This year has seen a lot of changes for me already and another one is in the process of happening right now. A few weeks ago I resigned from my job and in a few more weeks I will be starting a new one.

I don’t change jobs every year like some people I know, in fact this is the first time for exactly five years. There are a lot of parallels too. I resigned from SAIC on the 14th July 2001 and started at Anvil on the Tuesday after the August bank holiday. Similarly, I handed in my notice on the 14th July 2006 and will start at Aleri on the day after the bank holiday. They are also both small software companies that specialise in products for investment banks. I will even have pretty much the same job title.

But the reasons for moving are very different this time. I couldn’t wait to get out of SAIC. The hiring manager hadn’t been entirely honest about the role and then refused to do anything to rectify the situation once I pointed this out after I’d been hired. Two layers of management above him stuck their fingers in their ears and sang “La la la” when presented them with the problem, not the kind of behaviour you’d expect for a company with an ethical policy. Anvil was my escape and, in my mind at the time, was supposed to be just a short-term fix to that problem. I never imagined staying there for nearly five years. That’s a testament to the culture and people there.

Anvil is in a better shape now than it has been for as long as I’ve known about it, however for my own personal career advancement it became clear that I needed to move on. After looking for alternatives on and off for the best part of a year I came across Aleri, interviewed and ultimately accepted their offer.

It’s inevitable that after so long in one job that I’m a little nervous, however I think there’s a lot of potential there and I’m excited about the possibilities.