Meet Fiona

What do you do at Lookahead and how long have you been working with us?

At Lookahead, I mainly recruit front-end, JavaScript and Ruby developers. I also spend a lot of time talking with people who need job search and career advice, as well as advising companies on anything to do with hiring. I’ve been at Lookahead for over 4 years now. It’s the longest time I’ve been in a job!

I was very excited about seeing a wombat up close at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania.

What’s your background? Where were you in the tech industry before joining Lookahead?

I was a Senior Front End developer specialising in UI and CSS, and also a Scrum Master. I love CSS and feel very passionate about building beautiful and accessible UI. It’s one of the reasons why I started SydCSS, a meetup about all things CSS and front end related, over 6 years ago with my friend David Lewis.

What do you like about Lookahead?

What I love about Lookahead is that we all genuinely care about helping the people we talk to. One of our values is building “long term relationships” and we really live by that. I also love how supportive and collaborative the team is. No matter how busy everyone is, we will always have time to help each other out.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about building a tech community that is diverse and inclusive. That’s one of the things I always keep in mind when running SydCSS. I’m also passionate about helping companies building teams that are diverse in gender, social and cultural backgrounds, as well as levels of experiences. I truly believe a diverse team makes a company stronger.

What was the last book you read or podcast you listened to?

The last book I read was probably something to do with babies as I have little girl who’s one year old. As for what it was, I don’t remember now 😆 Things were a bit of a blur in the earlier days of parentings. I am currently reading the autobiography of Julie Andrews, who’s one of my favourite singers ever. I know, I’m a bit of an old soul at heart. I love all the old musicals like Sound of Music and Singin' in the Rain.

If you weren’t at Lookahead where would you be working or what is your dream job?

I would probably continue to work as front end developer if I weren’t at Lookahead, maybe move into a more people focused role like Agile Coach. My dream job, however, would probably be a food critic cos I’m a massive foodie 😋

Hidden Talent?

I have perfect pitch. You can play the tune of any song once, and I will know what notes to play on the piano. I got pretty much perfect scores in all my music aural exams. I think I got this ability from learning the piano at a really young age and growing up in a musical family. My mum is a piano teacher and my dad is also a music lover. I actually didn’t know I have perfect pitch until high school. I thought everyone could do it!

Proudest Accomplishment?

Becoming a mum and surviving the first three months of being a parent as I basically lived on minimal sleep everyday for a while. I’m also really proud of the SydCSS community we’ve built over the years. We consistently get comments from attendees who say it’s the most friendly, fun and inclusive meetup they’ve been to.

Enjoying oysters for the first time after becoming a mum.

What makes you weird?

I really like durian – it’s a really smelly and unusual fruit from south-east Asia. Some people describe the smell as being like rotten garbage or gas leak 😆 It’s very much an acquired taste. You either love it or hate it! 😋🤢

What piece of technology seems like magic to you?

This cool little app that allows you to cut and paste your surroundings straight to Photoshop! https://mobile.twitter.com/cyr... Also the snail nail clipper (https://www.nail-snail.com/) you use to trim babies’ nails. I’m sure any parents can tell you how scary and tricky it is to cut a baby’s nails!

Guilty Pleasure?

I love watching Masterchef and The Voice. Don’t judge me!

What’s on your Bucket List?

I would love to see the Northern Lights in Iceland and stay in one of those igloo hotels. I would also love to see a musical on Broadway, New York.

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