What does your role entail and how long have you been doing it?
I am a senior account manager within the B2C team at Smoove, where I have been for three and a half years. My job is to sell our services directly to consumers, alongside supporting and guiding my colleagues within the team to do the same.
What attracted you to working in the mortgage/property/finance sector?
The conveyancing sector was very alien to me before starting this role. I love learning new things and expanding my knowledge on processes that are important to everyday life, so this role was an amazing opportunity for me.
What were you doing in the five years before starting here?
Before Smoove, I was at college studying music performance and frequently playing live shows. After college, I got a job at a premium department store selling men’s designer jeans for about two years. This workplace was heavily affected by the decline of the high street and I decided to look for an alternative career, which led to me to join Smoove.
What personal talent/skill is most valuable in doing your job?
I’d say my self-motivation skills. There is a lot of independence in the role so without being able to sit down every day and motivate myself, I would be useless. I come to work with the same attitude every day which is to finish the day knowing I have done everything I can to benefit Smoove and my team.
What personal talent/skill would you most like to improve on?
I am always going to want to improve my sales skills. Sales is an ever-changing skill that can never be mastered therefore there will always be something to improve on.
How has the pandemic changed the way you approach your job?
The pandemic has changed my role in a monumental way. I started this role working in the office every day, surrounded by my colleagues. Overnight we were all thrown into the deep end of homeworking. Because of this, my role became more independent and self-motivation was key to being successful in this role which is how I developed this skill.
What is the most interesting/memorable property deal/case you’ve been involved in?
My own property purchase was by far the most interesting transaction I have been involved in. I instructed one of our panelled firms to do the conveyancing on my purchase and it was great to go through the process and understand what our clients go through on a day-to-day basis. It is something that massively increased my knowledge of the product because I got to experience it first-hand.
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I have already been fortunate enough to have progressed to a senior role, and I would love to be promoted to a higher-up managerial role within the next five years. On top of that, I would love to see my colleagues progress to bigger and better roles alongside me.
If present-day you could go back in time and tell yourself something five years ago, what would it be?
I would tell myself that not knowing what I want to do in life is not something to be stressed out about. I was always anxious about what I was going to do as an adult, but I have ended up in an amazing role surrounded by amazing people.
I’d also tell myself what the lottery numbers will be.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve tackled so far in your career?
Being promoted from a temporary worker to a full-time account manager. I started this role as a temp to assist with a high influx of B2C leads and I soon realised that I enjoyed the job and I did everything I could to keep it. Through hard work and learning a completely new role, I managed to pass my probation and was made an account manager. This was a very proud moment for my career and I still vividly remember the day I was told.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I would love to be able to teleport. There are unlimited possibilities, from heading to Spain for tapas on my lunch break or simply going to visit friends and family without the frustrations of travelling.
And finally, what’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked?
Although quite a common question: what is the meaning to life? To this day I have no idea what the answer is and I don’t know if I ever will.
