I knew I need a degree, but I had no idea what I was good at
I have always been open to possibilities - not opportunities. It was still not the norm to have a computer at home when I was in college, and I certainly didn't have the money to buy one. But I still decided to study computer science when I started college. It didn't go well - not at all - so I took an exam in my first semester to find out what I could be good at doing and that exam led me to HR. I've approached every change since then the same way by asking myself if I'm interested in it; if there are aspects of it that I'm already good at; is there a possibility to grow. Opportunities are great, but possibilities can be endless.
Workday Nerd - I mean Workday Consultant
I work with Workday systems and Workday clients in a variety of ways. I'm probably best at encouraging clients to achieve their next big thing - whether it's a dashboard or reports that will make their lives easier, implementing benefits for employees in Singapore, or auditing their existing business processes. All sorts of work always needs to be done and sometimes clients don't know exactly what they need, so we meet and review to determine an end goal. Other times, they need a report, and have exact specifications but no one on their team has the time to get it done. In that case, I ask any clarification questions and build the report. It's really neat to be able to see how all sorts of organizations store their data and the different ways they use it.
I get to learn something new every single day
Kognitiv offers training classes all the time. My manager encourages me to explore the areas that I'm interested in but I'm also encouraged to take the classes that will help my team. It's the best of both worlds! I get to learn more about the things I'm interested in and I also learn new areas of Workday that I might've ignored or assumed I wouldn't be good at. Our internal communications mean I'm also always learning from other consultants, my teammates, managers, and product leads. I can ask questions any time, day or night, and chances are someone will see it. They might not have an answer, but they might know a good place to look, or who I can ask. I also learn new things from our clients - when I was still on the client side, I had no idea there were so many different ways to structure a tenant to meet my needs. Some clients are new to Workday, and ask the questions I wish I'd thought to ask and some clients have been using Workday for years and are still building and growing. It's amazing to see Workday from so many different view points every day.
Look out for YOU!
When looking to make a career move, look at how a role will impact your life. Consider:
1. Will you be comfortable in the location, whether that's working from home, moving to a new city or state, or region? Will you be happy there?
2. Does the organization do work you support?
3. Is there room for you to grow?
4. Will you benefit from the organization's culture?
Money, medical coverage, benefits, etc. are all good and necessary things to have but you'll need more to be happy long-term in a role.
I'm more successful than I ever thought possible
I'm still becoming the person I'm meant to be but I've achieved and become more than I ever dreamed possible. I wasn't a cool kid and I certainly wasn't one of the smart ones either. Anytime something good happened I thought I "lucked out". College was when I first started learning who I am, but it's the years after college that really showed me what I'm made of and what success means to me. I'm able to comfortably provide for my family, I have the things I need and most of the things I want, and I work with amazing colleagues and for an amazing organization. I really wish I could show 13-year-old, 17-year-old, and even 30-year-old me where I am now.
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