Thriving in a non-linear career

For years, people close to me gently joked that I probably had ADHD - especially my daughter, who knows a lot about neurodiversity. When colleagues shared their stories on Viva Engage, something clicked. Everything I read resonated with me.

A colleague suggested a workplace assessment, and it’s one of the best things I’ve done. I was really quickly supported by our Health and Safety team and was provided with a workplace coach who specialised in neurodiversity. 

Although the coach was arranged through the firm, it benefited me far more than just in my day-to-day job. It helped me understand my communication style, my strengths, and how I could challenge unhelpful language. I learned to see my quick, idea‑filled, energetic way of thinking not as something to “manage” but as a real asset.

I was offered assistive tools, but Copilot completely transformed the way I work. I use it to check tone without losing my voice, catch word mix‑ups, organise my thoughts, and work at speed. Since going through my assessment, I’ve been able to advocate for others in my teams and ran an accessibility session with Microsoft across the firm, that maxed out the Teams limit it was so popular! 

For me, my ADHD is not something I need to hide. It’s something that helps me thrive and explains so many of my strengths:

• I can hold multiple ideas at once
• I see connections quickly
• I’m empathetic and good at reading people
• I mirror communication styles naturally
• I work fast and think creatively

I always say my career hasn’t been a straight line - it’s been more of a bendy path, full of unexpected turns that have shaped who I am today. Nothing about my journey into accountancy was typical, and looking back now, I can see how my ADHD has helped me shape the career I have today. 

My first career was in the pharmaceutical industry. I worked as an analytical chemist and then as a medical rep, presenting to consultants and selling to GPs. I loved it. But in 2008, I was made redundant while on maternity leave, right in the middle of the financial crash.

I decided to keep the rest of my maternity year to spend time with my daughter. When she became very unwell with multiple autoimmune conditions, that decision turned into several years of caring - hospitals, specialists, unpredictable days and nights. Life became about keeping things going.

But even during that time, I was always thinking ahead: What career can I build locally? What will give us stability, progress and something intellectually stimulating?

After looking into a Forensic Accounting Masters, I realised I would be best to study towards the ACA. And so, I did. On my own, with no lectures or tutors, just giant textbooks and a highlighter, often sat beside a hospital bed. Studying independently meant there was a lot of pressure on me, but it also gave me the flexibility that I needed to be able to do things at a pace that worked alongside being a mum and looking after my daughter. 

Eventually ICAEW spoke to me - kindly, but firmly - suggesting I needed a training contract soon or I’d run out of time to qualify. And so, I applied to join the Grant Thornton graduate trainee programme, and despite being told that my route was unusual, and firms might not understand it, I got in.

When I joined, I was the same age as the managers - but from day one, I made a conscious decision to fully embed myself with my graduate cohort. I wanted the shared experience of learning together, and I didn’t want to be treated differently.

And I wasn’t. I was welcomed, supported and completely included.

Because I’d already sat so many exams, I could spread my remaining ones over three years. That gave me loads more client time in my first year - which I loved. Audit is hard work, but it’s the best crash course you can get. Long days on client site, late finishes, tricky situations, lovely clients, challenging ones - all of it pulls you together as a team.

During all this, my daughters health had ups and downs, and so did mine. I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis after months of uncertainty, had three months off sick, and spent 18 months shielding during COVID on high dose steroids. Through all of it, the firm, my people managers and my team supported me more than I could ever have imagined with phased returns, understanding, flexibility, and most importantly, humanity.

After qualifying, I stayed in audit for a couple more years and then felt it was time for a change, but I wasn’t ready to leave Grant Thornton, so I made a sideways move into UK Accounting Services (UCAS), preparing financial statements and supporting clients directly. It built on my audit knowledge, made me a far more rounded accountant and gave me a different kind of technical confidence.

Progression discussions came up naturally, but the timing never quite aligned but each role added another layer to my skills.

At the start of last year, I asked myself what I wanted next - not just what made sense on paper. I love data, people, solving complex problems and connecting ideas. And then, completely by chance, a role appeared in Digital Audit that matched me perfectly.

Digital Audit feels like the role I’ve been working toward without knowing it. I get to speak to people across the practice, understand what audit feels like in the day‑to‑day, explore data solutions, dive into analysis and go down rabbit holes of curiosity.

It fits how my brain works - fast, intuitive, connection‑driven - and I genuinely love it.

For the first time in a long while, I feel ready to push for progression, not because I feel obliged to, but because I know what I want as an individual.

One of the things I love most about Grant Thornton is that I’ve never been asked to be anything other than myself. I’m energetic, expressive, bubbly and curious. Someone once told me, “the office feels different when you’re in” - and I took that as the biggest compliment.

We talk a lot about being an alternative offering for clients, but we’re an alternative offering for our people, too. There’s no “typical accountant”. We value people who bring different experiences, perspectives and personalities to the table.

The firm has supported me through every twist and turn, and it’s where I want to continue building this wonderfully bendy career.