Transcript – Jen

There’s things I learn every day still. I don’t think I’ll ever be completely comfortable in this job; there’s always something you’re thinking, “Oh... I’d like to consult my books!” But no, I think I definitely want to stay for at least another year because I think I’ve got a lot more to learn from Ernst and Young.

That’s the best thing about this job; you do get thrown in at the deep end but there’s help there. I am always one for - if there’s something I am unsure of, I will ask, like I think there’s no point in trying to figure something out if you’re going to waste time, and it’s easier just to ask. There’s always support, so the fact that you do get thrown in at the deep end - it can be scary but the support is there, that it takes away a lot of how scary it is - and you find that you actually can do it, and then you’re quite proud of yourself that you managed to do something you weren’t sure of at first. I do like being thrown in at the deep end. It shows you can always swim!

One of the things that I always seem to get in feedback is that I’m very confident and I don’t think that I’m a confident person at all, but I think I come across as confident to the people I work with; so that’s always something that surprises me, that I’m confident, determined and kind of things like that; I don’t see those qualities in myself, so they always surprise me.

I have been rated as one of the top performers, which got me on to the New Horizons programme, but I would say 90 per cent of that is because I received great coaching in my first two years at the job. I worked with some people who were fantastic, really, really good, and they are so good at explaining things that it made me a lot better at my job, I have no doubt about that.

So I’m really keen to try and give the same opportunity to others: so I’ve seen what good coaching is, and I try and replicate that as best I can. I think it’s a nice thing to see people doing well and people blossoming in the job, and if you can help that, then I’m really keen to. I really enjoy coaching; it’s a great aspect of the job because you work with people, and that’s what I like about it; it’s such a sociable job.