7 years of exceptional dedication from Elita Fernandes

How does it feel to have reached your 7-year anniversary with New Icon? 

Incredibly proud, I have watched the company go from strength to strength and continue to see it grow.

Can you share with us your most memorable moment or experience during your time with New Icon?

It would have to be working on my first project, building software for funeral directors. I learnt so much through working on that project and I attribute many of my skills today from that first project. New Icon gave me the opportunity to get involved from the start, with excellent mentors and support to hand, that experience had such a positive impact on how I feel I have developed as a software developer. Anytime I needed assistance my colleagues were there to offer support and help and this made the job really enjoyable, it still does.

How have you seen New Icon evolve and grow over the past 7 years?

The company hasn’t only grown in terms of numbers of employees but the amount and scale of projects we now work on is much bigger. As a team we are constantly evolving to utilise the latest technology, which I absolutely love, it gives me real job satisfaction.

At the beginning of my time at New Icon there were about five developers and the directors, now we have departments for sales and marketing, project managers, solution architects and a separate digital marketing company in its own right! It’s amazing to think back and see how far we’ve come, and this is just the start.

In what ways has your role and responsibilities changed since you first joined New Icon?

This was my first job in the UK and it was a totally different experience to what I was previously used to. I can honestly say I have learnt so much, my problem solving skills have improved considerably. New Icon place such value in finding the right employee as a whole, to fit the team and the positive culture. The hiring managers here don’t just look for someone who has loads of experience and technical skills, if you have the drive, desire and ability to learn and solve problems then that’s what counts and ensures success at New Icon and I really like that. 

It’s really great the way people at New Icon think, and how people with problem solving skills excel in the company, New Icon nurtures these skills to build a great software development team. The thinking is different here and this shines through in the projects we complete. If you can learn quickly, collaborate well and are ambitious to succeed, you will definitely flourish here.

What is the most valuable lesson or skill you’ve learned while working at New Icon?

Most of my development skills I credit to New Icon and the mentoring is second to none, I am motivated every day to do my best work.

How would you describe the company culture at New Icon, and how has it contributed to your success?

We have recently had a people and culture manager join us and she has made such a positive impact on day to day office life. I always thought that it was a great place to work, now with Lucy here it’s even better. One of the first events Lucy arranged was a company vision day and her presentation on company culture and growth and how we are going to achieve our goals was so inspiring, I felt even more renewed energy and positivity around my career and the direction in which the company is going in. I also really like the amount of female employees we have now. I believe we have a ratio of 10:9 which for a tech company is pretty impressive. It’s nice having lots of other females in the office.

Can you share a favourite project or achievement you’re particularly proud of?

I really value every project that I have worked on, each presents new challenges and from that I get to work on modern web applications with different tech stacks, Magento, PHP, JS based Framework, Vue, React. My skill set is always growing and I’m constantly given new opportunities to work with a variety of clients on such a different range of projects.

What are you most excited about for the future of New Icon, and how do you see your role evolving over the next few years?

I would firstly like to mention the care shown towards employees here has been incredible during a pretty tough couple of years for all businesses. Having been here for a long time I have always felt well looked after by the team and my hard work is always recognised, New Icon are conscious about doing right by the people they employ and this is reflected in how we are treated. Especially now Lucy has come on board there is a real sense of being proactive to ensure staff remain happy. Personally I see great opportunities to continue to grow as a professional and I’m really grateful to New Icon for this.