June Spartan of the Month: Kavan Heppenstall

A massive Congratulations Kavan on being our June Spartan of the Month! How does it feel?

At first it was a shock to me, I'd recently learnt about Spartan of the month, but then I felt content and determined to continue performing well.

Certainly a well deserved achievement! Let's go back to the beginning. What and where did you study at university, if at all?

I did a BSc in Computer Science at the University of Manchester from 2021 to 2024.

So, post-university life, how did you decide that Sparta Global was the right career move for you?

I applied to many jobs after university with no luck.
I knew that I wanted a career in tech but wasn't sure if I should take a year out... until I heard back from Sparta.

I originally applied for a C# Developer role but was given the opportunity to choose between C# or ServiceNow. I really valued Sparta's transparency and their trust in me to make my own decision. I decided to take a chance and go with ServiceNow, despite having never heard of it before, and I haven't looked back since!

That's quite a leap of faith! How did you find your training at the Academy, and how well did it prepare you for work?

Training at the Academy was excellent. There were a lot of topics I was already familiar with due to my background in tech, however when we started learning about ServiceNow the quality of the training made itself apparent.

My trainer, Nish, really set the bar high and expected quality work from us which helped me to maintain consistent performance and is something I have taken with me to my new role.

Speaking of new roles, what's your current position and which company are you with now?

I am currently a ServiceNow developer at a Tier 1 Bank.

What an amazing attainment! It would be great to hear more about your day-to-day role. What kind of work do you get stuck into?

I start each day attending daily scrum or sprint planning meetings depending on the day.
I plan out my tasks and prioritise them based on business urgency and difficulty. Throughout the day I switch between different contexts depending on what I'm working on.

My stories involve identifying and fixing defects, developing new functionality, and doing research to drive requirements. I also demonstrate my development work to the group, product owner, and business analysts. When working on new applications, we have meetings to catch up and discuss possibilities which are always enjoyable.

Are you enjoying working in the tech industry, and if so, what draws you in?

I am really enjoying working in the tech industry. There are a lot of interesting people I can learn from and as well as being able to share knowledge and teach others.

Do you feel you now have the passion and skill to carve a long-serving career in technology?

Absolutely, this role has broadened my understanding of potential career paths and has given me more motivation to continue learning, as well as branching out into other areas.

Finally, would you recommend Sparta to other graduates, and if so, why?

I would definitely recommend Sparta to other graduates.
It is really difficult to get entry level tech jobs straight out of university and it is also difficult to gain the exact skills that employers want through a degree alone. Sparta bridges that gap between fresh graduates and tech companies whilst also developing fundamental interpersonal skills inside the academy.