What has it been like to start a new job in the middle of a pandemic?

I’m answering this on day four. Naturally, the pandemic poses challenges in terms of not being in the office and getting to know everybody.

Simple things like tapping someone on the shoulder to ask a quick question have now become a text, email or phonecall. However, when you’re new there’s lots of reading, research and planning to do, so being alone in a quiet space has its benefits.

Perhaps most importantly I have joined a lender that is still lending. I am observing deals going through, which for me is the most important learning in the early days.

How is MT Finance adjusting to the remote-working requirements?

Brilliantly. One of my biggest observations so far is how dynamic the business is, by which I mean the people who make up the business are so dynamic. It is a truly synergistic team in action – sorry about the jargon, but it is.

Not only are the broker relationships very strong – making working remotely less of a challenge than it could have been – but lockdown was foreseen long before it happened. This meant all business functions and employees had already trialled working from home before it became mandatory. Any teething problems had been dealt with during these trials, enabling MT Finance to remain completely open for business.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?

My first six months as a mortgage adviser 10 years ago. I joined a bank in London’s busy West End, where I was to work alongside a top-performing adviser so I could learn from her and, in time, take some cases off her desk. Lots of managerial support was also to be available.

However, within just two weeks my manager took a leave of absence and the top-performing adviser left for another bank. Let’s just say the 21-year-old me had to sink or swim very quickly.

In those six months I learned the true meaning of hard work, determination and learning from mistakes. I look back fondly on that time as a blessing in disguise.

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

This is difficult given the strength of the industry and its members, but I think common sense has become a little too uncommon. That applies to lenders and brokers.

Sometimes things are too ‘lender versus broker’ or vice versa, when we could find ways to work better as a team and come to more agreeable ways forward. The current climate has shown how well this can work. BDMs can play a crucial part through honest interaction with brokers.

What was the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

During that first six months as a mortgage adviser I wanted to quit on many late nights and early mornings. Sticking at it turned good in the end and I even had a great time during the subsequent four years.

As a child, what was your dream job?

I didn’t have a specific dream job but I loved business. My school didn’t have a tuck shop, so a number of us kids realised that, if we brought a pocketful of sweets in each day, we could sell them for a profit. This quickly became a rucksack full of sweets, and sometimes two.

Some serious fundamentals were learned on that playground. While most of my mates got home from school having spent all their lunch money, I often had £15 or £20 in my pocket, and I liked it.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Stop worrying about being good at everything and expecting every day to go to plan. Bad days and failures build you.

Do you have any secret talents?

People often ask me to perform Blur’s ‘Parklife’ after a few drinks. I’ve watched it back afterwards and there’s definitely no talent there.

Who is your all-time hero, and why?

As a teenager, I admired golfer Tiger Woods in his prime.

The way he came back from years of subsequent failure to win The Masters last year restored my admiration for him, as an adult.