nova

ARTICLE by CAROL ODERO dx nova

Handling Steep Learning Curves In Your Career Path

Everline Kamau-Migwi is not just a career woman. She makes sure her Wheel of Life is balanced, and draws inspiration from her own children.

Ideally, take aways from interviews are the last things rounding up an article. But in this case, Everline Kamau-Migwi, Senior Territory Manager, VMware, dropped so many pearls I had to start with one - be ambitious. Yes, that sounds about as inspiring as a can of soup but stick with me. Evelyn has progressively moved from rung to higher rung, each time aiming for the stars. Just go look for her on LinkedIn and you will see how much of a rising star this woman is. Not only has her strategy been personally rewarding, but it has also been financially fulfilling. Not many people will tell you this outright or otherwise. I simply speculate about the monetary rewards. When I meet Evelyn for our interview, she has blonde hair merged with unmistakable confidence so of course I start with the most obvious one. How does she rise so fast? Usually within six months to a year of taking a job. She had a great foundation, she says, dating back to her first job at LanTECH at the age of 22. Her employer gave her a chance with zero experience. It kept her on her toes, and she didn’t want to let him down. During the interview, they talked about her then year old baby after she showed him a tiny passportsized picture. “There was nothing he asked of me about my grades. That’s when I realised people hire people, initially, for their attitude. What matters is, is this person willing to learn, does she have the drive? The motivation? He saw that my motivation was my child, and I was not shy about it.” LanTECH, she says, was like university for her, coupled with throwing her into the deep end of tech and business, giving her a 360-degree view. Fast forward to her current role and it is evident Everline is some type of fierce with an admirable work ethic.

Growing from Account Manager to Customer Programme Director, Telkom Kenya, Everline remembers thinking when she got the title, she thought she did not deserve it, that it was a very big title, and that she did not want to let her employer down. “That pushes you. If there is nothing challenging enough that keeps you awake or encourages you to fight to stay awake, leave that job.” There was a stint with Dimension Data, at which point she was poached by Microsoft through LinkedIn and was posted in Dubai. As is the case with an African first born, she was taking care of her siblings and her first child and felt compelled to provide stability. “When you have so many factors depending on your success, the last thing you want to do is fail,” adding that “For me it is mostly the drive, the pressure, the focus, and the expectations. But most importantly - the spirit of passion – what more can I do? The fear of failure motivates me,” as does not wanting to be stagnated. Her eldest is now 17 with siblings ages 10, 6, and 1. “And they are firecrackers all the way,” declares the proud mum. It is not surprising that career wise, success for her means “a promotion, fulfillment, and growth in terms of status, sustainability in terms of personal branding - how powerful is your brand? How is your work-life balance? All those are my measures of success.” She loves that she can juggle between career, family, and being able to get an MBA, the latter being the highlight of her career. VMware seems to have captured her work soul. She has been there for almost a decade, and she has grown from strength to strength. They know her worth; she states. “When a company invests in you and believes in you like VMware do, you can’t afford to mess up. You must just bring the game. There is no other way.” There is also such a thing as ultimate success for her, and that is public speaking. If you know Everline, this news leaves you aghast like it does me. She is an excellent speaker with a measured and deliberate way of communicating. “I was very vocal at home but put me in front of a crowd and I couldn’t speak. I doubted myself.” In November 2008, Everline was the youngest enrolled MBA student at Strathmore University. Work got in the way, and it was pushed to 2018 to 2020, co-funded by VMware because Everline is a finisher. “I also felt strongly that I had a lot to learn. When I looked closer at the alumni from 2008/2009, I discovered that all of them were epic. Not only were they accomplished in their respective fields, but they also now had something to show as proof of their intelligence.” Besides which, the MBA was “smack right into my career.” She