Tiwalade Fayinka - On Designing The Career Path Of Her Dreams
Interviewed by Blessing Onyegbula
In 2021, the subject of today’s piece was one of Sisterly HQ’s contributors documenting her journey as she transitioned from Law to the tech space, i.e., Product Management. Now, she works as a Treasury Analyst for an Investment bank in Poland. Intrigued by this growth, I reached out to her, the culmination of her story exploring different career paths as a young lady. Her previous stories shared how boredom got her into the tech industry as a Product Manager. This is a story about how her resilience and confidence got her where she is.
Tiwalade Fayinka
Blessing: Hi Tiwa, good evening. How are you and life in Poland?
Tiwa: Hi, Blessing. I’m doing good. Poland is great, apart from the weather. It’s a cold country, and we’re in our coldest season, so you can imagine how it is now.
B: Sorry about the cold. Besides the weather, how else does Poland differ from Nigeria for you?
T: They have very distinct cultures and a proficient transport system. For instance, you can find your way around with the transport app and Google maps; the trains are easily accessible. Everything is super organized here and stress-free.
B: Okay, what about workwise? How is the work culture different from Nigeria’s own?
T: The first thing that stood out to me is that you can tell that there’s mutual respect across all levels. People understand the art of small talk differently from how Nigerians do it. Back home, someone can make a nasty remark about your body or life as a form of rapport, but nothing like that exists here. I think the company’s policies impact that behaviour in my firm.
B: Hahaha, I get that.
T: Nigeria’s work system gives companies too much power. You can be sacked at will, demoted, or underpaid, and nothing will happen. Over here, strict policies protect the employees. So, it’s hard for a company to sack hundreds of workers without going through due process or facing the law.
B: My God! I need to understand how lawmakers come up with these juicy policies.
T: I have observed that European countries have spellbinding and helpful policies for their people. By the way, do you know that if you have a Master's degree, it’s considered that you have five years of experience automatically?
B: Wait! That’s cool.
T: Yeah, I think it’s because of the years spent schooling.
B: Anyway, enough hype about Poland. What do you miss about working in Nigeria?
T: Well, in Nigeria, I mainly worked with small companies, which meant I could easily tell the impact of my work and relate with shareholders. I work in a big firm here, and it’s easy to feel like a small fish in a mighty ocean. Still, there was no language barrier in the work culture in Nigeria. My team has diverse people from India, Nigeria, Nepal, and more. Plus, the official language at work is English. Still, they wrote everything in Polish, which was tricky for me in the first few months.
B: Now, on the flip side, what do you dislike about Poland so far?
T: The meals are not spicy, and there’s no variety. So, I spend so much on fast food nowadays. Another thing is these people display their love openly and passionately. So, you can see high schoolers engaging in serious PDA, and the Nigerian in me gets turned off.
B: Hehe, is that a bad thing? I thought we agreed that love’s a beautiful thing.
T: Ehn, it is. However, the Nigerian in me is hardly pleased with the PDA, especially with how everyone minds their business when such is happening.
B: Okay, I get you. What else?
T: Racism, but this has not been my personal experience yet. I’ve heard Nigerians complain about it, but I try not to overthink people’s actions, which is why I can’t relate. If I see people staring at me, I’ll say they are surprised because there are not a lot of Black people here. I’m also friendly with children, which makes them warm up to me. If anyone displays weird mannerisms, I try not to infer that it’s due to my presence.
I’ve had great experiences so far. I can remember when I came here and was always confused because everything was in Polish, a woman tried with her little understanding of English to explain things to me, and I appreciated it.
B: That was sweet of her. You’ve been there for months already. Can you speak Polish?
T: I just know the basics. I can say words like “Good day”, “Thank you”, and “Sorry.” My colleagues got me a Polish Dictionary as a birthday gift to help me adjust. I love it.
B: Awwwwn, that was so thoughtful of them. You have shared so many positives about your move there. At this point, I’m sure many are considering moving to Poland too. At least I am, lol. And your move is the focus of this piece. You were working as a Product Manager at some point, and suddenly, you’re dumping +234 and working in an entirely different role. How did that happen?
T: Ha-ha, you’re surprised, right? To clarify, I got my first job as a Product Manager in November 2021, but I’ve been applying for roles like this before then. My move could have happened earlier, but Law school hindered it, so there’s that.
To give a plain timeframe, I started prepping at the beginning of 2021. I researched, reached out to people, read and watched many YouTube videos, revamped my CV several times, and finally gave it a shot in the middle of 2021. The interview process was long, but I finally got my offer in December 2021.
Let me add, what helped me get this role helped is my transferable skills. I know it’s hard to believe, but recruiters want to see the skills you’ve used in a different capacity and how they could be applied to whatever role you want in their company. Communication, teamwork, discipline, leadership, and the like are necessary. They sound abstract, but when you get in, you’ll realize they are super important to your success in the company. You must show you can adapt and work under pressure with people from different backgrounds.
B: Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. But still, on your role, was it exactly what you wanted? Also, what financial knowledge or experience did you have before landing the role? Because I believe you should have a bit of enthusiasm or knowledge about Finance to become a Treasury Analyst.
T: I didn’t go specifically for Treasury Analyst. I applied to the Compliance division and Operations division in different locations, and the Operations division of my firm in Poland accepted me. So, my role falls under that department.
Now on my qualification to take up this role, I had zero financial knowledge or experience. But I’ve realized that every job can be taught except for certain specialized roles. Plus, many organizations offer training, especially for entry-level roles. You’ll need the relevant experience and knowledge to stand a chance for higher roles.
Another thing is people are different and approach issues differently. For example, if you bring a finance issue to me as a lawyer and take it to someone who is an accountant, our answers will be different. These companies know this and understand that the diversity of views and knowledge helps them progress, which is why they hardly discriminate based on background. Once again, this mainly applies to entry-level roles, i.e., those coming directly from colleges and Universities.
B: Okay, so you had the transferable skills, and you made adequate preparation for the role. What was the interview process like after applying?
T: The answer to this can be gotten easily on the web. As I said earlier, I reached out to people who already work there to put me through, but I believe there’s so much material online on how the interview process goes and how to nail it. But the gist is there are about two different types of interviews you’ll have to go through before you are accepted into the team.
B: Oh… I get you. And after your offer letter came in, the firm handled your relocation expense.
T: Yes, they sponsored me.
B: Just before we wrap up, and in light of your new career path, do you think you’ll return to Product Management?
T: I don’t know for now. I like to live in the moment and not obsess over my plans. I love what I’m doing for now, but if that changes in the future, I can explore something else. PM is a good skill, and knowing I have something solid to fall back on feels good.
B: Fair enough. What about your current residence in Poland? Do you think you’ll be based there permanently? Or you’ll love to explore other countries?
T: Return to Nigeria? Lol, please. Anyways just as with Product management, I’m also living in the moment. Poland fulfils my needs for now. If anything changes, I’ll act accordingly.
B: Before we wrap up, how has it been navigating life alone, especially as a lady? Friendships? Relationships?
T: I told a friend that the excitement of relocating didn’t allow me to experience any form of loneliness in my first month. Now, it has hit me. It can be lonely being here by oneself, but I’m coping. I have flatmates I talk to. I haven’t made friends yet, but I relate well with my flatmates and colleagues, especially the Nigerians. For relationships, hahahahahahaha. The streets are dry. The dating pool is limited here anyway, especially if you’re focused on Black men but nothing on my end.
B: Lol… I feel you on that last part. Any final remarks for anyone reading this, especially those struggling career-wise?
T: I’ll advise that you shouldn’t allow your location or background to limit you. When I got here, I got remarks from people who were surprised my company recruited me from Nigeria straight out of the University. Nothing should deter you if you want something. These days, multinationals have a wide hiring pool open to anyone anywhere. People that have what they want now worked for it. They didn’t give up. It takes a lot of time. It took me months and lots of rejection letters to get this. And now, I can’t even remember the places I applied to. One yes will cancel hundreds of Nos; just hang in there.
B: Thank you for being generous with your time and knowledge for this piece. I wish you success in your future endeavours.
T: Thanks for having me.