Jyo Natarajan on finding your strengths — and advocating for them
Jyo Natarajan’s career began on a path that looked predictable. As a teenager, she was on track to become an accountant — taking courses in accounting, law, and higher math. She worked hard and she put in the hours, but something wasn’t clicking.
“It wasn’t just that it was hard,” she says. “I didn’t enjoy putting in the effort. That was the bigger signal.”
A side course in journalism changed everything. She loved it, excelled, and for the first time, effort felt energizing. Outside the classroom, she gravitated toward language instinctively — writing, playing word games, even memorizing parts of the Oxford dictionary. “I didn’t think of it as career prep,” she says. “I was just fascinated by how words worked.”
Looking back, the pattern is clear. “The things I enjoyed were also the things I was good at,” she says. “That alignment mattered.”
A quiet but powerful influence
Ask Jyo who shaped her most, and she doesn’t hesitate. “My grandma. Hands down.”
Blind for much of her life, her grandmother navigated the world with independence and conviction. In 1990s India, she advocated for recycling before it was common. She remained an avid “reader” — adapting to life without sight through radio, television, and family members reading aloud. “She never let it feel like a handicap,” Jyo says.
When others questioned Jyo’s decision to pursue journalism, her grandmother stood firm. “She told me to keep going,” Jyo says. “She believed I had what it took.” That belief became fuel.
Why the work still matters
Jyo’s foundation is editorial craft — the power of language to inform, guide, and connect. Over time, her passion expanded beyond writing to building and mentoring teams. “When something comes naturally to you, you don’t always realize how difficult it might be for others,” she says. That realization shapes how she leads.
At ChimeⓇ, she’s found an environment that values behind-the-scenes work like content and training — functions that directly support members and agents, even if they’re not always visible.
“Chime moves fast, but it’s intentional,” she says. “When we surface issues through feedback or data, leaders want to understand and move things forward. That conviction and investment is rare.”
A role that keeps evolving
Jyo joined Chime to lead content, focused on improving quality and reducing manual work. Over time, her scope expanded into learning content, training, and governance across BPO sites. That evolution reflects both company growth and a shifting tech landscape.
“AI forces you to pause and sometimes go back to your roots,” she says. For Jyo, those roots are clear: content, learning, and training are critical to how Chime serves members. And while the tools used to achieve these goals may change, the impact she’s aiming for remains the same: delivering value to people.
Advice that compounds
The best career advice Jyo has ever received is to learn and stay curious while you already have a job. “It takes the pressure off,” she explains. “You’re investing in what genuinely interests you.”
She applies that same mindset to her team — building partnerships, encouraging growth, and creating space for people to stretch.
“As a leader, investing in others is how you elevate your entire function,” she says.
A moment that reshaped progress
When she looks back, what stands out most are the leaders who chose Jyo before she fully chose herself. Teachers, editors, managers, and family members saw conviction in her work and invested in her growth. The first time her parents watched her on TV as a reporter — the pride and twinkle in their eyes — affirmed that she was exactly where she needed to be. The first time she made an editorial mistake, her editor’s quiet confidence that she would learn from it reshaped how she saw failure: not as a setback, but as momentum.
And when she couldn’t find a job in traditional media, what felt like a closed door became an unexpected redirection. That uncertainty led her to explore unconventional opportunities, eventually bringing her into the world of tech.
In hindsight, the unplanned moments — the pivots, the belief of others, the resilience built in uncertainty — are what continue to propel her forward.
