Our Stories > Jack Fitt - FinTech
Jack Fitt
In January of 2021, our UK FinTech team was joined by consultant Jack Fitt. However, with an ongoing global pandemic and a third lockdown, his Caspian One career journey has been somewhat unique. In this interview, we speak to Jack about his background and reasonings for starting a career in capabilities acquisition – along with how COVID-19 has impacted onboarding, training and team fit.
[Interviewed March 2021]
What was your background before joining Caspian One?
I graduated from university in 2012, the Arts University in Bournemouth – having studied arts and event management. After that I had a go setting up a coffee business with a few friends, did that for a couple of years as a side project whilst working part-time elsewhere; giving it a-go, trying to be successful on my own. Unfortunately, there were some complications, and it didn’t quite work out. I couldn’t earn a full time living from it, so I transitioned into Marketing.
I have a passion for live events (which is why I’d studied event management), but my favourite aspect of that was marketing. Working in live events and being able to market something that I love, it was perfect at the time. It was a great opportunity but over time, I felt I was chasing my tail and with COVID, the events industry more-or-less collapsed.
I have always good at communicating and dealing with clients and customers. I’m ambitious and I didn’t think there was much opportunity for progression where I was working, so when this opportunity came up I just thought, brilliant – it ticks all the boxes; In-terms of ambition and being able to utilise my communication skills.
There is quite a juxtaposition between marketing and recruitment. What were the reasons behind making a stark change in career direction?
The industry was pretty poor for live events and I’ve always been interested in Caspian One. I have friends who have worked here in the past that spoke positively about the company. I know quite a few guys at Caspian One and they’re a group of people I get on with, so having that in a job that ticks boxes for me, was ideal.
What events were you involved with?
Predominantly it was music, comedy – all at the BIC, Bournemouth. So, comedy gigs for Jimmy Carr, Micky Flanagan... I did a big production of Blue Planet at the BIC which had quite a bit of budget and I managed to speak to the promoter regularly, that was a very successful event. Lot’s really - loads of music, musicals, I liked the music and comedy events the most.
In terms of the COVID pandemic, apart from ‘event industry-specific changes happening - were there any other impactful factors that drove your intentions to change career direction?
I was coming to a stage where I was, with little opportunity for progression, that I wanted to look elsewhere. Initially, I thought that would be in marketing, but I still had an open mind to opportunities. In terms of marketing, you are somewhat limited in Bournemouth and with a family down here too, I wasn’t going to move anywhere. Weighing up my options there is a cap on earning in marketing, so I was really enticed by what could be earned in this role at Caspian One. I know from what others have been earning that, if you put a lot of work in, you are really rewarded.
Rather than having a cap on my salary, I want to be in charge of my earning potential and destiny, in a sort of way – and again, this ticked the boxes. I was put on furlough for months-and-months on end, which drove me mad, just making me want to be back at work again.
The funny thing is I was never intently ‘looking’ for work, but being on furlough, I did put the feelers out to Caspian One and quickly, messages turned into an interview and there I was. Furlough ended, I got voluntary redundancy and started work straight away. It ended up being perfect timing. I was fortunate and had no fears during lockdown, which wouldn’t have been the case if I didn’t have this in place.
Picking up on the hiring process, how did that differ for you because of the pandemic and restrictions?
You know what, it was a weird one really. It was good, really good – initially I had a phone call with Phil (Staples) who went through everything; why I’m interested, what sort of experiences I’d had and how it could match with the role at Caspian One.
On the phone, Phil highlighted being keen to get me in for an interview as he’d met me before, but of course, we needed to go through the process and check credentials to make sure the fits right for you and the team.
I did a personality test after that and then, at the time, we could still meet up as it was between lockdowns so a meeting between me and Adam (Vipond) was organised.
We had a chat about why I was looking and if the role would be right for me, then following on from that meeting with Adam, the same day I spoke to Ben Rutter – nothing lengthy, more
looking at team fit. It was Zack on the team I’d known previously but he wasn’t involved at all in the process, which I thought was great as it removed any preferential treatment etc... I knew it was all on my own merit.
I then had another interview with Pete and Nicole which Nicole mostly led. Once I had that interview, I then had a final joint interview with Adam and Phil, at which point I then found out I had the job. I’ll say it was quite a lengthy process however I got to meet five people from the team which was great - but then just before I was due to start we went into a third national lockdown.
I’d got myself built up and ready to go into the office the next day, only to get a message from Pete saying “word of warning, keep an eye on the news and see what the situation is”. Next thing I know we find out we’re going into another lockdown and Pete’s calling me at nine
in the evening saying, “we’re not going into the office tomorrow”.
So very quickly it was then a case of meeting Pete at the office, collecting equipment, laptop etc... I even met Pete at 10 pm that night in the office to get everything needed to work from home – so it was a strange start!
I think it’s been good, to be honest. Initially, I was dreading working from home, thinking “I’m not going to be in the office:”, “I’m not going to have anyone next to me for support”, “I’m just going to have to pick it up on my own” - but that was never the case at all.
The training and the process with Phil managing me was spot on.
So, how have they taken care of you from a training and onboarding perspective to ensure you’re up-to-speed and cared for correctly?
A few things really. Initially, what was important was meeting with the team and getting a good team connection – and every single person has helped me since I’ve been here. They helped me even early on. I obtained a good background on what everyone did, what they were working on and how I could support that.
Tutorials on how the systems worked were then organised by Pete - hats off to Pete! Phil then got me on training platforms as I’d had no experience of recruitment beforehand. I’d never really worked in a ‘sales’ job; where I worked before we were pushing for marketing-led sales but it’s completely different. So, there were training videos and a few tasks early on to get to grips with, plus lots of call shadowing and listening with members of the team.
However, I was never thrown in at the deep end, it was always perfectly timed. There were moments when I was thinking “Oh, I’m doing it now?!” - a bit nervous, even though I’d been completely comfortable doing it in other jobs, doing it in a new job you want to impress.
It’s the kind of job where achieving good stats and hitting KPIs does lead to success, but it’s not a 9-5 job, I knew that from the first week. It’s a 24/7 job, let’s face it but I don’t mind that. It won’t be for everyone but it suits me and I make sure I always allow for time to get out and clear my mind with exercise which is important.
In terms of recruiters, what were your perceptions of what a consultant is and does, before joining – compared to what they are now?
I think the term recruiter has some negative connotations, but there’s more to it then most people think; relating to building relationships, building business and developing careers. When people mention recruitment, they normally think cold calling or similar, but it’s not like that.
Before I joined, I did have quite a few friends working in recruitment so I kind-of understood the sort of processes involved, so it wasn’t too different to what I expected. I wasn’t expecting to be enjoying it so much, that’s one thing. I’m actually waking up each morning thinking, even though I’m really busy, I’m just excited to crack on.
I never thought I’d say it, but I really enjoy picking up the phone and just speaking to people I’ve never met before. I think that’s the goal to be successful - developing relationships and building your network.
Is there anything you’d say has been unique about your experience so far at Caspian One?
What’s weird is that I’ve not even been in the office yet, so my whole time with Caspian One has been at home. I’m sure when I go back into the office it will be an entirely different world and experience, which I think means when things go back to normal it will be even more exciting. I just can’t wait to actually meet everyone in person!
Jack Fitt is now a Capabilities Consultant at Caspian One, belonging to our FinTech division – delivering IT skills and resources for clients throughout the financial technology landscape; from permanent hires to fully managed services for milestone-led projects.