( Post 22 of 25 )
Last week, we published this: What Do 16 South Wales IT Employers Look For in an Employee?
Now it’s time to turn the tables…
“What do you look for in an employer?” We asked this question to 8 developers, engineers, consultants, etc. native to the South Wales region. Some work for small, up-and-coming startups while others work for medium-sized agencies and large companies.
We hope that employers (not just in South Wales, but anywhere in the world) will read the responses and take them into account when they are employing for IT staff of their own.
All of the answers are below, sorted alphabetically by surname. And just like last time, right at the bottom of this post, we have summarised our findings based on the most commonly-given answers – a roundup summary of sorts. Have fun reading them…!
Mark Bird, Graphic Designer at Buy As You View
@BuyAsYouView
Buy As You View provides finance for household goods such as electricals, furniture and appliances. Mark also has a personal porfolio site at designmb.co.uk.
Having recently joined Buy As You View, I was looking for an employer where hard work and results were recognised and rewarded. In previous jobs I felt that very often working extra hours and going beyond the call of duty had become the norm and, as such, had become very much a one-way street. At Buy As You View I still have the same work ethic and I do go above and beyond what is expected of me but it has been recognised and rewarded. I enjoy a great relationship with my line manager who is very flexible with me should I need to do the school run or leave early occasionally, because he knows that should he need me to stay late or work in the evening, I will. I think it is important to have that mutual respect and flexibility because it creates a positive atmosphere within the team of wanting to work hard for the cause but with a good work/life balance too.
I think it is important to have that mutual respect and flexibility because it creates a positive atmosphere within the team.
I was also looking for an employer who would listen to my ideas and who would offer me a career progression if I wanted to move up. This is important to me so that I have something to aim for rather than feel as if I was stuck in my current role.
Finally, I think it is important that you enjoy your job because I think the best way to ensure an employee performs at their best is if they are passionate about what they are doing and they enjoy doing it. I feel lucky that I have found this at Buy As You View.
Peter Carless, Front End Developer at Big Mallet
@xanthestudios | @big_mallet
Big Mallet is a digital agency specialising in Drupal. Peter also offers branding, design, and development services in his own right at xanthestudios.co.uk.
Common questions that I have been asked in interviews are “What are your aspirations?” and “Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?”
The answers I have given have always been the same and based around the following points:
- An environment that I enjoy going to
- Work that I enjoy doing
- The ability to support my family
- The chance to develop both professionally and personally
Many people may see this as a lack of ambition but I’m at the point in my career where these are the important factors to me in choosing an employer; this isn’t to say that I would automatically turn down an offer of leadership and responsibility. But I’m a developer and hacking code – especially HTML and Sass – is what I enjoy doing.
Gavin Davies, Automation Engineer & Consultant at Radify
@gavD_UK | @radify
Radify offers web application development consulting. Gavin is also a freelance software developer: gavd.co.uk.
In choosing to work with a company, I look for flexibility first. I’m someone who is ill-suited to the starched collar of the corporate world, so remote working and flexible hours are an absolute must. What drives me is building efficient systems with smart people; to me, the corporate world simply seems to get in the way of that with its endless bean-counting and lumbering movement. As such, I’m absolutely delighted to have found Radify.io – we are a tight distributed team who solve interesting problems with technology. I love to be fully engaged in an organisation rather than being compartmentalised – so full stack development, as well as opportunities to speak at conferences and contribute to blogging output and so forth is essential to me.
What I love about Radify is the continuous improvement. We are very intentional about what we do and frequently take a step back to look at what we do, why we do it and how we can do it better. There’s a clear sense of progression and to me it’s very important to always be improving.