Author: darkblue

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes? At first it was the product. I'm coming from a very different industry but travel has always been a passion for me and I travel a lot

What was your first week at Secret Escapes like?

I’m working across 3 territories (USA, France and Asia), so my first week was mainly about meeting all the different teams for each region and trying to remember who does what and which timezone they are in! I also spent quite some time studying previous campaign results in order to get an idea of where we are and what we should aim for.

 

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes? 

At first it was the product. I’m coming from a very different industry but travel has always been a passion for me and I travel a lot. It also looked like a very young and dynamic company to work for, and I wasn’t wrong!

 

How did you find the recruitment process at Secret Escapes?

It was extremely quick. I applied on the Secret Escapes website and a few days after I had a call with recruitment team to get some information about my application. Shortly after I had a first phone interview with my manager and then a face to face meeting and task. The next day Cheryl called me to tell me I had got the job!

 

What makes Secret Escapes different to where you have worked before?

We have amazing offices and a really great working environment, everyone is accessible and happy to answer any question you might have (including the two co-founders of the company), and the job is very interesting. I also love that you can take initiative and work on any ideas you have.

 

Finally …. What has been your favourite holiday destination and why?

I’ve been to Bali, which was nice but the place I really loved was the Gili Islands (three remote islands off the coast of Lombok). There’s beautiful beaches, great diving sports, and you can stay on a quiet island with no roads or cars. It was just the perfect holiday!

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes? It was the opportunity to work for a global business which is still relatively young however extremely ambitious.

What did you dream of being when you were growing up and why?

Beside this?! I dreamt of becoming an astronaut and exploring the stars… I am ambitiously hoping that one-day Secret Escapes may run trips to the moon!

 

What was your first week at Secret Escapes like?

Crazy, exciting and fun. I came into a welcoming and beaming team (they had even drawn me my own caricature) and I soon felt like part of the Secret Escapes family.

 

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes?

It was the opportunity to work for a global business which is still relatively young however extremely ambitious. I really admired (and still do) what the founders, Tom and Alex, had achieved and the great brand they and the team at SE had built.

 

How did you find the recruitment process at Secret Escapes?

Fast, efficient and challenging. The offices were great to visit and have a look around during the interview process, I also really enjoyed meeting different members of the team throughout the recruitment process.

 

What has been your best memory so far? 

When the space hoppers arrived in the office! We are lucky enough to have two of the retro space hoppers knocking around the HR area … the day we got them my manager and I whizzed around the office on them.

 

What makes Secret Escapes different to where you have worked before?

The space hoppers!? I love the vibe and atmosphere in the office. Everyone works really hard but is also very sociable (table football, board game Wednesday, bake club all helps with this).

 

Finally …. What has been your favourite holiday destination and why?

St Petersburg in Russia was incredible. Very different from anywhere I had been as it ranged from bunny rabbit petting areas in traditional restaurant to some amazing historic sites.

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes? I really liked the people interviewing me., the CTO set up a meeting with me after the initial recruitment day of interviews and we discussed some of my questions.

What did you dream of being when you were growing up and why?

I wanted to become a virologist and discover the cure for Aids! When I was in junior school I saw a high school student’s biology notes about viruses – I thought it looked fascinating. Then I discovered you had to study for 7 years of medicine and some before you could even think about doing anything remarkable in the field and I decided Chemical Engineering would be a better option

 

What was your first week at Secret Escapes like?

It was friendly and relaxed, while still being busy and engaging. It consisted of being shown around the office, discovering where everything in the kitchen was (very important!), setting up my dev machine with all the tools and code and going to meetings to get an idea of what the teams in Technology were about.

 

What attracted you to working at Secret Escapes?

I really liked the people interviewing me., the CTO set up a meeting with me after the initial recruitment day of interviews and we discussed some of my questions regarding being a Java Developer moving to a Grails environment and what I hoped to achieve in my career in the future. He went through the Tech Team’s guiding principles and how he came about writing them, and I thought they were something to really aspire to. The head of HR, also set up a phone call with me to discuss my initial concerns about being a new mom returning to work for a new job after a year’s maternity leave and her attitude and plans for Secret Escapes’ employees closed the deal for me.

 

How did you find the recruitment process at Secret Escapes?

I thought it was clear and efficient. I was always kept in the loop with how things were moving along, and the decision making process from their side was really quick, while they remained patient with me as I took my time assessing if it was the best position for me.

 

What has been your best memory so far?

I thoroughly enjoyed the No Secrets lunch with the founders, Alex Saint and Tom Valentine. They are such great characters, so it was entertaining hearing their answers to the various questions people posed.

 

What makes Secret Escapes different to where you have worked before?

I’ve worked in Tech teams before where they claim to follow Agile practices, but the reality is very different. Secret Escapes sticks to their word and releases many times a day, with a strong Test First approach. And Hackdays really do happen, as promised, every two weeks! Plus, the free food in the kitchen is amazing – never go hungry through meetings or intense coding sprints again!

 

Finally …. What has been your favourite holiday destination and why?

Ponto Do Ouro in Mozambique. It was where my now husband proposed to me on the beach in the moonlight, and where we swam with dolphins the next day. Truly unforgettable!