A young graduate says the industry connections she made via The Channel Community were integral to her landing her dream job at Softcat.
Naomi Kawoya was last month appointed a Partner Marketing Executive at the UK’s largest IT reseller.
But talking to IT Channel Oxygen, Kawoya acknowledged that things could have panned out differently without the help of free mentoring network The Channel Community.
“Where’s this been this whole time?”
Kawoya first got the bug for the IT industry during a one-year marketing internship at Nutanix back in 2021.
“I really loved the process of being creative with swag, copywriting for landing pages and the process of organising events,” she recalled.
But after graduating in July 2023, Kawoya ended up working in a pharmaceutical sector whose code of practice restricted her opportunities to be creative.
“I knew I needed to get back into the IT space, where it felt like I had the freedom to be more creative,” she said.
To land her dream job, Kawoya earlier this year began to look for a mentor.
She was on the verge of paying £200 a month for such a service, before a chance encounter on LinkedIn changed everything.
“I didn’t really have £200 a month, because I was broke,” she recalled.
“Then one day I was scrolling through LinkedIn and Softcat’s recruitment manager [Elisha Kirkham] had posted about The Channel Community,” she said.
“I clicked on it and thought, ‘where’s this been this whole time?’ – I was so excited.
“I reached out to [The Channel Community Matchmaker] Kate [Auchterlonie], outlining my situation and what I wanted to do.”
“I told him my story”
Founded in 2021 by former CDW exec Yvonne Matzk, The Channel Community is a Community Interest Company offering free mentoring via a ‘Buddy’ system.
After an initial chat with Auchterlonie, Kawoya was matched up with Channel Buddy Dean Wootton, an experienced exec from Pure Storage.
“I told him my story, and what I wanted to do. He said, ‘I think it’d better if you amend your CV and apply for roles associated with Nutanix – and you should be good to go’,” Kawoya explained.
Just weeks later, Kawoya landed her dream job at Softcat, working from the FTSE 250 outfit’s Marlow office.
After she completes her training, Kawoya will be tasked with crafting marketing activities with Softcat’s workspace vendors.
“It made my year”
How much of a difference did The Channel Community actually make for Kawoya?
“If you don’t have those connections, it’s going be hard for you to navigate getting into the industry,” she responded.
“As soon as I got that support from somebody that has years of experience within the industry, it made it easier for me.”
Kawoya’s story only came to light when she recounted it to Matzk at The Channel Community’s most recent networking event.
“When Naomi took the time out to come and tell me that’s how she ended up working for Softcat, it just made my year,” Matzk said.
“Everybody who’s part of this is giving their time for free. To hear those stories, it gives you that motivation to keep going.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
