In this episode of SheCanCode’s Spilling the T podcast, we delve into the world of career progression, networking, and seizing opportunities. Our special guest, Christie Day, Portfolio Director at Hub Exhibitions (the company behind Karren Brady’s Women in Business and Tech Expo), shares her insights on these crucial aspects of professional growth.
Christie, an accomplished expert in the field of women’s empowerment and business, discusses the pivotal role that events and networking play in opening doors for career advancement. She highlights the significance of Women in Business Expo, an empowering platform that connects women from diverse backgrounds and industries, providing them with invaluable resources and connections to drive their careers forward.
Throughout the episode, Christie shares practical tips on how to maximize your event and networking experiences, emphasizing the importance of building genuine relationships and leveraging your network effectively.
Join us for an engaging conversation that unveils the secrets to unlocking opportunities, building meaningful connections, and propelling your career to new heights. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting in the tech industry, Christie’s insights are sure to inspire and guide you toward a successful and fulfilling career journey. Tune in and get ready to supercharge your career prospects!
SheCanCode is a collaborative community of women in tech working together to tackle the tech gender gap.
Join our community to find a supportive network, opportunities, guidance and jobs, so you can excel in your tech career.
hello everyone thank you for tuning in
again I am Kaye bitman the content
director at she can code and today we
are discussing unlocking opportunities
events networking and progressing your
career in this episode we delve into the
world of career progression networking
and seizing opportunities and I’ve got
the amazing Christy day portfolio
director at HUB exhibitions the company
behind Karen Brady’s women in business
and tech expo with me today and she’s
here to share her insights on the
crucial aspect
of professional growth welcome Christie
thank you so much for taking time out of
your busy day to have a chat today hi
Kaye thank you so much for having me
it’s an absolute pleasure to be on your
podcast good thank you well we’ve got a
lot to talk about um because there’s a
brilliant show coming up um that you’re
organizing that we’d love to know all
about but can we kick off with a little
bit of background about yourself please
and your career yeah absolutely um so
I’ve basically been in exhibition since
I left um university I’ve not worked in
any other sector so luckily it was an
industry that I loved from the beginning
um I worked on events such as the BBC
good food show um I’ve also worked on an
event called Beyond boundaries which was
an empowerment event for the disability
market and then I’ve really been in the
tech event space for the last 10 years
so I spearheaded digital transformation
Expo for 10 years which is the largest
tech event in the UK it takes place in
London and
Manchester um and then working in that
Tech event space I really noticed what a
male dominated sector it was and my
first boss outside of University Rob
Sherwood you always remember your best
and your worst bosses don’t you um he
called me and said look I want to launch
um a boutique events company that
focuses on ethical and topical events
and the first title and event that I
want to launch is women in business and
tech expo so for me it was a no-brainer
to work for someone I respected for a
subject I was truly passionate about it
was great um so that’s what I did um
after 12 years in the events corporate
events space and I’ve been at HUB
exhibitions since 2018 and I think what
Rob and hub we do we just try to create
a really inclusive culture and obviously
working with someone who believes in you
there’s no glass ceiling so it was
probably the biggest risk but the best
reward um that’s paid off to my career
to date and you spent more time at work
than with your family don’t you so you
have to love what you do yes oh couldn’t
agree more yes you have to happy and
something we love on this podcast is to
hear all of the different routs into the
tech industry um and all of the
different types of jobs that you can do
to work in Tech and you’re a perfect
example of that because you work in you
know you work on technology Expos um and
you still you work in the tech sector
but everybody thinks you have to be
technical to work in the tech sector
which is something that we um a myth
that we try to busted on this podcast um
and you’re a perfect example of another
role that you can do in technology um
when you don’t have to come in through a
computer science degree um and and be
technical um so we’re going to love to
hear all about um uh your role and and
and what you do and the events that
you’re organizing today because I’m sure
a lot of listeners uh would be very
interested in in moving in that area um
so what we’re going to talk about is
you’re currently organizing Karen
Brady’s women in business and tech expo
can you tell us a little bit more about
that and um why why this came about sure
so after working in the tech event space
and noticing how you know what a male
dominated sector it was we knew there
was a real Gap in the market for
employers to diversify their workforces
so we thought let’s launch this Expo
because to change these issues of gender
inequalities it needs to be done on mass
so we launched the event when the me2
movement came about and businesses had
to declare their gender pay Gap so was
really topical at that time and we
looked around the event Landscapes and
there was lots of awards and conferences
that were you had to pay to attend and
we thought we don’t believe that women
need to invest to progress their career
and there’s not a large scale Expo in
the UK so that’s the kind of main reason
that we launched the
event amazing and so I attended quite a
few events last week um and I must say
that a lot of people that were
approaching our stand we all saying are
you going to uh women in business and
tech expo in October and lots of people
were asking us we say Yes actually she
can code will be there um but it’s on
everybody’s lips at the moment everybody
was asking um because it’s it’s it’s you
know got a really good
reputation um what are the aims of the
Expo and what what can attendees get out
of it well the real aims of the event
are really about inspiration guidance
Recruitment and also Business Services
we want women to be able to progress
their career or business journey and
it’s a really great opportunity for
women to um find their next employer who
they can work in a company or an
environment that they can thrive in
progress and work for someone with
shared values and I think for the
business owners it’s a great opportunity
to see the latest Technologies and
services to help streamline their
businesses we basically want visitors to
walk away from the event feeling
inspired to be their best professional
and personal you amazing yeah I
completely agree um and the women in
business exp is free you mentioned that
it’s free to attend is this to encourage
women from all walks of life to attend I
mean you mentioned that a little uh you
touched upon it a little before that
there are many Expos that are free to
attend and that does kind of um cancel
out a lot of people doesn’t it yeah
absolutely um we like I said we don’t
believe that women need to invest to
progress so we offer a lot of free
on-site features so we’ve got a business
speed networking feature we’ve got um an
area where you can take professional
head shots we’ve got a CV interview and
a LinkedIn writing Clinic um you get
access to all the worldclass speakers
such as Karen Brady and Steven Bartlett
and an opportunity to meet with
employers who are looking to um recruit
um top talent um and there’s also you
mentioned earlier about women who want
to maybe enter the tech field who aren’t
coders or have a computer science degree
there’s exhibitors there um who are
actually looking at supporting women to
up skill so that they can get some
extra knowledge and experience to enter
the tech field as well but the event is
open to all women at any stage of their
career but The Sweet Spot really is that
kind of mid to senior level women
looking to progress their career um to
uh work for a company where there’s no
glass ceiling and if they wanted to
there’d be a seat at the table for them
um we also have business owners and
business starters who are looking for
Technologies um services and inspiration
to grow their businesses we don’t want
to alienate anyone so it is open to
all and so you mentioned there you get
free head shot CV writing clinic and
obviously there’s some amazing speakers
in there that’s really good value though
isn’t it I mean imagine just going to
pay for a headed shot and going to a CV
Clinic I mean those they’re going to
cost you so much money to try and
progress in your career but you’re
offering all of that free to attend I
mean that’s that’s incredible value
that’s you know why wouldn’t that’s a
no-brainer really isn’t it so
attend no absolutely I think it’s more
of an investment of time in yourself and
I think that’s the message that we’re
trying to to spread definitely I think
that investment of time is so important
we’ve had a few conversations on this
podcast about um you get very lost in
your daytoday at work and I think people
um they forget a little bit don’t they
sometimes along the way you do your day
today and then the weekend comes around
and perhaps you haven’t invested in
yourself and where you want to go next
and that and how you want to grow
professionally whereas going to day like
this and just kind of said that
investment in in you know your own time
um and just taking a little little time
to to work on what you want to do next
uh is is would be really good for for
lots and lots of
ladies um why are events like this so
important for people I mean we touched
upon it a little bit there you know
taking some time out to to progress um
in your career and some personal time
why are they so important to people
especially women in
Tech I think it’s a Time saving exercise
I mean at our event you can pretty much
get so much research and inspiration and
education on in two days Under One Roof
I mean we’ve did some visitor surveys of
what did you think about this brand
before you attended the event and what
do you think of them now and it was
phenomenal seeing the feedback just to
be able to have that face-to-face
experience and really speak to employers
to understand you know how women have
progressed um at their company what the
culture is like what the incentives are
what the opportunities are and I just
they didn’t even consider working for a
company like that prior to the event so
I think it’s it’s that time-saving of
research um and the education
piece yes and definitely because when
you’re at those types of events I mean
the ones that we were at this week it’s
all Under One Roof and you do you do get
to just talk to lots of different
companies um you know all all in one day
or two days depending on on the event um
and it can be very tiring but as you
said it’s just just that you know you
don’t have to do all that research you
can talk to people that work there you
can get a good feel for what that
company is like um and also meeting
people face to face sometimes is is so
much easier than trying to research a
company online you’re not going to get
you I mean it’s a company can create
their their brand online and what they
might come across as but speaking to
people that actually work there you know
you’re really going to get a much truer
picture um of you know whether or not
they appear happy and or not they seem
happy as an employee working at that
company so um definitely meet meeting
people face to face with in those two
days uh is certainly uh really really
good reason to go and and obviously you
you also have fantastic speakers as well
and just hearing from um all of those
great speakers uh and you know that can
go either way sometimes with speakers I
can’t sometimes I sit in inspirational
speeches and I think I’ve completely
wasted my life up until this point
because that person is so amazing um so
sometimes it can go the other way and it
can inspire you and think I need to you
know do do something else um yeah you do
have uh some incredible speakers uh at
at the Expo obviously you know it’s two
days there’s so much there and there’s
so much to do do you have any tips and
advice for how to get the most um out of
events like like this yeah absolutely
it’s all about planning your day so I
would download the event app I would
look at what seminars I’d like to attend
what exhibition stands of the companies
I want to meet what features I want to
um take advantage of and also the
networking piece is really key just to
kind of network with
like-minded individuals I think is
really key so I would kind of plan your
day out um from start to finish um the
ticket does give you access to the full
two days of the event um so yes it’s
that planning piece is key and also I
think it’s also about attending the
event with someone that you um enjoy
spending time with so inviting a
colleague or a friend because it is all
about that Journey um of
self-development so I think it’s about
going with someone that inspires you as
well Who Wants to Be
Inspired yeah that’s great advice
picking to spend the day with with um
somebody that you get on with um and
somebody that you know uh also shares
your vision as well uh you know what
what you would like to do next I
definitely great advice plan your day as
we said it’s two days and there is so
much happening that you could you could
miss so many things or go in and find
yourself sitting and having a coffee and
missing out on lots of things and
talking to lots of people and before you
know it you know those two days could
fly by and you think I miss this or I
miss that um and I didn’t realize you
could go and get your head shot done or
I didn’t realize you could go to the CV
Clinic um so you WR just planning out
those two days um is great advice uh
instead of kind of wasting your time it
is free so why not try and make the most
the most of it um what about networking
how important is networking for
progressing your career I think it’s
absolutely essential your network is
your net worth so for me that’s a clear
objective of what I if I was to attend
this event as a visitor what I would
want to gain from that is making those
valuable contacts at the event or just
in you know in your professional Journey
anyway so yes that’s absolutely vital
yes and did you mention that there were
there are networking opportunities at
this event as well yes we’ve got a
networking Lounge at the event um where
you can meet like-minded women um there
will be some mentors in there who will
be offering um coaching or top tips um
how to progress we’ve got Round Table
discussions as well um so yeah there’s
lots going on in terms of the networking
piece and everyone’s there for the same
reason so I think there’s just this real
great Ambiance and energy of just growth
um and everyone just seems just super
friendly and wants to get on the same
page of
progression yeah it’s interesting that
you mentioned uh there there’ll be
networking um opportunities um but also
you’ll have mentors and roundtables
something we discussed on this podcast
quite often is everybody knows that they
should be networking but networking for
some people is not natural it can be
very hard to just rock up to an event
and be like hi I’m so and so can we
connect um so having things like mentors
that are around that you know or having
round taes and discussions that kind of
will break the ice a little bit won it
and kind of make those connections feel
a little bit more natural than just sort
of grab a glass of prco and and you know
come out of your comfort zone and go and
talk to somebody that that’s that’s not
always easy is it no it’s not I think
confidence is one of the themes and
topics that I’m sure will be covered in
a lot of sessions and also tips on
networking like what points to cover how
to introduce yourself you know how to
just just get out of that fear factor of
just you know speaking to a stranger um
so hopefully we can offer some
confidence building sessions as well yes
the feir factor yes yes couldn’t agree
more and and and things like that it’s a
very big and a big event and can be
quite overwhelming for some people so
you’re like trying to I love the fact
that you are trying to you know break
that down and to to help people and
realize that some people that are going
might be very introverted they think
well I want to spend the day here and
want to get something out of it um but
having helping them along the way um is
is far easier than just kind of thinking
yeah turn up and talk to everybody not
not everybody feels that way um so that
that would definitely help um do you
have any advice for your younger
self my younger self um yes I would say
to remember your selfworth I think
that’s really key at any stage of your
career and also that a good work ethic
will serve you in the
future definitely I think when you’re
younger um you say remember yourself
worth when you’re younger you’re very
kind of I just need a job and I just
need to get on a team and I need to
start moving forward and as we said
earlier you have your day today and then
you kind of get lost in your day today
um and I think you do forget your self
worth and I think events like this are
really good to remind you of that um
because you are right you would tell it
to your younger self but um if you’re
not going to hear that if you haven’t
got a mentor or you know a sponsor or
somebody that’s really pushing you along
the way then events like this would be
you know great just to hear the advice
so you can kind of remember um you know
what I do remember myself worth and uh
if I want to progress in my career there
are certain things that perhaps I should
change or or improve um it’s definitely
really really good advice um finally who
are you most excited to to speak uh at
the women in business and tech expo
there are so many wonderful people uh
but is there anyone that you’re really
excited about apart from Steven bartner
of course which I’m sure most people
want to see his session um the BBC are
doing a really interesting Tech panel
called why we choose tech why we chose
Tech and will we choose to stay and I
thought that was a really interesting
title and to hear from panelists at
different stages of their career working
at the BBC in the tech sector just
sounds really interesting to me that
session’s on Wednesday the 18th at 11:40
in the women and Tech
theater I love that because um you’re as
we said at the beginning of this on this
podcast we love to hear how people uh
got into Tech the careers the career
route that they took whether they
transitioned partway through most ladies
I talk to tend to have fallen into the
tech industry um and didn’t take a a
traditional career route in um and I
love that the second half of that is um
will we choose to stay because a
retention problem in Tech is such a big
conversation at the moment that most
ladies that have fallen into Tech will
leave you know by the time they’re still
in their mid-30s well um for some reason
consider leaving technology and a lot of
that conversation at the minute has been
around you know they might become
parents and then they find actually they
don’t have the flexibility that they
needed which sounds bizarre in the tech
industry that they feel that way you
would think it would be flexible
wouldn’t you why why are people leaving
that’s it and I think when we speak to
exhibitors um who are there to recruit
yes attracting Talent is key but is also
you have to bear in mind that retention
piece what opportunities are for them in
the future how can you support them like
you said with flexibility Etc in their
current role so the retention is high on
the agenda for a lot of these corporates
who are
exhibiting yeah definitely um and as we
we’ve um touched upon in this there is a
tech Talent shortage so holding on to
the right Talent um when you do find
good talent and finding ways to to hold
on to them um is key and I’m sure
there’ll be lots of businesses there uh
at the Expo that um know that that’s
incredibly important and probably one of
the reasons as well why they’re
exhibiting at such great shows um as
well to find good talent uh and to be
able to hold on to them and obviously
there’s been so many um redundancies and
job losses with traditional tech
companies in the last 12 to 18 months
because people over hired during the
pandemic so we’ve seen an increase by
62% in our audience registrations from
last year so I think to see a company
that’s thriving and hiring and looking
to help women progress is really key
because people want to safeguard their
future they don’t necessarily like this
chopping and changing all the time and I
think the tech sector proved that it’s
one of the if you can call it Recession
Proof or as close to Recession Proof
sectors as you can was within the
pandemic so how can women enter the
field or how can women grow and stay
within the sector yes definitely I’m
hoping as well that um whilst at the
show that uh I bump into a lot of um
tech returners and transitioners as well
and we have a lot in our community and
shows like this are brilliant to be able
to Showcase um all of the different
roles in Tech but also all of the
different skills that you need in
technology so to be able to go you know
from um business to business and to to
be able to walk around and see what’s
available it’s sometimes it’s a little
easier to see where you might be able to
fit in if you have a background that
isn’t in technology it’s easier to to
speak to someone and and if they say to
you you know what you don’t have to be
technical but we’re looking for really
good soft skills then that kind of
encourages you a little bit more if
you’re you’re currently not in Tech to
think I have all of those skills I could
go into product management for instance
because you bump into someone at the
Expo that’s in product management and
they tell you all about their day job
whereas sometimes when you’re just
looking for a job applications online
that’s quite hard to to you know you
sort of think should I apply or
shouldn’t I apply or a lot of ladies
don’t apply because they don’t tickle
the boxes anyway um but if you’re
meeting someone in person at a stand and
they say you know please just give it a
go anyway this is what my day is like um
sometimes that’s that’s far more
encouraging uh speaking to people from
those businesses so um it’s going to be
an extremely busy couple of days for you
Christie
and excited she gonna be there
um and as I said last week everybody was
asking us are you are you going are you
going to mini business and I was like
yes we’re definitely going and we’re
going to see uh see everybody there
hopefully so for everybody listening if
you haven’t already signed up and you
can bag yourself a free space please do
um sign up for the women in business and
tech expo which is taking place 18th to
19th of October at the London Excel um
you definitely want to we’re going to
include the link in the blur if you can
still get yourself a space because we
know it’s incredibly
popular um CH and code obviously going
to be there and we want to meet all of
our listeners um and uh Christie thank
you so much I know you have a super busy
event coming up but you managed to
squeeze Us in to have a little chat
about it so thank you so much for taking
the time to have a chat with me today
it’s been a pleasure no my pleasure
thank you
Kaylee thank you and to everybody
listening as always thank you so much
for joining us and we hope to see you
again next
time
