Efi Fragkorapti

"I am a Developer, an Investigator, a Trainer- spot on! I am all about making us and the world around us better- but in a humane manner. I get excited about new projects, new people, new challenges, I am determined and not scared to face obstacles. I am curious about new skills or information, which I can use to solve problems. I enjoy working alone and in teams, also passionate about sharing my knowledge and experiences with others."

"I work as a technical sales engineer within the industrial market, focusing on chemicals, oil and gas and mining. I cover a large and culturally diverse geographical area, which makes my daily work more colorful. I get to use my general engineering background rather than specific pieces of knowledge for my work, but I enjoy the human interaction and the fact that I never get the same day twice. My work can be stressful but nothing like finding a solution that makes your customer happy and grateful. The starting salary for my job can be low but typically there is no ceiling- plus you would usually get a car and other benefits. You wouldn't find many women in such roles unfortunately, but it's time for us to change this!"

"At the age of 15 during a Career day at school back in my home country, I attended a speech from a female chemical engineer. She was a true inspiration for me and a few years later she was one of my teachers in the university. During my studies, I moved to Spain for 6 months with the Erasmus program, which gave me a new perspective on the possibilities for my career. After I graduated, I worked as R&D engineer for a few months, which made me realise that this type of work is not a good fit for me. I started my career in sales soon after, working for a small company back in Greece. Pall, my current employer, found me and recruited me on LinkedIn; I made the decision to move to England to pursue my current role in sales and the rest is history."

"I get a full day at work most of the time, but always try to unwind with pilates, yoga or a quick cardio kick boxing session in the evening. I'm a very social creature; I love going out with friends, shopping, attending dancing classes and travelling. I speak 4 languages and try to practise as much as I can. I also enjoy the nature and love a good hike in the English countryside or a swim in the summer, if the weather allows. I also cook and bake- pretty much like chemical engineering anyway! I adore all animals and will pet each and every animal I find on my way! :)"

"My work includes both big value projects and small business with different customers, mainly in Europe and Africa. A typical work day begins with a couple of meetings, where we catch up with my colleagues. Then I will read my emails and try to respond to easy questions, or forward to other people/departments, if necessary- being the face in front of the customer, means I am the first point of contact for everything- but not necessarily the person who needs to do something about it. I will then move on to the more technical/difficult enquiries and projects; I will do the sizing, product selection, proposal preparation and respond to any questions from the customer. The biggest challenge is being interrupted by phone calls, urgent enquiries or internal/external meetings which can get me out of track- but for me this is the interesting part as it keeps me on my toes. Work can get stressful as we need to meet specific sales targets, but any job in sales will have that. "

"I hold a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, specialising in energy, including conventional and renewable fuels. I speak fluently Greek, Spanish and English, my German and Catalan are not as good as they used to be unfortunately. I have attended training sessions in presentation skills and finance, which helps me with my day-to-day work and career development. In my job, I have seen that most of the soft skills required you learn when doing the job- and as your role develops your personality will do too. Which is why I love it so much!"