Harry Davies started his career in Ghana before pushing himself out of his comfort zone and taking a chance with Uber in Amsterdam. His keys to success? Being his authentic self every day, picking himself back up whenever he falls, and leaning on his community for support.
Getting a foot in the door and growing his career
While Harry was based in Ghana, he connected with an Uber manager on LinkedIn and reached out to say “Hey, if you’re looking for a young African guy to join your team, I’m the next badass guy you need to hire!” At the time he wanted to expand his horizons beyond Ghana and gain global experience. The manager responded to say that he didn’t have open roles at the time, but shared that he would likely have some openings the following year, and asked him to apply then.
He did just that and interviewed for a role on the Uber logistics team supporting the Jump bikes launch within the EU in Amsterdam. In the end, he was told that there was good news and bad news. The bad news: there was an internal candidate who had more experience and expertise for the role and they decided to hire them. The good news: the interviewing team really loved Harry’s energy and eagerness, and they wanted to offer him that person’s current position. He happily accepted and began his immigration and relocation process to Amsterdam.
When the Jump bike business was sold, it heavily impacted the work for the logistics team. Harry reassessed what he wanted to do next. Should he move on from the business? Should he look internally? He reached out to the co-chair of the Black at Uber Employee Resource Group (ERG) in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region to let them know that he was interested in working in the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) field and to let him know if any such opportunity . He was introduced to a member of the D&I team who shared information on the Racial Equity Commitments they were heading, which he promptly volunteered for. Later on, when a role on the team opened up within the D&I team, the EMEA co-chair let Harry know. He applied, interviewed, and got the job.
Harry was able to use his experiences in operations and in ERGs to land the role even though he came from a different background than you typically see for a D&I role. But the key to his success was the help that he got from fellow Black at Uber ERG members. They helped him prepare for the interview and reviewed and provided feedback on his assessment, and he attributes his success to their support. In his first 3 months, Harry coordinated, executed, and hosted a 3 day Global ERG Leadership summit for about 65+ ERG leaders with 10 guest speakers. “I am super excited to work within Uber’s trailblazing D&I team and the team has been very supportive,” he says.
The ERG experience
Harry took on the role of events and projects lead for Black at Uber in February 2020. Unfortunately, COVID-19 surged soon after, and he wasn’t able to execute much in that space. However, he found other opportunities to engage with the community, including offering resume and interview prep support for fellow members who were impacted by layoffs, helping others find their next opportunities, and especially in helping to elevate Black voices.
“We had Afro Jam week in the Netherlands. It was awesome and a time to ensure that people get to know the diverse Black backgrounds. I’m Black from Ghana West Africa, somebody’s Black from the Caribbean, another’s an African American yet we all have peculiar, distinctive personalities that make us who we are. I was on the board so I was hearing from our global leads, and these were strong global leadership that encouraged and supported the membership especially around the time when George Floyd was killed. We let Black@ members know that if they needed any help, they could reach out using the internal tools that we have to help us through all the psychological trauma that affects us. The ERG leadership met frequently with members and encouraged them to come into work and be their authentic selves.’ We want to create a safe haven, where people can come in and have their most intimate conversations with members, allies and be assured that somebody was there to listen to them.”
5 tips from Harry
Think beyond geography
“Your geographic location should not be a barrier to whether or not you apply to Uber. I’ve seen people move from Europe to San Francisco to take on roles, or from Latin America or the Asia Pacific regions. My current role was originally based in the US and I preferred to stay in the EU for the time being and I applied to the logistics role from Ghana-I did not let the location of the role stop me from applying. Do not think for a second that based on the fact that you’re in a different country you’re not eligible to apply. You might as well apply and be rejected than decide not to apply at all. You own your own career path.”
Get out of your comfort zone
“As a young African man from Ghana, one of the key things I realize is, we are smart, but we don’t often get opportunities. There’s so much I can do, but if I stay in my comfort zone, I cannot achieve my goals. Do you want to be a local champion? Or do you want to get out of your comfort zone and look into different perspectives and really broaden your horizons?”
Be yourself, make an impact
“I try as much as possible at every point, and with every experience that I have, to try to leave an impact. I may not be the best, but I try to be my authentic self.”
Be persistent and keep asking
“I don’t know it all, but I ask for help when I need it. I also don’t give up easily, so when I want an opportunity I am persistent about continuing to ask and knock on the door until someone takes a chance with me.”
Learn and adapt to win
“That is what really drives me to be successful, to inspire and to motivate the next generation of young Africans to say, ‘do not limit yourself to where you come from, but make sure you go out there and get a piece of that experience, and possibly bring it back to the continent.’ Pay it off by motivating and empowering the next generation so that they can be better versions of themselves.”
“The idea is to say to the millions in sub-Saharan Africa, especially the millennials, ‘you don’t need to know anybody.’ We are used to being handheld into opportunities or you must know someone who knows someone to get your foot in the door. But I’m the typical example of not knowing anybody yet applying for a role and being given the chance. You may be rejected and will face lots of rejections but I still get up, dust myself off, and keep applying until I get that opportunity I seek for. And now I’m at the table, having a say.”
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