We recently had the pleasure of hearing from Amanda Symonds about her full and varied career after leaving Bury Grammar School in 1997.

After graduating with a degree in Maths from the University of Leeds, I embarked on a gap year to deepen my self-awareness and broaden my understanding of the world. After three years, I qualified as a chartered accountant with UHY Manchester, and then went on to specialise in corporate finance in a new role at Grant Thornton, Manchester. My career path then led me to Boston, USA, where I secured a secondment focussing on cross-border M&A deals.

While living in the US, I discovered the value of obtaining a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and gained a place on the course at MIT Sloan. It was a thrilling 2-year experience, which opened my mind to all aspects of business and left me with an amazing network of Ivy League colleagues/friends around the world.

During my time at MIT, I began working on my own start-up in the travel industry; it was pitching my start-up to TripAdvisor that secured me a job with them – a new career trajectory altogether. During my time at TripAdvisor, I led multiple initiatives within the Vacation Rentals Division, encompassing strategy development, corporate development, product management, CRM and SEO. My efforts culminated in the successful establishment and leadership of a 45-member team dedicated to expanding traffic and generating leads for the business.

Following my time at TripAdvisor, I took a sabbatical to take a step-back from the treadmill and tick off some life-long bucket list items. My time on sabbatical allowed me to train as an executive coach, qualify as a yoga teacher, trek across Patagonia and run a marathon in Sierra Leone!

Upon my return to the UK, I accepted a role as Chief Growth Officer at a start-up which had raised over $90m from some of the world’s most respected venture capitalists. It was an intense period, and I learned so much about myself and the kind of leader I was becoming. Driven by a passion for positively impacting others’ careers, I moved on within a year to establish my own executive coaching practice. I realised one of the things I loved most about my career was the times I felt I’d been able to make a difference in an individual's career path; coaching is my vocation, and I was able to support over 30 individuals on their journeys in my time as an independent consultant.

Just over two years ago, I was approached to become Managing Director of CarGurus UK and PistonHeads. For me, it presented an opportunity to put together all of the knowledge I’d gained in finance, product and marketing with my leadership skills to make an impact. Ultimately, I want to coach the most senior executives in companies and this role has opened up more experiences for me to learn from, which in turn will help me to be a better coach down the line. In my short time at CarGurus, I have successfully turned a significantly loss-making business to one that makes a profit, and I have done this while also implementing policies to improve the experience of employees in the UK and Dublin (where I have a big team). One of my missions is now to help make the automotive industry an attractive place for women to work and thrive.

Some of the key messages I would like to share are that you no longer have to pick one career and stick to it. In fact, it’s fun to grow with each role you do and then see what opportunities wait for you at each stage. You can also take a sabbatical without impacting your career progression, so long as you get some real skills, credibility, and qualifications in a field before doing so.   

Sometimes in life it’s important to step back to do the things you really want to do, and then return to the workforce refreshed with new purpose. Work is about the actions you take to have an impact, but it’s also about who you are being while you take those actions. With leadership comes power to influence your team, the business, and the world around you. Aligning your leadership with your own personal values will allow you to live the most fulfilling of careers.

I don’t know where my career will take me next, but I know I care about equality for women, helping others to be the best version of themselves and having a positive impact on the world around me.