Training to Employment: Alexia’s Journey as Business Analyst at Fortech
11 December 202315 October 2014 | People
Explore Alexia Gosu’s transformative journey from pre-employment training to full-time Business Analyst. Discover the benefits, challenges, and inspiration for young professionals pursuing similar programs, emphasizing dedication, curiosity, and growth opportunities.
Learning and Growing
Alexia’s professional journey began in September 2022 when she joined Fortech as a Business Analyst. This marked her first employment opportunity as a 3rd-year student at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty in Brasov, where she majored in Systems engineering. Now her career journey continues with GlobalLogic, as Fortech has joined GlobalLogic.
Prior to joining our team and during her high school and student years, she explored various areas of the IT industry out of curiosity. This led her to enroll in courses covering different areas of IT to learn about each of them and find out if it was a match for her. During this exploration, she discovered the Business Analysis field, which sounded interesting enough to justify her enrollment in a pre-employment training program.
Alexia believes that her personal traits (sociability, empathy, and a desire to bring smiles to people’s faces) serve as significant assets in her chosen profession as a Business Analyst. Moreover, her determination and curiosity drive her to continually seek new challenges and opportunities, facilitating the constant improvement of her abilities. In her leisure time, she enjoys activities such as hiking, reading, and socializing with friends.
“I am a friendly and empathetic person who constantly desires to make people smile. Also, my ambitious and curious nature drives me to constantly seek new challenges and opportunities to improve my abilities in every aspect of my life.” Alexia’s journey started with a Business Analysis pre-employment training program in April 2022. This six-week program offered her a wonderful experience that combined theory and hands-on workshop sessions in a practical way. It also provided valuable insights and a substantial amount of knowledge about the role of a Business Analyst. With each session, Alexia’s enthusiasm and eagerness to learn grew. Eventually, she realized that she genuinely enjoyed the path of Business Analysis and aspired to pursue it as her career.
“The pre-employment program provided the perfect opportunity for me to grasp the fundamentals of Business Analysis, understand the role of a Business Analyst in the IT industry, and determine whether it is a career I wish to pursue further.”
The program prepared Alexia for the responsibilities and expectations of her current role. Throughout the training, each participant was assigned a project on a specific topic, which allowed them to apply the learned concepts in practice, from identifying potential stakeholders and employing effective elicitation techniques to documenting requirements and business process modeling through diagrams, user stories, and backlog prioritization. Alexia gained hands-on experience and built a solid foundation in the fundamentals of Business Analysis.
“When I began working on a real-life project, I already had a solid understanding of how these tasks should be approached and what they required. This knowledge made it easy for me to adjust to my daily tasks.”
Alexia on her first working day at Fortech.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
New opportunities always come with challenges, and pre-employment programs are no exception. For Alexia, the most challenging part of the training was the elicitation process, as it pushed her out of her comfort zone. Participants were encouraged to apply various techniques, such as interviews, brainstorming sessions, focus groups, and questionnaires, with potential stakeholders for their Business Analyst program’s final project. As Alexia gained experience through her first and second elicitation attempts, her confidence grew. She discovered that preparing in advance and conducting retrospective analyses were key to improving subsequent elicitation experiences.
“After my initial elicitation experiences, I gained confidence in my abilities. I started preparing beforehand and conducting retrospectives to identify areas for improvement in future elicitation sessions.”
Pre-employment programs provide vital opportunities for young professionals to learn new skills for their future roles. Alexia acquired technical and soft skills through workshop activities, homework, and projects. Most workshops were teamwork-based, which helped participants develop and strengthen essential competencies in communication, collaboration, and attention to detail. The curriculum covered project methodologies, stakeholders, team roles, and interactions. Moreover, it touched on business process modeling, user story writing, backlog prioritization, and designing wireframes. Finally, various elicitation techniques were analyzed and integrated into real-life examples.
“The training helped us gain relevant knowledge about Business Analysis and learn the basics that a junior Business Analyst must know. We did that in an efficient and fun way, which made the information get to us easily.”
In pre-employment programs, trainees work with experienced mentors fully prepared to teach them the fundamentals of their chosen field. Specific eLearning platforms are available to upload presentations, homework assignments, and additional questions, an approach that combines flexibility and efficiency in teaching in a hybrid setup: on-site and remote. Alexia saw this aspect as a great advantage since she lived in Brasov and attended all the online sessions held in Cluj. Furthermore, mentors did a great job sharing the information on-site and online and making all participants feel included. Their constant support and willingness to clarify all emerging questions created an open and safe place of learning. The interactive activities throughout the sessions kept trainees engaged from the beginning until the end of the training. Furthermore, at the end of the training, people got feedback from the mentors, which emphasized strengths and weaknesses to drive improvement.
“During the pre-employment training, we were assigned mentors with significant professional experience, fully prepared to teach us about the fundamentals of Business Analysis.”
Pre-employment programs are always a “win-win” for participants and the company. For trainees, having a mentor can help them adapt easily to the work environment and understand the expectations of their role as well as have constant support and guidance on different tasks and projects. Through the training, the trainees can also gain valuable, hands-on work experience in a specific field, learn new skills, and network with other professionals. Moreover, they can explore a career path and make informed decisions about their professional journeys. From a company’s point of view, these programs allow companies to identify and train talented individuals for future positions who may have unique perspectives and skills beneficial to the organization. Besides, trainees can increase productivity within an organization, as they can reduce the workload of existing employees, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.
“I think a pre-employment program can help develop a culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing within a company, which can benefit both the participants and the company.”
Alexia hiking on the seven steps canyon, summer of 2022.
The End of a Journey and a New Beginning
Pre-employment programs are often great opportunities to turn a learning experience into a full-time job. After successfully completing the training program and presenting the final projects, Alexia got her dedication and potential rewarded with a full-time Business Analyst position, which she gladly accepted. This exciting milestone also allowed Alexia to work alongside experienced team members, who provide guidance and support, enabling her to gain practical experience and further develop her skills. She credits her achievement to being consistent, adaptable, dedicated, and maintaining a professional attitude. Alexia recommends that participants take the program seriously, nurture curiosity, learn from mentors, share knowledge and information with other participants, and consistently give their best work.
“I strongly encourage trainees to proactively ask questions, maintain open communication with mentors and fellow participants, and allocate sufficient time to complete tasks accurately.”
Upon securing her full-time role as a Business Analyst, Alexia discovered an excellent match with the company’s culture. She found a highly supportive environment where team members and managers readily offer feedback and assistance. She values the company’s emphasis on professional development through diverse learning resources and platforms.
“The people I encountered during the training were always friendly and willing to help.”
For hard-working young professionals who transition from pre-employment training to full-time positions, the future is always rich in opportunities. Alexia is currently continuing her career path with GlobalLogic on two projects, which are allowing her to acquire new practical skills. Looking ahead, this fresh Business Analyst plans to make use of all available learning resources and platforms to enhance her skills and expand her knowledge. Alexia intends to apply the lessons learned from her current projects, bring value to her team, and contribute to the overall success of these initiatives.
“I want to invest as much time as possible into becoming a more experienced Business Analyst.”
Lastly, Alexia offers valuable advice to those considering a pre-hire program at GlobalLogic: cherish every opportunity, step outside your comfort zone, and embrace challenges to unlock endless possibilities for personal and professional growth.
“Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, even if it scares you or pushes you out of your comfort zone, because you never know where these experiences may lead you. Also, embrace challenges with confidence and curiosity, as they usually unlock endless possibilities for growth.”
By embracing these principles, every young professional can embark on a transformative journey, leading to a rewarding career path that exceeds their expectations.
