Episode 325
Career Conversations with Sucheta Rawal
Sucheta Rawal is a former investment banker turned food and travel expert with a mission to raise
awareness of the world through meaningful travel and cultural understanding. Drawing from her own experience of traveling to 100+ countries across 7 continents, Sucheta speaks to entrepreneurs on how to break
social norms, follow their passion, be change makers, and travel sustainably. Her passion for travel shines through in her ventures. She founded Go Eat Give, a nonprofit that promotes cross-cultural understanding through travel, food, and volunteerism. She has also authored 'Beato Goes To,' a series of children’s illustrated books on travel that
inspire young readers to learn about different countries and cultures.
Social media links
https://www.facebook.com/sucheta.rawal
https://www.instagram.com/suchetarawal/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/suchetarawal/
https://twitter.com/suchetarawal
Link to website
🌟 3 Key Takeaways from Sucheta Rawal's Career Conversations on The Traveling Introvert Podcast:
1️⃣ Meaningful Networking: Instead of solely seeking connections based on shared interests, focus on adding value to others and helping them succeed in their roles or career paths.
2️⃣ Meaningful Travel: When visiting a destination, don't just stick to typical tourist experiences. Instead, immerse yourself in the local culture, customs, and traditions. Make personal connections and support the local community.
3️⃣ Leadership & Public Speaking: Taking on leadership roles and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can lead to personal growth and improved public speaking skills. Getting stage time at conferences and engaging in sessions helps others remember your expertise and opens the door for further conversations.
Transcript
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the traveling introvert
Speaker:career conversations. I am very excited
Speaker:to talk to this guest. They have
Speaker:done amazing things and I'm very excited.
Speaker:So go. I would like to introduce you to
Speaker:and please say hello. Hi
Speaker:everybody. Hi, Janice. All right,
Speaker:so oh, see, I've
Speaker:lost my train of thought. I'm that excited. First question as always, is do
Speaker:you consider yourself to be an introvert? I
Speaker:go both ways. I actually grew up as an introvert for
Speaker:most of my life and at this point in stage
Speaker:where I'm in my forty s, I feel like I can do both.
Speaker:So that makes me ask, what does introversion mean to you?
Speaker:So to me it means where I draw my energy
Speaker:from being around people or being on my
Speaker:own. Think about like when you go to a meeting, a
Speaker:networking session and do you come back feeling like oh,
Speaker:I'm so beat now, I do not have energy to talk to people?
Speaker:Or do you get very excited and you just come back with full
Speaker:of ideas and you just want to talk more and more? And I
Speaker:feel like depending on the crowd, I can go both ways. I'm very comfortable
Speaker:being on my own, but I also draw energy being around people.
Speaker:And you mentioned that you think that you started off earlier in your life being
Speaker:an introvert and moved into being more of an ambivert. Now,
Speaker:what made you think that things have changed? Or has anything happened in your
Speaker:life that makes you think that you've changed? Absolutely.
Speaker:So when I was growing up in India, I was a
Speaker:very quiet kid. I was one of those people who my
Speaker:friends thought there was something wrong with you because I hardly
Speaker:ever spoke. And at home, yes, with my
Speaker:family I was pretty talkative, but the moment I went
Speaker:outside I was just a good listener. But I never felt
Speaker:like I always needed to be heard. But when I
Speaker:came to the United States and I went to college,
Speaker:I started feeling that if you are not heard, if
Speaker:you don't speak up, then you are construed a certain way
Speaker:that you're not smart enough or you don't have enough to contribute.
Speaker:But even the I think the turning point in my
Speaker:life was travel. I am a
Speaker:travel writer, but starting off in college, I was just going to
Speaker:school for business. One of the
Speaker:organizations that was for students was
Speaker:doing travel for as part of their student body to go
Speaker:on conferences. And my friend came to me and said,
Speaker:if you want free travel, you should join this
Speaker:leadership honor society. And I said, Well, I do want
Speaker:free travel, so what do I need to get there? And she said, well,
Speaker:your GPA is high enough so you'll qualify, but if
Speaker:you join the board as a student body leader,
Speaker:you're assured that you will get to travel for free.
Speaker:So I went next day and I signed up for the
Speaker:presidential election to be the president of the
Speaker:student body organization. And
Speaker:I did not know that that if I did get elected,
Speaker:which I did, my first job would be to speak in front
Speaker:of 500 people. And I think that was the
Speaker:turning point of my life when I was put in a
Speaker:position where I had to speak in front of people. And
Speaker:that's not going to say that I had to become an extrovert at that point,
Speaker:but I really had to break out of my shell and get
Speaker:comfortable being in front of people and being around them
Speaker:and speaking to them, addressing board meetings
Speaker:and conferences.
Speaker:Okay. And so you said that it didn't mean
Speaker:that you became an extrovert. You just had to address people.
Speaker:Do you feel that that is harder for introverts
Speaker:to address a crowd of 500 people? I do
Speaker:feel that introvert have a little bit of an easier
Speaker:handle on that just because they're more
Speaker:comfortable speaking in front of people, addressing bigger
Speaker:crowds. But as I said, being an introvert
Speaker:and not being comfortable talking in front of people
Speaker:and not feeling like I needed to, constantly being
Speaker:heard, that was a bold move for me.
Speaker:You said that you became president and you got free travel
Speaker:is the assumption after that. Yeah. So I got to go
Speaker:on our regional and national
Speaker:conferences as the president, and I also
Speaker:picked who all went with me. And when I went to
Speaker:these conferences, I had to meet people from all parts
Speaker:of the world who had also come as student leaders.
Speaker:And that was where I really felt like my
Speaker:introvert was coming out, because we would interact
Speaker:in workshops, we would have dinners together, we would share
Speaker:ideas, we would even janice and learn
Speaker:about each other's culture. And it was a turning point in my
Speaker:life because I always felt like I want
Speaker:to learn about other people through travel, but at that moment, I
Speaker:had the opportunity to do it.
Speaker:And so with that travel and all the people you
Speaker:met, was there anyone specific that sort of
Speaker:maybe changed your life or changed the trajectory of your life?
Speaker:There were several people along the way, starting with my
Speaker:advisor in grad school who
Speaker:really pushed me to take on those leadership roles.
Speaker:But even from there, going into my first job
Speaker:where I was working in consulting, and they sent
Speaker:me for leadership training, for public speaking training,
Speaker:and then all the clients I made, I
Speaker:worked with through those different
Speaker:positions I've held. I feel like those are the people who
Speaker:impacted me the most because they have seen me grow in
Speaker:different career paths but being the same
Speaker:person and having a different outlook of life. And
Speaker:they've seen me drawing my energy from being an
Speaker:introvert to now being a super introvert at times
Speaker:where I'm the one who's connecting people and speaking
Speaker:in front of crowds and having these very
Speaker:unique experiences. And so you mentioned
Speaker:attending all these conferences as a leader. Did
Speaker:you have any tips or things that you did to
Speaker:help deal with going to conferences all the time?
Speaker:Some of the tips at that point, it was very
Speaker:different than now because I was a student at that time,
Speaker:but I still go to a lot of conferences now as a
Speaker:speaker and as a leader. So I would say I would
Speaker:speak more on where I'm in my life right now.
Speaker:Some of the tips for attending and networking
Speaker:with conferences. I always try to get stage time,
Speaker:whether it is doing a workshop, a panel
Speaker:or just speaking up in some of the other sessions
Speaker:where I introduce myself and if I have a question or
Speaker:comment to add, I would make
Speaker:sure that people know my name, who I work for, what do
Speaker:I do, and then ask my question. And I feel that
Speaker:makes it easier for people to come and speak to
Speaker:me afterwards and it opens up new
Speaker:conversations as well. And you
Speaker:mentioned that you go into leadership positions and you'll be sent on leadership
Speaker:training. I know. Public speaking you mentioned
Speaker:was one thing that was covered with leadership training. Was there anything else that you
Speaker:felt that was covered in leadership training that was
Speaker:useful? Yes, a lot of it
Speaker:was useful. And the public speaking actually was a completely different training
Speaker:program that I went for aside from the leadership
Speaker:training. And a lot of it was around how to present
Speaker:yourself to your clients, how to
Speaker:network, and never take a no for an
Speaker:answer. When you reach out to people and
Speaker:people don't know who you're not familiar with and maybe
Speaker:you're just sending them a message on LinkedIn and how you
Speaker:can add value to their lives, rather than just say, oh,
Speaker:I want to connect. We are in the same group
Speaker:or we are in the same city or the same company, rather
Speaker:than just opening with that, maybe saying, here,
Speaker:I can help you be more successful in
Speaker:your role or your career path and what is it that you're
Speaker:offering to them rather than just making that
Speaker:friendly connection? Okay, so
Speaker:as follow on from that, is this something that you do regularly
Speaker:that has improved your career? Absolutely.
Speaker:This is something I do on a daily basis
Speaker:for all aspects of my job, from speaking, traveling,
Speaker:to writing, everything that I do.
Speaker:What is it? It is connecting with
Speaker:people and offering value to them. Okay,
Speaker:and is there anything else that you would recommend that people do sort of
Speaker:weekly or monthly as a ritual to improve their career or business?
Speaker:I think the importance of networking
Speaker:is often misconstrued because networking is
Speaker:not just always going into a room full of people and
Speaker:having a drink, but it is also keeping in touch
Speaker:on a regular basis, whether you pick up the phone and call them or
Speaker:send them an email. But I feel like that constant
Speaker:communication with people I've come to know
Speaker:over my lifetime, whether they are in the same
Speaker:industry or not. But that value of
Speaker:holding on to that network and telling them
Speaker:what you're doing at this point in your career and how they
Speaker:can help you or how you can help them or just having a
Speaker:friendly chat and know, well, I just had a wonderful
Speaker:trip to New Mexico, and if you are ever
Speaker:thinking about going, you going there. Let me give you some
Speaker:advice on how you can have a more meaningful experience
Speaker:when you travel there. And so that
Speaker:leads me to a question for you with your travel, what constitutes
Speaker:a meaningful experience? Great question.
Speaker:So I've traveled to over 100 countries and
Speaker:I feel like a lot of people tend to repeat the same
Speaker:experience over and over again when they go to a destination.
Speaker:They are staying in a hotel, eating at a restaurant they may
Speaker:have read about in a tour, in a magazine
Speaker:and then they bring the same photographs as all of their friends
Speaker:do of the destination. To me that
Speaker:becomes repetitive and does not add any value
Speaker:to you as a traveler. A
Speaker:meaningful travel on the other hand, would be something that
Speaker:enriches your life as well as the life of
Speaker:the others at the destination you visit. And that
Speaker:could be having a learning lesson that you may
Speaker:have not known about that culture or the place or the
Speaker:food that you come back and have a personal connection
Speaker:with someone you met there or something you
Speaker:learned about their customs, their religions
Speaker:and then the choices you make as a destination.
Speaker:So I'm a big proponent
Speaker:of sustainable travel and I feel that every
Speaker:opportunity you have as a traveler you are able to make
Speaker:those decisions on which hotel that you will
Speaker:stay with, which restaurant you would dine with, who you're going to take a
Speaker:tour with and making sure that those dollars that you
Speaker:spend are invested in the local community.
Speaker:And so how would you go about doing that research?
Speaker:Well, that's a great question because a lot of
Speaker:the online platforms, if you book on
Speaker:a tour or a packaged tour,
Speaker:does not really allow you to do that. So I
Speaker:connect with local tour operators who are often
Speaker:women led and women owned small businesses
Speaker:in those countries and they have a deeper connection to
Speaker:the community. I tell them that this is what
Speaker:I'm interested in, whether it's art or food or
Speaker:nature and have them make a tailor made
Speaker:itinerary for me. And while I'm
Speaker:there, I have these people guide me
Speaker:through my tours. So it's not just about send me off
Speaker:to check out all these attractions, but have someone with
Speaker:me to talk to me about your culture
Speaker:and those are the people that I connect with and ask them
Speaker:questions, and I ask them to connect me further.
Speaker:To what restaurants do you go to with your
Speaker:family on the weekend? Or if you're going on a
Speaker:vacation to a different part of your country, where
Speaker:would you go? And just asking those questions to
Speaker:people and making those personal connections,
Speaker:I think that is the best way to do it. And
Speaker:so can you let us know where you currently are, sort of in your
Speaker:career, your current job and industry, and the
Speaker:can you let me know about some misconceptions people have about
Speaker:your job and industry? Yes. So I'm
Speaker:a full time food and travel writer, and I
Speaker:work as a freelancer for a few
Speaker:publications, including Time Magazine,
Speaker:CNN, Travel and Leisure Photos. And I have
Speaker:two columns I write I also write a series of children's books
Speaker:about travel, and I speak about travel. So
Speaker:the most common misconception I get from people
Speaker:who look at my social media posts is that I am
Speaker:eating and drinking all the time
Speaker:and just on vacation, taking these
Speaker:glamorous shots, and I don't work.
Speaker:So eating and drinking is a big part of my job,
Speaker:where I have to taste sometimes
Speaker:hundreds of dishes a week, and I
Speaker:have to talk to the chefs, learn about the food,
Speaker:the ingredients, where they're sourced from. So there's
Speaker:a lot of backstory that happens behind
Speaker:each dish that I taste. And people are just looking
Speaker:at, oh, having a great time, you're out for dinner again,
Speaker:or you're off to another destination. But
Speaker:it is work. It is a fun work, and I would not
Speaker:do anything else. But there are
Speaker:very long hours, and my whole
Speaker:itinerary each day is defined by
Speaker:the destinations or my sponsors.
Speaker:And every waking hour I have is
Speaker:filled with activities, meetings,
Speaker:interviews, photograph
Speaker:sessions, social media posts. And
Speaker:so I really never have time to sit by the pool and have a drink,
Speaker:which most people would imagine to at least
Speaker:do once during their vacation. So I think that's a
Speaker:very different viewpoint of what the life of a travel
Speaker:writer could be and funny.
Speaker:Janice I have invited some of my friends to come with me
Speaker:occasionally on my trips, and I said, well, you can observe
Speaker:me in action. And after the first day,
Speaker:they say, I quit. I cannot
Speaker:eat another ten course meal. I am jet
Speaker:lagged. I just want to go to my room and go to
Speaker:sleep, and I don't want to be a part of this anymore.
Speaker:Can't keep up with the pace. Exactly.
Speaker:And so you mentioned that on your Instagram and your social media. That's what
Speaker:it looks like. Do you ever do something that goes behind the
Speaker:scenes, gives more in depth information on what an
Speaker:average I don't know if there is an average day that's probably misconception
Speaker:a day might look like to give people more depth about
Speaker:what your industry does and what you do as a
Speaker:creator? Yes. I've actually done
Speaker:several YouTube videos on my own channel
Speaker:where I talked about how people could get into this
Speaker:business and what to expect if they wanted to become a
Speaker:food and travel writer. I've talked about what the
Speaker:typical day life is and what are some of the
Speaker:pitfalls. Why is it not for everybody? Because
Speaker:you definitely need to have a lot of stamina and
Speaker:be persistent with your work. It is not just
Speaker:about traveling and eating, but you have to
Speaker:sell those stories. You got to write them on paper and then
Speaker:you got to pitch yourself. Why are you the right person to be
Speaker:telling these stories? And then you have to make the
Speaker:connections with editors and constantly
Speaker:be updating your portfolio
Speaker:with what you're doing. So it is not just
Speaker:a one day when you go to work
Speaker:eight to five and then you're done. Your work basically
Speaker:goes 24 hours a day. And so
Speaker:now you are where you are. Can you tell me the last three jobs
Speaker:you did before you got to where you are
Speaker:today? I've been a food and travel writer
Speaker:full time for about twelve years. Before
Speaker:that I used to work in Human Capital
Speaker:Consulting for Gallup
Speaker:Organization, and before that I was
Speaker:in investment banking for a Dutch company.
Speaker:So completely different jobs, different paths.
Speaker:But I feel like every job I've
Speaker:had has prepared me to be where I
Speaker:am today. Adding some skills
Speaker:in different ways, like I told you, with leadership, with speaking,
Speaker:with networking, but helping me build
Speaker:to who I am as a travel writer.
Speaker:Awesome. Thank you for letting us know about that path. And
Speaker:final question for you that I ask everybody,
Speaker:is a hot dog a sandwich?
Speaker:I'm sorry, what's your question? Is a hot dog a
Speaker:sandwich? That's a funny question.
Speaker:I guess it is because a piece of meat
Speaker:between two pieces of bread is what they define sandwich
Speaker:as when it first came out. So it probably
Speaker:is, but it's not something
Speaker:actually it's not my favorite food. And
Speaker:I'm sure you get asked this all the time. So what is your favorite food
Speaker:as you brought it up? I
Speaker:gravitate more towards Asian because that is my
Speaker:heritage. So anything spicy,
Speaker:like Indian, Thai, Malaysian is what my
Speaker:favorite is. Not that I can eat it every day, but if
Speaker:you want to treat me to a great meal, that's what I would
Speaker:expect people to make for me. Okay, you've been told
Speaker:people, if you want to invite around for dinner, that's what
Speaker:the menu should look like. Thank you so much. Can you
Speaker:tell the wonderful listeners where they can find
Speaker:you? Yeah. So I am on all social
Speaker:media platforms as my full name, which is
Speaker:sucheta ravel, and I also have a
Speaker:blog which is called Go Eat Give. And
Speaker:my series of books are called Beato goes
Speaker:to awesome. Thank you so much for joining us
Speaker:today. It was a real pleasure. Thank you very much. This is
Speaker:Janice@thecareintrovert.com helping you build your brand and get
