Employee Spotlight - Zohaib Latif

Zohaib is an IT Generalist working at Cyclica, where he provides employees with first response assistance to all technical needs. He prides himself on his technological expertise and effectively uses his knowledge to deliver functional and efficient IT solutions to his team to the best of his ability. He has a Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) from Ontario Tech University and continues researching to stay up to date with new and current technologies. Zohaib currently has three years of professional experience in the IT industry.

What motivates you to wake up and go to work every day?

I have always been motivated by the desire to provide solutions to complex problems. My passion for assisting others drives me to wake up and go to work. Every issue opens up a new opportunity for growth by allowing me to stretch my limits to implement solutions and accomplish my goals.

What do you like most about your job?

Implementing new technologies and troubleshooting current technologies in selective environments requires me to be creative in what solutions I provide. This makes every day a challenge - a challenge I enjoy facing where I can learn more about the depth of the technologies I am working with and provide helpful and innovative solutions to my co-workers. Being a part of Cyclica has given me insight into the number of resources that goes into drug discovery and the sheer difficulty of the task. In addition, it has given me a newfound respect for the entire process and those who contribute to making headway into new approaches and solutions.

What’s the best career advice you have ever received?

I've received fantastic advice throughout my journey. Still, one essential piece of career advice I’ve received is always to continue learning since technology evolves rapidly, that what works today may become obsolete in the future. To stay on top of this, you must be willing to read up on the documentation for existing technologies while also getting familiar with new technologies being developed daily. Knowledge of various technologies plays a key role in tackling tough challenges when they arise. I believe this doesn’t just apply to technical skills; it applies to all facets of learning. For example, fine-tuning my people skills by observing and continually interacting with others has made me a much more effective communicator, thus allowing me to be an effective team member when working with my colleagues.

How do you define success?

To me, success is defined by how  content I am in a current time in my life. Some factors that I believe   to be of importance are work-life   balance, being in a state of   constant learning, being in a  challenging and enjoyable work  environment, and staying connected with family and friends. By incorporating these factors into my life and ensuring that they are at suitable levels required of me, I can guarantee that I am content in life which directly correlates to how successful I see myself.

What are 3 things on your bucket list?

• To visit every continent as the world is a big place. The number of adventures is unimaginable, and I would like to experience as many as possible.
• Learning to play the piano.
• Participating in triathlon because that would easily be one of the toughest physical challenges I could face.

What do you like to do when you aren’t at work?

I enjoy delving into a few things in my personal time: weight lifting, basketball, gaming, cars, traveling, and learning new languages.  

Connect with Zohaib on LinkedIn.