GoCardless Career Switchers: From office manager to marketing executive

At GoCardless, we believe in supporting our people to develop their strengths in different ways, to help them reach their full potential. Some even end up embarking on a whole new career path while still working at GoCardless.

In our new Career Switchers series we meet some of the GoCardless people who have changed careers during their time with us. First up is Sally, who started out as the GoCardless office manager, then made a big leap into the marketing team.

Who are you?

I'm Sally, I've been at GoCardless for nearly two years. I joined the company almost fresh from university, where I studied Spanish and Portuguese - and got to enjoy living abroad for a year.

Tell us about your past and current roles

At first, I was brought on as the office manager, responsible for making sure the office was the best place possible for my colleagues, and organising all of our social events. I also lent a hand with payroll and benefits, onboarding of new team members and implementing our volunteer programme.

In my current role as marketing executive I'm a generalist, lending a hand within the marketing team and absorbing as much information as possible. At the moment I'm helping with our content, product marketing, marketing ops and vertical marketing teams, doing everything from strategy to creation and implementation across all levels of our marketing funnel. I never know what's coming next!

Why did you choose to change career focus?

It was a combination of feeling like I could add more value for the company in another discipline, along with wanting to interact with our product more often.

Why did you choose to stay at GoCardless?

It wasn't an option to move away! GoCardless has the most talented, generous and wonderful people across the board, a product that's actually solving a problem in the payments industry, a culture that nurtures growth and an engaging vision. It's a really exciting time for the company and I wanted to stay part of it.

What kind of support did GoCardless offer to help you switch?

I raised my thoughts with my manager early on, and she was very receptive. She quickly got me connected with our VP Marketing, along with other members of the Marketing team to learn more about the variety within each role. Once I moved to Marketing, GoCardless offered me the chance to join a mentoring scheme, matching me with an experienced mentor in the same field. This has been a godsend. Everyone should have a mentor!

What do you like best about your new role?

I enjoy seeing my impact across our product and marketing channels. I like problem solving - there's lots of it - and trying to think of creative solutions. I feel that I’m really contributing... and I’m being given plenty of responsibility. There's always something to learn... as I'm surrounded by a talented and experienced team. It was daunting at first but learning from them is such a pleasure. I'm forever improving and that's a real driver for me.

Have there been any particular challenges?

There's just so much to learn. I don’t have specific marketing experience, and what’s more, trying to get to grips with our product has been a (welcome) challenge! To stop it becoming too overwhelming I had to remind myself to break things down into sections. For example, instead of trying to learn everything about Google Analytics, I've started by just learning the areas I need to build a relevant dashboard for the task at hand. It always helps to consolidate learning with real life usage.

Finally, what are your future plans?

I’m thoroughly enjoying the ride, soaking up as much information as I can from my colleagues. As someone new to marketing, I can learn so much from my fellow marketers, which always keeps me going - and always makes me push myself. I think my next steps would include specialising in a certain area of marketing... but I don't want to give away any spoilers right now...