Managing the diverse needs of clients is all part of the job for this WMG graduate and IT expert

September 2018 is a month that Fatin Fatihah won't forget. The 28-year-old took her viva exam, was interviewed for the Technical Account Manger role at Microsoft and also as a Microsoft Aspire candidate, moved home, and gave birth to her first child – all in the space of just six days.

Yet this former WMG Excellence Scholarship student was undaunted by these life-changing challenges occurring at once. Not only that, she passed every test. 'I was awarded a distinction, got the job, and my son listened to me by arriving once the exam and interview were out of the way.'

Today, the International Technology Management graduate uses the problem-solving skills learned at WMG to support Microsoft Services customers, from the operations team up to the CXO level. From global corporations to local firms, the customer base of this multinational technology giant varies widely. And that requires Fatin, who is based in Malaysia, to manage their different expectations and approaches.

'It's all about reducing the temperature when a client is under pressure,' she says.

'That means keeping everyone happy and ensuring no one is offended when I tell them the reality of their current systems’ environment. I may not know about every piece of their strategic plan, but I do know how to orchestrate with little information that in the end patched as a guidance map - and that's a skill I learned at WMG.'

Her goal was not just to leave Warwick with an MSc. Instead, Fatin was determined to change her career which had been in telecoms – 'I knew I would go home with more than I started with. I just need to persevere and conquer every unknown that I was facing.'

What empowered her, says Fatin, is that the WMG tutors boosted her confidence, opened her eyes to the possibilities of what she could achieve, and gave her new ways of thinking. Before the course, I didn't realise how high I could go, but I was challenged to overcome my fears and that was actually the set of wings I needed to fly further.'

The practical nature of the course (her thesis was on Malaysia’s digital revolution) was a key attraction.

Her success in winning her job at Microsoft was down to being able to articulate how to solve a problem and her attitude when pressured with behavioural interview questions, she believes. Her aim is to take her critical thinking skills to help her home country develop.

It is fair to say that Fatin is thriving. So is her son whose nickname is ‘Snow’, a tribute to her time at Warwick and the English winter which set her firmly on the path to achieving her dreams.

Fatin was also successful in winning The Rising Star award at Channel Asia Women in ICT Awards 2020. This was awarded to Fatin as she has demonstrated outstanding business acumen and professional integrity in her work at Microsoft.