- This event has passed.
Squiggly career paths
May 26, 2021 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
The traditional linear career path is a thing of the past. No longer do we have a job or an industry niche for life.
Previously, organisations had mapped out clearly defined career paths and we worked with our manager to secure our next promotion. With roles becoming more project based and with the rapid adoption of automation technologies, our roles are constantly changing.
More and more, we are finding ourselves moving between industries, job functions and blending career breaks so that we can design the life we want to lead, with purpose and impact.
In this interactive fireside chat with senior tech leaders who have successfully ‘squiggled’, we’ll explore what it means to have a squiggly career path and how you can develop the transferable skills that will help future proof your career and give you fulfillment in work and in life.
We’ll be sharing strategies and tools to help you:
* Take control of your career
* Identify your super powers
* Build the transferable skills to support your squiggly career path
* Develop the confidence and self-belief to make career pivots.
Meet our panelists:
Esther O’Callaghan OBE, Co-Founder and CEO | Hundo Careers
Natalie Cramp, CEO | Profusion
Jenny Colebourn, Product Manager | Mesmerise
Moderated by Angie Vaux, CEO & Founder | Women in Tech forum
Esther O’Callaghan OBE | Co-founder of Hundo
Esther O’Callaghan OBE is the poster woman for non-linear career paths. Leaving school at 16, she has done it all – being a care worker, the first female DJ/producer to own a specialist vinyl store in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and producing major international festivals and events amongst many other roles in between.
A true altruist, she received her OBE in the 2007/8 Honours List for Services to the Voluntary Sector at 26, making her one of the youngest civilians to receive this accolade. She offers a unique perspective of 20 years experience across a number of sectors including UK Government, the arts and culture and mental health advocacy, resulting in hundreds of thousands of children and young people supported nationally and worldwide.
One thing that has been consistent throughout her impressive career is her passion for young people; wanting to help improve their chances of success. Her enthusiasm for tackling youth unemployment led her to co-founding Hundo, a fast growing start up HR tech platform that aims to connect forward-thinking employers with Gen Z talent.
Outside of her professional pursuits she has three loves – travel, triathlon, techno.
Natalie Cramp | CEO of Profusion
Described by her peers as extremely organised and dependable, with a contagious fun and passionate attitude, Natalie Cramp is digital marketing and start-up operations expert, with over a decade of experience leading private, public and third sector organisations through significant periods of innovation and change. She is currently the CEO of Profusion, a customer and business analytics agency who support clients of all sizes monetise their data. From data-driven marketing campaigns to upskilling a company’s data team, her team of 60 consultants, data scientists, data architects, developers and digital marketing experts are ready to help.
Her non-linear and varied career path has included her work in the delivery of the London 2012 Olympics and having an instrumental role in developing the Compass tool, a user driven product that enables schools to assess themselves against international best practice and was adopted by 3,000 schools in 9 months. She is also an experienced public speaker, having given keynotes at Sisense Eureka, the CBI conference, European Parliament sessions and multiple events at City Hall.
Natalie is incredibly passionate about improving diversity in the technology industry, setting up and running multiple employability programmes for both young people and late returners to the workplace.
Ad hoc her work pursuits, she is an enthusiastic netball player, a passionate fan of sports and lover of volunteering.
Jenny Colebourn, Product Manager | Mesmerise
With a lifetime of love for everything tech related, Jenny Colebourn has grown up alongside a passion for computing, gaming and technology. Despite her love, she felt discouraged from working in the industry from a young age. Jenny channelled her love for film, game design and coding into part-time hobbies. After winning the ‘young filmmaker of the year award’ at the BFI, Jenny was offered an internship at an emerging tech start-up, specialising in delivering bespoke AR & VR solutions to global customers.
In the busy and broad start-up world, no role went un-touched, and everything from customer service, ideation, development, 3D-art, sound design and business development were part of the day to day.
From a life-time of feeling that she wasn’t good enough for technology due to her gender, Jenny now spends as much time as possible fighting in the opposite direction, supporting younger girls with an interest in tech, through mentorship and volunteering at Manchester’s DigitalHer – acting as a role model for the next generation of women in tech.
In her free time, Jenny is passionate about arts & humanities. Including learning about different cultures (preferably via travelling there), focusing on languages, cuisine and cultural history. Fashion is a big part of her life, and Jenny enjoys updating her instagram with Manchester’s latest trends.