Everyone's career journey is different. How people get started, how they develop and whether they feel they belong all shape their experience and the opportunities ahead of them.
Our approach to inclusion and diversity is built around three focus areas: Getting In, Getting On and Belonging. These reflect our commitment to opening access to opportunity, supporting career progression and creating an environment where people feel confident being themselves. We started with Getting In, and we're now turning to Getting On.
Getting On is about what happens after people join: the promotions, the stretch roles, the moments you back yourself. It's about fair and transparent progression, real access to development and mentoring, and the support people need to build a career here, not just get through the door. We bring this to life through clear career pathways and regular development conversations, mentoring and coaching at every stage, and opportunities to move and grow across the firm through internal mobility and global experiences.
As part of Black History Month, we're also sharing stories that reflect the different experiences and perspectives people bring to their careers.
Meet Phyllis NO Dzoboku, Senior Audit Manager, who joined the firm 22 years ago expecting it to be a temporary stop on her way to a career in fashion. She shares her journey through the firm, the people who backed her, and what getting on has meant to her.
A different plan
After my A-levels, I was convinced my future was in fashion. I'd secured a place at the London College of Fashion and could already picture myself building a career as a fashion buyer. The only catch? I come from a family of medics and engineers, and fashion was something you enjoyed, not something you did for a living.
Not quite ready to stage a family rebellion, I joined Grant Thornton in 2004 as support staff in the Milton Keynes office, expecting it to be a temporary stop. Instead, I found myself enjoying the people, the challenge and the variety of the work. In 2008 I joined the audit training programme, and in 2015 I transferred to Sheffield to be closer to my husband.
More than 20 years after joining for what was supposed to be a temporary job, I'm still here, now a Senior Audit Manager and the firm's Technical Training Lead in Sheffield. I never became the fashion buyer I thought I was destined to be, but I found a career I genuinely love instead.
That career has had its own milestones along the way. One of the earliest was my promotion to Manager, which came as a complete surprise. I hadn't been campaigning for it or putting myself forward. It taught me that quiet contribution still matters. What I later discovered, though, is that progression beyond Manager required something different: learning to advocate for myself, not just deliver good work and wait to be noticed.
You've got this
My parents shaped my outlook more than anything else. I studied in the UK, where my sister and I were the only Black children at our school. My parents knew what that could do to a young person's confidence, so they gave us one rule: never look down on yourself. Wherever you find yourself, you've earned the right to be there.
I still hear their voices today. I often walk into audit committee meetings as the only Black person in the room. Before I say a word, I remind myself of what they taught us and think, “you've got this.”
I'm a proud Ghanaian, and I grew up in a family where hard work and doing well were simply expected. I was taught that your achievements aren't just your own, they reflect the people who supported you. That's why I've always felt a responsibility not only to do well myself, but to help others develop and succeed too. Over time, I've learned to be comfortable being the only Black person in the room, and I've come to value the different perspective I bring.
Alongside that sense of who I am, there’s the practical side of the role too. My role now varies significantly from day to day, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it. A typical day might involve working with teams and clients, discussing audit progress, tackling technical challenges, reviewing work, planning resources, or negotiating audit fees and scope.
I also spend time preparing proposals, meeting prospective clients and taking part in tender presentations. If you'd told me at the start of my career that I'd be standing in front of prospective clients effectively “selling” our services, I would never have believed you. I never set out to be a salesperson, but I've learned that business development is less about selling and more about building relationships and sharing your passion for what you do.
Alongside this, as Technical Training Lead in Sheffield, I facilitate training sessions both locally and nationally, which has given me the opportunity to connect with colleagues across the firm whom I might otherwise never have met.
The people who backed me
I call the people who've supported me my destiny helpers, three distinct kinds of people.
The door opener was my manager when I decided I wanted to become a trainee. I never asked them to champion me, but they saw potential in me and sponsored me for the move, though I still had to apply and interview for the role myself. That changed the course of my career. I've since paid that forward myself, helping a colleague from our finance team move into audit.
The truth tellers gave me the difficult, uncomfortable feedback that shaped who I am today. As a junior PA, a manager once told me I was making their life more stressful. In my defence, I thought I was being helpful, but apparently “helpful” and “stressful” can live in the same diary. It was the moment I realised my talents lay elsewhere, and audit turned out to be a much better fit.
And then there are my champions, the ones who quietly put my name forward without making a speech about it. A colleague first suggested I start facilitating training. I'll be honest, at the time I was not thanking her in my head. But I did it once, and I've been happily volunteering ever since. Sometimes the people who push you out of your comfort zone are the ones who know you're ready before you do.
Coming back changed
Returning from maternity leave was one of those moments most people wouldn't know about. While I was away, LEAP had been introduced, so I came back adjusting to life as a new parent and learning an entirely new way of working at the same time. It felt overwhelming at first. What made the difference was the support around me, colleagues who helped me navigate the practical challenges rather than leaving me to figure it out alone.
Winning my first tender remains one of the moments I'm most proud of. The win itself was exciting, but what made it meaningful was everything that came before it.
Before that success, I'd been involved in several tenders that didn't go our way. Every time we lost, I would replay the feedback in my head afterwards. What could I have explained better? What questions hadn't we answered well enough? What could I learn for next time?
There were moments when it would have been easier to step back and leave those opportunities to other people. Instead, I kept putting my hand up.
When that first win finally came, it felt like the result of all those lessons coming together. It reminded me that setbacks aren't wasted effort. Sometimes they're simply preparation for the opportunity that's still ahead of you.
What getting on means to me
For me, getting on means growing without losing sight of who you are. My career hasn't followed a carefully planned route; it's been shaped by opportunities, supportive people, difficult feedback and the occasional leap into the unknown.
- Believe in yourself a bit more. If you've been given an opportunity, you've earned it.
- You don't have to be the loudest person in the room, or have all the answers, to make a contribution.
- Work hard, but don't assume it will speak for itself. Put yourself forward and ask for feedback.
- Don't worry so much about having a plan. My career certainly hasn't followed one, and the unexpected turns often taught me the most.
Sometimes the best careers are the ones you never intended to have in the first place.
The firm has continually opened doors for me, from moving into audit, to transferring to Sheffield and progressing my career alongside family life. What I've valued most is the trust and flexibility, and most of all, the people. Whether it was my destiny helpers or the many colleagues who've supported me, there's always been someone willing to back and encourage me. That's why I'm still here.
We back you, so you can back yourself.
If you’re looking to build your own career at Grant Thornton, you can find out more about our roles and opportunities below.