Economics-Finance graduate turned Workday Financials Consultant
This job my first job out of college, All I know is the Workday ecosystem! While studying Economics and Finance at Bentley in Massachusetts, I did not expect to work in a software oriented job upon graduation. I am so glad I went down this road. I have completed 3 years in the Kognitiv Financials team and since then I have been exposed to a wide variety of areas that have bolstered my knowledge not only in Workday as a system but in how companies operate, transact and grow across many different industries.
Systems like Workday are the backbone of business these days. This is perhaps one of the things that I did not fully grasp before graduating. By getting to know the system and all of the moving pieces you visualize all of the business theory and apply it to real life scenarios. The exposure to clients of different sizes and industries is truly fascinating and the lessons learned are plentiful.
With specific reference to Kognitiv, I came here at the entry level position of Associate Financials Consultant. Over the years I focused my expertise in the Procure to Pay, Expenses, BIRT and reporting modules. Owing to Kognitiv's core values with specific emphasis on "acting like an owner" I was able to achieve promotions relatively quickly. I am now transitioning into the role of Associate Financials Manager which is one of the many things that Kognitiv gives you the freedom and flexibility to choose for your self (A Consultant/Manager oriented career path).
I build, architect, configure and troubleshoot WD financials modules
My current position is "Associate Financials Manager". This is the stepping stone position to becoming a manager. At Kognitiv there are two paths you can take. A consultant path, which is one where you remain focused on implementations and consulting work for our clients; and a Manager path, which is where you do less consulting work and transition into client relationship management, team management etc. Each path has different positions along the way and consultants are free to choose their career path here.
Most of my experience lies in my previous position of Senior Financials Workday consultant. In that role I developed expertise in the WD areas of Procure to Pay, Expenses, BIRT and Reporting. I have done everything from being a support consultant on projects, working on troubleshooting client tickets, to leading projects myself. The work is rigorous, and the system is detailed. However, you start to pick things up very quickly and before you know it you become an expert in areas that in the beginning may have felt extremely foreign to you. The core concept of my job, my North Star -so to speak- is "How do I make my clients life easier? How do I make their system more efficient and more streamlined?".
Learning from smart people
As I stressed in my profile, in this job the exposure is phenomenal. You are constantly surrounded by a huge variety of people, companies and industries. The people you work with (both in Kognitiv and on the client side) are brilliant and every time you engage in a project or ticket, you take a slice of knowledge in a new industry.
That is what keeps me going and fuels me to work. You constantly feel like there is something out there to learn and someone to talk to which will make you a more capable and sophisticated consultant.
Be Bold
I believe that being bold and being a risk taker is the main driver to success here. In reality, there are many WD consultants out there and not much separates one consultant from the other. The one thing that you have in your capacity is to be bold and to take risks in your solutions, consulting and interactions. Say yes when others have said no to something, go that extra mile to bend or shape the system to make it work for client needs. Ofcourse you must always manage expectations but taking that extra step to take initiative and problem solve when their is seemingly no solution out there will set you apart from others. This will build solid relationships with clients and help you highlight yourself at the organization and pave the way for growth.
Becoming a functional area go-to early in my career
Due to staffing changes in the Financials team, there was alot of opportunity to grasp certain areas and own them. I did this with the Expenses module. A relatively easy module compared to others within Workday Financials but one that was often overlooked. Within 2 years at Kognitiv I became the go to resource for Expenses and that is something I am proud of. It often takes many years to become an area expert, but with dedication and curiosity I became highly skilled in this area relatively quickly.
Once I had that base I was able to grow and explore other areas that piqued my interest. These are areas I continue to work on today and hopefully will become one of the Kognitiv experts in soon!
