2018-10-24
What was your first ever job?
I had a few paper rounds but my first proper job was at a flower shop, I’d get there before school to take the plants from the inside of the shop to the outside and then after school, I’d put them all back inside before close and sweet up. Wasn’t much but £5 a day felt like a good chunk of money at 14 or so!
What was your previous role?
Senior software engineer at a small start-up based in Nottingham working on a loyalty card app (and supporting platform) aimed at small independent businesses.
What are you currently working on at SortRefer?
At the minute I’m working on writing some automated tests for the soon-to-be-launched new iteration of SortRefer. I’ve also been working on a new Portal project, that’s pretty interesting as it’s got the potential to be a big project going forwards and gives us a chance to implement a real software engineering approach for this and future projects.
Is there anything you are looking forward to learn/work on?
The dev team here is great, but I’m hoping I can help take it to the next level by implementing some processes, methodologies and technologies that I’ve picked up over the years in previous positions. In addition to this I’m enjoying learning more about the industry we’re in, I’ve bought and remortgaged a house before (through a mortgage adviser) but I’d be the first to admit a lot of it was over my head – fingers crossed I can get to grips with it and be a bit less blind in the future!
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I spend a lot of time doing fun stuff with my daughter (Millie, she’s three and absolutely amazing) and more recently with my partner and her twin boys (also three, you can imagine it’s a handful sometimes!). Other than that I’m quite into healthy living and will generally be out and about walking if I get the chance, currently trying to work up to running a 10k. I’ve lost just under a third of my body weight over the last few years (21 stone down to around the high 14s at the minute) and do all I can to try and continue improving myself.
What’s your favourite breakfast cereal?
Crunchy nut clusters but they’re full of rubbish so I generally go for Cheerios these days. Can’t beat poached eggs though, cheating a little bit as it’s not a cereal.
What’s your favourite place you’ve ever visited?
Cuba, but more specifically Havana, it’s like a trip back in time. Quite surreal too, look inside some of the Chevys and there’s a good chance you’ll find an engine from a lawnmower instead of a nice shiny V8.
Tell us something most people don’t know about you?
The first single I ever bought was a cassette of Britney Spears – Baby One More Time. I pride myself on having a quite eclectic taste in music but there’s no disguising that as anything other than an embarrassment.
