‘Life is like a box of chocolates… you never know what you’re going to get.’ Forrest Gump
This is true—I should know. I like to say that in my house, we just roll with the punches. We have 4 children (8, 6, 2 and 0) and 3 bedrooms. Our weeks are full of Auskick, Calisthenics, dance sessions, birthday parties and play dates. Then there are the financial pressures of unexpected bills – an expensive car service, new tyres, a broken appliance, a broken tooth, a broken arm…Life can be quite unpredictable.
When someone puts together a resume to go job hunting, there is rarely any emphasis on their life story – what brings them to this interview, what forces contributed towards them seeking a change in their life that a new job brings. Interviewers tend to focus on professional experience, achievements and educational highlights then tick off the boxes pertaining to the applicant’s 40 hour week. What about the other 128 hours?
I remember going over my resume with Peter Fenwick three years ago, after about ten minutes, he waved his hand over the entire 4-5 pages of all my professional highlights and career achievements. He then spent the next hour discussing why I was there; what I believed in; and what my values were; my ambitions and personal highlights.
It became apparent even in that first interview that Fenwick Software did not just look for a clever IT guy, or a qualified accountant or an A grade programmer. They wanted good people who would fit in with the Fenwick culture; a culture that has been aged like a vintage wine.
At Fenwick Software we work for customers we like and we hire people we like. We believe this forms a solid foundation for sustaining our strong culture which feeds into the work we do for our customers. The evidence is in the longevity of the relationships we have with our customers, and the average length of service of our staff.
In contrast to Forrest Gump’s view on life, we like to think that with Fenwick Software, you know exactly what you are going to get.
