Well with it being the beginning of a new year, a time when so many of us reflect on the past your and make resolutions around ‘new beginnings’ ‘new me’, etc.  This seems like the perfect time to talk about the process I went through of getting my current job which was the beginning of my ‘new me’ journey back in August 2022.

Having put my career or even thoughts of having a career on hold for a number of years I found that when I tried to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, even though I’m already in my thirties, I had no idea.  Since having my first child I hadn’t really thought about a job being anything more than I way to make money and pay the bills but with all the changers and upheaval in my life (see December 2022 post) I found that when I started to feel myself again there was something missing.  That something was a job that I wanted to get out of bed for.  A job which would lead to the ability to build myself a career so that when the kids grow up and leave the nest I wont be in a position where I feel like I have nothing.

The thing I have always been good at is being organised.  Not only organising my own life but also those around me, whether they want my help or not.  I love to problem solve and whenever anyone has an issue I like to swoop in and try and fix it for them.  Sometimes to my detriment, sometimes I have had to accept that they don’t want or need the help, but either way my keenness has remained.  These characteristics are what led me to believe a Personal Assistant/Executive Assistant role would be good for me.  With this in mind I applied for and got a new job in June 2019 working in a different school as a headteachers PA/admin assistant.  The admin assistant role I had already been doing for 4 years so I knew that like the back of my hand, but tying in the PA on the side seemed like a great way to try out being a PA and see how it suited me whilst still staying a school role which gave me the safety of knowing a lot of the role already and kept the flexibility of the school hours and schools holidays for the kids, which being a single mum was crucial to me at the time.

As I had hoped the PA job suited me down to the ground.  I gelled really well with the headteacher and got stuck in getting systems and process set up left, right and centre, stuff I really love to do.  After 3 years in this role I felt ready to go out and get a full time PA job.  My kids were both old enough to get themselves to and from school so the hours were no longer an issue.  They had there own stuff going on through the holidays too however giving up my holidays was a huge concern, its hard after having school holidays for 7 years!!  I found a role which allowed 2 days a week working from home, which was a great compromise as I would be able to be at home if the kids needed something during the holidays at least on a few days.

When I started this role in August 2022 I was taking a huge leap of faith, in myself, which was a new concept and something which I hadn’t done in a long time but it gave me such a confidence boost to have got the job and to have gotten along so well with the HR manager and my new boss that I put all my anxiety to the back of my mind at forged ahead.  There’s something so ‘first day of school’ about starting a new job, I have always found, those butterflies in your tummy, that fear that you will have no one to sit with at lunch.  Finding a company which makes you feel instantly welcome is rare, but I feel like I have found the diamond in the rough.

Thanks for following!

Kay x