A site that lets you test drive a dream job

iReboot helps make your transition to a fresh start easy by connecting you with the right professionals and actualizing that dream occupation.

Did you have a dream that you tucked away in a closet? A very good poem by Langston Hughes called ‘A Dream Deferred’ is worth a read because it tells you that deferred dreams could rot, stink, fester and become a load. So, what if there is someone who lets you connect with your passion and convert it into a career? Such a person can be your mentor at work or a business personality who is your role model.

But now there is an enterprise called iReboot set up by Mukta Darera in April 2008, to allow people to get a feel of their dream job and drive away those Monday morning blues. iReboot enables those who have not yet discovered their passion to discover themselves. As for those who know what they would love to do but are not sure about how to take the first step, it helps them take a weekend test drive of the career with experienced professionals from the industry.

This career reorientation idea was a bootstrap venture started by Mukta to “enable people to explore their dream careers.” This software engineer, who worked at Intel before she started iReboot, explained that her desire to help other people achieve their dreams was what motivated her to start this venture. “I wanted to start a company to enable people to explore their dream careers. My initial market study showed that a majority of the Indian workforce was unhappy with their jobs. I envisioned a “reboot” process to support people in actualizing a dream job. I think somewhere it was my own experience and realization of unfulfilling jobs that I converted into a career opportunity,” she says. “I started iReboot from a shared living room. Two years down, I have three employees and 20 consultants who run 18 different reboot experiences that enable people to explore hobbies, career options and make career switches. It has been exhilarating and humbling.”

This ‘humbling’ rush began with an early set of experiences in doing her own thing. She created and sold a newsletter called ‘Pickwick Papers’ while still in school. She recalled, “We shut down in three months. Years later, just prior to iReboot, I started a walking tour company which also closed shop soon. So technically, iReboot is my third startup, but the first serious one.”

When some people get serious about their endeavors, it usually is good news for society as a whole because a life-changing process has been set in motion, or a marvelous invention is in the works that will help humankind as a whole. One individual’s ideas could revolutionize the lives of so many people. Think Alexander Fleming and penicillin, Jonas Salk and the polio vaccine, Thomas Alva Edison and the light bulb, a not-as-famous Robert Gair and his production of cardboard boxes, which has made the lives of millions around the world easier.

Today, ventures with a social heart are called social enterprises, and iReboot fits the definition. Mukta explained how it works, “We cater to three segments: working professionals, students and corporates. iReboot lets you try your hand at what you have been dreaming about - whether it is being a wildlife photographer or a restaurant owner. My proudest moment was when I got an e-mail from one of my participants. He was from North India and had come to us when he was in class 9 and failing in most of his exams. His family recognized that he loved music and sent him to us, to see what he could do for the rest of his life. He underwent DJing sessions and today has a promising future. To make a difference in a person’s life by connecting him with his passion and helping him give it a fair chance - that is what we are all about.”

“We are venturing into the corporate segment to reboot employees in their workplaces. We have collaborated and created shared marketing models with other businesses, and have had over 1,000 participants ranging from fresh graduates to executives.” She acknowledges the challenges she faces to keep iReboot running, and that is getting the right people on board. She says, “On hindsight, I should have started on a larger scale and scaled up a little more.”

But at the end of the day, she’s thrilled to see her dream take shape and become a reality because as she puts it “the concept of iReboot was so abstract to begin with, and giving it form and shape has been an amazing journey.” A journey truly well begun.

Written for Accenture's microsite - Vaahini - a network that empowers women.