At the start of the year, Jenny Rogan joined Bytes as Heritage & Impact Analyst, having been chosen to be part of the Rank Foundation’s ‘Time to Shine’ programme. We asked her to talk about her first month with us, and to tell us some more about the programme.
Q. For you, having joined Bytes recently, what has it been like to start with us while mostly working remotely?
The thought of working from home was pretty daunting as I hadn’t met some of the people I am working with and wanted to put the face to the name. However, with Zoom and other platforms, it has been a lot easier than I had imagined. If I need help, I know I can always count on someone to either email me back straight away or else call me. Of course, I would have preferred to be working with people from the beginning, to form friendships and get extra guidance but I am happy enough that I am able to have that extra half hour in bed that I would have been spending commuting!
So far on my journey I have been able to spend time getting to know how Bytes works as a charity and also been able to work alongside other employees on smaller projects. I have been helping out with posts for the social media platforms which allowed me to get creative and have fun while doing it.
I am very excited to dive into the research projects that have been planned out for me, especially the Heritage Project. I can’t wait to find out the history of Bytes and hopefully hear some interesting stories from past members of the organisation. The Heritage Project involves gathering information about Bytes from the past 27 years and using that information to see how past decisions/events have impacted on the organisation. This could then be used to implement new ideas and see how to change things for the better after analysing what has worked and what has not worked in the past.
Q. You’ve joined us as part of the Rank Foundation’s ‘Time to Shine’ leadership programme, can you tell us a little more about that?
The ‘Time to Shine’ leadership programme is a 12-month, paid programme funded by the Rank Foundation to enable individuals to gain experience and skills within a charity. The overall aim of the programme is to bring about sustainable improvements to the charity’s performance, while also boosting the employment prospects of the chosen individual. I feel extremely lucky to have been picked for this role and I know the experience I am going to gain will be brilliant for my future.
This programme has come at the best time for me, as it is such a difficult time for anyone to get a job in this current economic climate and the global pandemic. I am so grateful to be given this opportunity to work for such a great charity and to better myself at the same time.
Q. What parts of your role of Heritage and Impact Analyst are you most excited about?
As a whole, I think this job was created for me. I love doing research into unexplored areas and finding out information that otherwise would have been left uncovered. I am excited to gradually work on this project and see it unfold in front of me. I guess I am most excited for the satisfaction at the end of the project when I can put the final piece into the puzzle and see what I have created.
Q. As we go into 2021, what are you looking forward to over the next twelve months?
I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and exploring this new working environment that I am now thankfully a part of. I am most looking forward to gaining experience and a new skill set which will ultimately help me in my future career. I know it will be completely different from what I expected, due to having to work from home, but I hope I will fit right in and have fun while being on the job.
Published: 21st January, 2021
