Katie Lewis

"Hello - how are you doing?I am Katie and my top three personality types were Coordinator, Influencer and Manager! I think this summarises my personality both at work and in my personal life well - I am ALWAYS the friend to organise the night out or holiday. The quality of a Coordinator that I relate most to is 'willing to help when needed' - I love helping people and find I get so much energy from doing so. Even with simple things like doing the tea round! The other quality I identitywith is \"good at communicating what people want\" - I pride myself of knowing what people are saying, but also what they are not saying. Body language gives away much more of what someone wants to say than the words coming out of their mouth.With Influencer - the statement I am drawn to is \"good at explaining so that people understand\". I did a physics degree and have a very mathematically wired brain - however I automatically change my explanations based on someone's level of understanding. It wasn't until I got to University I realised how rare that is - most our university lecturers could not do it! My last personality type was Manager. \"Team orientated\" jumps out to me. I am so team orientated - but see teams everywhere not just at work. I often call my family my team and nothing makes me happier than seeing the team/family achieve. My friends are also definitely part of my team and with that I will support and motivate them. The next word is \"open minded\" - this is something I am actively working on. I am open minded but I am consciously trying to learn more and be better to ensure I am being as inclusive as possible at all times. I am a Project Manager - so all 3 personality types fit very well with my job. This isn't a surprise as I love my job and my personality allows me to perform whilst still enjoying myself!"

"My job currently is to save money on our programme (which is upgrading the train line between Manchester and Leeds). How do I achieve that?I organise meetings - including deciding who needs to be there to get the decision or plan we need to move forward. I then have to track all the outcomes from that meeting to ensure everything is completed on time. I track our progress to our targets, and make sure that is reported to all of our stakeholders (stakeholders are anyone and everyone who has an interest in our Programme)I analyse lots of data to see what our current costs will be.I speak to a wide range of people to make sure the good work being done elsewhere on the Programme to save money is being communicatedI enjoy Project work because there is a start and a finish - so you can see the finished result. I am looking forward to the line being finished and getting on a faster train from York to Manchester (though it will be at least 10 more years!). I enjoy being a Project Manager because you get to drive for the correct outcome. Salary: A graduate project manager salary is £26,500 with a £2,000 starting bonus at Network Rail when I started. "

"Great question on how I ended up here - lets start the tale at Sixth Form.At Sixth Form, I studied A Levels in Maths, Economics and Physics. I also worked in a Chinese Takeaway, where I learned the importance of being organised, making sure all the orders were delivered as correctly and as quickly as possible! I also had to get organised to balance working in the evenings, going to Sixth Form and keeping my social life!I decided to go to University to study Physics, as I found it the most interesting at Sixth Form. I wanted to go into Finance - but knew that any math based degree would develop the skills I needed so I went for what I enjoyed the most.I went to University in Manchester to study Physics (it was HARD, definitely the hardest thing I have ever done by a good few quantum miles...). In my first Summer, I went to work at Butlins as a fairground operator. I loved this as we got to live and work as a team. The next summer I had two jobs: one in a clothes shop (which I loved, I loved talking to customers and organising/getting creative with the clothing displays). I also worked in an accountancy office. I did not enjoy that job, as it was not a good personality fit for me. This was a difficult time as the route I thought I was following was not for me. After I graduated University, I went back to the clothes shop and picked up a couple of jobs in local pubs. Again I loved getting to talk to people all day (and night). But I knew I wanted to use my degree and continue to learn. I was considering doing a Masters when a friend suggested Project Management though the Year in Industry scheme. I applied for a few but Network Rail was the best fit, and I guess you could say the rest is history!"

"I play netball in a local league, and I am also training for a half marathon currently! I am also finding time to visit each one of York's 205 pubs in the year."

"I plan each day around what I have in my diary. Some days I have 7 hours of meetings to attend (a mix of sessions I have organised and sessions other people have organised). Some days I don't have any meetings. I will always start the day looking at and replying to my emails. I then prioritise the tasks on my \"to do\" list, and will tick through them (always with a tea in hand!). There are some tasks I have to do every week but most are Ad Hoc which keeps the job very fresh and interesting. "

"A Levels (Maths, Economics, Physics)Physics Degree (BSc Hons)Year in Industry Network RailGraduate Scheme Network Rail"