Tag Archives: careers

My Design Internship with TLA – Adam Hodkinson

Over the past six months, we were delighted to be joined by Adam Hodkinson on a design internship. Here’s what he had to say about his experience and learnings from TLA.

What made you apply for TLA?

After graduating from The University of Salford I struggled to break into the industry, so I decided to reach out to several businesses about potential internships. This is when I came across the opportunity here at TLA.

I was hoping for an internship which would allow me to develop my skills, knowledge and improve on my portfolio. TLA has turned out to be the best possible place for me to end up – giving me the opportunity to explore a potential career path and get a feel for what the industry is like.

What was the most interesting piece of work you had done?

Now that I’ve come to the end of my internship, I’ve gathered several portfolio pieces where I’ve really outdone myself! If I had to choose one, it would be the future leaders programme. You can find more about my work in my full Portfolio here.

Key things you have learnt in your six months here?

Over the past 6 months, I’ve gathered so much knowledge and improved on my skills around branding and identity, graphics, logo design, print, typography and illustration with additional experience in UI Design.

How have you developed personally during your internship?

My core strengths: work ethic, keen eye for detail, communication, creativity and time management have improved massively. I’ve met some amazing people, I’ve gained amazing experience and I have a top notch portfolio – I hold TLA and the design team responsible for relighting my passion for design.

So what’s next?

I hope to move onto a similar role or maybe experiment with different pathways, however UI Design is my number one priority.

If you’ve got a question for the team or want to know more about an internship here at TLA, why not get in touch?

My Summer internship with TLA – Gabriella Dixon

This summer we were delighted to be joined by Gabriella Dixon on a three-month B2B marketing internship ahead of her final year at university. Here’s what she had to say about her experience and learnings from TLA.

“As a Business Management with Marketing student, I was on a mission to find an opportunity that would help me get my foot in the door to prepare me for when I leave University.

After struggling to find any appropriate advertised positions, I decided to reach out to several companies in hope of securing myself a summer internship. I was hoping for an internship which would allow me to learn and develop my skills and knowledge while being able to explore a potential career path and get a feel for what the industry is like.

In June, I was grateful and thrilled for the opportunity to join The Lead Agency as a B2B Marketing Intern.

The past three months have flown by. I’ve learnt so much and will take away some really valuable life lessons and advice. From the day I started I was made to feel so welcome and instantly felt like part of the team. Everyone is super lovely and supportive.

During my first week here I was taught about the company’s work culture and core values, something they really do live up to. There is a positive atmosphere and everyone’s very open and honest. There is a really strong work ethic here and everyone is really focused, committed and dedicated to their roles. I have found this truly inspiring and a pleasure to be around.

Celebrating women in tech

So, what have I been up to? I have been involved in lots of different projects, tasks and opportunities. One of the biggest has been working on our Celebrating Women in Tech and Marketing campaign – a content series that ran across TLA’s website and content channels.

I undertook research to explore the current state of the industry and the underrepresentation of women in the UK tech industry. We believed the journeys of the women here at TLA were worth sharing with other women who are considering a career in the industry, so create a content plan that would allow us to get their stories out.

As part of the campaign, I organised and ran my first round-table discussion featuring 12 female TLA employees. I prepared the questions and a short series of slides to facilitate the event. That session allowed us to understand the experiences of women in the tech and marketing industry, their route to TLA and the female role models that inspire them.

We created a series of articles over a six-week period and I took ownership of pushing these out on TLA’s social platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, generating positive engagement. I also managed other social media content during my three-month placement, covering job vacancies, charity press releases (particularly TLA’s work with NABS), employee Q&As, book reviews and highlights from our ‘brown bag’ lunches.

SEO learnings

Away from content, I’ve learnt about other aspects of B2B marketing, including email marketing, PPC and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). For the latter, I undertook a vast amount of research into the different aspects of SEO and presented my findings back to the team. That’s an area I’m keen to learn more about in the future.

I’m excited to take all that I’ve learnt over the past three months and progress further. It has been a great way to learn and develop as well as gaining commercial experience. I’ve met so many amazing, talented people and have loved my time at TLA.”

Gabriella Dixon

If you’ve got a question for the TLA team or want to know more about what makes us tick, why not get in touch?

TLA grows team with seven new hires

We have strengthened our TLA team with seven new arrivals in the last few weeks.

Joining our Liverpool-headquartered company’s digital team is senior product manager Steve Timmis, performance analyst Miki Parr, project manager Emily Abbey, graduate PPC executive Amara Molloy and B2B marketing intern Gabby Dixon.

Meanwhile, Alicia Brady has joined the TLA surveys team with Steve Ashcroft arriving as quality control executive.

Head of talent acquisition, Michael Fitzsimmons said: “This is a genuinely exciting time for the business, with recruitment ongoing across all departments. As we grow, it’s vital that we find people who fit the culture of our business – ambitious, proactive and eager to keep developing their talent. Our latest additions certainly have those qualities, and we’re excited about what they can bring to the team.”

Steve Timmis, who joins the business from New Balance, said: “I’m excited to have the opportunity to join such a forward-thinking, consumer-focused tech business. I’m really looking forward to leading the product management of the automotive vertical and working with the cross-functional product teams as the business expands into international markets.”

If you’d like to be a part of team TLA, visit our careers page to find out more about our vacancies.

Five minutes with… TLA PPC Manager Dan Potter

Ever wondered who are the people behind the technology and campaigns TLA produces? In a new series, we’re grabbing five minutes with members of the team to shine more light on who they are and what inspires them.

First up is Dan Potter, who joined the business in 2015 and manages our paid media campaigns. Here’s what we learned in our five-minute catch-up.

Hi Dan. Let’s start with an important one. Which sports teams do you follow?

Unfortunately, I’m a lifelong-suffering Evertonian (thanks Dad). I’ve also got into American football over the last couple of years and follow the New Orleans Saints (the least Everton-esque team I could find).

What TV series or film should we be watching?

I feel like it’d be too obvious to say Game of Thrones here, but… Game of Thrones.

If you had two weeks off, where would you go?

Japan. Absolutely no doubt. I’ve always been fascinated by the unique cocktail of ultra-modern technology, rich culture and traditions, and crazily beautiful natural landscapes. Plus the sushi, obviously.

Want to join Dan in the PPC team? Why not get in touch and apply today! 

Which TED talks (or equivalent) have you seen that you recommend we watch?

I’m going to cheat here because it’s not a TED talk, but I’d highly recommend giving ‘Cambridge Analytica – The Power of Big Data and Psychographics’ from the 2016 Concordia summit a watch. It’s a fascinating yet terrifying insight into how big data was leveraged alongside laser-targeted ad messaging to influence the Trump US election. It’ll make you never want to use the internet again.

Which websites do you visit daily?

I can’t remember the last time I went 24 hours without going on Instagram or YouTube. Workwise, PPC Hero post a lot of useful content and industry news daily. I’m also a big fan of Copyhackers, they teach you how to use the power of words to influence our highly susceptible human brains and drive action.

Which entrepreneurs do you admire and why?

I’m a big fan of Elon Musk. He’s not your typical entrepreneur that spotted a gap in the market or found a way to monetise their passion. He’s someone that’s driven by a genuine desire to change the world. He’s totally self-made, a massive risk taker and relentless in chasing his goals to an obsessive degree. Pretty much the poster boy for innovation and pushing boundaries.

And finally, what aspect of your work are you most passionate about?

I love the opportunity to be creative – and with digital marketing you’re able to actually see the direct tangible results of what you do. It’s super satisfying when some outside of the box thinking comes off.

If you’ve got a question for the TLA team or want to know more about what makes us tick, why not get in touch?

My Internship at The Lead Agency

As a recent University graduate, I was in search of an opportunity that would allow me to get my foot in the door and begin my professional career.

I was hoping to secure an internship, so when I was selected as The Lead Agency’s new PR and Content Intern I was extremely grateful and excited.

The past five months have flown by. I have learnt so much during my time here and have really enjoyed the whole process, thanks to my manager, Keith Price, and the rest of the TLA team.

First impressions

the lead agency liverpoolSet on the 13th floor of Liverpool’s Unity Building, the TLA office is open and bright with 360⁰ panoramic views of the city. (The picture to the left has been my view of the Liver building from my desk!).

From the very start, I was made to feel extremely welcome and was taught all about the company culture and core values that are so very important to the business.

New challenges

During my time here, I’ve had the opportunity to take on many different tasks and challenges. This has involved writing a number of articles for the TLA website – the content of which has varied from employee interviews and charity press releases to industry opinion pieces. I’ve also taken responsibility for TLA’s social media platforms, creating content to be published across the company’s LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram profiles.

My experience here has taught me an immense amount about digital marketing, content writing and SEO. I have had the opportunity to work with many different members of staff across different departments within the Liverpool HQ, and have received continual support, guidance and advice since day one.

Positive culture

The culture at The Lead Agency is very positive, one in which everyone is open, honest and made to feel trusted. There is a really strong work ethic here too. Every member of the team is focused and committed to their role but will always offer a helping hand to anyone who needs it.

The social side of my time here has also been great fun. The company has many employee benefits, such as the 4pm Friday ‘check-in’ – in which everyone heads into the office’s very own bar for a drink. ‘Cake Friday’ at the end of the month always goes down well with everyone too, along with other events throughout the calendar, such as the team social that was organised in celebration of TLA’s Tech Track 100 ranking!

I’ve made some great friends that I will remain friends with as I move on to the next stage of my career.

Grace Boardman

Do you want to join Liverpool’s fastest-growing tech company? Check out the latest career opportunities in Liverpool and London.

Life at The Lead Agency: Meet Finance Assistant Joanna Walmsley

Finance assistant Joanna Walmsley joined The Lead Agency straight from sixth form three years ago and is on her way to becoming AAT qualified. Here, she tells us about her time at TLA so far.

What were your first impressions of The Lead Agency?

Really positive! When I started here everyone was so lovely and welcoming. The team made it really easy for me to fit in, despite how shy I was to begin with.

What lead you to this role?

I’d worked in a shop for a little while once I had finished school and was ready to move on, but I knew that University wasn’t the right option for me.

So, I decided to look into apprenticeships. I started at TLA doing a general apprenticeship in financing that required an industry work placement. Three years later, the company has given me the opportunity to sit my AAT exams and develop a career in finance. I will finish my current qualification in September, after which I hope to complete the final year to become AAT qualified (Association of Accounting Technicians).

What three words would you use to describe your role?

Challenging but interesting! It can be stressful at times, but I genuinely enjoy it.

What sort of responsibilities does your job involve?

I look after the cash-flows, invoicing, and many other day-to-day tasks. My role also includes other responsibilities such as looking after the payroll – basically keeping everyone happy by making sure they’re all paid on time!

How have you found balancing studying with your full-time position?

It’s hard at times when I have an exam coming up as I put a lot of pressure on myself to balance work and studying.

When I have an exam coming up, our financial controller Sam Reaney ensures that my day-to-day tasks include areas that I will be tested on in the exam. That’s really helpful as I can learn in the role and understand it before I even begin my online classroom time!

What would you say to others that are thinking about doing an apprenticeship like this one? Do you have any advice?

If it’s what you really want to do, go for it! It takes dedication, but it’s worth it.

Have you been able to take on more responsibilities and progress within the business? If so, what?

Yes, definitely. I’ve progressed a lot whilst working here. At school I was good at maths and thought I would do well working in finance, but when I started working here I knew literally nothing about finance or accounting.

Step-by-step, I’m handling more responsibilities and that means I’m always facing new challenges. I’ve learnt everything I know about finance by working here alongside Sam, and I’m really grateful for that. TLA invested in me as an 18-year-old and gave me a great opportunity. Since then, I have grown so much, both as a person and in the workplace.

What’s the culture like at TLA and within the team?

I love it! Everyone is welcoming, sociable, friendly and supportive too. It’s a lovely place to work.

I like how chilled out it can be, we all make sure that we get our work done but we laugh along the way and make sure to enjoy ourselves.

 

We’re hiring! To find out more about our career opportunities, visit our careers page.

Life at The Lead Agency: Meet Software Developer Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller joined The Lead Agency four years ago, whilst completing her studies at Liverpool John Moores University, before joining us full-time as a Software Developer.

Here, she gives us an insight into her time at The Lead Agency so far…

What lead you to your role here at The Lead Agency?

I first started working here during my placement year whilst I was studying Software Development. Having spent a whole year in a corporate environment, it meant that I had a great advantage going into my final year at University as I had lots of new skills and a real understanding of software development.

What sort of responsibilities are involved in your role?

I work in the platform team, so our responsibilities are mainly to do with improving and maintaining the back-end systems, such as dealing with the call centre systems, and CRM amongst many other responsibilities.

How would you describe working within the platform team?

Everyone is super helpful – if you’ve got any questions people are more than willing to help you out.

We dedicate lots of our time to making sure that things are done properly and on-time. Everything we work on is vital to the smooth-running of our business, so the pressure is on to minimise risks. There’s some late nights and early mornings to do that but there’s always someone on-hand to help you out, even from out of office!

What project(s) are you currently working on?

At this moment, I’m working on the CRM which will be used across the entire company, from field sales down in London, to campaigns, processing and the call centre. Working on the CRM system has been one of our key focal points recently as it’s the main central system that the company is looking to use.

How would you describe the culture at TLA?

Even though we are busy, there’s always a nice and relaxed atmosphere. There’s also a great social side within the company, especially when we finish on a Friday.

I get involved in the free personal training sessions every Tuesday and there’s always other fun activities going on, such as Cake Friday at the end of the month and various charity events!

Which aspects of your role, or working at TLA, in general do you love the most?

Within our team, the day-to-day work is always different – one minute we might be working on a project and then fixing bugs the next. We have so many systems that we’re constantly switching between, so it makes my role extremely varied and fun.

There’s always new technology coming out that we’re open to trying and so we’re always learning new skills. If there’s something that you specifically want to work on, our managers are always willing to help us learn and incorporate the new technology to improve our current systems.

How would you sum up your experience at TLA so far?

Really positive! I’ve learnt mostly everything I know about software development from working at The Lead Agency and made some great friends along the way too.

Would you have any advice for someone who is starting their career as a developer?

Just be open to trying new things. When I first arrived at TLA I was expecting to become a web developer, but I ended up working on different projects and embraced the challenges and opportunities that I was given, and I’ve really enjoyed it.

We’re hiring! To find out more about our career opportunities, visit our careers page.

Life at The Lead Agency: Meet CSO Team Leader, Ryan O’Connor

Ryan O’Connor joined The Lead Agency just over four years ago as a Customer Service Operator (CSO). His strong performance saw him progress quickly to the position of Sales Team Leader.

Here, Ryan reveals more about his role, his team and life at The Lead Agency…

How did your career at The Lead Agency begin?

Once I’d graduated I needed to get a full-time job. I’d never planned for a career in a call centre but worked in one part-time during my three years at University and spotted the CSO (Customer Service Operator) vacancy at TLA.

I listened to a couple of the calls the team were making and knew that I would be able to do it – and I’ve been here ever since!

Can you talk a bit about your progression within the company?

I quickly settled into the team and had the support and patience of everyone around me. I always made sure that I hit my targets, so, despite only working in the CSO role for a year and a half, I decided to apply for the Sales Team Leader position.

As a Team Leader, I’m expected to lead by example by ensuring all targets are consistently met or exceeded. In my opinion, being a leader is all about getting to know people, knowing how to speak to people and how to give feedback.

What are the main responsibilities of your role?

I’m responsible for my own team which consists of several CSOs. On a day-to-day basis I’m required to support my team members by making sure that they’re aware of their targets and delivering on budgets at a good-quality standard.

What do you enjoy most about working at TLA?

Being able to work with many different and passionate personalities. All the individual characters in the group make for a fun working environment, meaning that we enjoy what we do and work well as a team.

Although it’s technically a sales job, we’re not actually selling anything! We’re ringing existing enquiries and fulfilling their needs.

Sales roles are often high-pressured. Is that the case at TLA?

There is a pressure to perform, but our targets are always achievable. The targets are set based on several different factors, but we have never been set an unachievable target.

There are always incentives and bonuses in place to reward the people who hit and continue to exceed their targets too. At the end of the day, those who are willing to work hard will always reap the rewards.

What does your team do on a day-to-day basis?

It’s about working through your enquiries (which become leads once they’ve been qualified) and ensuring that you do it in the smartest way possible to meet your goals. All new members of the team learn how best to achieve these targets as they go through the induction process.

call centre jobs LiverpoolWhat is the culture like within your team and the wider team?

We all get on extremely well with one other and someone is always there to offer their help and support.
When new people join, we ensure they are made to feel very welcome and integrate them into the group as quickly as possible.

Patsy (Mawdsley, Head of Contact Centre) regularly organises social events for the whole team. Last month we went to Roxy’s Ballroom and we played beer pong and pool which was great fun.

My team also managed to hit an incentivised target last month, and our prize was a £200 restaurant tab which we spent at Viva Brazil!

What sort of characteristics do you value in your team members?

I value people that are hardworking and willing to learn and adapt!

What advice would you give to someone who is starting their career as a CSO?

Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Those who do choose to ask for assistance when they need it will always achieve better results.

Another key piece of advice I would say is to make sure you concentrate, listen carefully and take onboard the guidance offered to you from the more experienced members of the team. That way, you’ll learn and adapt quicker and achieve great results.

We’re hiring! Find out about our latest call centre jobs in Liverpool.

Life at The Lead Agency: meet developer Liam Moorcroft

Ever wondered what life is like inside one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies?

Developer Liam Moorcroft joined The Lead Agency in November last year and has made a great start within the business.   Here, Liam explains what drew him to TLA and what excites him about his role in the Engagement team.

What appealed to you about joining TLA?

They offer career progression, which is important to me. There was the potential for opportunities that I’ve never had before and, when I came into meet the team, it was clear that they were willing to help me progress. It was also about being able to gain a position in a bigger company.

And finally, there’s the office. When I came in for the interview, I was blown away by the vast views of Liverpool. I knew immediately I wanted to work here.

What can you tell us about your role?

The development team is split into two teams, the engagement team and the platform team. My team, the engagement team, create all the websites and front-facing sites that customers interact with.

My role varies day-to-day due to new features or add-ons that stakeholders may have asked for. Every few weeks we carry out work to maintain the websites to ensure they’re as user-friendly as possible.

What aspects of your role are you most passionate about?

I think discovering new technology is really important to me and it’s what I enjoy most within my role. As a developer, you can’t stand still- you have to keep up to date with new technology as it is always changing. The team I work with are great and make the projects that we work on even more enjoyable.

What can you tell us about your work that would be of interest to developers who are ready for a new challenge?

I think the technology is the big one – if you’re intrigued and enjoy experimenting with new software and technology and being able to do that on a daily basis, then this is the place for you! I guess that’s what continues to appeal to me about this role – the idea of constantly being involved with new technology, being able to research and explore whilst constantly being challenged to find improvements.

We are always asking ourselves, “how can we make this page faster?”, “how can we make this page more user-friendly?”. We are always trying to think of new and improved ways of making the user’s journey through the site better. If those sorts of challenges excite you, then this sort of role is definitely for you.

What else can you tell us about life at TLA?

I think the office and the aesthetics of it make it a great place to be. We’ve got 360⁰ views of Liverpool from our office floor and it just makes it a really pleasant environment to work in.

The bar is pretty cool too. On a Friday, we have a check-in where we grab a drink and discuss whatwe’ve been working on throughout the week. It’s good to hear about what everyone else is up to in the office as we are normally working within our own smaller teams day-to-day. That’s great because it creates a togetherness and a fun teamworking environment.

What’s it like working with the rest of the team?

What I have found working here is that everyone is super friendly and helpful. As a whole, and within my team, everyone is willing to support each other. The general attitude is that there is no such thing as a dumb question and this really gets the best performance out of you as it encourages us to take on a challenge and not be afraid to make a mistake.

I think that’s what helped me to get off on the front foot when I first started at TLA. I had quite a few gaps in my knowledge and I had to learn a lot quite quickly, but everyone was supportive and patient with me, which has helped me to get to where I am today.

To view our latest developer jobs in Liverpool, visit our careers page.

Paul Dowman joins The Lead Agency as tech architect

We are delighted to welcome CRM and .NET architecture specialist Paul Dowman to The Lead Agency team.

Paul joins us as technical architect with a remit to take responsibility for technology selection, system architecture, quality of code and adoption of best practice across all of our development teams. His initial focus will be to progress our Dynamics CRM implementation – an area of expertise Paul has outstanding experience in.

Paul has earned an exceptional track record for integrating Dynamics CRM with legacy systems, facilitating rapid roll out of new capabilities in complicated IT environments. Two of his previous implementations were, at the time of launch, the largest Dynamics CRM implementations in the UK.

His career has included senior positions at Entrepreneurial Spark, Lookers, ISS Facility Services, London Borough of Newham, Manchester City Council, 2e2, Avanade, HBoS and Moneysupermarket.com.

‘Palpable sense of innovation’

More recently, Paul has been operating as a consultant working with a number of different businesses – including The Lead Agency. However, he is delighted to have made the move permanent.

“I’m really excited to join The Lead Agency at a time of rapid growth and expansion for the business. The Lead Agency is unashamedly ambitious, wanting to lead the market, not follow it. That ambition is driving a palpable sense of innovation and vitality throughout the organisation.

“The technical team are keen to understand the latest technologies and collaborate well to help each other find the best use of the technology to deliver business value. On the business side, the team have a proven track record of delivery and growth, never resting on their laurels always looking to improve performance and drive further value.

“With innovative business ideas and cutting-edge technology there is a dynamic synergy that is very exciting to be a part of. Across the whole company there is a strong sense of quality, high standards, and most of all inclusion – everyone has an important part to play.”

‘Meeting of minds’

Our chief technology officer Edward Clark said: “Paul is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on Dynamics CRM solutions and has a proven track record of leading major projects for a wide range of ambitious organisations.

“During his capacity as consultant, it became clear that there was a meeting of minds regarding our vision for The Lead Agency and that Paul was the right man to help us deliver it. We believe he will be great addition to our growing development team.”.

If you’d like to be part of our ambitious and innovative business, visit our Careers page for the latest roles.