What’s your role at Auror?

My role at Auror is a Quality Analyst. This is not your average Quality Analyst role where the mighty developers dump their code over the fence and you spend your time proving its imperfections - in this role you are involved in every part of the journey from the conception to its release. No question is silly, no one discounts your option, you are part of one big fluid motion of delivering quality working software efficiently to our customers.

What was your path to Auror like?

After our fourth baby, I left my prior QA role as I felt I couldn't possibly fit in a 9-5 job. This was when I decided to really follow my passion of boxing. I had already completed my first half marathon which helped get me ready for my first boxing fight for a local charity, Fight for Mind Health - this was such an awesome lesson in mental resilience! For me jumping in the ring was much more of a mental challenge than a physical one.

It was after this that I was then presented with an opportunity to take over some of the locally run women’s boxing classes. I thought I’d just fill in until they found someone more qualified, but after a few months’ teaching, I really enjoyed it and decided to become a qualified Personal Trainer. ‘Filling in’ turned into running 7 classes a week which fulfilled me for a few years, but I always missed the mental challenge of being a Quality Analyst.

Four years later (in lockdown) I decided to return to being a Quality Analyst. I was unsure if I'd even be successful as, to me, 4 years away felt like a big gap.

I also wanted to make sure the company I work for would understand how important my family time was to me and was flexible enough to let me live that balance.

Luckily I saw the advert for Auror and it was like a breath of fresh air! It wasn’t some stuffy advert that detailed your roles and responsibilities to the enth degree, but I could feel that people were at the heart of the company.

Meeting our People Experience Partner, Kat, through the interview process really confirmed this and the more interactions I had with various members of the team, the more I loved what Auror was about. It was almost too good to be true.

One of the interviews I had was with Rob, VP of Engineering. I was so nervous, but remembered distinctively that Rob had told me not to discount my years away from the tech space, but to view it as a whole other skill set that I had gained, which I never saw before. I felt so valued already and that was just through the interview process!

I am 6 weeks into my role and can attest that Auror is absolutely a place that lives and breathes its Guiding Principles. To me, Auror is magic.

So, what’s your typical work day like?

Four times a week I am up at 4:30am. I am lucky enough to be able to fit in my passion - many of my clients are mums and I get to be part of their transformation of getting themselves back after having their babies. Not only seeing the physical benefits but the mental rewards makes the 4:30am wake ups all worth it 

I am usually home by 7am which gives me time to get all my kids ready for school then out the door again at 8.15 for school run. 

After the kids have gone to school, I put on my QA hat - some days I’ll head into the office, and some days I’ll work from home. Auror's flexibility lets me take care of the little things so I can bring my A-game when I'm at work. We have also launched shorter work weeks which means we all have Friday afternoons off, which is a massive added bonus. I get a little me-time before the kids are home and do a little bit around the house so I can make the most of my weekends together with my family.     

What advice would you give someone who has been out of the workforce for a period of time?

Just do it! We as mums are forever thinking about what the wider impact will be on our kids, partner and family life when we return back to the workforce. And although the thought of returning to work might be daunting, remember as parents we have an amazing talent of just making things work. Sometimes we don't even know how!

I'm not going to say it'll be easy, but when you have worked out your new rhythm, you'll soon love those moments of heading to the office or walking down the hallway to your home office. You got this!