Bill McDermott got his start as a young entrepreneur running a small delicatessen business on Long Island, New York, at age 17. Bill is now the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Executive Board of SAP. He achieved this whilst juggling being a family man, husband to his wife Julie and dad to two children.
With Father’s Day fast approaching (Sunday 21st June here in the UK), we caught up with some hard working dads in the Recruit 121 office to talk work/life balance, inspirational dads and tips for those who are looking to develop a career in SAP.
Name: Owain Harrison
Role: Finance Credit Controller
Children: I have a son, Logan William Harrison, aged 2
How will you be celebrating father’s day? A day of complete relaxation, it is my day after all
What is your favourite thing about being a dad? Seeing life through his reactions makes me remember the simple things
Who is your favourite famous dad and why? Batman, let’s face it he needs no reason why?
How do you manage your work/life balance? Sometimes it’s like spinning plates as I’m a single dad
Name: Che Hookings
Role: Founder / MD of Recruit 121
Children: I have two sons, Fin, 7 and Els, 5
How will you be celebrating father’s day?: With my children the age they are, this really depends on whether my wife has remembered. No doubt it’ll be special though, she tends to make most things special
What is your favourite thing about being a dad?: Having people in the world to whom you are more important than anything, and who are more important than anything else to you. It’s difficult to put into words, but knowing that your actions, beliefs and behaviors fundamentally influence another persons so unconditionally is a great moderator, especially in helping achieve a good work/life balance, which can be so elusive in today’s ‘always on’ marketplace
How do you manage working and being a family?: I ensure that the weekend is their time. The hardest thing I find is that being very fortunate in my position as managing director and founder of Recruit 121, I am able to exert more control over my work than a lot of people. Despite this, I spend a significant amount of time in the office, and the difficulty is fighting the thought that, given this position, I should be spending more time with my family. Will I look back in 20 years time and think ‘should I have taken more opportunity to spend time with them, given the choice I have?’. Its a tough one to countenance, but I love what I do
Do you have any tips for dads looking to develop their skills and get into a career in SAP?
A lot of the SAP professionals we engage travel Monday to Friday, often outside of the EU. When I first started in SAP recruitment, 19 years ago, I used to think that travelling to all these places was wonderful. Having experienced a fair bit of it myself, I take my hat off to the ladies and gentlemen we place. Living out of a suitcase is far from an easy choice. One of the commitments we make to our customers is to try in every instance to identify local consultants first. One piece of advice to travelling consultants is that whilst you cannot often agree on remote working during the initial stages, once you are on site and have demonstrated your capabilities, it is sometimes possible to discuss working remotely on some days, providing the project work allows and there is trust capital between consultant and client
Name: Nick Fletcher
Role: Senior Resource Consultant
Children: I have a daughter, Jade, who is 20 in December
How will you be celebrating father’s day?: We’ll be celebrating as a family with a day out, a nice meal and lots of laughs together
What is your favourite thing about being a dad?: I love the fact that my actions are influencing another and the pure trust & love my daughter and I have between us
How do you manage working and being a family: I always think it’s important to have a good work/life balance, where possible always prioritise your family
Name: James Turner
Role: Sales Director
Children: I have two daughters, Emma 7 and Chloe 3
How will you be celebrating father’s day?: We’ll be getting together to enjoy a family lunch
What is your favourite thing about being a dad? I love being part of a family and growing together
What dad inspires you? My father and father in law, they’re always there, advising, guiding, helping, loving
How do you manage working and being a family?: I’m lucky to have both a work and family that are both flexible in creating time for each other
Are you a hardworking dad looking to develop your career in SAP? Let us help you with all the information you need on SAP jobs by contacting us on +44 02920 496121 or Email us at: info@recruit121.com
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