Friday 6 February 2015

Coffee Date Interview 1 - Karen









Name: Karen
Job Title: Self Employed Tour Rep



1. When the going gets tough......?
Depends whether work or personal. I will work however many hours it takes to get the job done (and done well), to the exclusion of everything else, including taking care of my well being, so I can get worn out and stressed very easily

2. What’s the first thing you do on arriving at work?
If working from home...read emails, although I know that's perhaps not best use of time! If away working it varies according to the job.

3. Anything is possible,what would you want to do?
I like my work, so probably wouldn't change it too much. Maybe more research into new places for tours and putting holiday programmes together in France. I enjoy academic learning so would probably quite enjoy doing a degree course or similar. I would like to give away some of the "dross" and maybe spend less time doing unpaid jobs and admin (e.g running clubs) which something (conscious??, hidden agenda?) seems to pull me into....... I'm adaptable and can cope with most things, so I'm usually happy to go along with what everyone else wants, but sometimes that leads to my needs being put aside so I would maybe like to change that. Also life feels very cluttered, needs a spring clean....

4. What’s the best thing about your job?
No routine, peaks and troughs, varied and interesting, constant learning/educating myself e.g about France and its history, chance to travel somewhere I love, being relatively free to do the job how I want to do it, can work by myself but have lots of contact with people.....

5. When is your most productive time of the day?
In the morning

6. What’s the best advice given to you?
No one thing but lots of little tips from managers, mentors and teachers in the past e.g "don't guild the lily", although I don't often follow that one! "You are what people perceive you to be" - helps you understand why you are misunderstood sometimes; the first line of "A road less travelled" - "life is difficult" so you don't expect too much, and probably the best advice from a dear friend "there's no right or wrong path, they will simply be different"

7. Did you have a career plan or just meandered your way into your present job?
No career plan, just followed my interests. Status and career development not important, enjoyment of job, variety and freedom most important and enough money to pay the bills.

8. When you were little, what did you want to be?
Nurse, wife/mother, later a PE teacher. Love of French as a teenager has come through in career.

9. Star Wars or Star Trek?
When younger Star Trek, now Star Wars!

10.Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey?
Definitely Jamie

11. Pudding or Cheese and Biscuits?
Cheese n biscuits

12. Ketchup or Brown Sauce?
Ketchup, but usually neither.




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