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We talk to Luke Searchwell about his career pathway, different roles within i3Works, and some advice he would pass on.
Can you tell me about your career experience before joining i3Works?
Before joining i3Works I worked in Digital Marketing and Design. This gave me wide ranging digital experience, including product design, web design, digital marketing and SEO both as an employee and a freelancer. During the Covid-19 lockdown, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in Project Management, and after graduating, I joined i3Works via the FTC programme. The rest is history!
What was your role while you were working in i3Core?
Upon promotion from the FTC programme, I made the decision to join the Project Controls function in i3Core. I worked in assurance, traditional business analysis and project controls roles for a variety of clients in the public sector and defence. I was fortunate to gain a lot of experience in a relatively short time and provide evidence for a successful promotion to Senior Consultant!
Following my promotion, I was able to gain experience in line management and team management, all the while maintaining my involvement with the FTC programme as a coach for new intakes.
What did you enjoy most about it?
The variety of work that I was able to engage with was excellent. I built a lot of knowledge from different sources very quickly. I was also able to learn first hand from experienced colleagues, skilled in different disciplines.
How did you decide to move from i3Core to i3Digital?
I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with Project Controls and learned a lot however, I missed getting hands on with an individual project, delving into its technical details and being part of identifying, researching, and delivering a solution. I felt that moving to i3D would allow me to experience more of this. After speaking to members of the i3D team, I decided that the Architecture team best aligned with my career aspirations.
Can you tell me some of the biggest differences you’ve encountered between your two previous roles?
The change in perspective from “when” things will get done, to being more involved in the “how”. Working as a Project Controller in a portfolio-level PMO, I was getting used to understanding at a high-level what project teams were contributing to, from a strategic standpoint. I would have a vague understanding of what multiple workstreams were trying to achieve to feed into programmatic or portfolio strategic goals. Now, working at a more detailed level, I am still conscious of strategic goals, but far more involved in how exactly they’ll be delivered as well as the organisation-specific constraints which may shape what that delivery actually looks like.
How were you supported during this transition?
I had a buddy assigned – shout out to John who has been an excellent mentor and now Line Manager. Also, Adrian the Head of Architecture was on hand whenever I needed to discuss anything.
If you could describe your career at i3Works so far in three separate words, what would they be?
Learning, Growth, Dynamism
What advice would you give to somebody considering making a similar internal switch?
Don’t rush! Take the time to make sure that the switch you’re hoping to make is what you are expecting it to be. You don’t want to land and realise that it’s not quite what you expected. The extra time will also help you to embed the baseline knowledge that will allow you to start understanding how things work “in the real world” once deployed and engaging with subject matter experts.
Interested in joining the team? View our current vacancies here.
