In the UK it is estimated that 10% of the population has Dyslexia, and this Dyslexia Awareness Week, we wanted to highlight not only the challenges and misconceptions, but also the opportunities available in the workplace. We spoke to Joe Richards, Business Development Manager, about his experience with Dyslexia in the workplace.
“I was diagnosed with Dyslexia when I was 7, and for me it affected my reading, writing and spelling. Long paragraphs were more difficult for me to decipher, and sometimes the lines would blur, or I would skip words or even full lines. This meant that English and writing in general were a bit more of a struggle for me. My learning style has always been more practical, so reading and writing paragraphs of text for exams and coursework was a bit more challenging.
After school, I knew that I wanted a more practical way of learning and working so I undertook an apprenticeship. The apprenticeship allowed me to continue my education, but also apply this to the workplace, which supported my learning style as I was able to take what I was learning and apply it in real time.
My first apprenticeship was with the Institute of Sales Professionals, at BMS in 2020, which is when I started at iSTORM as a Business Development Executive. After just a few months in this role, the UK went into lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so everyone was forced to work remotely. I found this a bit challenging as I was very new not only to the company, but also to the world of work as I was just starting my apprenticeship, and this was my first job after I finished school.
Although I initially found this challenging, Richard and James at iSTORM were very supportive, and found ways to help me understand the company, the industry, and ways to practically apply what I was being taught on my course. Through this I learned about sales techniques, ways to negotiate, closing techniques, understanding information preferences and personality types, and the psychology of selling. The combination of 4 days working and 1 day completing my coursework was perfect for my learning style, and meant that I could apply all of this to my job on a daily basis. I achieved my first qualification in March 2022.
After I had achieved this, I decide to that I wanted to progress my career further, so I undertook a second apprenticeship, and in September 2022 I started the Chartered Managing Degree Apprenticeship at Aston University. Throughout both of these qualifications, I have been granted 25% extra time to complete assignments, which has supported my way of learning, and allowed me to complete my assignments properly and to the best of my ability.
In 2023, I was promoted to Business Development Manager at iSTORM, this helped me to really push myself in my career and develop both personally and professionally. Both Richard and James have supported me throughout my career at iSTORM, they have answered all of my questions, helped me to understand processes and then allowed me to try them for myself. This helped me to understand how things were done, and to also put my own stamp on things and have the independence to develop my own style and techniques. By working this way, I have been able to really push myself out of my comfort zone, and develop both professionally and personally.
I feel that I have been able to grow with the business, I have had the opportunity to close some fantastic deals on my own, I have autonomy over my work, and I have developed my sales style. I also manage the New Business Team, which had been a great step in my career as it has allowed me to learn how to not only get the best out of myself, but also other people.
Working in the cyber security industry with dyslexia has had its challenges but also rewards. Initially, the complexity and intricacy of the solutions that the testers were providing proved to be a little challenging to understand, as well as having to learn and remember some of the acronyms, however the team at iSTORM have been really supportive and helped me to understand and develop further. Writing contracts was also initially challenging, but with support I have been able to really develop my writing, and I am proud that I have completed and closed many contracts and deals throughout my career.
I feel that I have been fortunate to be in an environment that has allowed me to be curious, and achieve my goals. I found school challenging, but coming into the workplace with the correct guidance and support has really allowed me to thrive and keep pushing myself to develop both personal and professionally.”
