Ana F.
About me
| Ana F. | |
| History | |
| History | |
| Undergraduate | |
| Goodricke | |
| 2003 | |
| Portugal |
My employment
| Project Manager | |
| France | |
| Digital and IT services |
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A day in the life of a Project Manager in France
I work in a small office in Paris, with people from different countries. We code switch from French to English a great deal and it's great fun.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
It's an online language training provider, working in B2B, with a mix of private and public sector clients
What do you do?
I work with clients, language teachers, and an IT delivery team to ensure that learners make progress and learn the languages they need to achieve their goals
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
Big influence from my mum, who was a director of studies at a language school. Lots of travel, and having lived outside of Portugal since I was 18 (in Japan, Belgium, the UK and France) has made me acutely aware of how language frames our view of the world around us.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
I didn't have very clear goals when I finished Uni. I wanted to work and travel. Teaching English as a Foreign language allowed me to do this and then I fell in love with the industry and have been working in training ever since.
Describe your most memorable day at work
My first day teaching in Japan. I was shaking as I was very nervous. I had never taught before and I'm pretty sure that the classes I prepared in my the first few months on the job were not brilliant but.....I stuck with it, my students were kind and patient and it turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
Plenty - I centralise all communications and am ultimately responsible for delivery. I have to juggle the expectations of clients, teachers and the IT teams, and relay to each of them the priorities of the other parties, talk everyone through any delays and problems etc....It's challenging, but also very rewarding when it goes well.
What’s your work environment and culture like?
I work in a small office in Paris, with people from different countries. We code switch from French to English a great deal and it's great fun.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
I tried all sorts of things that I didn't really stick to (Russian and fencing come to mind), but....I did join a tutoring scheme, and that was perhaps the beginning of the interest in pedagogy and teaching
What would you like to do next with your career?
I intend to carry on working in my industry and in a similar position, but I do aim at some point to start my own business focusing on teaching Portuguese as a foreign language
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
If you're not one of the people with a clear career path (the dentists, lawyers, doctors etc....), just start somewhere, anywhere, and learn all you can. If you feel that you are surrounded by nice people who like what they do, throw yourself into it, and give it all your energy.
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Anything really
Next steps...
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