• Attention to detail – this came naturally to me but was really developed in my role as an EDA. It was common to have to explain workings and methodology, and as such a lot of care and attention was required to ensure that there was the confidence to do this, either in front of peers or customers.
• Prioritising and balancing tasks – this has been a long development road for me. The workload in my roles (firstly as an EDA/account manager, and now as a Developer) is demanding, and the skill to prioritise and analyse the benefit for the business is both crucial for mental well-being/not feeling overwhelmed, and also to ensure that the business impact is maximised.
• Delegation – being able to let go of tasks has been a challenge for me. But learning to understand, appreciate, and support colleagues’ skills has been of great benefit to myself and the business. 

I was the first person at Beyondly to take up a role as a developer, and so the career development pathway was paved by myself. As such there aren’t too many key experiences to draw on. However, making and learning from mistakes has probably been the most transformational aspect of my development. I can assure you that the panic and stress of breaking the website is enough to force you to learn why it happened and understand how you can mitigate against it happening again.

Be brave, trust in yourself and what you believe you can bring to the table. Identify your natural strengths/traits/behaviours, as these will underpin everything else and are the foundation to build on. You can force yourself to learn something that goes against your natural strengths, but it might be an exhausting skill to use if you’re always battling natural tendencies. For example, I am shy and quiet, so though I could learn the skills to do a sales role, I would find it quite taxing doing this every day, so I would prefer to pursue a career that aligns better with my natural strengths and skills.