Asra 👩🏻💻
@AsraPro_
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⚡curating + designing community experiences for startups + creators 🧠 thoughts about upskilling, learning, and moving countries
Santa Cruz
Joined April 2014
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I only started on Upwork 2 years back and it took me 55 cover letters to land my first gig. The problem was my profile.
It is tougher for new freelancers now but if you have advanced skills, here is how you can optimize your profile.
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If you are young in 🇵🇰, get the degree and score that GPA.
Education is not not be measured with monetary benefits, but yeah it is your way to economic mobility - your first step into the door.
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I met friends of 25 years and they asked me, where is that ambition?
I told them I work less hours and make better money, I also have a micro investment portfolio. They asked me again, where is that ambition, Asra?
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I feel suffocated in this digital 🇵🇰, like actual can’t breathe situation.
You keep talking about the 64% youth bulge but provide them no avenues of expression, learning, and opportunities.
Keep your “but-where-are-the-local innovations” to yourself, thanks.
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It is so carefully curated that they missed out on an entire gender 🤦🏻♀️
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Canva has a job opening for Urdu Language Manager and it has close to 500 applications.
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has raised $1,000,000 in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Lakson VC
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Upwork proposals are basically cover letters.
Your ultimate pitch to a life-changing opportunity.
Here is what to do to get conversions, and more of what not to do.
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Young women were recovering together from anxiety after the motorway incident. We will not find peace tonight, or ever.
Once again it is not an individual action, but the collective audacity of men that can record their crimes as a mark of triumph.
#ArrestUsmanMirza
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Our childhood ambitions were defined by the state of our family’s economic well being or lack thereof and what our parents decreed for us, nothing too major. Hard sciences, stable 9-5, happy slaves to capitalism.
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tbh I get all my sari confidence from
@sabahbanomalik
and all the saris from yesteryears of nani amma, ammi and khalas
I will use any excuse to post a saree photo (or 3)
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All my recent clients on Upwork came through direct hires.
It means they never posted a job on the feed and just sent a contract in the DM.
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Are you a full-time student or a professional who is trying to get into freelancing?
Aim for 2 hrs/day and make your week look like this.
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I stayed behind, out of circumstance, out of choice. There were opportunities I let go, never a regret.
My partner left - his siblings, my sibling - his wife and kids, and my friends. Everyone flew away for opportunities, responsibilities, and safety.
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If you are thinking to drop out, understand that our realities are way different than the people who preach it.
So how do you turn a messy university experience to build your life? You find community in faculty, alumni, and students.
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May every prayer find its way to Palestine, because we are incapable of anything else.
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It’s a question often thrown by the people I love, my family too, despite how much they hype me. Someone younger asked me if I have retired.
I shrug it off telling that maybe I am too lazy, it makes the most sense to them.
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In 2019, I will disappoint people by saying no, rather than overcommitting. 😔
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HEC has access to shit tonnes of learning resources - you use your enrollment to access them and build your skills.
Run coding sprints/study circles with your fellows when things are inadequate.
Join clubs, if there isn’t any, build one. Knock door after door.
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But I took a moment to ask myself today. Where is that ambition? But first, what was that ambition? How it was the same for us growing up and how it was dramatically changed in 2020?
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Small men occupying big offices will forever resist women taking up space as equals.
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Eid Mubarak to everyone except the guy who told me he’d complete his PhD and meet me in summers.
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I have lived in Karachi all my life, in a 2-bedroom apartment with water seeping through the cracks, in a house with terrace flooding the upper floor.
Wet carpets, muddy tap water, sewerage smell.
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"For young men and women with dreams, making connections is hard. Starting conversations is hard. Opening doors is hard. Asking questions is hard."
Oh tell me,
@jehan_ara
!
#021Disrupt2020
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The ambitions projected on me today want me to be an entrepreneur, or an employee in a startup that has raised Series A, or be an academic.
Or just have something stable, anything, but stable.
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Life happens when I am working and I look at the faces of my baby nieces, and it hits me, maybe I am stealing from them, the time, that is rightfully theirs.
Am I weak? Because millions of people do this, mostly out of necessity, sometimes out of ambitions. I don’t know.
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Increase the surface area of your luck.
Talk about your work. Apply to that role. Learn that skill.
Even when it feels you are too late, show up every day.
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Also stay hyper online. No matter what your major is you will find community. You will learn about opportunities and find mentors.
Things are sad and campuses are messed up but you will be surprised to see the number of people willing to help you.
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8:00 am, I arrive at the Nest after a sleepless night, nobody is there except Jehan.
She asked me if I was all right, I put up a strong face as I told her that we have been kicked out of the campus, the community we built and our funds confiscated.
This is a long over due appreciation thread.
I am often asked by our mutual friends why
@jehan_ara
has so much clout and influence with so many tech founders in Pakistan.
Here is an abbreviated history of our 18 year old friendship.
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Pieces of my heart are scattered around the world now. I miss the faces I grew up with and entered the real world.
In the background of everything political happening right now - our relationships and friendships have been hurting. Pray that we all are home.
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I have lived in the same city for 28 years - not been out of here, not seen more cities.
Keep your head down, study hard, work hard, and uplift people around you.
We will only be a stat for them. This game is not for you and me.
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Step 01
Scroll through your job feed or search for your skills to identify the following:
1. Title of the role posted by the client
2. Tags they have included at the end
3. Tools or skills they have mentioned
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Private or public, you have to self-teach yourself. Understand that companies ask for GPA in their job forms too. Global companies too!
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So what happens to these ambitions when they hit my brain? Life happens.
No, it is not a lazy anticlimactic answer to the question. It is based on this meme that my mom showed me, pulled my cheek and said, it’s all life for you na?
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Whenever you meet them, these women will greet you with a smile and a bear hug irrespective of how little you contribute, and you will know everything will be all right :')
@FaizaYousuf
@shamimrajani
These two women are battling the gender biased technology industry by teaching coding to young girls
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Why is nobody talking about
#021Disrupt2018
celebrating gender diversity at its best?!
It is heartwarming to see how many speakers yesterday and today such as
@MaroofAliSyed
and
@sameerchishty
are all big advocates of women in startups/tech.
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She pulled my cheek again, when she wanted me to fix Nani Amma’s tablet and I told her,
“I am child support, I am elderly support, am I now tech support?”
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This is coming from a person who went to a public university and built her career trying to fix these systems in universities.
Apparently, I have to mention this to debunk that more than 1% campuses are better.
Don’t expect top to bottom transformation - do your thing.
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We just had PTV growing up, so Tariq Aziz was our late night show.
My grandma used to write all the trivia questions he used to ask in his show and filled multiple notebooks.
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Maybe I was just sensitive to this question because the future is uncertain, and has been like that for a while.
I don’t know where will I be next month, or the month after that, or the year after that.
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For years your parents do not allow you to travel alone. Then you grow into an adult, rebel, only to find the monsters yourself.
Oh Allah, please heal the victims form this trauma and break the arrogance of the criminals and the system that lets them be.
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Here is a fun story, I pitched my FYP for the inaugural cohort of
@TheNestiO
, it was beauty tech (haha!) and I pitched it to a room which had mostly men in suits. I was young, the senior year had just started.
#021Disrupt2020
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Excited. Nervous. Ecstatic!
#RoadToGraduation
After successfully executing 40+ dialogue activities, impacting over 2500+ young participants, building a digital platform to generate data insights and launching a Facebook community boasting 2300+ members,
@OpenMicPK
is
#ReadyToFly
.
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I was playing Red Alert when I was 12 and these kids
@TheNestiO
have a whole business plan ready to roll 😭👩🏻💻🤓
#SWK19
#DreamBigStartSmall
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I have been working remotely before the pandemic too. This has been the longest stretch and moving countries has made it lonely too.
I am taking some time off to build things for myself and if someone wants me to be their accountability partner I will be happy to help.
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K-Electric wants to encourage you to pray tahajjud, a few hours later, it doesn’t want you to miss your Fajr prayers too, Mashaa Allah 😇
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don’t do it folks, you will get into chronic burn out and stop building the things you were passionate about
If you’re in your 20s and ambitious but aren’t working 12+ hour days, you’re doing it wrong.
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I have no valuable insight to add to the discourse of how this city can be saved, and what can the governance (or lack thereof) do.
I just want people to show some class solidarity and stop being tone deaf.
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I realized that a lot of new people have joined this space. Wanted to say hi and learn about you!
I am a Software Engineer who does everything else. I have been building in the edtech space for 7+ years. I have had a very non-linear career.
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I got diagnosed of a skin condition that only happens because of stress, and no allergic reaction.
The doc said, “what’s bothering you sweet bachay” and I had to fight my tears.
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As an adult today, my heart is fucking breaking seeing the images of my drowning city.
Having lived the reality, barish stopped meaning pakoras and fun a long time back.
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I thought I had the experience for it but finding a full-time role as a new immigrant has been a kick in the guts.
And that's when I am going through referrals.
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Now look at their profile descriptions. A good one will be <250 words and demonstrate:
1. Years of experience, skills, tools
2. Social proof and impact numbers
3. Short-term and long-term services
4. CTA
I repeat, do not write your life's story.
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Last night, I was searching for an old email and instead found this. I was embarrassed, amused, and also angry.
I was a child when I wrote this.
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no electricity from 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM tomorrow 🖕🏻
my laptop, phone, power bank, wireless headphones, 4g device, all 100% charged 💪🏼⚡️🔋
feeling accomplished, patriotic, and motivated to work tomorrow so F*R can seize my income 🥰
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I have met two kinds of founders at
@TheNestiO
.
The first kind mocks us for our insignificant number of likes/followers on social media.
The other is unable to understand how all our activities are always sold out/fully booked.
Will do a thread on this weird flex in Nov 🤟🏻
#HappeningNow
@OpenMicPK
is hosting the OpenMic Classroom Workshop - Kickstarting Business for Young Entrepreneurs right now at The Nest I/O.
They were part of Cohort 8 at The Nest I/O.
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#021Disrupt2020
is personal for so many of us. It has helped us to reaffirm our confidence in ideas that nobody believed to be meaningful.
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TLDR;
Search top freelancers in your niche and look at the job feed to find tags, titles, and descriptions to optimize your profile.
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“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
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It had to be +92 💚 sending all the love to
@jehan_ara
and her kickass team.
Sweet glory to see that nobody can kill ideas or communities made with love.
The ecosystem has grown and so have we.
Welcome to +92Disrupt: 3 cities, 2 landmark events, 1 mega event - Pakistan's leading tech and entrepreneurship conference.
#KatalystLabs
#plus92Disrupt
#CommencingDisruption
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My brother lost his job too, an aircraft maintenance engr. Salaries unpaid.
Picked me from work today, grabbed food, drove in the rain, and we came back home to research and sign up for AI courses together.
Young or old, everyone is hustling to find joy in the aftermath.
My parents've had a very difficult year as my dad lost his job with the downfall of ShaheenAir, stayed jobless for a year. I saw my mom play happily in the rain today Ma sha Allah, as happy as a little child jumping in a puddle and I can't be more thankful for witnessing today.
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It has come to haunt us in our dreams.
We wake up anxious and distorted, hurting inside ribs.
Our thoughts remain occupied, our eyes heavy.
No country for women.
No freedom for your sister, mother, wife, and daughter.
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have been coughing blood for a while, just got my reports, covid is detected, it’s all dark
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Now, I realise I usually end up in her office when I am in trouble!
Thank you
@jehan_ara
for being a fearless you, for the trust you put in me, for the 021Disrupt gig, for
@WearAtoms
and for being always ready to welcome me with open arms 🤟🏻
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Step 02
Search freelancers in your niche. Just ask Google. For example,
Blockchain developers on Upwork
3D modeling talent on Upwork
Copywriters on Upwork
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Upwork is launching beta of full-time employment matching. I have feelings.
An oxymoron but can be a great opportunity for talent to earn in $. If people are working 40+ hours they will be entitled to benefits, wonder how that fits in the persona of non-enterprise clients.
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This birthday felt like an ordinary Tuesday, until -
nani amma wore a flashy sari
pak made it to the semis
mom gave the annual hug
the cousins ate peshawari ice cream
- while I onboarded a new international client.
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Happy Birthday to the Queen of Building-confidence-and-providing-opportunities-to-youth-and-women,
@jehan_ara
🌸
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I've been accepted to Harvard Asia Conference 2018 in the Technology & Innovation track.
The theme is Sustainable Disruption and its impact on the Asian region across six tracks. I am looking for organizations that sponsor young professionals for such academic programs.
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Friday reminder from a book I would not have discovered on my own.
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👩💻I started my freelance journey in the second year of university and I landed my first job from a Dawn classified. To work before my graduation, put me ahead of the curve, and I was able to work on some very interesting projects and build my professional network.
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How many days has it been?
How many conversations?
How many more bodies?
How many vultures profiting off?
How many 'alleged' predators exposed?
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hello ⚡️
Introducing our seventh new shaper,
@AsraRizwann
!
Asra is the founder of OpenMic, a social startup working for youth leadership & development. Their work on leadership & employability skills have impacted over 5K+ youth, majorly from the public sector, & non-profit institutes.
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There are stories of resilience, no-fluff, demonstrating only sheer hard work. These stories will make you tearful and cheerful at the same time.
@sidraqasim
, all these happy tears for you!
You are an inspiration for all young women in Pakistan!
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Nanna quietly asked me what was I up to these days. Told her I am trying to set up my own thing and if she'd like to invest.
The next, woman asked for ROI 👵🏻
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Looking for influencers/creators on Twitter who talk about tech, entrepreneurship, and the next crazy ideas. Say Hi 👩🏻💻
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When someone plagiarises your hard work, know that they cannot rip off your ideas and the experiences that have shaped you.
Goodnight.
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I am gonna see him on Monday again, and I will tell him that even though I knew this but his kindness made me realise that what goes in your head and your heart, shows up in your physical well being.
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You know that one task you keep putting off for another day, yet it keeps hammering your brain.
Do it first thing in the morning. Get it out of your mind, your sight, your checklist.
For me, it has been completing this certification.
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Moderating a session for
@OpenMicPK
, a 🇵🇰 Champion for global SPEAK! Campaign by
@CIVICUSalliance
!
We will be exploring youth experiences in the digital space and how to make it safer 👩🏻💻👨🏻💻
#TogetherWeSpeak
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This launch, and most importantly, this journey would not have been possible without
#OpenMicPK
Alumni and
@TheNestiO
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So I have a thing with vivid work dreams and last night, I spent explaining my new product to a mentor and we were figuring out the business model. Alas, I only remember the problem statement now 😭
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Third time someone outside PK asked me if I studied in the US and I chuckled in my head.
No bro, only Gulshan-e-Iqbal and public college supremacy. But really I went to the University of Dial-Up Internet. 😅
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Remember Mr. Bean wrote himself a birthday card and posted it on his address and pretended someone else has sent it?
Well I was strolling alone in a mall today, got myself a little leather good, and made the store pack it and I will open it when I turn 27, hehe.
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Seems only yesterday the term WAPISTANI was coined by
@aatif_awan
on last year's 021Disrupt.
Catch his talk at
#021Disrupt2020
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If you used to watch CT17 highlights in your dark days for serotonin release, add this to your playlist.
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fucking hate this city and this country for pushing away friends and family in search of livelihood and economic opportunity
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Don't really care which grad school you went to if you are an hour late to a commitment 🙄
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I helped someone recently caught in a serious time crunch to deliver a global project. I got paid for it, all thank yous done.
A week later, I received a wooden carved box full of dry-fruits,🍫 and a small note.
It’s never about the cost of a 🎁, but the value it holds.
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