‘It felt like jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool’

As a qualified lawyer and barrister, Chloe McCarthy worked in big law firms in the UK and Sydney before she decided to switch career paths – an experience that she says felt like jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool. After returning home to Ireland, she took the plunge and joined a start-up company in the construction industry, Glenveagh.

Thankfully, over five years later, the company is thriving, having gone public and scaled significantly. However, Chloe still remembers how she felt at the time of her career change. Here, she shares how she navigated this life-altering change and overcame imposter syndrome along the way.

Tell us a bit about your current role and your career path.

I am currently the group company secretary at Glenveagh. I provide legal and regulatory advice to the board of directors of our publicly-listed parent company, Glenveagh Properties plc, and I am also responsible for our corporate governance and compliance with laws and regulations across the plc and all of its subsidiary companies.

My career path initially took a very traditional legal route. I studied law and business in UCD and then went straight on to King’s Inns. I completed the Barrister-at-Law Degree and was called to The Bar of Ireland, practising for a couple of years.

What prompted you to switch career paths? Why did you choose construction?

Like many of my peers, my career path was undoubtedly shaped by the recession in Ireland. I ultimately found the temptation of the opportunities available elsewhere in the world, both professionally and personally, impossible to ignore and I left Ireland to live first in London and later in Sydney. While I continued to work in legal roles, my years in London and Sydney led me in a more corporate, commercial direction.

As for choosing the construction industry, in truth, the decision to take the role in Glenveagh was largely related to the people involved in starting this company, and the opportunity to join them for a potential IPO (initial public offering). My knowledge of the wider construction industry was very limited when I started, and it has certainly been a learning curve for me!

Community is so important in the workplace. How have you forged supportive connections with your colleagues? Do you often lean on them for advice or encouragement?

Deciding to join Glenveagh ahead of the IPO felt very much like jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool. It was a new role for me, among a newly formed senior management team and in a new company that was about to list on two different stock exchanges. Surviving the pace and pressure of those first few years after IPO was all down to the people around me, and the feeling that we were in it together as a team.

My colleagues in senior management have grown in number over the past six years, but the culture that was forged during our early days remains.

You mentioned feeling like you were in the deep end of the pool. What were you feeling at that time and how did you overcome this?

I definitely felt a level of self-doubt in the run-up to IPO, and for the first year or so afterwards as we encountered different challenges for the first time as a business. I often felt quite conscious of being the youngest person in a meeting room, or the only female, and I underestimated my own ability.

As I developed relationships with my colleagues, I realised that we were all feeling the same pressure and uncertainty, it just manifested in different ways.  That knowledge made me feel more comfortable in expressing concerns and asking colleagues for help when needed.

Your work environment can have a major impact on your confidence. How did Glenveagh’s culture encourage your self-belief and allow you to grow in your role?

It’s tough working in a start-up environment, which is essentially what Glenveagh was when I joined. The pace is intense, and it can feel unrelenting for the first few years, but I gained a huge amount of confidence simply by having to act. I had to figure out what I didn’t know as I went along, but after a while, I could look back and see proof of what I had accomplished in the role, and that consistent cycle helped me to grow in both confidence and ability.  

Any advice for other young women who are struggling with imposter syndrome?

No one is judging your performance or ability nearly as much as you are – they are all focused on their own!

As one of Ireland’s leading homebuilders, Glenveagh’s vision is that everyone should have the opportunity to access affordable, high-quality homes in flourishing communities across Ireland. They prioritise diversity and inclusivity across the company and are on a mission to break the male-dominated stereotype of the construction industry, encouraging women from all different backgrounds to join their team.