Meet the Team - Rebecca Fowler

We recently caught up with Principal Consultant, Rebecca Fowler, to gain insights into her perspective on working at the Oho Group, her motivations in the workplace, and her observations on the C# market.

How did you get into recruitment?

I personally stumbled into the world of recruitment, coming from a STEM background studying Chemistry at University, it wasn’t the route I initially thought I would take. However, I have always been an outgoing individual, and I knew I wanted to get into a client-facing and consultative role where I could build relationships with a variety of people.

Tell us about your career path so far

I came straight into recruitment as a fresh graduate from University, jumping straight into the role. At the Oho group, you gain great exposure from week 1, working alongside an experienced recruiter as a trainer/mentor. With the learning and development opportunities and having set promotion criteria clearly laid out, I was able to progress quickly.

I was initially working on the Java team, but due to the market movements with C# and its increasing popularity, I soon saw an opportunity to develop a team within this niche area. I am now leading this team, working with clients and candidates in the UK and internally, with a focus on the Cambridge market. We are helping support companies from early-stage start-ups through to very reputable global organisations.   More recently I have started to gain more clients in Oxford, London and Bristol too as people have recommended the marketplace.

 What does the future hold for you at Oho Group?

As a C# team, we have been successful in growing some of the top accounts across the business, allowing us to scale as a team, and building great relationships within our niches. As we are predominantly UK based, I would love to expand our locations, working with companies across Europe and further afield, providing them with the top talent in the area.

I have been asked to speak at a number of Women in tech events over the past few months and very much enjoyed assisting in varying peoples career development in an advisory capacity.

What technology are you starting to see more requirements for?

The top trends and technologies that I am hearing more about from both candidates and clients are the following:

• Cloud / DevOps
• Data Science
• AI / ML
• Internet of Things (IoT)

Specifically, for C#, the cloud and IoT space is already a very prominent topic area, and AI is certainly an area I’d keep an eye on.

What are the busiest industry sectors and locations that have established themselves as key hubs particularly in the context of C# development? 

Several cities in the United Kingdom have established themselves as prominent hubs for technology and innovation. London remains the most prominent however, there are lots of emerging hubs, such as Cambridge, which is very well known for its biotech space, Manchester, well-known for creative and digital industries, and Edinburgh/ Glasgow has a growing Fintech scene. 

The key hubs for C# include:

• London/Cambridge
• Bristol
• Glasgow/Edinburgh
• Midlands (Manc/Leeds/ Birmingham)

What interesting statistics and trends have emerged from talent insights within the C# market?

Particularly within the C# market, a lot of the big giants struggled last year with mass redundancies and in general, the tech market suffered. However, there were pockets of promise with organisations growing pretty aggressively.

Probably not so surprising is that only 12% of C# developers based in the UK are female, but with several companies I speak with and see, are putting a bigger emphasis on diverse hiring, and the education system looking to bring more females into STEM subjects, I would hope this is a figure that continues to improve.

What are the common trends when it comes to professionals leaving or joining organisations? 

Some of the most common trends we see for moving roles within the software engineering field are as follows:

• Under valued
• Underpaid
• Better progression
• Interest in the project/ change of industry
• Ownership of projects/leading teams
• Not being able to see their code in production
• What are candidates asking for?
• Remote working
• Flexible hours
• 4 day working weeks
• Salary Sacrifice

If you are interested in job opportunities or have roles within the C# field, feel free to reach out to Rebecca. You can contact her at rebeccaf@oho.co.uk or (0)20 7622 5566. She looks forward to connecting with potential candidates and clients in the dynamic C# market.