Imagine that it is your first day in a new job, in a new company, within an unfamiliar industry. On your first day, there is a board resembling a dartboard on the wall in front of you. Your superior says, “Place your name on where you feel your knowledge of IT is at”. Some of your colleagues put their name in the middle, other places around the bullseye (meaning they were very confident) – but one person walks to the other side of the room and places her name “Zara Reilly” on the opposite wall. Now 16 years later, from little confidence in her technical knowledge, Zara is still happy to be a part of the Tech industry.
Zara happened to fall into the industry with no previous aspirations to be a part of it. However, Zara’s job agent was confident that she would suit a career in the Tech Industry due to her skill set and passion for learning. But Zara, like so many others, did not believe she had a future in IT and had a preconception that you needed a foundation of technical education or experience to start a career journey in IT. With her previous career path in selling advertisements in London, Zara was surprised that Dell was eager for her to join their team in Ireland.
“I was very dubious to my agent; I was like “IT? Absolutely not, I haven’t got a clue,” and he said no, you have the personal skills for these positions, and the technical knowledge can be learned while you are there. I remember thinking I was never going to get these jobs, it turns out I was offered both positions.”
Fortunately for Zara, the IT industry is seen by many as a community that helps one another by sharing knowledge and has an embedded culture of sharing and supporting each other. This meant that even though Zara had no previous knowledge of IT, she could still exceed her expectations and advance in her career through tech. Zara believes that one of the key reasons she succeeded within the tech industry was the support she received during the onboarding period of her role in Dell. In addition to Zara’s onboarding knowledge, as the industry constantly changed and developed, it kept Zara on an ever-evolving learning path.
Now, with 16 years of industry experience under her belt, not only does Zara feel more confident in her knowledge, but she knows it has helped her develop relationships with her clients. Her confidence in IT means that she can use this knowledge to get the right solution for her client’s needs. Throughout her career, she has always been driven by her want of doing what’s right for her customers and is passionate about being considerate to her client’s individual needs.
“The great thing within the IT sector is that products sell themselves, they are purpose-made for a solution – so as long as you find the right solution for your customer, it shouldn’t be too hard to sell. Building that great rapport is just as important as I pride myself on the fact that a customer would pick up the phone to discuss something to me rather than a competitor – for me that’s success”
From starting in the tech industry with no confidence to now excelling in a tech-based role, Zara’s journey highlights that the industry is for many different people with different skillsets and passions. Zara has shown that beginning a career in tech doesn’t mean you need prior knowledge to be a part of the industry, as the tech community will be there to help and support your knowledge and development.
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