This is a mini series where we talk to different Outliers about their journeys from PostGraduate studies to work. Hopefully, some parts of their stories resonate with you and inspire you!
NN – Nnadi Nnedi, D – Demilade
From recording
NN: How was your day?
I bailed on drinks with co-workers because it’d been a long day. It was not a typical day; you know that life always brings stuff. I had a flagship meeting that required a lot of preparations, and my senior manager is going on a sabbatical in North America for a year, so we had a lengthy handover meeting.
NN: Aww well done, Unto our first question, Why did you choose to get a post-graduate degree?
D: To my parents, your education isn’t complete without a graduate degree, as the third of four children, it was expected of me to get a post-graduate degree because that’s what my older siblings did. I want to have a more inspiring reason, but that’s the honest one.
NN: Was there ever a point where you didn’t want a post-graduate degree?
D: No, I looked forward to it. The prospect of exploring countries outside Nigeria, finding myself and completing that milestone like my siblings did made me quite excited. Also, my siblings made it sound exciting, and although my experience wasn’t the same, I always wanted to. Sometimes people’s experiences are completely different from mine, same with NYSC and now with a post-graduate degree. No one mentioned how isolating it feels to live outside your country. Things started to change in February/March 2020.
NN: What changed in Feb/March?
D: Actually, in May/June, as lockdown rules were being relaxed, I found myself more open to connecting with people, finding communities, and meeting people.
NN: What did you study for your post-graduate degree and how did you choose it?
D: I am very intentional about making decisions and want to be true to myself about studying. I have a bachelor’s in Economics and during that time I did a lot of internships, so I was quite confident about what I wanted, which was Investment and Wealth Management. I have a master’s in Finance from Imperial College. I chose something that I knew I was interested in.
NN: How did you choose where to study? Why Imperial College?
D: While making this decision, I felt like I needed to prove something to myself. I have struggled with imposter syndrome since my Bachelor’s degree. People always assumed I was good at things because things always ended well for me. I decided to prove something to myself by taking on the ‘tough’ things like writing the CFA level 1. My parents also had a list of schools that I choose from. From my perspective, the decision came down to two things: the university had to be in London and one of the Russell Group schools.
NN: Would you say your disposition towards the ‘tough’ things remained the same?
D: I wouldn’t because it doesn’t have the same outlook, I have the same thoughts in some circumstances. Failures and successes have given me perspectives, and that has settled me into a slower pace of doing things. It’s great to be ambitious but it’s better to understand the ‘why’. My ambition has played out differently. Now that I know that the rat race isn’t for me, I’ve settled more into looking at the big picture. Although some of what I am doing now can be termed as ‘mundane’, I ask myself if they are taking me to my destination – looking at the big picture. There are more important questions that teach you the ‘why’, this helps you understand yourself more. That’s how I do things now.
NN: Still on the retrospectives and getting some alignment – can you talk more about the journey from Bachelor’s to Master’s and now your current role? Did you face any challenges?
D: Anybody that says that the journey is easy is not telling the complete story. I feel like I have more obstacles than most, I even told this to a friend. Moving to London, I found myself alone and the only black person in a room full of over 100 non-black people at the university. For some context, I attended business school and people are standoffish but cordial, so fitting in doesn’t come easy.
Secondly, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I underestimated the depth of academic work I needed to do and felt like I could not handle the academic burden at Imperial. I was at my wit’s end when I called my sister crying about wanting to drop out. Not my parents though, because of school fees. I wept in the library because I was convinced that I was going to fail. I have always leveraged my support system and having no one to lean on hit me quite hard. I was alone and felt like survival was out of reach. My sisters had friends and attended parties and here I was – doing none of that. I eventually made a friend and held on to her, and she became my anchor and I started to push myself more. I resigned to myself that even if I failed, I had done my best.
The third obstacle came when I started to look for a job. I didn’t want to return to Nigeria because the job progression wasn’t favourable to young graduates. I wanted to work in Private Equity, and it’s not robust in Nigeria, my parents insisted but I declined. I applied to over 500 jobs and did not get any. I was confused, you see I was confident that I had done everything right, but I could not get past the assessment centre stage. In uni, I coached people for interviews/read a few CVs, so I knew what to do and expected to get an offer after about 100 applications. An offer got rescinded due to visa restrictions and that broke me. However, sometime later I got into Accenture, I was top 10% of the candidates that applied, and I was picked to go into the specialised teams.
You can’t stop having obstacles, it’s part of life.
NN: Reminiscing is such a good thing; it realigns your perspective. What’s your current role at Accenture?
D: Business Strategy Analyst – I help clients to envision what growth looks like for them in terms of trading, revenue, and potential investment; I help them optimise their current operations to achieve their goals and provide a roadmap. Everything from short to medium to long-term goals, in terms of revenue and growth etc.
NN: You mentioned that you now approach life by interrogating decisions and how they fit into the big picture, overall. How does your work at Accenture fit into the larger view of your life?
D: Someone told me that I change what I want to be every day, that was surprising. I always have been interested in Investment, earlier on it was by side Asset Management currently, I am leaning towards a more strategic path. My work has exposed me to the nitty gritty of operating models, how businesses are run, the flow from top to bottom etc. This holistic knowledge is laying the groundwork for what I want to do in the future. Someone mentioned that being in consulting/strategy is like going to business school as working in the industry does not give the full idea of things.
NN: What are your thoughts and advice for people looking to study Finance and work in Consulting?
D: There are different paths to follow in Finance – depending on your experience and preference. There is the possibility of moving across the many branches of Investment/Private quit and Finance. Don’t allow limitations in your life, let your interests guide you. Your current role does not define you. You don’t need to be like our parents (baby boomers) and stick to one path – I haven’t found my passion yet, but I have seen people who do that. They find ways to chase their passion – people, art, tech etc. Be true to yourself, there’s always a way to get there.
NN: Last question, How do you unwind?
D: I feel like I live a very ‘vanilla’ life – work, church, school. I also have such low energy – and do not multitask. These days, sleep has been my thing because it’s been a busy week for me. However, on a good day, I like shopping especially when I am not under pressure, I like being around people – especially my friends. I also want to take up hiking!