Jump Back
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in talent advisory with Barden?
There were a number of factors for me but the most prevalent one was the desire to do something different with all the knowledge and experience I had gained over my+20 year career in finance & transformation and to support talent and clients in this domain. I have first-hand experience of the opportunities and challenges within finance and transformation so I can directly relate to their career aspirations (talent), hiring needs (clients) & challenges that exist and how one might navigate them.
2. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your career so far, and how has it impacted your work?
Treat everyone with respect on the way up, the same as you would on the way down! And always be willing to put your hand up to gain more experience in a different area, don’t assume opportunities will come to you. You have to go out and find them!
3. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone considering a career change?
This is definitely one that resonates closely with me, given my recent career move to Barden, having spent 20 years in finance and transformation.
I think the advice will flex somewhat depending on the extent of the career move – in other words, are you staying in the same lane but trying something new within that domain or completely switching lanes altogether? My top 3 pieces of advice would be:
- Go with your gut – By nature I am not a risk taker (must be the accountant in me!) so coupled with lots of advice from people I trust, I think your gut instinct should never be ignored!
- Seek advice from those you trust and take elements from those conversations to support your decision making!
- Trading variables – Consider your trading variables, something we speak a lot about in Barden with our talent and clients. These are the variables that are most important and relevant to you, and they can be broken down into two elements – negotiable and non-negotiable.
If the career change ticks all the non-negotiables, you might be closer to that career move than you think. We are always here in Barden to talk through your future career so of course feel free to reach out to us for a conversation.
4. Can you describe a project or accomplishment at Barden that you’re particularly proud of?
People and teams have always been hugely important to me, and I have managed across all areas of Finance Operations including transformation. So being able to directly help talent find new opportunities and clients find the right talent for their team has been great! How we make talent and clients feel on a Sunday night is at the core of why we do, what we do!
Participating & speaking at events and sharing insights from my career at both graduate and professional levels. Separately, we have invested a lot of time over the last year in creating tailored insights and content to support talent and clients across the Transformation, Projects, and Change domain. Having talent reference use of this content to support their next career move or indeed define their vertical has been very rewarding.
5. What aspect of your work at Barden excites you the most?
Barden is celebrating 10 years in business this year, and although I have only been with the business myself for close to 1 year, I worked with Ed and Elaine from their early days as both a hiring manager and talent myself. I am excited to be part of the journey as the business transitions to a new phase of growth & continues to diversify into different areas of specialism.
6. What’s a hobby/ interest you have that might surprise us?
With 3 children the time I have for hobbies is somewhat limited. However, I always make time for exercise and my gym sessions, invariably at 6am!!! Not always easy but I never regret getting up and doing it! I also really enjoy running. I ran the Dublin Marathon twice, but now I enjoy a run without having to track times or pace!
7. If you could master a new skill instantly, what would it be and why?
To speak and understand any language fluently! Can you imagine what that would be like to land in a country or engage with people in their native language with ease!
8. If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be and what would you do?
Can I pick “someone” instead of a “job”??!!
It would be my 7-year-old daughter Grace. I would love to live through my daughter’s eyes for just one day – to live in a world where everything is possible, and you can do anything! Youth is wasted on the young as they say, so it’s only as you look back that you realise the freedom of youth. To live in that for just one day would be bliss!
9. What’s one thing you’d like to accomplish, personally or professionally, in the next year?
Learn to swim – I learned as a kid, but I definitely need more lessons. To help me for the Barden Christmas swim!
10. What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
What’s for you won’t pass you by!