We love chatting to our people and have many fantastic stories of internal mobility and career development.
This time we’d love to introduce you to our very own Heidi Sidorina. Her journey with Checkatrade started in 2019. She’s now four years in, and she’s still growing, learning and making the most of the many opportunities available to her.
So, here’s a snapshot of her story – take a seat, grab a drink and let’s go…
Can you give us a quick roundup of your career to date?
I feel like I’ve done a bit of everything to be honest! Before joining Checkatrade I worked in retail, the beauty industry, the leisure industry, at a holiday park, in the security industry and a few other bits along the way too. I never really knew what I wanted to do, so I’ve done a mix!
Since joining Checkatrade, I’ve worked in various customer service focussed roles across Membership Advice and Reviews and my most recent role has been Operations Trainer where I got to share my experience with new and existing employees. This was a secondment and as it comes to an end, I am moving into our Enterprise Team as a National Accounts Support Advisor. It’ll be another string to my bow working with the National Accounts customers and Sales Managers to support what is one our fastest growing customer segments. This is an exciting change so watch this space!
Alongside this, I do have a side hustle too. I will be building up my travel business and I plan to make that just as successful as my Checkatrade career!
Wow. That certainly sounds like you’ve made the most of your time with us. What would you say are the key takeaways from the different roles you’ve had here over the years?
It’s been so interesting having such a mixture of roles within the business as every role I’ve had has really opened my eyes to what this business has to offer! It’s been so interesting learning about different functions and teams, and it’s really broadened my overall Checkatrade knowledge.
I’ve been able to take away something from each role – be that skills, experience or knowledge and use it in my next one or to support my colleagues if they have a question. I’ve also loved getting to know so many people around the business. These connections are invaluable as I keep building my career within Checkatrade.
We hear you were one of our people that at some point left us and then returned. What brought you back to Checkatrade?
In April 2021, I made the tough decision to leave Checkatrade. I was really suffering mentally during the pandemic (I know I’m not alone in feeling this way) and I felt like I needed a fresh start. When I walked out the office doors at 5pm on my last day, I had this nagging feeling that I’d made a mistake. And that feeling lasted six months…During this time, I realised the grass is definitely not greener, and that Checkatrade is the company for me. I made the daunting decision to put myself forward to come back. I was so nervous for the interview and luckily, I was given the opportunity to return which I will always be grateful for. It honestly felt like coming home and I’ve never looked back! I have worked so hard since coming back and I’m really proud of how far I’ve come.
What advice have you got for anyone looking to raise their profile at Checkatrade?
If you’ve been through our Training Academy with me then I’ve probably given you this advice at some point – get yourself out there and speak to people! If you are interested in another area of the business, then go learn about it! Go sit with another department, ask all those questions that you want answered and make yourself stand out. There are so many opportunities within the company so definitely make the time to expand your knowledge wherever you can. I’m a great believer in knowledge is power, so go learn!
We love this! You are definitely a go getter! What about Checkatrade – how have we supported your personal development? And is there anything else you do to feed into your continuous personal development?
I’ve had great people around me from day one supporting me. This has definitely helped me grow into who I am today. I am always looking to improve as I want to be the very best version of myself, and I constantly want to learn which I’m always given the opportunity to do. I’ve always been supported when I’ve wanted to apply for other roles or expand my knowledge which has really helped me personally and professionally.
I am very hard on myself (my current and past Line Managers reading this will 100% agree) which can be challenging for me – it’s something I am still working on to help myself! I always try to not let this hold me back and do my best to switch my mindset as I know I can do this. I always try to focus on the positives and focus on those ‘small wins.’ I’ve recently started building my own ‘Weekly Successes’ spreadsheet to help me showcase my achievements. I have also enrolled as a mentee which I’m extremely excited about and I’m working towards my Silver Checkatrade Pathway too.
We totally agree. Pulling on the people around you, celebrating successes and looking for those ‘small wins’ is very important and something we’d definitely encourage. In the interest of our recent campaign around #sharethelove – have you got any inspirational figures at Checkatrade you’d like to acknowledge and why?
This is so hard to answer as I’m surrounded by great people across the business who inspire me! Before I started at Checkatrade, my confidence was at an all-time low as I had experienced very poor management which had made me feel pretty rubbish about myself. Having the support of Ryan Butt and Jade Burtoo at the very beginning of my Checkatrade journey really helped build my confidence back up and helped me grow personally and professionally. When I returned to Checkatrade, Jade was my Team Leader so having her support again after such a rocky six months was very much appreciated. I will always be grateful for their support, and I would like to think they are happy to see how far I’ve come!
A huge thanks to Heidi for sharing her story with us!
We have many success stories of people who have worked across various teams and progressed and enriched their careers with us. Internal succession and career development continues to be key for us as we grow, and it’s something we continually encourage and celebrate. Whether you are already at Checkatrade or looking to join us, we are channelling our inner Heidi and will tell you to ‘go get it’!
For our latest vacancies and more people stories, visit us at Careers – Checkatrade Careers