I’m Rebecca Egerton, I am a 33-year-old female living in the Northwest of England with my husband and two dogs. I have many hobbies and interests, including trail running, reading ( literature, history, true crime), crochet, sewing, playing clarinet and many more!

What does your journey into the mortgage industry look like?

I ‘fell’ into the industry really. I dropped out of university and worked in hospitality and catering for a while. I eventually got sick of working evenings and weekends and so I found a job in a local Estate Agents. After a year of being there and impressing them with my work ethic, they agreed to train me up to be a Mortgage & Protection Adviser. I have been in the mortgage industry ever since.

What has been your best moment in the industry?

My best moment is probably right now. I feel I have obtained a good chunk of experience, I feel confident in my knowledge, and I am in a role which I enjoy far more than I ever enjoyed the actual advising side of things. In my current role I get to help other advisers, and I am involved with compliance and processes (which I weirdly enjoy). To top it all off I work for an employer who I can hand on heart say is the best I have ever worked for. I feel supported, appreciated and truly valued where I am, and I look forward to going to work each day.

What has been your worst moment in the industry?

My worst moment was a period when I worked at a company who did not value or care about their employees. They didn’t communicate with us clearly, and we were always kept in the dark about future plans and developments of the business – so much so that we all lived in fear of what would happen next and if our jobs were safe.

If that wasn’t enough, they were not at all accommodating to the needs of individual staff members – as an Autistic person I struggled with certain aspects of daily working that were forced upon everyone as a blanket rule (which, I must add, didn’t need to be this way and didn’t affect productivity, other than adversely). This led me to having daily panic attacks on the way to work, and eventually to me leaving the company. I am really grateful that where I work now is the total opposite of this.

What is your experience with D&I both personally and professionally?

I have always been very passionate about equality and social justice, so this topic is very close to my heart. I strive to learn more about D&I as it evolves, and to educate those around me – I believe that there is space for everyone, and we should all feel happy, safe and valued in all aspects of life. As well as being Autistic, I am Dyspraxic and have ADHD, which I was diagnosed with at a later age than people usually are. I feel that I would have benefitted from knowing these things about myself (especially the Autism) before going into the working world (school wasn’t so bad for me), as I would have had a greater knowledge and understanding of myself and been able to advocate for my own needs.

I took a long time to see this in myself due to lack of representation, and so I want to be the voice and the example for others that I didn’t have myself, in both my personal and professional life. I have had a successful career to date, but I could have been much happier and content had both I and my previous employers been aware that blanket rules for working aren’t always appropriate for everyone, and accommodations can help people thrive – I want to spread that message too. Being part of a community whose diagnoses are often misunderstood, ignored and misrepresented, makes me empathetic to others who struggle with different aspects of D&I, and to want to instigate change where I can.

What keeps you in this industry?

I find it really interesting; I know it’s nerdy, but I really do enjoy compliance and processes, and I enjoy seeing products and trends in the market evolve and respond to various factors in the economy and around the world. I also really enjoy helping people. When I was advising it was helping people buy their dream house that gave me satisfaction, now it is supporting advisers in their roles to help their customers in turn.

Do you have any advice?

Be confident in your strengths and don’t be afraid to advocate for your own needs – whether that be flexible working, communication preferences, sensory equipment or any other accommodations that can help you perform to your best. Also, educate yourself about things that affect those around you and don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something – go and learn about it, it’s how we evolve.

Do you have any advice for the industry as a whole?

Remember that everyone is not the same, we all have different needs and experiences. What helps one person thrive in one role will not necessarily help another, and allowing accommodation for people based on their individual needs helps them to be happier and more productive through enabling them to be fully engaged in their role.