I Applied for a Job, and Then Covid Hit…
The experience of working from home was not new to me, it had become the norm for nearly 2 months before I began my journey with Brindley Engineering (BE). Prior to officially joining BE, I interviewed and was in regular communication with many BE employees for several months, contemplating whether the career move would be a good decision for my family and I – even before the COVID pandemic was affecting the industry. Then Covid hit and adding a global pandemic and its potential effects on the engineering community further complicated the decision for both me and Brindley Engineering.
When the first lockdown was put in place, a potential offer to be hired was paused. There were so many unknowns and Brindley had to pause to collect their thoughts on the immediate future. Even though this was the case, BE Human Resources made it clear that it was not an “if” I would be hired scenario, but a “when” scenario. This was incredibly reassuring, knowing that BE was still interested in hiring me personally, and that they were still doing well enough in uncertain times to continue recruiting in general. It helped to continue to speak with several of the BE employees to get a feel for what the company was doing and what my future role in the process department would be.
The day came where Brindley made the offer official and I said yes!
My first assignment was working on a relief system study for a small midwestern refining company, evaluating overpressure protection strategies, sizing relief devices and compiling relief valve packages for the client. The work also involved re-working the BE relief valve templates and streamlining their functionality to increase efficiency for future relief valve projects…… all of this while working remotely, without the normal face-to-face contact with an entirely new team. Even with this unfortunate set-back, I made it a priority to ensure that I communicated frequently with my fellow process team members, albeit my preference has always been to introduce myself in-person to people I have not previously met, but with the pandemic, this type of interaction was obviously not recommended. For my particular situation, individuals in my immediate family placed us in a higher risk category for severe illness should any family member contract the COVID-19 virus. Even with this constraint, the process team, as well as the BE team in general, has created an environment where I could thrive. The team welcomed me and we worked together ‘remotely’ to get to know each other.
BE made it quite easy to make the jump from a place where I might have felt comfortable riding out the pandemic, to a place that I knew shares my focus on family and career development and growth. The decision I made to join the team is a decision I am grateful for making. My advice to any new hires in a time like this is to always be vocal about your concerns or questions. At BE you will have a team that supports you, even if you are placed into an unplanned situation like this pandemic.
— Bryan Isles, Process Engineer, Brindley Engineering
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