Graduate Profiles: Workday HCM Consultant
Do you know what career path to choose after your degree? Well, I did not.
It was not until I stumbled into the world of Workday that I began to get a clearer picture.
Tell us a bit about your background before joining Kainos
Before joining Kainos I studied at Newcastle University, England. The fact the city has great nightlife had nothing to do with my decision to study there! My degree of choice was quite general, Business Management. It had its pros and cons. The positive being I could apply for most jobs in a grad job brochure. The downside being it did not exactly narrow down my options.
Outside of my course, I played rugby and a bit of five aside football. I even dipped my toe in the water and tried American Football. Which, I quickly stopped after being tackled a few times. It did lead to an interest in the NFL though, so every cloud.
What appealed to you most about a career at Kainos?
During the final year of my degree, I completed a project based on a Business IT system. I stumbled upon a shiny system called 'Workday'. The research project led me to the belief that I wanted to work in tech. However, as you probably know it is difficult to find professional IT career opportunities for those of us that do not have a programming background.
Let me introduce Kainos. Kainos provides opportunities that suit graduates who are interested in both Business & IT. You probably have looked at many Job Descriptions by now. Well, Kainos have a few roles that do not require a technical background. This, alongside their reputation as a great employer, appealed to me.
I decided to apply for one of Graduates roles and soon started my career as Graduate Workday HCM Consultant.
How was your start?
I joined Kainos as a Grad in 2019. The first weeks consisted of getting to know Workday. After which, the emphasis is on completing your Workday HCM Certification. Amsterdam is often the location of the certification, although more recently it has moved online. The certification consists of a training course and an exam. Shortly after attending the two-week certification, I worked onsite for a customer in England. It was really a 'thrown into the deep end' type of moment. Although, this is the most effective way to learn. I enjoyed my start to Kainos as the first few weeks training proved to be a good way of meeting other grads.
What is Workday?
Recently I noticed a Workday TV advertisement while watching the football. For ease, I will use the slogan from the advert; 'the finance, HR and planning system for a changing world'. In short, Workday is an all-in-one system that brings many benefits to companies.
Where does Kainos fit in? Kainos is a leading Workday partner. What does this mean? Well, Kainos act as a consultancy to help companies to launch, maintain and test Workday.
What does an average day look like in your role?
At the time of writing this, we are in the midst of a global pandemic where homeworking is advised. Therefore, my usual day starts off with a grueling 10 step commute to my desk.
Working as an HCM Consultant, each day is completely different. This may not be the best answer to this question, but it is something I really enjoy about the role. One day you may be working on the design requirements of an implementation. Another day, you may be solving problems raised in post deployment of the system. Every day you learn something new about Workday. The culture in Kainos is great, your team and the wider community are always there to help. No day will be the same.
Kainos delivers Workday configuration for companies like Netflix, Warner Bros, Puma, Travelex - just to mention a few. On any given day, you could have meetings with senior employees from those globally recognizable companies. You will interact with a wide range of clients, each of which, have their own unique requirements.
What 5 tips would you give to graduates?
- Follow your interests.
- Pick a company that is a proven good employer.
- It is all about people that you work with.
- Keep a positive mindset. Easier said than done when facing rejected grad scheme applications.
- If possible - once you start, go for a beer with your new team.
Learn more about careers at Kainos here.