Trainees at SNP: Well prepared and quickly in the thick of things

Interview with Javkhara Shodieva, Data-Migration Consultant at SNP

Javkhara talks about her personal experiences as a migration consultant and about the process and content of the programme.

Javkhara, how did you come to SNP in the first place?

I first became aware of SNP during my studies in accounting and finance. I was curious and wanted to take a closer look at the company. I found information about the company and its opportunities for students on the website and was immediately interested, especially in the consulting area. Although the role was not purely related to finance, consultancy and its technical aspects attracted me. I had IT-related modules during my studies which I was really interested in. So, the data-migration consultancy job was perfect for me as I could combine my two passions, finance, and IT. So, I applied, to see if the program might be interesting for me - and it was. Shortly after, I was offered the position. After the probationary period, I signed the contract, and within a few weeks, I started my training at SNP. I was provided with a laptop, mobile phone, and everything that I could need for my job.

What does the trainee program look like and how did you get started?

The trainee program started with a three-month boot camp, followed by the mentoring phase, ABAP training, TC training and MC training. Then you start as a junior consultant. As my background was not related to SAP programming, I found the training very useful. During the training, we had both virtual and on-campus workshops and lectures. One of the best experiences for me was the training provided by our manager, Leonardo Guzman, who could explain in detail and provide a workshop on SAP coding. I have learnt a lot about ABAP, TC, MC, and SAP migration processes. Another point I would like to mention is the culture in the company, I found it very friendly and positive as even if you struggle you can approach anyone in the company. Despite their roles, everyone is ready and happy to help you. It is very important for me to have supportive colleagues so we can do our best to achieve our goals and build fruitful life-long relationships together.

Do you think a technical degree is an important prerequisite for SNP trainees?

Well, again coming back to my background in finance, at first, I was very nervous and worried about struggling or asking questions. However, from day one of the training, I found that, despite your background you can still pick it all up. Even though you find it hard at first you can always ask for help from anyone in the group. SNP people are open to sharing their knowledge and experience and happy to help you during any challenges.

What happened after the training and how quickly did you gain your first project experience?

During my first project, I was involved in a client meeting to identify the scope of the project which was amazing. I had a clear idea of how things are done and agreed with the client from the beginning. Afterwards, I was involved in the TC migration process where I was assigned mostly finance-related modules. I was happy to gain new knowledge of how FI is related to data migration, its structure, and its tables. Also, I had experience working with defects on projects, finding their resolutions, and updating status within client meetings.

How was the cooperation with the team (working from home)?

As mentioned previously I found people at SNP very friendly and supportive. They really care and try to help you in any way, regardless of whether it’s a professional or personal issue. I started alongside two others who were from IT and engineering backgrounds. They were open to answering my questions and in turn, I was happy to share my knowledge in finance when their work was related to testing financial modules.

How are you doing today with your job as a consultant?

Great! What I particularly like about my job is that you always work with different colleagues from different areas. In doing so, you get to know a lot of people. In every project, the teams are put together anew. There is a project manager and a team of consultants, a different one for each module. So the collaboration is very varied and you quickly build up a network. I still speak to my mentor regularly to this day. If I have a quick question, I just send him a screenshot and he calls me two minutes later and explains it to me. You notice that everyone simply wants to work well together, they want to communicate, and you always get to know a lot about each other, even during a time when almost everything is done digitally.