Chit chat with Favour Emmanuel, KBWT face of the month of May

There was a particular session KBWT held that had Chioma James on board. I learnt to be confident about my skills and not to be shy about them. I also learnt to be able to package myself.

Meet Favour Emmanuel, who shared the excitement of her tech career in Digital Marketing and Graphic design motivated by her love for colors in this interview with Zainab Bolanle Abdullahi.

Z: Great to have this conversation with you today Favour. How are you coping with the stay-at-home/social distancing situation going on right now?

F: I’m coping well. It has been a learning process in some ways.

Z: That’s good to hear. So what motivated you to start your tech career?

F: It really did amaze me how tech was solving problems and breaking so much grounds in our time, so I decided to be a part of it.

Z: Interesting. What are some of the tech fields you’re engaged in?

F: Digital Marketing and Graphics Design basically.

Z: What made you choose them?

F: For Digital Marketing, I started off volunteering to manage a community social media account with the handle @ladywithballsng. Working with them (I still work with them) made me understand the role digital marketers have to play in the tech world. They ensure that whatever design, product or services they made, get to the right audience and at the right time. It is amazing!

As for Graphics Design, it was my love for colors that drew me into it. I have always loved how colors were mixed to create a perfect and colourful solution. It has been an amazing ride ever since.

Z: That sounds amazing. A lot of people in tech usually discover their path in tech community through volunteering and I’m glad to hear that was the case for you too with regards to digital marketing. It’s a much overlooked field in tech.

F: Yes, it is. Someone once mentioned to me that he doesn’t see digital marketing as a field in tech, lol.

Z: [laughing] That someone is very mistaken.

Digital marketing is a very viable field in tech and it interacts a lot with almost every industry and community.

F: [laughs] yes, most people see tech as designing, UI and UX, Coding, etc. They dunno! [laughing]

Z: [laughs] Exactly. So has your path in tech affected your personality in any way at all?

F: Yes, it has. It has helped me build some soft skills required for the workplace. Skills that have to do with leadership, presentation and project management, to mention a few.

Z: That’s awesome, those are skills that will serve you for a very long time

F: I know right.

Z: We learned that you recently tutored a practical class in designing using Canva. Can you talk about how that came about and how it went?

F: That was actually my second practical class on designing. I started holding class on designing when people come to me to help them make designs or to tell me how my designs were so beautiful. I figured it was something people would pay for, so I went into it.

Z: Oh wow, that’s wonderful.

How did this recent one go? Considering the fact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is all everybody seems to think/talk about?

F: I know right… It didn’t hold. The response was poor. I had to keep it on hold.

Z: Oh I’m sorry to hear that. The coronavirus has really upended everything in the world it seems

F: It’s fine. Thank you.

I know right… This covid-19 experience has helped me in being deliberate about my personal branding. I am taking actions already and the responses I’ve been getting are encouraging. I kept asking myself why I hadn’t started before now.

Z: That’s really good.

I’m glad you’ve found a silver lining in this stormy cloud we’re all living in right now.

F: [smiles] Thank you. I’m glad too.

Z: You’re welcome. What projects have you worked on that you’re most proud of?

F: Oh, wow. I’ve done quite some projects that I’m proud of.

I managed a campaign that ran for 3 weeks all by myself. Running the campaign included creating designs every day because it was a daily challenge, creating content which I had to spend time researching on and ensuring I delivered on time. I really did wonderfully well running that campaign.

I currently work with a brand @cirklelabs as a social media manager and with the tweet chat I’m moderating, I have been able to increase followership by 50%. I’m so happy about that.

I’m someone who is full of ideas and it gives me joy when my ideas are executed and bring about good results.

Z: Wow wow wow. That’s all so impressive [claps]

F: Thank you so much!

Z: Any brand or company will be so lucky to have such a hardworking and competent individual like you on their team.

F: Tell them, lol. Thank you for your kind words.

Z: [smiles] We will o, this interview is going to let them all know.

F: [smiles]

Z: How has the KwaraBuild Women In Tech community impacted you in terms of achieving your goals?

F: There was a particular session KBWT held that had Chioma James on board. I learnt to be confident about my skills and not to be shy about them. I also learnt to be able to package myself [laughs]

Z: That session was lit. Glad you got something out of it. To wrap this up, what advice would you give to other women in tech?

F: My advice to Women in Tech is that, they shouldn’t be scared or low key about their skills. Really, you shouldn’t be humble about your skills. How would people recommend you for a designing job if they don’t know your design?

Be proud of your accomplishments and see social media as your new CV. I read that book by Yemisi Ajeojo and it changed my life.

Z: You can say that again [claps] This is excellent advice that I’m sure will resonate with all our readers.

F: Thank you

Z: It’s been an absolute pleasure meeting you and speaking to you today, Favour. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk today, I really appreciate it.

F: Thank you for having me.

Z: Can you please share your twitter handle so the people in our community can keep up with your amazing work?

F: My Twitter is handle is @Creative_favour and They can follow me on Instagram @thefavouremmanuel as well.

Z: Alright. Thank you. I’m your newest follower [smiles]

F: [smiles]

Z: Thanks again for having this conversation with me. Enjoy the rest of your day.

F: You too.