Get to know
Imelda McVeigh!
Career Journey at ANI
Published: March 22, 2023
Great people are the driving force behind great business. That's why at Allstate we pride ourselves in hiring and nurturing the best people at all levels of our organisation.
1. Talk us through your career journey so far at Allstate
It is coming up to my 23rd Anniversary with Allstate. I started as the PA to the then Managing Director, Bro McFerran and worked with him for six years. My job was all encompassing, as well as being Bro's PA I assisted with the Finance, HR and Training areas, I am not going to call them departments as at this time there was a total of 6 people in Admin at the start quickly increasing over the six-year period to whole Departments. During this time, I also became a part-time worker. Working at first Monday to Thursday and then adjusted this arrangement when my son went to school from 9am to 2pm.
As the company grew and more employees were added to the various areas I worked for as well as new marketing and training departments it was time for a change. I moved into Workforce Solutions which had branched out from the HR Department working with Joy Chambers. Focusing on internal recruitment and staff development. Working with Joy was an education and empowering, but it was soon time for change of pace part-time was not a good fit for the work and instead of having to leave the company I was offered the opportunity to move to what was then called the Operations as a Project Coordinator in CTS.
Not long after my move the PMO was created and as I gained more experience, I became a Project Manager for CTS and have been in this role for 12 years. Yikes!
2. What has made you stay at Allstate for this length of time?
Although it has been over 20 years with the same company, I really count myself lucky that I have been able to have three different careers and hopefully Project Manager is not my last. The flexibility as a part-time worker has helped with my work life balance. I now work four days a week and enjoy being back in the office at least once a week.
What learning/support have you received during this time? (re-skilling programs, any mentoring, courses etc.)
Now you are testing my memory. There are too many to mention here but I have always been encouraged to participate in Employee Groups. I will not go back too far and give a huge shout out to WITA and the Portege Program. If you are a woman in Allstate join WITA it is not as I had thought for many years just for women Engineers, it is for all women and of course our male allies involved. The benefits are extensive and the training opportunities apart from Portege are incredible. A big shout out to my Rachelle Reid who mentored me through the Portege program and encouraged me to be a member of the Core Team and work on the Employee Track.
4. What's the key to a successful career at Allstate?
I am tempted to write, I do not know ask someone who has one, but I realized I've do have one, having accepted every opportunity that came my way bar one.
It is important to be visible, put yourself out there. Embrace those things that scare you, and ask for help, do not sit quietly doing a job you do not like anymore. There are so many training platforms to avail yourself of.
Thanks to WITA I recently attended the Women in Technology Conference in February. Where the Speaker Niamh Shaw was extremely inspiring, reminding me that it is never too late to reach for your dreams and to cease opportunities when presented.
5. What's been the most rewarding part of your career?
This is easy, working with such a diverse group of people. As a Project Manager work changes often and I encounter a whole new group of amazing colleagues across the globe to work with from the Technology and/or Business side of Allstate as well as all the amazing Vendors who support Allstate on multiple Platforms.