Luke joined 3Sixty last month as a back-end developer. As a passionate dev with a CV full of impressive travel sector work, he was someone we knew would add a huge amount to the 3Sixty team. I grabbed 5 minutes with Luke to see how he’s fitting in at 3Sixty and give some insight about him as person.
Luke, hello. How have your first few weeks at 3Sixty treated you?
They’ve been great, meeting the team and the clients. Getting everything set up and up to speed with the daily ins and outs at 3Sixty. Plus of course plenty of attention for and from Suki the dog.
So tell us, why did you become a developer?
Well technology was always a keen interest of mine when I was younger and I always found myself at home in-front of a keyboard. So when a few friends of mine who I played football with mentioned they were looking for someone to train from the ground up as a Web Developer I jumped at the chance.
And if you weren’t a developer, what would you have been?
In my dreams a professional footballer. More realistically probably a Sports teacher, it’s where my studies were focussed during University and certainly encompasses the other main interests in my life outside of work.
Your background in the travel sector is impressive, whilst we know travel clients are great, it isn’t always plain sailing (travel pun) — so what’s been your biggest challenge so far?
During my time at Holidaycottages.co.uk I was heavily involved in a business wide responsive rebrand, not to mention a push from a regional to a nationwide offering. This provided many technical challenges that were certainly tough to overcome. As the company began to branch out in to further sub-brands I was given the responsibility to manage this family of sites from a technical perspective, which certainly kept me busy. Since joining 3Sixty I am starting to get more exposure to some pretty big and impressive data, utilising machine learning. This is challenging and exciting in equal measure!
And what is it that you like most about the travel sector?
The best part about working in the travel sector is being involved in providing enjoyable, valuable experiences to people all over. Whether it’s cruises, hotels, cottages or attractions, holidays are a huge part of peoples lives and it’s rewarding to be a part of that experience behind the scenes. If we can provide an unforgettable digital journey that creates excitement, we will have kick started this enriching experience.
Why 3Sixty over other agencies?
Having worked at larger, broader agencies in the past the focussed nature of 3Sixty was really appealing. Particularly with my experience within the Travel and Tourism industry the mutual benefits were clear from the start. The team gave a friendly, family-like impression from the off and certainly made the decision to come on board easier. I wanted to be a part of what 3Sixty are clearly building and believe I can bring a lot to the team. And, of course, the presence of an office dog always helps.
So apart from entertaining Suki the office dog, what is your main responsibility at 3Sixty?
My main responsibility is to ensure all our sites are working correctly and efficiently from a backend point of view, providing support where necessary. Driving forward ideas and development not only in terms of the web, but also with regards to our processes and workings both internally and with our clients.
And what are you hoping to achieve at 3Sixty?
Personally, I’m hoping to progress my skill-set as a developer further and become a specialist within the Travel & Tourism area as well as expand my knowledge of areas outside of code. I’m also hoping to be a part of growing 3Sixty as a successful agency that can have an even bigger impact on the industry.
Well it’s great to have you onboard (yep that’s another travel pun). I’ll ask you what we ask all new starters, what sort of holiday goer are you?
Beach holidays or city breaks?
Beach holidays
Snow or sun?
Sun but would love to do a Ski season
Relaxation or adventure?
Relaxation
All inclusive or self-catering?
All-inclusive
Pool or beach?
Beach
Pet hate?
Packing
Favourite thing about travelling?
The sun and experiencing foreign food
And the big question: how would you take advantage of the 3Sixty recruitment referral scheme - one-week holiday and free flights?
Barcelona or Milan. Couldn’t refuse an opportunity to see Lionel Messi.
You’ll see and hear more from Luke in the future, for now, I’ll let him continue doing his clever tech stuff!