What was your first impression of Advanced?

When I was approached by a recruiter with an opportunity to come and join Advanced, and it just seemed like a great chance for me to progress in my career. The company values were very much aligned to my own; hence why I made the decision to come and join. 

What was most appealing to me was the internal opportunities; the fact that Advanced really do encourage internal promotion. It didn’t seem like the type of company where the standard procedure would be that you join, work there for two years, and then leave. 

Unlike other organisations, Advanced seem genuinely interested in both your personal and career development, and I think that is quite rare actually. When they identify you as a prospective candidate with the talent they're looking for: they want to attain you, develop you, and offer you the opportunity to fulfil your potential. 

What is the biggest career decision you’ve made?

I think making the move to Advanced in my current role was probably my biggest career decision to-date.  I knew that going from something that seemed quite comfortable and stable, to a more challenging role would enable me to move forward, develop more, and progress even further in my career. So, to move out of my comfort zone into this role at Advanced was probably the most influential decision I’ve made so far.

What would you say makes a career at Advanced unique?

I think going back to what I said earlier; at Advanced there’s a huge focus towards personal development and internal mobility, and that’s what sets the business apart from other workplaces. There seems to be an across-the-board attitude shared across the business, where everyone feels a genuine sense of care towards colleagues progressing - well that's how I’ve felt anyway.

What is it you like the most about your role in Corporate Development?

Well, I think what I like the most about my role is that it’s all project-based (something that I’m very passionate about). It also helps that every single project or transaction is completely different, meaning I turn up for work each day, knowing that I’ll be facing a new challenge – and that’s something that really inspires me.

There’s always more to learn and even my manager and the rest of my team - who have been in the industry much longer than I have - say that every project will bring brand new obstacles that we’ll need to overcome.

However, it must be said my absolute favourite part of the role is getting a deal over the line. Sometimes you will spend hours upon hours working on something that doesn’t go through, so it’s very satisfying when you spend weeks, if not months working towards a deal, and then the feeling you get when it finally goes through is incomparable. 

I am extremely passionate and dedicated to my role, and I guess that's why I was nominated for the 'Execute at Pace' value, as I keep on striving each day to complete my tasks competently, and ultimately do the best job that I can for the business. I will admit that it can be quite intense at times, but it’s also very rewarding.

Do you prefer coming into the office or working from home (WFH)?

From a working perspective I love being in the office. Sometimes you just can’t beat walking over to a colleague’s desk to catch up with them, and maybe go for a nice lunch somewhere. Coming into the office also gives you a great opportunity to come in and meet new people – especially new team members – where you can build that all-important rapport with your colleagues in-person, whereas, on Teams, it’s much harder to do that.

For example, you’re far less likely to message someone on teams and say, “oh let’s put some time in for a chat”. But in the office, if you bump into someone at the coffee machine and end up having of chitchat with them - it just feels a lot more natural.

Concluding Thoughts

I love my current role. I’m very happy and grateful to be a part of the team and business that I’m currently in. It’s a very exciting time to be an Advanced employee; the team we have at the moment is going through an expansion phase that’ll bring more opportunities for me to progress within the team.