I started at Alfa in October 2014 having taken a year out after completing a degree in Physics. Though I was unsure of exactly which field I wanted to go into, Alfa appealed to me as it spans both the IT and Consulting industries and provided an opportunity to learn to be a software developer. I had touched on some programming as part of my degree, but wasn’t particularly confident and so I was grateful for the chance to learn whilst being able apply these new skills. I was also impressed by the job review profiles I had read, which praised the people and working environment at Alfa, and I can now honestly say that this is still a highlight of working here.
After the initial induction training, in which we were taught both the technical essentials and any Asset Finance basics needed for the role, I was assigned to a project on a client site. My team was responsible for supporting the Alfa Systems software platform, which had been fully implemented several years earlier. As a Junior Consultant, my primary responsibility was to code system enhancements and fixes, but I was exposed to the entire life cycle of each item I worked on, from the initial requirements and design right through to its deployment.
I was subsequently invited to join a new Alfa Change Management team created to assist one of our larger North American automotive finance clients. The project is based in Texas, which seemed like a world away from London, and at first I was apprehensive about the transition but Alfa does everything possible to ensure things run smoothly, and the team out here has really helped me to settle in - rodeos and all!
I work on the client site and receive daily exposure to the business users, focussing more on the functional consulting side of the role. Where some Alfa employees may lean towards specialising in the technical development of the Alfa product, I chose to focus more on helping the client’s business to support and manage functional change, enabling them to utilise, enhance and tailor Alfa Systems in the most effective way. This project has provided me with a great opportunity to develop the product alongside the users and engage in one of the largest platform migrations for an automotive finance company in America. It has been a privilege to play a part in such a huge project.
During my time at Alfa I have always received the necessary support, and been given ample responsibility at such an early stage in my career, and this has really helped to boost my development. Each project has challenged me and there is certainly a steep learning curve in the first year here, but everyone is more than willing to help and guide you.
