Taiwo Ayodele: University Student (New Graduate) → Business Analyst at Tasmanian Company

Around this time last year, Taiwo reached out. He was rounding up his university education and had clear goals: work in his field and increase his chances of permanent residency within a year. When asked if he was ready to commit, the reply was a big yes.

And honestly, he outdid himself. Taiwo joined all sessions recording about 98% attendance, asked very thoughtful questions, and singled himself out so much you could pick him up in a crowd of 60. He leaned on his prior experience from Nigeria — not tech related — but quickly picked up the similarities and from day one saw himself as a winner.

There were setbacks. Taiwo burst out in the community channel saying he wasn't getting callbacks. He even had an interview where his camera failed to come on for the entire session — and in the Australian corporate culture, that was tough. But he kept it moving, staying hopeful and working on becoming the version of himself that would accept his breakthrough.

Allowing fear into your head is when you start to fail. Taiwo refused to let that happen. The story changed with a $130K+ Business Analyst role in the heart of Tasmania, significantly strengthening his PR chances. A place where he would never have to trade his time for money or hustle multiple jobs.

When Taiwo got his offer, he actually had another potential offer in view which he had to reject. Imagine if he had given up at the first setback. As a result of his success and open testimony about his breakthrough, he solidified someone else's belief that if Taiwo could do it, they could too.