and had started to think: “did I make the right choice to leave my home country, my job and follow my husband to Sweden?” Being a mechanical engineer, holding a good position in a multinational company and having worked for 12+ years in various functions, I thought it would be like a piece of cake to get a job in Sweden. After a few years of applying and learning the language, I could see my dream fading away. But the attitude my parents instilled in me helped me a lot during this tough time. They always believed and helped me believe that hard work, sincere efforts and not giving up would bring me closer to my goals. The support from my family here in Sweden also helped a lot to stay strong and have faith. In parallel with learning the language, I did a couple of courses with Folkuniversitet to get into the Swedish labor market, tried various job fairs, registered with different job-hunting websites and was active on LinkedIn. Not a single stone was left unturned. And as they say, hard work always pays off and Mitt Liv came along!

Can you share any reflections from the program?

I had participated in various courses and workshops organized by Arbetsförmedlingen that helped me get a sense of the Swedish labor market and culture. But Mitt Liv´s structure of having mentors from various fields helped me understand the real functioning of the Swedish labor market. I developed an understanding of the importance of having networks, LinkedIn contacts and references. The program gave me hands-on training regarding interviews and helped modify my resume and cover letter. The best part of the program was to have a mentor from the same field of interest as myself. This indeed put focus on how to look for opportunities, how to prepare for interviews and then prepare your pitch accordingly. Another important piece of advice I received during the program was to be open to learn and try new things and not restrict yourself to previous experience. This learning along with my attitude landed me my first role at Duni Group in the Quality and Engineering department and as they say, the rest is history!

What is your professional role at Duni Group today?

I currently hold the position as Product Complaints and Quality Process Developer from May 2022. My previous experience of working in my home country in various departments helped me a lot to get success at Duni Group. It started with a short stint with the Quality and Sustainability department in the beginning of the year of 2018. Then I got an opportunity to work with Supply Chain for Duni Group´s own produced and traded goods. I must say that the culture, importance of work-life balance, ethics and values have kept me glued to the company since 2018 and is becoming stronger and stronger day by day!

And finally, what is your best piece of advice for foreign professionals?

Not much to say because it already takes so much courage, determination, and resilience to come to new country, with a different culture, meet new people, learn a new language, and look for opportunities to establish yourself. So don't lose hope and faith in yourself! Work hard, keep trying and don´t give up. Be flexible and open to learn new things. Keep following up with your connections, make a call to the responsible person if you have applied to certain positions. Don’t leave any opportunity hanging to get into the Swedish labor market even if it means a small internship, contract position or similar. I also urge Swedish companies to give a chance to international talents and benefit from their knowledge and expertise.