Fish around the world

We launched our Work from Anywhere policy in September, meaning our Fish can now work from anywhere in the world.  

While many of us now have plans in place to spend weeks or even months in various far-flung destinations as soon as we’re allowed to, one member of the shoal has taken things even further!

You may recognize Sophie Cunningham: not only is she an awesome Content Marketer in our Growth team, but she’s also the star of our product videos!

Sophie joined the shoal in May 2019, following a couple of years as a recruiter at a national agency in the UK.  

Prior to this, however, Sophie had lived in Hamburg, Germany, and loved life there.  

As soon as Work from Anywhere was announced, Sophie started hatching her grand German plan! We caught up with her to find out what it’s really like to Work from Anywhere.

Home sweet hamburg

I was so excited when the Work from Anywhere policy was launched!

Initially, it meant that I could work from home in Newcastle, allowing me to spend more time with my family than I have done in years.

But straight away, I was also excited thinking about the prospect of moving back to Germany.  ‍‍

I lived in Hamburg before I moved to Glasgow, three years ago.

I was starting to miss the city and my German was getting a little rusty in Scotland (although you should hear how good my Scottish accent is now!) [editor: it's terrible]

With Brexit on the horizon, it seemed like the perfect time to make the move so I wouldn’t need a visa to work in Germany in the future (my boyfriend has an EU passport but I’ve always dreamed of something a little more romantic than a Visa wedding!).

An easy transition

I wasn’t at all nervous about speaking with my manager about moving.

Katie’s so easy to talk to and the company as a whole are always really supportive of each other.

In fact, when we told everyone about my plans it seemed like my colleagues were even more excited than me!

I was really impressed at how straight forward it was to organise the move from a work perspective, and before I knew it I was back in Hamburg, able to work in exactly the same way I did in Glasgow.

The practicalities of moving country

The other practicalities of moving countries in the middle of a pandemic were pretty stressful.

The biggest unexpected challenge was that the rules on quarantining became stricter just before I moved.

When I arrived, I thought I’d be in isolation for two days, but it was six! I made it through thanks to some thoughtful friends dropping off groceries…and I never felt lonely because I was speaking with my fellow Fishies every day.

It’s great to be back though, and since escaping quarantine I’ve been able to go for some socially distanced glühwein with friends.

I still speak to my fellow Fish everyday on Teams, so to be honest it’s feels kind of strange when I walk out the door and hear people speaking German - I have to remind myself that I’m not in Glasgow anymore!

Firefish made it easy

From day one at Firefish, it’s been such a nice environment to work in, and the opportunities for progression and learning are second to none.  

I’ve learnt so much and gained so many new skills that I feel I’ve been able to really grow in my role, so it’s an amazing feeling being able to do the job I love in my favourite city in the world.

What would I say to anyone considering this kind of move? Do it! If you’re lucky enough to be offered an oppor-tuna-ty (I had to throw one in!) like this by your employer, definitely take the plunge.