Tell us what you’ve been up to in your first 6 months?

Where do I start?! Busy, but good busy, is the way I’d describe it. The first couple of months were spent getting to know the business and the people, especially the individuals that I’d be working with most closely to place candidates.

It’s been brilliant. It’s quite hard trying to pinpoint exact moments as it’s been a jam-packed 6 months. But there’s been a lot of key things that I’ve got involved in that I’ve really enjoyed. Being able to go out and represent Quorum at events, getting to know my colleagues, coming into the office and getting those interactions with candidates.

Also, having the opportunity to work from home has made it really well-rounded and allowed me to have a good work-life balance. I feel I’ve got the best of both worlds, saving time, and avoiding the commute when I don’t need to, but still being able to get the work done and meet people when I come in.

What have been your most notable moments?

Probably joining Doug from the sales team at events and seeing him work his magic! That’s been quite memorable, seeing him engage with the people we meet, turning the conversation that has them interested in Quorum and what we do, it’s great to watch.

Internally, I’d say it’s just being able to talk to anyone. You can pick up the phone or ping people on Teams and they’re always happy to have a conversation, even if they’re busy and need to get back to you later. People generally will do that and that’s the biggest stand out for me at Quorum. The people are friendly and want to have conversations with you and help you. You don’t get that at every workplace and I think it’s a good reflection of the overall culture in Quorum.

What are your biggest achievements so far?

Just yesterday actually, I had two accepted offers in one day. One was a particularly difficult role to fill and was also a role that I hadn’t explored in the candidate market before, so that was a completely new learning curve, understanding the role and how they would fit in at Quorum.

Trying to find someone that is a good fit both technically and culturally is an enjoyable challenge and knowing that the hiring managers are happy with my work is a big achievement for me. It’s great seeing the smiles from the candidates and my colleagues.

Passing my probation and knowing that I’m on-track with the role is a good feeling.

What advice would you give to anyone who is new at Quorum?

Just put yourself out there and immerse yourself in the culture – don’t feel like because you’re new you can’t get involved or ask questions or be part of anything, because you definitely can.

Take advantage of the learning and development opportunities, in my opinion, if you’re interested in technology, then there’s no better place to be than Quorum. Everyone around you wants to better themselves and their colleagues, so just get stuck in!

How is Quorum different to other employers you’ve had?

There’s a lot of positives. Quorum are particularly engaging and supportive. There’s an openness and honesty amongst Quorumites that I appreciate. I think the underlying tone at Quorum is, we’re at work, but let’s still enjoy it!

To come into a company where your personal life comes first is very important. It’s something that I often discuss with candidates and something that I can vouch for personally. Quorum afford you the flexibility not to panic if you have a personal appointment or emergency or anything like that. You’re not being tracked down to the last minute or second, as long as you’re doing your job well, you’re afforded that breathing space. I think that benefits the company too, because you’ve got happier employees who are willing to put in the work.

In my opinion a lot of that is down to being employee owned and the culture that brings with it, as cliché as it sounds, it feels like we’re part of something bigger. At least, that’s my opinion and what I’ve found so far.

What would you like to achieve in the next six months?

Just keep hiring good people. I’d like to be ahead of the curve and doing some more proactive hiring rather than reactive hiring and I hope that will put us in a good, comfortable place. It’s a tough market just now, but we’re working hard on getting the right people.

A personal target is to get the next four of the Microsoft fundamentals exams. I’m halfway there and it was actually Keith in the Development team that challenged me to get all 8 by the end of the year and I thought, actually, yeah, I can do that! He’s checked in a few times to see how I’m getting on with it and that’s really nice to have that support.