What made you choose Arbtech?
Upon leaving a job as an outdoor activity instructor, I got into tree surgery as a continuation of my love for climbing. It was either that or industrial rope access work, and tree surgery seemed to be more appealing at the time.
After climbing trees for a number of years, the risks started to outweigh the reward; I carried out many jobs using cranes, lifting away huge sections of timber, and climbing risky trees, leading to several very close calls.
I eventually decided to use my brain and started the move to consultancy. I began undertaking a degree in arboriculture online while I was still climbing, and after my first year, I started looking at what roles were available.
I came across Arbtech, instantly loving what I saw on their website and hearing countless great things from the recruitment company that pointed me in their direction.
The culture seemed great, the list of perks was long, and they had just got back from a staff social in Prague. All in all, it looked like a place I wanted to be.
I applied, and after multiple interviews, Rob agreed to hire me and even allowed me to finish my degree on the job, for which I am eternally grateful.
What do you love most about the company?
I love the flexibility of my working day/week. Having no time sheets or micromanagement means that providing I get all of my work done, my clients are happy, and I hit my billing targets, my week is essentially my own to manage. This flexibility means that I can fit in training jiu-jitsu, running errands and any other life things that are difficult to fit in with a rigid job.
I also love the culture of Arbtech. Although we are spread all over the country, it’s easy enough to stay in touch with each other using Slack and video calls.
The ‘cheers mate’ system is a great example of these culture-boosting incentives. If anyone helps you out, you can show them some thanks by gifting them something off their wish list (paid for by Arbtech). Things like this really drive people to help each other out. Nobody really does it for the reward, but the rewards go a long way to help with the continued support, especially when times are busy. It’s a great way to really say thank you.
The culture bleeds through all aspects of life at Arbtech, and things like all-expenses-paid staff socials make meeting up super fun and creates countless amazing memories.
What do you do when you are not at Arbtech?
When I’m not working, I spend most days training jiu-jitsu, skateboarding, climbing, kayaking, camping, gaming, listening to music, watching stand-up, hanging out with friends, and spending time with the family, and indulging in my love of science.
What is your biggest tip to achieve the most in life?
Be happy and find the funny in every opportunity. If you can find funny moments in the darkest of times, things get a lot easier to deal with.
Don’t get dragged into negativity. We’re all dying at some point, so start enjoying yourself!
What is the best social you’ve been on at Arbtech?
Skiing and jiu-jitsu in Austria.
Staying in shared bunks and living closely together made this social feel like it bonded the team way more than any of the others. Usually, everyone has the option to disappear off to their own rooms, and as nice as that is sometimes, all staying together made for a surprisingly good bonding opportunity!
Where do you want to travel to next?
I want more snow.
A big chalet with the whole team.
First lift, last lift, après ski, dinner with the gang, party…on repeat, for a week.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
Right here.
I genuinely can’t see myself working anywhere else.
Unless something drastic changes or an opportunity comes up that I can’t refuse, I see myself staying with Arbtech for good. For me, work is work, and I do it to fuel the life I love; working here makes that super easy.
If I progress up the ‘ladder’, awesome, but the great thing about working at Arbtech is that you don’t need to chase the next promotion and move into a management role to progress financially. You can be an entry-level surveyor, smashing your targets, year-on-year, and get the same generous pay rise as everybody else, at all levels.
I really love that this stops people with no desire to manage from being pushed into management roles to chase a pay rise. This way, they can continue to smash the job they are good at…and be handsomely rewarded for their efforts.
What is a goal you have for the future, in or out of work?
I have everything I ever wanted.
I’m as happy as it gets.
My life is made.
So, I don’t really have any grand goals.
It would be nice to win some more jiu-jitsu competitions, and it would be nice to own a gym one day. But the only thing I focus on is to always have the best time I can. And I’m pretty good at it!
Aran joined Arbtech in October 2016.
Robert Oates, managing director says:
Aran was the stand-out candidate among many competent applicants when we looked for a new arboricultural consultant in 2016. With each year that passes we beef up our recruitment and selection process; if I’m honest, these days, it’s actually quite hard to land a job here. We have people do a round of interviews that are progressively more structured, and follow that up with test surveys so we can assess candidates under the pressure of a live working environment and in real-time.
Aran sailed through, and has become the golden boy of the Arb team–clients literally inundate us with rave review of his work. If you don’t believe me, go to our reviews page and read them for yourself! I’m super-proud to have attracted Aran to the team and look forward to working with and learning from him in the coming years.
