Welcome to a day in the life with Tom Hamilton.
How do you start your typical workday?
I usually go into the office 3 days a week. When I do, I take the tube in and arrive for 9:00/9:30am. If I have a morning client meeting, I come in a little earlier to prepare. I check my emails on the way into work and if there’s nothing urgent, I’ll read a book on the journey in. I’ve been trying to cycle in, when possible, recently too.
What does a morning at work look like for you?
I grab a quick breakfast whilst walking to work and the first thing I do when I arrive is some light planning for the day ahead. Every morning I run a check-in meeting with my project team to align and make sure they are clear on their priorities.
I’ll then start designing storylines for client presentations, drafting the slides, and talking the team through what the vision is for each area. Usually on a project, we have different workstreams that focus on different objectives, so I’ll have smaller group meetings throughout the day. In my focus time alone, I prep for client calls. We typically have larger interactions with clients weekly and we meet them face-to-face once every 2 months or we’re delivering a final presentation.
Sometimes I’ll have to conduct interviews for Pearson Ham candidates throughout the week, so I take some time to make sure the questions and case studies are well thought out.
How do you typically spend your lunchtimes when you go into the office?
I try and get some fresh air for lunch, so I leave the office and have a wander around Soho. If there are people around, I’ll eat with my colleagues, there’s usually people eating on the office balcony when the sun’s out.
What do you work on after your lunch break?
I’m on the internal resourcing team so any work needed for this gets done during the second half of the day. I take most of the afternoon to review and feedback work by the project team. Each workstream also has problem solving sessions twice a week, which I run. These are great to address any challenges the project team might be facing. When I don’t have meetings I’m around to jump in where I can help polishing slides and analysis.
Around what time do you sign off for the day?
I typically finish work around 6/6:30, I’ll either go to the gym or for a swim and then cook some dinner.
How would you describe the environment at Pearson Ham?
Everyone is very chatty, especially around the coffee machine in the mornings! People are genuinely interested in what you’re working on and how you’re enjoying it. We have work socials monthly which is nice because you can interact with people you haven’t worked closely with before and it’s a good way for new joiners to integrate into the company.
