You Never Know

“Social Policy and Intervention? Mom, they’re going to think you’re confused,” Shasha said. I knew what she meant; for she had merely given voice to one of the thoughts that had plagued my mind when I came across the job opportunity. Who gets a BSc in Biochemistry, a master’s degree in Literature and Creative Writing, a PhD in Education, and then applies for a job in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention? It didn’t make any sense. However, I felt drawn to this job opening, and given the circumstances in which I had come across it, I was convinced that there was something there for me. Ubong (U) shared my sentiments, too. So, on the deadline, I sent in application. Exactly a week later, I received an invitation for an interview.

I still remember Shasha’s reaction when I told her I had been invited for an interview. “They actually invited you for an interview? Wow! That means you could get the job!”
“I know,” I said, laughing. I thought the interview went okay, but I was rather disappointed that it ended earlier than the scheduled time for it. More importantly, I was concerned about the fact that I didn’t have enough experience to perform well in the role I had applied for. I wondered if I would be given some training if I landed the job. As we usually do, U&I prayed, “Lord, bless it or kill it!” (in other words, “Lord, if this is Your will, bless it, and if it is not Your will, kill it!”) and left it at that. My then pastor prayed about the job along similar lines; thank you, Simon Deeks.To cut a long story short, I got a job – albeit, a different role from that which I had applied for – and resumed in September 2019. However, no sooner did I start than the imposter syndrome struck. The voice within was persistent: “You know this is not your area of expertise. You really should not have applied for the job. You should have stayed in familiar territory. You don’t belong here. You’re not good enough. They’ll soon discover they made a mistake and that you’re not a good fit.”

Let me admit that several things were new to me given that I was coming from a different field, and I occasionally made silly mistakes. Although my colleagues were all very nice and kind, working with brilliant people didn’t exactly help my battle with imposter syndrome ☺️. I sometimes shied away from asking questions about things I was not clear about because I feared it might expose knowledge gaps that I had (). Fortunately, I liked the tasks involved in my job and had great colleagues who were very supportive. Also, my role kept evolving which was something that I really liked. Days rolled into months and the months soon became a year, and then two. It’s now a little over four years since I joined Oxford University’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention. It has been a lovely experience. In addition to acquiring new skills, there arethings I have learned along this journey, and I thought to share one or two.

Firstly, most tasks are not as complicated as they sound or look on paper (lol). For example, ‘develop personas for app users’ is actually a really fun and exciting task that involves imagining and creating characters of people who would likely use the app. Similarly, ‘user testing of an app’ involves having people use an app and then share with you their experiences of the app and their thoughts about it. But that’s not the only nugget I have gleaned from this path. I have also learned that if you will, you can work and thrive in most fields, even when you have academic qualifications in a totally different field.

In June 2022, I was given the department’s Award for Excellence for my work in the year 2020 – 2021. I am grateful for all the fantastic colleagues whose support made it possible for me to excel in my work, chiefly, Prof Lucie Cluver, for her mentorship and amazing support, and of course for nominating me for the award. Thank you, too, to Inge, Jamie, Ohad, Nicole, Jonathan and others not mentioned here. But the point is this, I would not have won an award in Oxford University’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention if I had never applied for a job there in the first place!
Early in 2022, I changed jobs and now work in a new and totally exciting role.

My previous role prepared and positioned me for my current role, and without it, I very much doubt that I would have landed my current job. Here’s the message: very rarely do we get the complete picture; we must learn to walk by faith and take that step when we get the nudge. This may sometimes require going against conventional reasoning, but what do we stand to lose by trying? So, don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be scared to journey out of the familiar into an unknown territory if you feel a pull in that direction. You never know where it will lead.

P/S: My sincere gratitude to everyone who has been a part of my journey; I have dared to dream and attempt new things because I have constantly had the love and support of my family and friends, especially my husband, U (I will have to write a book about this incredibly amazing guy someday ), and our awesome foursome. Above all, I am most grateful to God, my anchor, my guide, my help, and indeed, my everything! All that I am and ever will be, I owe to Him!

P/S: This post was first published on Facebook on September 17, 2022.