Meet the SHEROES - Kim Arora

She’s smart, she’s talented and she works as a Senior Correspondent for one o f India’s premier newspapers – the Times of India. She chanced upon this career but then again, that because she just kept doing what she liked. It has often been said though, make your hobby your work!

Let’s listen to what Kim Arora, has to say today!

What line of work are you in? What inspired you to enter this field?

I’m a journalist and became one quite by chance. It wasn’t so much a matter of getting inspired and making a conscious decision to enter journalism. It was more about continuing to do what I liked and finally ending up in a profession that felt like a good fit. Even once in the profession, finding a specialisation was a matter of chance discovery after a fair bit of hit and trial.

As a senior in this field today, what lessons have made you reach this stage?

Perseverance, attention to detail, and rewriting (a LOT of rewriting) help better your work. The earlier one learns that, the better. Constant feedback, I’ve learnt, is crucial. Of course, today, you get a story-by-story feedback not just from your editor before it goes out, but also from readers — either over email or on social networks -- once it is published. Some of that feedback can be useful for the long-term as well. 

What would you say to motivate other young women journalists?

Do not listen to anyone who says you won’t be able to do it. 

What does it take to balance work and life being a senior correspondent?

I’d much rather call it work-play balance. “Work-life balance” seems to suggest that work is somehow either exclusive of or opposed to life. Also, this question is typically asked more of women than of men, with the insinuation that the “life” part of the roster, often a reference to gendered family responsibilities, needs dumping of work.

For journalists, work-play balance can be difficult to achieve in a disciplined, ordered fashion, given the unstructured nature of our work timings. Some that I know have managed to take up a sport or enrol in classes to learn a new skill — I do hope to learn how to manage my time better to achieve something like that.

Spending time with friends and family is something one would want to give their complete attention to. I am guilty of having emailed at the dinner table a few times — it’s not a nice feeling. I suppose if people around you are the understanding sort (and if you’re good at explaining your predicament), they’ll be generous enough to let you hang around still. When you look up from your phone, they’re going to be there.