I’ve just had my first month at Purple and it has been amazing so far! From day one, everyone has helped me feel comfortable, making the “settling in” period an absolute breeze. Over my first month I have been working with George who has been taking me through Purple’s systems and helping me get started on my first project.

I have always been interested in IT ever since I was at school, which then lead me to Darlington Technical College where I studied Cyber Security for a two-year extended diploma. After getting my qualification, I soon realised that the moments in IT that I enjoyed the most were in the software sector, as I have always been fascinated by the idea of coding and using it to create something I could be proud of. This is how I found myself looking for a placement in web development, as I would not only learn a huge amount about my creative side, but it would also allow me to work with people that shared this interest that I have, making work more enjoyable and fulfilling.

It was around this time that I came across a recently opened opportunity on at Purple through QA, as a Junior Web Developer. The description of the placement instantly jumped out at me, and so I sent my CV through without hesitation. Soon after, I received an email saying that I was invited for an interview with Purple.

The interview then took place online, where I met Scarlett and George. After the interview, I got some really positive feedback and that I would be hearing from them soon to find out how it went and what will follow. I then got an email saying that they would like to invite me into the office to have a chat with Purple's directors, Phil and Allan.

I was so excited that I had gotten through to the next stage in the process that I developed a homepage for a site that I had come up with, to show them where I stood in terms of my current skills with HTML and CSS from personal research. 

When I got to the office, everyone greeted me with such kindness, and I knew that the work environment was perfect. I then got to have a chat with Phil and Allan where we got to know each other and discuss our interests. I thought it went well, as the interview ran smoothly. They then said that they’d get back to me as soon as possible, which lowered my stress a bit as I already knew that I really wanted the job.

The next day, after twenty-four hours of nail biting and staring at my email inbox, I received a call from Phil. He then told me that they’d love for me to come and work for Purple. I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to start. 

Since I started at Purple just over a month ago, I feel as though I have settled in, and have already learned so much about web development. I’m so excited to see what else I learn from Purple and get stuck in to the many projects that await me!