What was your background before joining Altus Consulting?
Before joining Altus I worked as a web developer building and maintaining a web application used by security and retail companies. I’d worked as a security guard during the summers when I was still at university so when my first task at that company was to see if I could adapt their task module into a patrol module, I knew exactly what sort of features and scheduling would be needed.
What attracted you to Altus Consulting?
Whilst at my old company we’d unfortunately lost a colleague to COVID19 which left us short staffed on the customer side of things. I was asked to step in and start meeting with clients and potential clients to find out what sort of problems they were having and what we could potentially do to help them. I then got to meet with their teams, gather requirements, and check in after delivery to see how they were getting on. I found it really rewarding and engaging. So when the company hired someone to fill in the position and I went back to pure development again, I felt like there was an itch I needed to scratch that wasn’t there before.
This combined with a long period of stagnant wages got me to start looking around for something new. I applied to a few similar roles before seeing an ad for a technical consultant at Altus. It read like one of those skits in tv shows or movies where the ad speaks directly to the viewer. “Are you a programmer looking to move onto something new? Have you always thought about becoming a consultant? Know the technical side but not the consulting side?” I hit apply and waited to see what would happen.
As soon as the first interview I knew I wanted to work there. The people I was talking to were so friendly and engaging, what I’d read about the company culture and ethos seemed to shine through right from the start. I was offered a role on their ‘Academy’ program which is designed to take people like me and upskill them with the skills and knowledge needed to be a consultant. The first few months working there was a whirlwind of inductions, training courses, knowledge shares and exercises. It was exactly what I was looking for.
Tell us a bit about your team.
I work in the ‘Digital’ team and they are all very open and friendly. We have a team wide optional drop-in call every morning which acts as a bit of a social whilst allowing us to pick each other’s brains or setup calls if there’s something to do with an assignment we want some advice on. There’s also a weekly stand-up where we more formally update each other on what we’ve been up to that week.
What do you do in your role?
The role is very varied which is something I enjoy a lot. One week I could be mapping the as-is estate of a company and the next I could be writing high level design documents. An assignment I’m working on at the moment involves analysing a company’s applications and providing visualisations and insights into their estate, it’s really fun!
What do you enjoy about working here?
At the heart of everything is the client and our interactions with them which is probably the part of working on an assignment that I enjoy the most. I enjoy finding out what the ask is, speaking to different teams and putting everything together. Once that’s done, we have lots of meetings with the other people working on the assignment and start to generate solutions and test them out.
How has your role changed since being here?
When I first joined, I was on the ‘Academy’ program so I had a lot more focus on learning, shadowing and observing. As times gone by and I’ve graduated from the program, I’ve been encouraged to take more active roles in meetings and in putting deliverables together for assignments.
What has made you stay?
I think I’ve mentioned it already, but the company culture is a big reason I’ve stayed. A lot of companies have some slogans on a wall and that’s basically as far as it goes but Altus really embody and follow through. I’ve heard that other consultancies have an almost adversarial internal culture where it’s very sink or swim. Altus is very much a collaboration of everyone’s skill set. If you have an issue or question you can contact anyone, including the Consulting Director and they will make time for you.
It’s also a very adult place to work, which might sound like a strange thing to say at first, we’re all adults?! But not all companies treat you that way. We have quite a lot of autonomy and trust with setting our own schedules and making sure the work gets done.
I know a few of my colleagues have recently passed their Professional Scrum Master qualification which is amazing! I’m working on my AWS Solutions Architecture Certification, and I know others have done their CII exams. This is all encouraged and sponsored by Altus.
