Experience is gained by doing...

 

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🔑My first role back in 1997 straight after university; although I had setup a small LAN at university; had no actual exposure to real-life working environments; I ended up managing the IT infrastructure and applications (plus supporting the staff) of a company in 6 countries travelling to Switzerland for over 2.5 years...

🔑The next role; I knew nothing about retail - took an active role in launching the UK's first and most successful online shopping business; we were 2 people capturing the documentation needs of the entire project team...

🔑Next role; I knew nothing about application architecture (outside of academia); I ended up documenting technical and user guide material for one of the BBC's primary technology partners in London...

🔑Next role; I knew almost nothing about ISO9001; I ended up putting together a QMS in preparation for certification for a company with almost 600 staff...

🔑Next role; I had never documented large-scale complex designs; I ended up putting together hundreds and hundreds of pages of complex documentation for the largest network by physical size (and most secure) in the Middle East; our offices were underground due to the security requirement...

🔑Next role; I had never worked on business communication; my Information Security Awareness messages went to over 50,000 people's InBoxes for c. 2.5 years...

🔑Next role; I had never had a proper role in Telecoms; we launched the second Telecom operator of the UAE and my process was automated and helped us support country-wide FBOs; we lived almost walking distance from what would become the tallest building on earth (was 26 floors at the time)...

🔑Next role; I had never managed a budget; I was tasked to manage a budget of £Millions for 2 consecutive years; from the planning to the monthly variance reporting and related management...

🔑Next role; I had never worked as a completely solo consultant on my own independent project - where I would make a plan and run the whole piece; took this alone from zero to hero for a government agency where only a percentage of the client even spoke English...

🔑Next role; I had never been put into the hot seat where I'd have to pick up an assessment report (almost 130 pages of recommendations) of a former colleague and re-negotiate a new project scope; did this gaining agreement on hand-picked initiatives in one of the most challenging of environments...

🔑Next role; I had never worked under a HR domain; I ended up taking a leading role in processes that would support launch of KSA's equivalent of the DWP (to support 9 million people at launch)...

🔑Next role; I had never worked in the Transportation Sector; ended up with Norway's government transport function supporting the largest divestiture in the country at the time we knew of, living in the highest (not the tallest) building in the country...

🔑Next role; I had never worked in the Education sector; ended up being a protagonist (we were a team of three) defining the customer journey and advisory on process improvement for the largest university in Western Europe (by student numbers) for over 150 business processes...

🔑Next role; most organisations I have been with have had a small team of people with certain skills; this organisation had the largest team of BAs I ever came across (50+); I still did my part to add value to the project which was the biggest transformation at that time for the client...

🔑Next role; supporting our end client; the Police; I had never worked in hybrid setup; maximum 3 days in the office per week (many times less); and this was almost 2 years before Covid struck...

🔑Next role; gaining sign-off for the a blueprint for a SMO function; although my name is in 2 UK government publications on organisational design; this was only the third time in my career I was involved with a "to-be" organisational design for such an important client...

🔑Next role; Covid hits and my very first 100% remote project; never met my boss; yet we delivered amazing output and achieved significant progress...

🔑Next role; another divestiture; this time for the largest suite of SAP and related business applications I'd come across in my career in any company in the world...

🔑Next role; took a leading role on what became the most user-impacting project in the organisation affecting almost every person in the company with SharePoint (again an area I had never worked on previously)...

During this time:

• I got to work with and meet the most amazing of people - my story above is not even a shadow to so many of them...
• Faced challenges that seemed insurmountable at the time...
• Exposure to some of the most complex business applications/software that existed (in the world at the time); most of the time it was my first ever exposure; and as always I had to master what I needed for my work at lightning speed...

KEY MESSAGE: I am not boasting or anything like this. but if you are recruiting for a role where I haven't had extensive experience with a specific application, don't worry because I have handled in some cases far greater complexity and many times over before successfully and extremely well. This is a key skill of a proficient Consultant/BA/PM.

I have worked on some of the most challenging projects in the world. My work and that of my colleagues has impacted sometimes the lives of millions of people. As a Consultant/BA/PM I learn extremely fast. Asking the right questions in the right way - from the right people at the right time. 

I have worked on projects where people from 35+ nationalities work together on one floor. Sometimes I am in a function with 3 people on my team. Sometimes its over 350 just from our company and we are working with a partner who have a team of the same number.

I have worked in both greenfield and very mature setups. Every single project of my life has been far beyond my ability and comfort zone. I take no credit for achievements because it was the Grace of my Lord upon me that He even Allowed the blinking of my eyes - let alone to deliver amazing things in very tough environments.

I adapt to the setups I'm in. I am not overqualified and if a job is mundane it may actually be good for me. To not overload myself and help people where they need it. And if the opposite; its like a battle - then this is as you see from my CV what I do extremely well. I have rolled up my sleeve and delivered what my manager has asked for - again-and-again.  

I am an introvert - I work more and talk less. I do the work that others refuse. I deliver real value without the noise.

I close by thanking my Lord and then thanking all of the managers/decision makers who welcomed me to be part of their teams and for the beneficial, nonpareil time we had together.

Wish all the best - take care - Musab