Jill Bartram had enjoyed a successful career in marketing and business development working for large tech companies such as Microsoft. Following the birth of her second daughter, with her role requiring international travel and regular evening conference calls, Jill decided to take a career break in order to take care of her family. Two years later, when she decided to return to the world of work, it was to find more flexible opportunities.
Learning in a group environment
Jill’s reason for signing up to study with TechPixies was not just to acquire digital marketing skills, but when comparing it with other courses, Jill really liked the face-to-face element of the learning and the fact that it was with like-minded women who were looking to upskill and return to work.
“It felt really comfortable because you knew all the women had come from the same place, that they wanted something else, but they’d didn’t quite know how to get there or what it was.”
The relaxed atmosphere of the workshops made it more comfortable to ask questions and as Jill says, there are no silly questions.
“You could ask any question and no one would judge you. Instead they would help you.”
The power of a community
It turns out that the Cohort played a really big part in Jill’s experience of the face-to-face course, she would go so far as to describe them as lifelong friends. Having completed the course, she still feels part of the TechPixies network through the private TechPixies Facebook Group. Not only has this widened her network further, it has offered a great source of knowledge to rely on.
“It’s definitely the community. If something happens at my work, I would be really comfortable asking the community for help. The online community is an amplified version of my original Cohort. To me that is a great help!”
The best part of the course
Coming from a career break, Jill was looking for more understanding on where she should take her career going forward. The life coaching element of the course really helped Jill to decide on the most suitable career path for her new found skills. “The life coaching element was really enlightening about what direction I wanted to take things. Jess Rogers our coach was really challenging, but supportive.”
A successful career
Following completing the course, Jill went on to get a flexible role within Marketing for Broadsword Security and more recently also works for Curiosity Box as Head of Storytelling. Jill was familiar with this company as they had been part of the TechPixies internship opportunity with another Cohort. Both roles combined her previous experience of strategy and planning along with her new found technical skills in digital marketing making the perfect combination to lead the marketing for both companies.
“I think Joy has done something really special. There are loads of talented women looking for a route back to flexible work. TechPixies gets women doing what they should be doing in lifting other women up and encouraging them to realise they can do anything, which I think is really wonderful! We just need corporates to catch up and open their doors to this pool of amazing women too!”
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