How being BOLD landed me a Microsoft internship.

“Nana, be bold.”

My mother would always say this to me when I was growing up (Nana being my nickname). So, sitting at my desk, this day last year, with a bold fire that burned within me, but a will power that seemed to be running dry after being bashed with over a hundred plus rejections, these were the words that were marinating in my mind as I decided to make this post.

At the time, I was unaware that the post would go viral - the only thing that I was thinking was that I had nothing else to lose. So I typed away.

Sometimes we forget that we are all different, and that the mainstream ways of doing things may not work for us. Personally, I had done everything I possibly could have to try and secure an internship - well, at least I thought I did. 

It wasn’t until I stopped feeling sorry for myself long enough to flip the switch and do something I believed no one else at the time was doing - to talk about my failures on a platform mainly used to highlight successes.

So, I did it, I was BOLD .

Two weeks after that, it happened... It was 2am when my phone beeped. I was climbing into bed when I saw “LinkedIn: Jeff Weiner commented on your post.” appear as a notification on my phone.

I kid you not, I thought someone was pranking me, or that my intelligent, computer science friend, Aarnav Ram had hacked something to joke around - I was in disbelief.

Staring at the notification, five more came, then ten more. Within seconds my phone was on edge. A post that had about 72 likes initially, had gone to 150 within 2minutes and so on. I had to turn off LinkedIn notifications on my phone because the volume of notifications caused the LinkedIn application on my phone to crash multiple times, preventing me from opening the application.

I was unaware of what was happening as I had never gone “viral” before.

“ Akosua, some people go viral on twitter or Facebook - but you, YOU go viral on LinkedIn.” - Meau Jones.

Views on the post reached 1 million people within the first 24hours. 

The way LinkedIn works, is that once someone comments on your post, everyone in their connections can see it and so on, it’s like a virus system. Jeff Weiner has 8million+ followers, that means they were now interested in seeing what the commotion with me was about.

What was most shocking to me was that, this post did more in 24hours than my networking at conferences, sending applications and emailing had done in 2.5years. It had attracted not only attention, but interest in my talent. 

Companies that had previously rejected me, were now having people from those companies say

“Akosua, we need more people like you in our company and in the accounting field. People with your boldness.” said a partner from one of the big four accounting firms.

Slowly, I was starting to understand what I had done. I had done something different. And it was making me stand out. People gawk at diversity, some avoid it. But, it is our differences that make us stand out, that make us rise above the ordinary, our differences are what highlight our uniqueness and adequately set us apart. 

Quickly, my post about my rejection and struggle with the internship search had garnered not only interest from recruiters and partners, but also from people in the job search. People were now starting to make posts about their hardships in the recruitment process. Unbeknownst to me, I had created a snowball effect. Before I knew it people were talking about me, sharing my posts, writing stories for example Business Insider and Forbes.

“ Akosua, your boldness inspires me.”

I didn’t know what this meant. We go through things and we may struggle. And when we share our story we don’t know that it may be the hope someone is looking for. I didn’t know. I would be an inspiration. People say I inspire them, but they empower me to keep going and striving to be a better version of myself, daily.

You see, it is not that all those people who post about their successes have never failed before. It is just that, no one feels free to talk about that failure/struggle/hardship in their journey. So, why did I feel the need to talk about mine? Because, I realized, I had nothing to lose at the time. I realized that it was, or at least should be okay for me to "keep it real". That it should be okay for me to ask for help. So I did just that. I always say, “I post the way I talk.” This is true. I needed an internship and I wasn’t successful, so I posted about it. Did I know it would make me go viral? No. 

You tag Beyoncé in a post, you don’t expect her to suddenly show up. I didn’t expect Jeff Weiner to show up for me - but I am so grateful he did!

Through this I realized the kindness of so many people. Deborah Okine, in particular, someone I had met at a National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) National Conference (2017) five months prior, had tagged so many Microsoft recruiters in my post, and it was through that, that I got connected to Kevin Hacke and Felicity Blazevic(Flick).

Flick and I spoke and to my surprise, when she said “I will contact you as soon as an opportunity opens up.” she meant it. I didn’t expect her to reach out with an opportunity, especially because recruiting season had well ended.

To my surprise, Flick contacted me late January and told me about a new internship position. US Business and Sales Operations, under US Marketing and Operations had never had an intern as they were a smaller unit - with their growth, they were now looking for one. I asked Flick to explain how this position would connect to my Accounting major, and she did. I was interested.

My interview: first round consisted of a phone screening. For the final round, I had four in person interviews about 45min-1hr. Majority behavioral questions. 

The main question I was asked was, “Akosua, why Microsoft.” My response?

“Growing up in Francistown, Botswana, Southern African Region, I learned to type on MS WORD. I played Reader Rabbit(a game that taught my siblings and I math skills) on a Windows computer. You see, Botswana is a country of only about 2.5million people. A country sometimes unknown or forgotten by many. The fact that Microsoft penetrated that economy and made their software and hardware not only affordable but easily accessible showed me that, they don’t just preach “ empowering every individual and organization on the planet to achieve more” they practice it. To me, Microsoft was technology to me while I was growing up. They empowered me, now I want to work there to empower others.” 

I spent the summer doing just that. With God's grace, I secured the internship. I was also US BSO's first and only intern. I left feeling more empowered. 

Takeaways from my "Bold"post: 

1. It is okay to talk about your struggles and ask for help. When we do this we can listen to people who may have been there before and they can point us in a helpful direction. A lot of people lift others as they climb - be direct about what you are looking for and they will lift you. Do not forget to pay it forward.
2. Your time will come. I look back on the companies that rejected me in the past and I am grateful for that rejection, it is because of that, I found my place at Microsoft. Trust in the process. Trust in God's Plan for your life.
3. Always be bold. Take the risk. One day you’ll look back and realize it was all worth it.
4. BE AUTHENTIC, always. It was my authenticity in writing that post and many posts since then that got me to where I am today. I will always be grateful for my family always encouraging me to stay true to who I am. There is power in being your authentic self. A power that no one can take away from you unless you let them.

So, if you get a wild idea about how to stand out, go for it!

#BeBold

Thank you all for being a part of my journey.