Afrigather Chisom Nwokwu is a tech sis who believes in giving again. After attending an occasion by Women Who Code throughout the lockdown, she discovered her path in tech. Now armed with a job at Microsoft, 22K Twitter followers and a big community, Nwokwu believes different individuals can do the identical. She is decided to assist younger individuals kickstart their tech careers, one job alternative at a time. Previously yr, the 21-year-old software program developer has constructed a group round sharing tech alternatives, internet hosting free masterclasses, and training different younger individuals seeking to break into the tech area.
Are you able to inform us a bit bit about your self?
My title is Chisom Nwokwu. I’m at the moment a software program engineer primarily based in Lagos, Nigeria. I at the moment work with the sustainability group at Microsoft, the place we’re creating applied sciences that assist scale back carbon emissions from our working system. The aim is to make the corporate carbon damaging by 2030.
Asides from engineering, I additionally make investments quite a lot of my time into serving to job seekers in tech land their first roles and construct profitable careers. I lately graduated from the College of Nigeria, Nsukka, the place I studied pc science. After my commencement final yr, I interned with the Financial institution of America for 3 months, the place I labored as a expertise analyst for the robotics group, after which I moved to Microsoft.
Are you able to inform us about your journey into Microsoft?
I’d describe my journey as intentional and direct. From the time I used to be a baby, I loved enjoying with computer systems and would at all times inform my dad that my dream was to work with an organization that constructed computer systems. Once I went to college, I opted to check pc science and in my third yr, I turned actually within the tech area.
In the course of the lockdown, I attended an internet occasion with engineers from international tech corporations and was impressed by seeing different Nigerians who graduated from common universities in Nigeria work at such large corporations. After the occasion, I reached out to one of many panellists who labored at Google and she or he agreed to educate me. This helped me safe my BoA internship and ultimately my Microsoft job.
What does it really feel wish to work for a worldwide firm like Microsoft? What’s completely different between working there and dealing for a small startup?
One distinction is the extent of construction and organisation. There’s an important tradition of handholding right here and also you get ample area to settle into your position, develop and be taught out of your superiors. That was actually useful for me and eased off the strain to carry out instantly. Not like smaller startups, larger corporations can afford to give you time to adapt to the surroundings and get your basis proper.
Do you generally want you labored at a smaller startup earlier than transitioning to a bigger firm?
Typically. I wholeheartedly respect that my path led me straight to my present position however I communicate to individuals who have labored at smaller startups and there’s a sure well-roundedness to them. It’s because roles at startups aren’t usually as well-defined and they also get to put on completely different hats and do various things.
So, whereas it might be good to expertise a few of that and the strain related to working at a fast-paced organisation, I discovered it simpler to transition from scholar to software program engineer because of Microsoft, and I gained’t change that for something.
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Chisom Nwokwu
You’re very interested by giving again and serving to different individuals climb up the profession ladder. Are you able to inform us what fuels you?
My private journey is a testomony to the significance of getting individuals additional up the ladder that will help you determine stuff out. The individuals I met on the on-line occasion in 2020 satisfied me that alternatives abound all over the place and all you’ll want to do is plug into them. That is what I attempt to replicate for others. I put up alternatives on my social media and educate individuals the right way to work on their abilities, branding, visibility, and so forth. The final Twitter area I organised noticed over 5000 individuals take part, and I made certain to ask Nigerians working at international corporations like Meta, Google, Spotify, Amazon and so forth. to share their journeys. This goes an extended approach to motivating individuals and giving them a framework to kickstart their desires.
What are a number of the most outstanding success tales you’ve recorded from this?
Two individuals reached out to me for assist getting ready for interviews with Financial institution of America. After mock interviews and educating them what to arrange for, what interviewers shall be on the lookout for, and the way to answer questions, they reached out to me once more to say that they each obtained the gives. One other particular person reached out to me to assist her put together for a product management interview and I shared all of the PM sources I might discover. She despatched me a message a short time again to say that she handed and shall be beginning a PM position at Google quickly.
What are some essential ideas you’d give to somebody beginning out on their tech journeys?
The primary tip I usually give is to extend visibility on-line. One factor that stands out to me whereas reviewing CVs is that lots of people have nice abilities and expertise, however simply don’t speak about it or have any social media presence. Be lively on social platforms, particularly LinkedIn. Join with recruiters and individuals who work at corporations you admire. Recruiters are at all times scouring the web for recent expertise and also you wish to be the place they’ll discover you. One other tip is self-branding. Work in your abilities and portfolio, and showcase them.
What are some well-liked misconceptions individuals have about coming into the tech area?
There are quite a lot of misconceptions and the primary one I’d like to focus on is that you don’t want to code to enter tech. Tech includes technical and non-technical roles, and whereas the technical roles require information of programming, non-technical roles don’t. Non-technical roles embody development and advertising, UI/UX, product design, challenge administration and so forth. There’s area for everybody in tech, no matter your pursuits and whether or not you understand how to code or not.
What can we count on from Chisom Nwoku sooner or later?
I see myself at all times working within the tech business. Nonetheless, I’d like to discover the administration facet of tech as effectively. I get pleasure from collaborating and constructing instruments, so I’d like to pivot from being a developer to administration. I wish to discover completely different roles and acquire as a lot information and expertise as attainable.
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