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Cognizant New Zealand

  • > 100,000 employees

Aqeela Mazema

My role within the organisation is a Programmer Analyst. I am a part of the Enterprise Application Services – Integration Process Management business unit.

What's your job about?

My role within the organisation is a Programmer Analyst. I am a part of the Enterprise Application Services – Integration Process Management business unit. We provide clients with different technology solutions and application platforms that help streamline their business processes.

In my most recent experience working on a client project, I played the role of a Change Manager and Business Analyst within the project team assisting with an application upgrade being implemented. I was responsible for handling all project communication – this included drafting emails, sending out notices to stakeholders and monitoring/routing queries to relevant team members.

A typical day included attending daily project status meetings to discuss the progress of the project and resolve any roadblocks. I would meet with internal and external stakeholders to understand the requirements for the application being upgraded and create user manuals for BAU (Business As Usual) team members to facilitate handover. I was involved in meetings and building relationships with internal and external stakeholders throughout the duration of the project to ensure they were all on board with the change. I was responsible for scheduling testing and go-lives dates with technical teams and vendors to coordinate migration to the new platform.

What's your background?

I was born in South Africa. My family moved to Australia when I was 7 years old. We lived in Melbourne for a year and then finally settled in Canberra. I moved to Sydney 2 years ago after graduation to begin working at Cognizant as a Graduate Programmer Analyst Trainee. I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Informatics majoring in Information Systems. I chose this degree because coming out of high school I had no idea what to do next, so I chose the 2 things I excelled in during school which was Business and Information Technology.

I kind of just stumbled across the current role I am in, I applied for a lot of graduate roles online and received quite a few calls back. Initially after being interviewed at Cognizant I got a call to say that I was unsuccessful. About 2 weeks later I received a call to inform me that there had been a new opportunity that had opened up and I was successful after all. I took this as a sign and ended my job hunt by accepting the position with Cognizant - I have been with the company for 2 years’ now.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, there are many different roles and opportunities you can find yourself in working for Cognizant. I think you just need patience and a willingness to learn in order to succeed in any role – it may not always be what you expect but how you handle situations and learn from them can provide a lot of value going forward.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

Being placed in projects within large organisations that you basically become a part of while completing projects. You have the opportunity to network and meet a range of different individuals. It is also really interesting to see how other companies operate in terms of their corporate policies and values. Another thing is that you have a chance to play more than one role within the team, for example – I am a Business Analyst, however, have since gained experience and exposure acting as a Change Manager for the first time.

What are the limitations of your job?

Waiting to be placed in a project can sometimes make you lose motivation. It is possible to spend a few months throughout the year being un-assigned to a project. The upside of this is that you have time to upskill and develop your knowledge in other areas within the organisation that may interest you. However, being someone who enjoys actively contributing within a team and working toward a common goal makes the period of being un-assigned a bit challenging.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

  • Take your time, you are still young. Enjoy being a student because it is one of the best times of your life.
  • Know what you want to do in life and who you want to become – work towards that, and if you’re ever unhappy in the journey, don’t be afraid to start again!
  • Don’t underestimate yourself, you are smarter and worth a lot more than you may think.