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4.6
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Animia Sinha

To be successful in technology, one must have the right balance of technical and soft skills.

What's your name and job title? What did you study? When did you graduate?

Anima Sinha – Technology digital graduate.

What did you study? When did you graduate? 

Master of Information Systems at The University of Melbourne. Graduated 2017.

Where did you grow up? What have been some important stages of your life in regards to your education, experience abroad, previous employment and so forth?

I was born and brought up in India. I became interested in technology and computer science because of my dad who worked in a public sector bank. He would always talk about how, unlike his bank, other private sector banks were making things easier and faster for customers as well as for employees with the help of technology. So, I decided to pursue a career in technology.

I completed a Bachelor of Computer Science and an MBA from India. Then I moved to Australia and I studied a Master of Information Systems at  The University of Melbourne. While studying the Master of Information Systems, I got an internship opportunity at ANZ Bank and worked as a business analyst. Soon after finishing my studies, I had a brilliant opportunity to join Accenture Australia, where I worked for one of their clients – the Australian Tax Office – in the project management space for eight months.

How did you get to your current job position? For how long have you had it? 

I was passionate to explore how banks can leverage technology to create value for customers and stakeholders, so I applied for the NAB Graduate Program. Fortunately, I was successful in securing a graduate role in the Technology team. I have been working in the digital space within Technology for nine months.

What does your employer do?

National Australia Bank (NAB) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia and for almost 160 years, it has been helping customers with their money in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. NAB offers a range of banking products and services to retail and business customers ranging from small and medium enterprises.

What are your areas of responsibility?

I completed my first rotation in the Digital Mobile team. I started with solution design activities where I was required to understand a business requirement and develop a high-level design for the build team, who would then do the required development. I then got an opportunity to work as a devops engineer where my primary role was to write scripts to automate the deployment of software code and build objects in test and production environments. 

Can you describe a typical workday?

My typical workday in the Mobile DevOps team starts with a daily stand-up meeting where we provide status updates. Usually, in the morning I will be busy writing code and managing software releases. Afternoons are either occupied with sprint planning meetings or troubleshooting issues related to releases.

Suppose a student was considering your career. What would you advise them to study? Are there any soft skills it would be beneficial for them to develop? Should they pursue any sort of work experience?

Pursuing a technology degree at university is a good start for a career in technology as it gives you strong technical skills and knowledge. To be successful in technology, one must have the right balance of technical and soft skills. Today we work in a multicultural, agile environment that involves interaction with different teams. Interpersonal skills like influencing, negotiation and collaboration are essential to achieving success in technical roles. 

Soft skills can be developed through a range of volunteer activities, part-time jobs and internships. For example, I voluntarily worked at Melbourne Space Program. I got a fantastic opportunity to work as a technology intern at ANZ Bank and before starting with NAB I worked as an analyst at Accenture Australia. These roles provided me with great exposure to the Australian work culture and a strong foundation for developing and applying different soft skills that are critical for being successful in the workplace. 

What sort of person succeeds in your career?
 
At present technology is changing very quickly. Therefore, a person with a growth mindset who is keen to learn new skills is flexible and adaptable and who is self-motivated to grow and perform will succeed and standout.

What do you love the most about your job? Which kind of task do you enjoy the most?

The technology space is changing quite rapidly without any sign of slowing down. This poses lots of opportunities and ever-increasing demand for constant upskilling. I enjoy tasks that challenge me and present ample opportunities to learn and grow. I like learning new things, solving problems and interacting and collaborating with a diverse set of people. These are quite inherent in my day-to-day tasks within the Technology Digital team.

What’s the biggest limitation of your job?

I have found working in technology a steep learning curve.  While this is the biggest plus for me, at times I get so engrossed in learning new technical skills that I do not prioritise participating in networking events and activities. So, I am booking some time to meet people outside my stream and foster quality connections with them.

What would your career be if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?

I am passionate about understanding the requirements and pain points of customers, then providing them with the right information and solution. If I wasn’t doing what I’m doing now, with my MBA background I would have gone for the Marketing stream.

Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current university student?

  • Demonstrate a growth mindset and flexibility.
  • Build as many soft skills as you can in addition to your area of specialisation.
  • Challenge the status quo to foster innovation.