Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Shamsha Mithani and I am the Product Manager on the Money Movement team working on the development of new products. I am a fun-loving individual who loves to explore new places, new trails and enjoy nature’s beauty. I strongly believe in giving back to my community and volunteering is an important part of my life. During my free time I enjoy listening to podcasts, reading books and working on my side hustle, an online retail store selling fitness apparel and accessories. Walking everyday is a mandatory part of my daily routine. A fun fact about myself is that I love talking and can happily chat for hours with my friends or mentees.
You recently shifted roles – can you tell us about your career path at Interac?
I started my journey at Interac as an Implementation Manager which allowed me to work with various financial institutions to help them implement Interac products. I wanted to explore and gain experience in product planning and strategy, and understand the decisions made behind the scenes that impacted implementations. To make that happen, I initiated conversations with my manager, colleagues and HR to create a professional development plan and gain more insight, thoughts and ideas on how to take the next step in my career. Conveniently Interac has existing internal resources such as mentoring programs and a personalized review of my professional development plan which helped pave the way for my career development. Now, I have moved to the Product team in the role of a Product Manager.
What was your favourite part of your last role, and what are you looking forward to in your new role?
My favourite part of being an Implementation Manager was when financial institutions would launch Interac products and services for Canadians and seeing how they would benefit small businesses and their customers. It makes me feel proud that Interac products make a difference in the day-to-day lives of so many Canadians. In my new role, I am looking forward to lots of learning and being part of building products that make the lives of Canadians simpler, easier and faster. I’m also looking forward to working with really smart colleagues that challenge my thought process and force me to think outside the box.
What advice do you have for other people trying to navigate their own career path, including your colleagues at Interac?
My advice would be to make use of internal resources available, including networking opportunities with leadership and development planning, even if it pushes you out of your comfort zone – it’s worth it. It’s important to be your own ambassador and cheerleader, championing your accomplishments and congratulating yourself for taking positive steps toward your career goals. It was also helpful to schedule meetings or coffee chats with people from different departments you don’t usually work with to gain exposure and learn about what else is happening within the organization through a different lens. This helped me learn lots of new and historical context about the company, build my network within Interac, and make new friends. Lastly, never stop trying even when the path is not clear and visible, take pause but not to give up trying and walking towards your end goal.
What is your favourite part about working at Interac?
There are so many amazing people working at Interac who come forward to help, support or just make you laugh. I love the way we collaborate and work together to resolve issues, support one another and have fun. There are times when there have been crises and our team always comes together quickly to collaborate and resolve the issues – even if it’s stressful in the moment, after the fact we always look back fondly at those moments of amazing teamwork. I’ve met some wonderful people with whom I can discuss anything from career goals to personal goals, and the leaders and company itself are really good at making sure its employees are taken care of professionally as well as personally.
