“I really love the environment and attitude we have all created. We are a bunch of happy and friendly people that truly get along with each other. “
Q: What attracted you to work at Calnex?
I’m an honest person so I am going to have to give an honest answer… initially, the first thing that attracted me to Calnex was the short commute to work! I live a 5-minute car journey from the HQ office so I thought what’s not to like if I can get a few extra minutes in bed. But in all seriousness, after I came in for my first interview, I knew it was going to be a great place to work.
Q: How long have you worked at Calnex and how has your career developed?
I started at Calnex back in 2015, straight out of 6th year at high school. Like most people my age, I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I left school so I was open to the many suggestions Indeed.com and other job websites had at that time.
I started my career at Calnex as a Modern Apprentice, studying with West Lothian College. As I didn’t have much experience in administration, I started out doing junior level tasks such as purchasing materials, booking travel, reception duties, mail management etc. Within four years I had worked myself up the ranks to become a Senior Business Administrator taking on higher level tasks such as organising our annual Global Sales Meeting where our Business Partners and employees from across the world would come to Scotland for training on our products. We like to do things a bit differently at Calnex. Prior to lockdown, the last face to face GSM event was held at Edinburgh Zoo, right beside the Chimpanzee enclosure!
I was then given the opportunity to test out the wonderful world of Marketing for a year before coming back to the Operations team to become the Office Manager at our Linlithgow HQ.
Q: Talk us through a typical day for you at Calnex?
In line with government guidance, we are all working at home until it’s safe to go back into the office. My day starts with a coffee, scrolling through my email inbox and checking my calendar to see what meetings I have for the day ahead. I make a list of 3/4 tasks I want to complete by the end of the day and get cracking on with it. I will also have catch ups with my manager and other colleagues throughout the day over video call. Working from home can be lonely at times so it’s nice to see a few friendly faces, even if it is through a computer!
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
I really love the environment and attitude we have all created. Apart from the odd Monday morning, we are a bunch of happy and friendly people that truly get along with each other.
Q: Most challenging aspects of your job?
There are always a few busy spells throughout the year when my workload is higher than normal. This is usually due to a company event taking place. So, I would say prioritising my workload and dealing with tight deadlines is one of the harder parts of my role. It can be difficult to juggle my day-to-day job as well as organising a virtual or in-person event which could be weeks/days away. My team is always there to lend a hand when needed though which is what teamwork is all about!
Q: Is there anything you are especially looking forward to when it’s possible to work in the office again?
Yes, seeing my peeps!! It’s great that we can video call everyone, but it doesn’t compare to being in the office and speaking face-to-face or going for a coffee break together. I’m also excited to go back to the onsite café so I can stop eating the same thing for lunch every, single day!
Q: What do you do for downtime?
I’d normally say I’m not one for hobbies (apart from a good series on Netflix) but since lockdown last year I’ve really got into cooking and up-cycling old furniture.
