I am a Business Analyst working in the IT department, within the Underwriting, Claims & Operations tower. I joined Brit in April 2020 and since then, I’ve had the chance to work within multiple departments, with an array of great people.

But first, taking it back to 2020, what attracted me to Brit?

I was ready for a change. I was at the stage in my career where I was comfortable, comfortable with the company I was working for, comfortable with the people I was working with and comfortable with the projects I was working on. As comfortable is sometimes not enough, when discussing various roles and companies with my recruiter, Brit really stood out. Their stature and presence within the Lloyd’s Market is impressive and their portfolio of business is intriguing. Coming from a background of retail & commercial motor insurance, to work for a company that insures satellites was kind of exciting. The panache of working in London City, within the Leadenhall building also helped and despite being afraid of heights!

So, my team, the IT department

The bottom line here and why I love being a part of Brit’s IT department, there has always been an underlying trust in my ability as a Business Analyst. The working environment differs to what I was previously used to in the sense that there is a lot less hand holding here at Brit. I don’t mean in terms of a lack of help and guidance, but a working environment where initiative is advocated. Help is there if needed, but you are given the chance to tackle a problem yourself, before gathering input from others. Although scary at first, this kind of exposure is pivotal in you becoming, professionally speaking, a better version of yourself and it really aided both my confidence and development in the role.

The relationship I have with my manager also positively affects my working environment. The open communication and supportive culture he has emitted, really helps me in the day to day, as I feel I always have support and someone to bounce ideas off, which at this stage in my professional career, is imperative for my confidence and professional development.

A bit about my role…

Describing what a BA does in short summary is quite hard, but I’ll give it a go. I work within a team where we move the company forward, we analyse the current situation, we analyse where the company wants to be and we make that happen. The change could be a result of something meticulous like mandatory legislation, or it could be something as creative as bringing a digital platform into the 21^st century. The project or programme may be different, but the way Brit has to react to change remains the same, innovative, in collaboration and with absolute precision.

Some advice for a career in IT/ as a young graduate…

As the above is a bit chapter and verse, I’ve thought of some advice based bullet points:

• Listen to everyone and take in as much as you can.
• Be open to learning.
• It’s ok to be wrong, it’s ok to not understand, Rome wasn’t built in a day and the people around you understand that.
• Sometimes uncomfortable situations are the best for growth.
• In whatever you do, be yourself and be kind to the people around you. A happy team is a high performing team.

Thanks for reading.