Student: Marina
Position: Middle Business Analyst at Nix Solutions
Program: Career Consulting by SkillsUp
Context and motivation for change
Marina's professional journey began with a technical education and working as an engineer at an enterprise. Feeling the need for change, she decided to transition to the IT field, but faced a key challenge — a lack of understanding of which specific profession would best suit her character, mindset, and previous experience.
The main trigger for seeking career counseling was the desire not just to find a job, but to build a career in a direction that would be as comfortable and promising as possible.
Thanks to comprehensive work with her mentor, Marina was able to:
- determine a profession that matches her strengths;
- rethink and "unpack" her non-IT experience;
- prepare an effective self-presentation;
- successfully transition to IT and build a career as a Business Analyst.
Today, Marina works as a Middle Business Analyst at Nix Solutions and has over three years of experience in the profession.
How it all started
SkillsUp: Greetings! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. To start, please share your story: what did you do before and with what request did you decide to contact us?
Marina: I am currently working as a Middle Business Analyst at the outsource company Nix Solutions. I have been in this profession for three years now.
Before that, I had a technical education and worked as an engineer at an enterprise, but I really wanted to change my profile and field of activity. I didn't know which position was best to start my path in IT. I had a few ideas, but wasn't clearly decided.
It was with this request that I came to career consultant Marina. She helped me determine my future path, tested what exactly suited me, and considered me as an individual.
Marina highlighted my strengths and helped me choose a profession in which I would be as comfortable as possible, given my qualities and mindset.
The biggest doubts before transitioning to IT
SkillsUp: What exactly caused the most doubts or difficulties before the transition?
Marina: I did not have a clear understanding of where to start my journey in IT and which profession would suit me best. This was my main request — help with the transition and starting my path in a new field.
Why it is important to find the right mentor
SkillsUp: How long did you contemplate changing your career?
Marina: I was lucky, because Marina was immediately recommended to me as a specialist who takes a comprehensive approach to solving such requests.
Therefore, I have a rather lucky case. I quickly got a consultation, and we started working.
It was not just one meeting, but a whole series of consultations that helped bring our plan to life.
The turning point: "Packaging" yourself as a specialist
SkillsUp: Which stage of the program became the most important for you?
Marina: The most valuable thing in our meetings was the ability to properly package my experience and present myself as a specialist.
We did not use template answers. On the contrary, we worked with my real experience and projects.
Even though my previous experience was not in IT, we found elements in it that could be useful for my future profession and would present me favorably at interviews.
"My self-presentation was built specifically around me as a person and my unique life experience."
Working with strengths and personality
SkillsUp: Was there any tool or approach that was particularly memorable?
Marina: Our work was structured like this: I shared my cases, and Marina, using the right questions, helped reveal those aspects of my experience that could be useful for the role of a Business Analyst.
We analyzed:
- my strengths;
- thinking style;
- problem-solving approach;
- business focus;
- ability to work with tasks and people.
We also underwent personality testing.
Marina gave an expert conclusion that this profession truly matches my character and way of thinking.
And even now, when I sometimes doubt my abilities, I remember that work on myself. It helps me maintain confidence in the correctness of the chosen path.
Interview preparation
SkillsUp: What practical tools helped you during the interviews?
Marina: We worked through cases from my experience in detail.
If something was missing, Marina provided a list of situations for reflection and finding relevant examples.
For example:
- working with aggressive clients;
- resolving conflicts between stakeholders;
- managing expectations;
- complex communication situations.
Thanks to the fact that we had worked out these scenarios in advance, it was much easier for me to answer open-ended questions at the interviews.
Results after the consultations
SkillsUp: Did you notice a difference after working with the mentor?
Marina: Yes. The main result is that I successfully passed the interviews and got my first job in IT.
Later, when I decided to change companies, I turned to Marina again.
We repackaged my existing IT experience, and this also helped me successfully transition to a new company.
SkillsUp: What career stage are you currently at?
Marina: I am currently working at my third company — a large Ukrainian outsourcer, Nix Solutions.
I am a Middle Business Analyst with three years of work experience.
Tools that work even years later
SkillsUp: Is there anything left from the consultations that you still use today?
Marina: Yes, one of the most valuable practices is the "association map".
This is a tool that helps assess different areas of life:
- professional;
- financial;
- mental;
- personal.
Thanks to this practice, you can understand where there are gaps, form a vision of the desired future, and define specific steps for development.
Advice for those planning career changes
SkillsUp: What would you advise those who doubt whether they should go to a career consultation?
Marina: I definitely recommend career consultations.
Firstly, it saves a lot of time and helps avoid mistakes.
Secondly, it significantly broadens your horizons.
For a BA, PO, or PM, working with a mentor like Marina, who has extensive practical experience and a good understanding of the hiring process, is truly an ideal match.
Without these consultations, my job search would have been much longer.
I usually find a new job in about a month, even in difficult market conditions. And this is not due to lowering salary expectations, but thanks to strong self-presentation and proper positioning of my own experience.
SkillsUp: Thank you very much for such a great review and for taking the time for us. Have a nice day and a peaceful sky!
Marina: Have a nice day!