Michaela D'Mello: Digital Transformation Consultant at Barnet Council

Tell us about yourself.  Where did you go to college and what did you study?

I am a 2020 graduate having studied International Management at Trinity College Dublin. My undergraduate degree was in Social Sciences, but I wanted to work within business so applied for further study to pivot my career more in this direction.

What have you been doing since you finished college? 

Graduating in 2020 was difficult to say the least. It really highlighted for me the importance of the hustle and keeping your goals in sight at all times. As exams ended, my dissertation was handed in, and opportunities I thought I had were disappearing, I really began to reevaluate my career goals. In doing so I focused on upskilling via MOOCs and making the most of access to student resources whilst I still had them. I discovered a high number of benefits came from technology companies and access to free software to train with. As all industries across the globe have been moving to widespread digital solutions and cloud-based technologies, I focused my energy there.

I have been lucky enough to be able to apply this knowledge to digital transformation projects within Social Care teams in local government back in my hometown of London. It has been incredibly rewarding and further inspired my career goals.

Why did you join ISCG?

As I mentioned, I took my masters to pivot into a career within business. However, I was under no illusion that a single year masters would suddenly put me on par with those having studied multiple years and taken advantage of business school opportunities like exclusive talks, mentorship schemes and events. So, before I joined I did some research into opportunities I could get involved with asap as a Trinity student to make the most of the year. Having worked full-time for a year already, I was conscious of how much more free-time I would have as a student and wanted to build up as much work experience as possible within a more relevant business context. ISCG was absolutely perfect for me and put me in contact with like-minded ambitious students across the country! Unfortunately, projects available during my masters clashed with exams and other extracurricular activities that I didn’t feel I would be able to fully participate. However, in Summer of 2020 new projects were announced and it felt like a perfect way for me to apply what I had learned throughout the year in my masters.

Did ISCG come up in any of your interviews, how did the employer react?

Despite joining ISCG before I had my first class at Trinity, I was only able to participate in a project as a consultant once my dissertation was handed in due to my schedule. I am really glad I did as my current role in digital transformation was heavily influenced by my time at ISCG. My experience has been key on my CV and provided me with great answers for project management and stakeholder-based questions. Interviewers have provided feedback that these answers in particular were of high quality and relevance so I really do recommend getting involved.

What’s the most beneficial thing you learned/experienced during your time with ISCG? Have these learnings been useful since you started your career?

Definitely stakeholder management. Not only is coordination between your fellow consultants key, but communicating with C-Suite managers was really beneficial. It was a great insight into how they think, communicate and don’t always fully understand what they need! And that’s okay! Consultants are there to not only project manage, but provide assistance in scoping the issue in order to find the best solution. Finally, being considerate about implementation and company stakeholders. It’s great to come up with a solution, but you have to be sure there is enough evidence to back it up and justify the changes you are suggesting so the C-Suite managers are able to implement them and communicate changes to their employees.

What skills did you use while working on ISCG projects? Have these come useful since you started your career?

Project management, stakeholder management, time management, strategy, communication, research, business acumen, collaboration, and agile skills to name just a few! All have been useful not only in interviews for my roles but generally for my own knowledge. For example, it has helped me in pinpointing which skills I am lacking in, where I can upskill, and what things come more naturally to emphasise in applications and interviews. As a result it has inadvertently ended up making me more confident that my current career path is the one for me.

How do you see the future of ISCG?  Where do you think the group is headed?

It has already exploded in its growth over the last year and I am certain ISCG will continue to add great projects to its portfolio. I expect larger, higher impact projects to come with bigger and longer-standing partnerships with some of the more established companies with close ties with universities across the country. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for how I can support in any way! Great way of filtering down support to smaller companies in an accessible way. Hopefully there will also be scope for more alumni activities!

Would you recommend current students signing up for ISCG, why would you recommend it?

Definitely! All my previous answers explain why! Everyone - even those with no business background at all - has something to gain from ISCG. I think I would be in a very different place if I had a similar opportunity available during my undergraduate years.

What did you most enjoy about working with ISCG?

Meeting ambitious students from across the country! Great to see how far some have come from doing their first project not knowing much about business, to heading their own projects and being involved in other networks, student competitions and generally being much more confident in the value they can add. Constantly inspired by them all :)

Any plans for the future?

I will continue to seek out these types of opportunities to offer my skills and expertise to those that need it. I especially hope to encourage the companies I work with to look into doing similar projects to support smaller businesses where possible. More specifically, I plan to upskill in rapidly advancing technology and make it more accessible to non-tech professionals, which will hopefully help with this vision!