Preconstruction Coordinator at Skanska UK
Don't be afraid to try things out - if you're not sure what you want to do, just start something and then you can work out where to go from there. Don't stop being 'unqualified' for a job stop you applying - if you can prove you can learn quickly that will help.
About Anna...
Who am I?
"My personality types were Manager, Innovator and Coach. I think they match my personality quite well. In my role, I coach a number of different people on how to best present information to the client when we bid for work. I manage the internal review process, and as bids are all about winning against the competitors, we have to be innovative. I am the person that asks the 'silly' question, and have changed job roles a lot in my career (from science teaching, to construction supervisor, design manager, and quantity surveyor). Transferable skills are the ones that are most useful in today's market."
What do I do?
"The main things I do in my day to day job are: organise and run meetings - send out agendas, take minutes and follow up on actions; review documents to ensure they are correct and to improve spelling and grammar; pull together different teams to create a clear document to send to clients when we are bidding for work. I also assess the risks of projects to ensure that they make good busniess sense.The ultimate outcomes are winning work for Skanska so that we can build new buildings for our clients.The starting salary for my role is around £28,000."
How did I get here?
"I have a Masters in Materials Science, and a PGCE in secondary science teaching. Neither of these directly relate to my current role, but studying for them taught me useful life skills such as time management, and analysis. My employer has paid for me to complete NVQs, and my route to chartership. Who knows where I will be in the end - STEM is so varied that there are so many different routes to take. "
The life I live
"I love yoga and scuba diving, perhaps my next career might include those!"
My typical day
"I spend time at my computer answering email, reviewing documents, and asking people questions to ensure they have considered all options on a bid. I go to quite a lot of meetings, and get to meet lots of interesting people from around the business."
My qualifications
"Maths - A*, Double Award Science - A*A*, Religious Studies - A, English Language - A, English Literature - B, Spanish, A*, P.E. - A, Statistics - A*, Graphics - A*"