Ghazal Asif on women in tech, starting out at HP 'underqualified’, and what she learned on The Apprentice

Rubrik’s global channel boss speaks to CRN about her first foray into the industry, leaving her first role for The Apprentice, and her advice to women looking to change careers

There are likely more senior leaders in the tech space who stepped into their first role in the industry without prior experience than you think.

One of those is Ghazal Asif, VP of global channels and alliances at Rubrik.

After working a number of roles in retail during university, she chased a career in IT after being drawn in by the promising salary.

“My first foray into tech was inside sales at HP.

“The reason why I applied for tech was nothing to do with the fact that it's tech, it was because I heard it pays really well,” Asif tells CRN.

“At that point tech was just a mobile phone, and I didn’t really understand tech beyond that. But I had the courage to apply for a role that I was way under qualified for. HP was looking for at least three years’ experience in tech sales and a STEM related degree. I had none of the above and applied anyway and did a ton of research.”

But her efforts paid off after HP “gave her a shot”, impressed by her research.

“And that was my first job in tech.

“But it was hard. I’d love to say it was a whirl, but I had to work harder than everyone else to understand the basic fundamentals.”

More than a decade later, Asif has stuck with the industry.

She details to CRN what made her stay.

“I felt like the future was tech.

“I didn't know what that exactly meant, but I knew at the time that HP was hiring significantly across the UK and across Europe.

“As I started to read about some of the trends around these tech companies and their hiring, I felt in my gut something big was coming.

“And the second thing is, I felt like because I had something to prove, I was performing better than people that were in the industry for five to ten years.”

After one year, Asif left her first job at HP to pursue a chance on the BBC’s The Apprentice series three.

“That year, there were 10,000 applicants that applied. I was 16 of the 10,000 to make it onto the show.

“I was the youngest ever candidate to have appeared on the show at that time, and I was number nine to get fired. So 10,000 to number nine, I think I did okay. I think I represented the Scots well.”

Her time on the show wasn’t all fun and games and Asif describes the experience as “humbling”.

“What I learned was that I was really good at talking the talk, but I hadn't quite learned to walk the walk at that point yet.

“Quite frankly, it was a humbling experience where I had only one year corporate experience.

“When you’re young you have this false sense that life is short And you have to make something of your life, especially as a woman.

“I learned that actually I have a lot more time, and time to really invest in yourself, learning the skills that you need to be successful.”

Key to success… so far?

Asif has come a long way since inside sales at HP, now heading up Rubrik’s global channel business.

Outlining some of her keys to success, Asif describes nailing the job first as her number one.

“You have to nail being really good at your job.

“I know that sounds very obvious but a lot of people forget that we've been hired to deliver a job description, and that's the baseline.

“You have to learn how to nail that and do it well before you start thinking about what's next.

“Second, never stop learning. Never stop asking questions. Never stop being curious.

“You might feel like you are extremely competent at your role right now, and you’ve had great success as a result. But every single day I'm still learning and still have a lot to learn.”

Explore opportunities in tech

Asif still views tech as the future, brimming with opportunities for people or want to be part of this space.

“This is now the start of the AI growth curve. And while we might not understand what all those opportunities are, being in that environment, being in tech, you will be exposed to them, and you will learn them, and you will figure out the ones that are right for you.

“The reality is, when we say tech, what we're referring to is companies that operate within the technology space, and like every single company, there's a lot of different roles.”

Asif explains what she tells women who are either in university, going into graduate positions, or in non tech company roles and other verticals and industries that are looking to change careers.

“Within the walls of a tech company, let's take Rubrik as an example. Yes, you will have the engineers, you'll have the coders, you'll have the developers. That forms an incredibly important function within a tech organisation.

“However, you also have HR. You could be someone that's really passionate about developing people, about looking at org structures and figuring out how does a company operate at its best?

“Just because you work at a tech company doesn’t mean you have to be technical.”