Hi…I`m Sheridan and I have been lucky to have had a career spanning over 22 years in Technical & IT Recruitment. Originally from Essex I moved to Norfolk 9 years ago, am a Mum of 2 and Nanny Sheri to my 4 grandkids! I currently work at Cooper Lomaz (Norwich) an independent IT recruitment agency and I specialise in recruiting Software Developers & Testers across Norfolk/Suffolk.
Cooper Lomaz are celebrating 30 years in business this year and have been proud sponsors of the DevelopHER awards for the fifth year running along with raising thousands of pounds for East Anglian Children Hospices!
How did you end up doing the job you're doing now?
I got a part time job working for in IT consultancy business at that time it was all about the Y2K bug (2000) that was going to cause havoc in computers & networks. I got totally wrapped up in all the excitement of the world of IT so decided I wanted to follow a career in the industry.
So one day I walked into a recruitment business looking for a new full time job they asked me had i ever thought of going into specialist IT recruitment as they were looking for someone to manage and recruit for the new IBM account that they had just secured, this where my life as a IT Recruiter began…
If you could say something to yourself before you started a career in tech what would it be?
Don’t be scared of learning new technology, embrace the ever changing world of technology and your learn something new every day, including some real cool code names!
What's the most challenging thing you've found about being a woman in tech?
I personally don’t really feel that I have experienced any major challenges working with tech people. One time comes to mind was when I had had to go to Surrey for an IT Network exam and the room was full of men and I was the only female in the room I learnt a lot about football that day in that room!
I guess over past years a job with the word ‘Engineer’ in the title was predominantly associated to being a job for a male. Thank goodness this is not the case these days females are now embracing this exciting IT world like i did many years ago!
Lockdown bonus questions:
How has lockdown affected your life and your job? Are you working from home? Furloughed?
Are you enjoying the downtime or can you not wait for things to go back to normal(ish)?
The one thing that lockdown affected me was that I became a virtual nanny!
Working from home I found that quite difficult as I thrive on the banter of a busy office, phones ringing, the teams laughing and having a bit of fun during the day. Looking up from my dressing table in the spare bedroom all I could think of was ‘i really must dust them cobwebs on the ceiling’!
Pleased to say I`m now back working in the Norwich office with the team albeit now slightly different due to Covid19! No high fives at the moment!
My grandchildren`s dog called Ivy version of working from home, just look at that face I think she would prefer laps round the park than sitting in front of a lap top!
