How Did You Get That Job?

Our ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ mini-series continues as host Shaun Cheatham, Chief Relationship Officer at Hays, welcomes back two former guests to discuss the cyber security landscape.  Jessica Nemmers first appeared on the show in 2021. A former ballerina, she is now CISO at Flare Data Systems. Alongside her is Hays’ own CISO, Neil Khatod, who spoke on the show in 2023 about his experiences as...

The new mini-series of ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ sees host Shaun Cheatham, Chief Relationship Officer at Hays, explores the trends and technologies impacting the future of work.  This time, Shaun meets Antony and Claire Roberts, founders of Full Fathom Five. With a combined 40 years of experience of experience in digital and IT transformation, they join the pod to discuss the challenges for busi...

‘How Did You Get That Job?’ is back – and we’re changing up the format a little bit! In our new mini-series, host Shaun Cheatham, Chief Relationship Officer at Hays , explores the trends and technologies impacting the future of work. In the first episode, Shaun speaks to James Milligan , Hays ’ Global Head of STEM, and James Hutt , founder of transformation consultancy Paradigm Junction . Listen a...

Join Shaun Cheatham on ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ as he meets Duane Barnes, President at RapidScale, a managed cloud services platform. Duane’s appearing on the show to talk about starting his career in dial-up tech support and working his way to the top. Having landed his first role by replying to an email newsletter, Duane’s career includes roles at household names and working with entrepreneur...

Join Shaun Cheatham on ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ as he meets Beatriz Barroso, who’s the Chief Technology Officer for investment platform Goparity in Portugal. Her career began in theatre, before she decided to pivot to software development. In a conversation that spans several topics, they discuss how Beatriz began coding, what it’s like building and leading a tech team, and how she’s able to us...

Series 4 of ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ resumes with our first guest of 2025, Biju Krishnan. Biju has worked across the globe, where he’s helped organisations tackle AI and data. Currently based in Germany, he joins host Shaun Cheatham to discuss his journey to becoming a tech contractor and what his work entails today.  Together, they explore themes such as burnout, different cultures and the ben...

Series 4 of the ‘How Did You Get That Job?’ podcast starts with guest Abigail Rappoport. Based in the UK, Abigail has led a diverse and exciting career, working at household names such as Microsoft and Meta, as well as setting up her own businesses. She’s also recently been named on the 2024 longlist for ComputerWeekly’s Most Influential Women in UK Tech!  In this interview with Hays’ Shaun Cheath...

In this special episode of ‘How Did You Get That Job?’, host Shaun Cheatham is joined by two former Chief Warrant Officers in the US Army. Having retired from service, each have taken different paths but have continued to enjoy highly successful careers in cyber security. Fernando “Nando” Tomlinson has since joined Mandiant (part of Google Cloud), where he works as a Technical Manager in Digital F...

Joining us on the How Did You Get That Job?   podcast this time is Emily Cornock. Based in Australia, Emily works at financial services company Suncorp, where she’s the Executive Manager for Core Data Platforms.  In this insightful conversation with host Shaun Cheatham, Emily shares how sticking to her career plan didn’t always work out, and what she did to pivot and keep her journey going. A prop...

In this special episode of 'How Did You Get That Job?', host Shaun Cheatham looks at data from recruitment specialists Hays that reveals which tech roles are most in demand among employers in 2024. During the show, he talks to Hays experts to uncover why these organisations need people in these roles, and which skills you need to get the job and succeed. Guests include Joshua Tang, Jason...

Paul Smith , CIO at Amnesty International , joins host Shaun Cheatham for another episode of the How Did You Get That Job? podcast. Based in the UK, Paul took a non-traditional path into tech and credits his passion for learning with his success today.  During his conversation with Shaun, Paul discusses his early career, his transition into working in tech and how building relationships with other...

In the latest episode of How Did You Get That Job? , host Shaun Cheatham meets Kumar Parakala . Currently based in the US as President of GHD Digital , Kumar saw his career really take off when he moved to Australia, where he worked in a public sector role before spending 14 years at KPMG. Kumar came on the podcast to discuss his career and how he got to where he is today. He is a huge advocate of...

How Did You Get That Job? is back and we’re starting by recognising Cyber Security Awareness Month this October. Shaun’s guest is Neil Khatod , who recently left the US Army after 30 years of service. Neil most recently served as COO of US Army Cyber Command , where he was responsible for defending a network with over 1.4m endpoints.  In a fascinating conversation, Neil tells us about his experien...

The pace of change in the tech industry is very high, meaning you always need to be open to enhancing your skills. At Hays, we call this skills development, but in the wider industry you may hear it called “upskilling”.   In this special episode, Shaun Cheatham is joined by Harry Gooding - Solutions Director at Hays and presenter of the Tech Founders series from Hays. Together, they discuss what i...

In this episode we meet Evangelina Avendano, Location Leader at EY GDS. We speak to her about her career and discover more about her path from the technology industry to finance, only to come back to tech in her present role. She shares her reasons for makingthe transition, the differences between industries and what advice she has for others who are looking to make the change.  We also speak to h...

In this special episode, originally released in 2022, we celebrate International Women’s Day by looking back at key moments from ‘How Did You Get That Job?’. We pick outcomments around gender imbalance within tech teams and challenges like imposter syndrome which have played as a key disabler in career progression. We’re also joined by Hay’s very own Caroline Wilson, the Director of Workday Practi...

In this episode, Shaun Cheatham sits down with Barbara Skerritt, IT Director (EMEA) at ICON Plc. She shares insights from across her 30-year career, starting in data management and fast forwarding to now, where she is IT Director (a role which she asked for!) to lead a whole new product at ICON.   Barbara talks about how she loves working in teams and is a natural people leader. This has led her o...

In this special episode of How Did You Get That Job?, presenter Shaun Cheatham meets James Milligan, Global Head of Technology Solutions at Hays. They talk about how the tech industry is open to all backgrounds and career paths, plus look back at key moments in the series so far where guests have shared their experiences. Last year, research firm McKinsey reported that 44% of professionals within...

To celebrate Cyber Security Awareness Month we meet Julie Pearl Matira, who is the SOC Manager for the CyberQ Group. Based in the Philippines, Julie is someone who has dedicated her life to the security industry to succeed in a difficult environment. She joins Shaun on the podcast to tell us about the tech environment in the Philippines, the certifications she gained (and the advantages which thes...

Campaign Against Living Miserably (aka CALM) is a UK charity helping those struggling with their mental health, ultimately in order to prevent suicides. Their Head of Data & Innovation is Seun Akindele, and she joins Shaun as the guest in this episode. She talks about her background outside of tech, and how she brings the skills and experience from her early career to tech in the charity secto...

In this episode we spend time with Ellen Wu, the CIO of Manulife China (or Manulife- SInochem), the JV in China. She shares how working on a UN think tank opened her eyes to the opportunity and responsibility which the technology industry has around sustainability. Ever since it has become a passion project of hers to learn and help influence those around her into more sustainable practice.  Other...

This is a special episode dedicated to mentorship and how it can help your career. Since starting this podcast and talking to successful tech leaders, mentorship has always been a topic which has been spoken about glowingly. These leaders have all spoken about how and why mentorship is responsible for where they are today, the confidence it’s given them and what they’ve learned as a result.  This...

In this episode we meet John deCraen. He is the Associate Managing Director for Cyber at Kroll, a consultancy organisation who, among their services, offer digital investigations and incident response. John speaks about the daily challenges he faces, how he helps clients to protect themselves against attacks and his career experiences with digital forensics. Presenter, Shaun Cheatham, speaks in mo...

The guest in this episode is Dave Messenger. He’s the Executive Chairman of LianLian, a Chinese-born FinTech company he’s helping to go global. Dave discusses starting his career as an apprentice chef, before training to become an engineer and later venturing into leadership positions at Virgin Mobile and American Express. Shaun asks Dave about mentorship and its influence on his career, as well a...

Shaun is joined in this episode by Tariq Khan, the Chief Digital & Information Officer at Camden Council. Tariq started his career in the private sector working for big multinational organisations. However, in the pandemic, and after a lot of reflection, he decided to take up a role with Camden Council to help implement social change. Tariq is now responsible for technology on 600 lines of bus...