IT’S THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
IT’S not always easy getting back to work after a career break looking after the kids. But stay-at-home dad Sean Holt proved it can be done, especially in the world of IT. Sean, 33, from Stockport, Gtr Manchester, is an IT support engineer for Crowdcube, which is embracing the post-pandemic world of flexible working.
What do you do day to day?
Everything from dealing with IT queries to instant requests. I am also always working on broader technology projects for the business. So developing new IT processes, bringing in new technologies, and I am constantly involved in protecting the company via evolving cyber security.
These days, companies are always under threat from cyber attacks (potential or real), and for a company like Crowdcube, which is an online-first business dealing with people’s investments, cyber security is extremely important.
This part of the job fascinates me. I started four months ago and I am loving it. I am hybrid working, which means I sometimes work from home, and sometimes from offices in Manchester city centre.
How did you get into the world of IT?
After school I attended college for three years, and did an IT diploma while working part time at B&Q. I then started building up an IT career. But when my fiancee Laura and I met and we started having children we had to rethink things.
We now have three children, Tyler, eight, Lewis, seven, and Summer, five. It made sense for me to stay at home as Laura was working full time at a doctors’ surgery. After five years, and once all of the kids were off to nursery and school, I decided it was time to get back into the world of work.
Was it terrifying to look for work?
Yes, it was extremely nerveracking, and there were many mental and practical challenges to overcome when I’d decided to get back into work.
Things such as feeling out of touch with the working world, feeling like you’ve got such a big gap in employment there would be a stigma, and that it would be detrimental to my chances of getting employed. Also the huge changes it would mean for my home life.
After being out of work for so long I felt like I should start at the beginning, and I managed to secure a role as a 1st Line Support Analyst for HSS Tool Hire in their head office, based in Stretford at the time. From there my confidence started to build.
How did you prepare yourself for that first interview?
I’d like to say I have a secret formula to being successful in an interview but I don’t. I did the traditional things like researching the company, making sure I understood the core values, and having some mates prep me with standard interview questions.
I’ve found the key things are to relax, be confident in yourself and try to not overthink.
Having a positive mindset and eagerness to learn has played a big part for me also.
Why did you want to change jobs?
I applied to Crowdcube after I read about the flexible culture and the company values and was sold immediately. It felt like a perfect fit and almost too good to be true. Hybrid working has been an absolute game changer for work-life balance.
I didn’t realise at the time but being office-based full time meant I was missing out on so much and it added additional pressure to family life.
Now having the flexibility to help with the school runs or have a meal ready for when the kids get home, for example, has lifted some of the pressure.
The company tends to focus on impact and not presenteeism, something I think more companies should be adopting!
I was missing out on so much and this added more pressure to family life
Useful contacts
Crowdcube: crowdcube.com Enginuity (formerly Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies) enginuity.org
Code Nation: wearecodenation.com
Women in Tech: womenintech.co.uk