In September I made the tough decision to leave McCann Manchester and move companies to Stein IAS. I’ve held back on this post for three months but my probation is now up and it looks like I’m successfully employed!

Leaving McCann was a tough decision and I’m massively indebted to a lot of people from that company. I was under the guidance, and worked alongside, lots of very talented people during my 18 months there. The working environment was excellent and that, combined with the huge stature of the company, were the hardest things to turn my back on.

My main reason for looking to leave McCann was my desire to move forwards from a junior role – something I felt I had outgrown. I was also looking at the possibility to work on a wider range of projects and ultimately have more ownership over the work which I produce.

I visited Stein IAS a few times to meet various members of staff and I was immediately impressed by the company. They’re relatively small in comparison to McCann but the ambition of the company and the growth they’ve experienced these past few years impressed me. They’re currently in five locations Manchester, New York, London, Paris and Shanghai and they’re also opening a San Fransisco base in June.

Stein have managed to create a fantastic culture within the office, everyone is extremely friendly and as cliche as it sounds the workforce really does feel like one big family. They’ve really looked to accommodate my poor hearing and enrolled me on a sign language course, on the back of that we’ve also established a lunchtime sign language club to teach other members of staff(). I made a lunchtime presentation and I’ve also listened to many others present their thoughts and ideas. There are also plenty of fun activities on a lunchtime/evening and the nights out/work parties are fantastic.

The projects I’ve worked on since my arrival have been really fun and I’ve had a good input in most stages of the project from design through to development. In fact everyone is equally as keen to propose ideas as they are to listen to them.

My biggest concern was moving to a smaller company and stagnating in my career progression. McCann are at the top of their game and they have the resources to assist their employee’s progression – I was worried I might lose this at a smaller company. Before I handed my notice in I asked a few – more experienced – developers for advice and I found many had been in a similar position, the general reply was that as long as I continue to study in my spare time I should be fine.

However I needn’t have worried as Stein have really impressed me with their desire to help their employees and they’re always looking for ways to improve their workforce. They’ve already sent me to a conference and we’ve got a really good team of developers who are always looking to stay ahead in the industry. That, combined with my enthusiasm, means that I’m actually learning more than I ever have at the moment.

Moving work is always a gamble especially when you’re happy in your current job(as I was at McCann). One thing I learnt was to weigh up the pros and cons and be willing to take a gamble if it feels right. Things won’t always work out but luckily for me they’ve worked out nicely! I’m really looking forward to working for Stein and being a part of all their exciting progress/projects/expansions in the future!

Thanks for reading

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