Doyinsola Ishola - Consultant at Alfa

I studied Electronic Engineering in University College Dublin and followed that with an MEng in Engineering with Business. As an electronic engineering graduate, it felt natural to start out in a semi-conductor company, but a little after a year, it became apparent that it wasn’t quite for me.

I realised that I wanted an environment where I would have real client exposure but would also be exposed to exciting technology. Alfa provided such an environment – challenging but with supportive structures. The graduate programme starts you off with an intense initiation where you are immersed in the functional world of Alfa and trained in Java development.

My first role in Alfa was mostly technical and afforded me the opportunity to research and scope out new and exciting technologies that could be beneficial to Alfa and our clients. The role that followed was mostly client facing where I continued to develop my problem solving and analysis skills. It also gave me first-hand experience with managing client relationships.

An important realisation I made prior to joining Alfa was that enjoying where I work and the day to day interactions with colleagues is an important aspect of working life for me.

Making these realisations really helped to narrow down my list of prospective companies. In my search, Alfa stood out to me because, in addition to ticking all the career development boxes, it was so very clear that I was going to get on with my colleagues. From first contact with the administration team, to HR and the directors during interviews, you could tell that Alfa valued inclusivity. The drive to foster an inclusive and diverse environment has continued to grow and is backed at every level. Today I co-chair the Alfa for Racial Equity community which is just one of the many inclusion initiatives we have at Alfa.

Apart from enjoying my work, the people I’ve met at Alfa really have been instrumental to settling into life in London. It’s great getting to work with so many intelligent and personable people.