Today we would like to introduce you to the team and a true leader and expert in her field – Vasylina Pakhomova, Delivery Manager and Consultants Team Lead at our company. Vasylina’s experience is very illustrative for young professionals, as she started her career 7 years ago and has quickly climbed the career ladder, of course, proving it with her knowledge and project expertise. Vasylina’s professional portfolio includes such powerful ERP implementation projects as Kernel, Rud, UIA, SKELAR, Star-Bud, Mizol, Inerco Trade, N-iX, and IITD. Now she is already managing a team of ERP consultants, overseeing project workload, mentoring, evaluating, and grading junior consultants, conducting professional trainings, and focusing on 100% success of Business Central implementation projects at our clients. We decided to ask Vasylyna about her professional development.
When did you start your career and why did you choose this profession?
I studied computer science, but during my studies, I realized that I didn’t want to be a developer and was more interested in being an analyst. In the middle of my third year, I decided to try my hand at consulting, and I didn’t know it would turn out to be such an interesting and cool job.
What knowledge and skills do you need to master ERP implementation as quickly as possible?
A future ERP consultant should have a high level of English, as we have many foreign clients. It is important to pay attention to details, not be afraid to give presentations, and be willing to learn a lot. Basic accounting or technical knowledge is a big plus.
What is the most memorable professional challenge, result, or project you are proud of?
Of course, I immediately remember the first project that I worked on from start to finish: gathering requirements from key users and making changes to get the project up and running in a production environment. It was very difficult, but I am proud that together with the team we were able to launch the project and automate a lot of manual work.
What drives you in your work?
New tasks and interesting projects, the opportunity to work with different companies: today you have an implementation project for an agricultural company, tomorrow for a large IT company.
What’s the most difficult part of your job and how do you deal with it?
The hardest part is communicating with users who are not ready for change and are not ready for a new product. The key to a successful project is the willingness of top management and all employees to implement change, and the entire management of the company and key users of the project should be involved in communicating and implementing such a strategy.
How do you avoid burnout in your profession?
I think it’s important to change activities: for example, not only analyzing customer requirements for a long time but also writing specifications, testing tasks, conducting pre-sales, etc. That’s why the profession of an ERP consultant is interesting to me because there is never a fixed routine.
Do you feel that you have a good work-life balance at Clarity? What are the advantages of working remotely?
I can’t imagine going back to working offline. I am so used to not wasting time on the road and to being as efficient as possible from morning to night. And of course, the super bonus is the ability to sleep longer in the morning.
What advice would you give to young professionals preparing for an interview for an ERP consultant position?
It’s important to read about our company, what we do, and the name of the product we implement. Understand who an ERP consultant is, what the consultant’s responsibilities are, and why this position might be interesting for you. And the most important thing is not to be anxious, but to treat the interview as a conversation with future colleagues.
We thank Vasylyna for her sincerity and are glad to have such a purposeful, original, and dedicated personality as a part of the Clarity Ukraine team.