Jonny Tang

I studied economics and returned to complete a Master's in software development. With my economics background, investments have always interested me. However, having previously had a couple of jobs in financial services, I didn’t intend to come back into the industry.

As someone who is curious about utilising unusual thinking, to push boundaries and provide innovative solutions to problems, I felt a transition back into financial services within application development as an exciting avenue to explore.

Baillie Gifford didn’t seem like a traditional financial services company, though, and it isn’t, so I’m glad I took the chance to apply.

I’ve never felt that a non-technical background has held me back. It’s made it more exciting and added to the challenge in a good way, learning new technologies and framework within Baillie Gifford’s tech stack through various rotations. The support from my colleagues in each rotational team has been great in overcoming challenges that have arisen.

One of the things I like to do at lunchtime is sit at one of the big tables in the staff restaurant and chat as I eat lunch. Everyone is very approachable.

You can speak to all sorts of people, from client-facing staff to investors and partners. It’s nice to see that visibility from senior leadership that you might not get elsewhere.

It makes for such a welcoming workplace. You come to work every day with a smile, knowing you enjoy your work and that you can see how it fits into the bigger picture.

I’ve joined several staff networks, and attending some of their events has been a great way to hear how people’s experiences have helped shape them into who they are.

It’s made me more aware that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach and that my way of working can be completely different from someone else’s without it being wrong.

One of my highlights is being a mentor for some of the modern apprentices and a buddy for one of this year’s interns. It’s been a privilege to be part of their journey into the workforce and see them grow and become more confident in taking the initiative.

Please note that any references to current teams in bios are as of the time of writing and may not reflect the current situation due to the rotational nature of the programmes.