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September 26, 2018
My first ever job was mowing a lawn for an old lady in the village who made me sandwiches every time I came. My first ‘proper’ job was as a Trainee Accountant at London Underground.
I have been working in FM for 24 years.
Like most people in FM, I didn’t necessarily choose it as a career. My first job in FM was as a temp. However, once I realised it was the career for me, I dedicated myself to it and took all of my BIFM qualifications and received an outstanding achievement award for my results.
The industry has become far better recognised and more professional since I began. At the start of my career, most people didn’t even know what FM was. It’s also encouraging to see that there is a much clearer career path in FM and that the next generation of FM stars are choosing FM as a career (even studying for it at college/university).
I think the impact of Brexit is still unknown and there may be problems for our staff and clients that will need careful navigation once the Brexit deal is agreed.
From a work perspective, it was being part of a team under our chairman Mark Cooper that delivered T-Mobile’s new corporate Headquarters at Hatfield in 2003. From a personal perspective, it was rowing at Henley Royal Regatta at the age of 44.
I don’t recall any specific advice, but I can say that I’ve had two very influential managers in my early career (Simon and Robert) who not only helped me professionally, but also personally. One of the things I learned from both, was to have confidence in myself and trust in my abilities.