From the Big Screen to the Laptop Screen, Rebecca Fennelly took the leap of faith to change career from professional dancer into tech!
Read her story here.
How did you land your current role? Was it planned?
After committing the first 28 years of my life to becoming a professional dancer and living out my ambition to work in West End Musical Theatre & Musical films, I decided to pivot my career to pursue a more sustainable and future-proof skillset! As the pandemic accelerated the worlds digital transformation, Tech presented an exciting option and I embarked on a 12-week Software Engineering bootcamp to learn to code.
After spending the days and nights with my head in code, I missed the people element and so as much as the original plan was to follow a more technical route in my career, my natural inclination towards leadership and management, gradually led me into my current role. Five years after first pursuing my career in tech, I am now the Head of Operations & Talent at _nology, – a diversity-first tech consultancy reshaping the tech landscape and tackling the global skills and diversity talent gap. I now help others across the country, like me, who want to kick-start their careers in tech.
What are you most proud of in your career, so far?
Getting the chance to create opportunities for people who never thought they could work in tech!! Really, anyone can do it and it’s my mission to make it achievable for as many people as I can and to breakdown the outdated stereotypes that lead many of us to believe it isn’t possible.
An incredible career in tech is achievable for anyone who has the drive and passion to pursue it regardless of whether you went to university, have access to a laptop, have role models in the industry that you can relate to, or have worked in a completely different industry like myself… you absolutely can do it. Seeing the difference our day-to-day work at _nology makes, by providing the springboard and support needed to launch a tech career, is so rewarding. _nology has helped hundreds of people into tech roles and on the trickier days, I remind myself that I’ve been a small piece of the puzzle in helping to achieve that.
What does _nology do and what is it you enjoy about your role?
At _nology we provide the opportunity for people at all experience levels to train as a tech consultant and achieve their first junior tech roles across our client base. Our eight-week training course, and incredible coaching team, provide exposure to front-end and back-end development, agile methodologies and so much more, as well as equipping trainees with the communication skills needed to nail those client interviews post-training.
Once they land the role, they work onsite for _nology on one of our client projects, gaining on-the-job experience with support and mentorship throughout, before getting the opportunity to turn permanent with their client. It is a really great way to get your foot in the door at some incredible companies, and leverage _nology’s connections to do this. I help make this happen in my operations role and really enjoy overseeing the growth journey and increasing confidence of our Tech Consultants. From the screening stages, through training and onto their client placement and service delivery, the areas I work in span the entire lifecycle of our tech consultants and I am able to bring a unique perspective to this having followed a similar pathway to tech myself.
What does an average work day look like for you?
I love that my days at work are always very varied! I can be executing a Group Interview Session and interacting with candidates, then processing timesheet submissions, followed by writing process documentation for our new CRM and later arranging events with our charity partners.
Each morning starts with a 15 minute catch up with our Talent Acquisition team and then another with my colleagues in charge of Service Delivery. This allows us to reflect on yesterday’s tasks, connect on the days aims and bring any blockers/questions to light that we can then discuss. I also keep close contact throughout the day with the wider team too, to ensure we’re all aligned with what we’re working on and that cross-team communication is effective and fruitful.
Managing my time is key in this role with a busy schedule and lots of differing tasks to switch between, so keeping to deadlines is really important. The variation keeps me on my toes and allows me to be both creative and client and candidate facing, as well as satisfying my organised and process driven brain.
Have you ever faced insecurities and anxieties during your career, and how did you overcome them?
Absolutely! I’d be lying if I said it was all a piece of cake. I faced quite a lot of insecurity and anxiety during my career change, and I think that’s quite normal when you’ve spent such a long time in a very different environment with a skillset you were comfortable and confident in. Sitting at a computer for long periods of time felt alien to me at first and re-entering academic learning after a long hiatus was daunting! I had worries about being able to keep up with academic rigor after that part of my brain being dormant for such a long time. My perfectionism, honed through the years of dance training, meant I was quite harsh on myself at times to begin with, but I really did learn to be patient with myself and kept reminding myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I started to build a support system by connecting with peers who were going through similar transitions, sharing experiences and strategies for coping and creating a sense of community. This was really reassuring and helped reduce feelings of isolation – it’s so easy to feel like you’re the only one struggling until you reach out and realise often, lots of others feel similarly.
I also put in the extra hours when necessary to ensure I was confident in any new learning and kept a log of questions on things I was unsure of. Being open and honest with my manager about areas I felt less confident in helped, and I was so fortunate to always feel supported and encouraged. If you need a little more guidance or encouragement, mentor figures are a fantastic way to achieve that.
I found so many wonderful people on LinkedIn who were willing to give up their time to mentor and inspire me which was always a welcome breath of fresh air. I still enjoy connecting with and speaking to people who are a few steps ahead of me in their career. This keeps me inspired and driven to continually improve and grow, but also to reflect on how far I’ve come and to occasionally give myself a pat on the back.
What advice would you give other women wanting to reach their career goals in technology?
The tech industry is brimming with opportunities for women in various roles, from hands on technical roles, to roles in project management, operations, talent acquisition, business development and so much more! Some main pieces of advice would be;
Believe in your potential: Your skills and perspectives are invaluable. Embrace your unique strengths and know that you belong in tech.
Seek mentorship and networking: Connect with other women in tech. Their experiences and guidance can be incredibly empowering. Join communities, attend events, and build a supportive network.
Continuous learning: The tech industry evolves rapidly. Stay curious and keep learning. Whether it’s new programming languages or management techniques, continuous growth is key.
Advocate for yourself: Don’t hesitate to showcase your achievements and ask for what you deserve. Whether it’s a new project, a new idea or even a new promotion opportunity, your voice matters.
Embrace challenges: Tech roles can be demanding, but every challenge is an opportunity to grow. Approach problems with a solution-oriented mindset and resilience.
Champion diversity: Your presence in tech contributes to a more diverse and inclusive industry. Support and uplift others, fostering an environment where everyone can thrive.
Remember, if there isn’t a seat at the table, bring your own chair. Your contributions are essential, and the tech world needs your brilliance. 🌟
