Paige Gelder

"My main personality matches were with Coach, Influencer and Manager. The descriptions of each of these fit me very well! I didn’t expect them to be so accurate. I am creative and good at working with a wide range of people (Coach); diplomatic and good with detail (Influencer); and motivated, adaptable and open-minded (Manager). I think these personality types fit the work I do as I have to be adaptable to last-minute changes from the client or sales team, I need to have a good eye for detail in producing technical documents and I work with a lot of different teams across the company (industry experts, marketing, sales etc.). For the ‘Manager’ type especially, I have to motivate myself in some of the work I do and work independently, so this is also an important skill. "

"My role is to provide technical support for our scientific software and help clients undergo large projects to change how their business works. This might mean helping a client to work quicker, waste less or be more cost effective. As outcomes, I deliver presentations and demonstration about how to use different parts of our software to teams in my company and also clients. I help to produce technical documents to help people understand how our software works and what the benefits of it are. The thing I enjoy most about my job is that every day is different and I get to help businesses become more sustainable and better, through using software. The starting salary for my role is average for the software consultancy industry at ~£25,000. "

"During my time at university, I was awarded a Volunteering Scholarship, where I travelled to Mumbai, India, for 7 weeks to work with a sustainability NGO ‘Earth5R’. This really solidified my desire to make sustainability an important part of my future job and work as part of a diverse, international team. In my current role, sustainability is at the core of our purpose and I frequently work with colleagues in northern Europe and America. My A level physics teacher is the person who inspired me the most – he was a mentor to me before I understood what a mentor was, and his belief in me pushed me to achieve the highest grade in the class and ultimately go on to study Engineering. I am the first member of my entire family to attend and graduate university so it was great to have this external support during my school days."

"I enjoy being creative, through watercolour painting or cooking, spending time with friends and reading – I am an avid reader and love to read a mix of fiction and non-fiction books. Being active is also an important part of my spare time and helps me keep a clear head. Something that most people don’t know about me is that I am a 1st Dan black belt in Shotokan Karate. I begin learning martial arts when I was 13 and was awarded my black belt at 17; I don’t frequently practice that much anymore but the skills I learnt, such as motivation and self-discipline, are useful every day. "

"My typical day starts with a cup of coffee and checking emails on my laptop to see if I have any urgent requests coming in for that day. After that, I will work for the morning on some project work – this could be researching, creating information materials or speaking with experts to assist me. I make sure to have my lunch away from my desk to break up my day, and then I check my email again quickly after lunch for updates. Depending on the day, I could spend a few hours learning a new bit of software through a Training Session, or just playing around with it. I usually have a check in call with my project team in the afternoon, to see everyone’s progress and address any issues that day. During lockdown, I also sometimes have a quick ‘coffee call’ in the mid-afternoon with my colleagues from the office, to have a chat and keep the social aspect now we’re all at home! I usually work on 3 or 4 projects at a time, so I usually have to prioritise what is most important on that day or week, meaning I regularly work on multiple projects in a day and will finish the day working on a different project to what I started the day. "

"After my GCSEs, I studied Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics at A level. After this, I went to university to study an integrated Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering. I graduated in 2017 and after taking some time out to refresh and recharge, I joined the Graduate Programme at Dassault Systèmes, where I was able to spend 3 months in 3 different roles in the business. I learnt a lot and it helped me to figure out where exactly I wanted to start my career. I finished the Graduate Programme and decided I wanted to gain more experience in the technical side of the company, so I moved into the role of an Industry Process Consultant, which is where I am now. "