Amanda PhillipsWhat age did you leave school?
I left school when I was 16 with 8 standard grades
What were your thoughts on your career at that time?
I had no idea but I left knowing I had some casual part-time work in the Royal Mail over that summer. I stayed for 7 years then decided to do something different. I found a college prospectus and ultimately completed an HNC in Travel & Tourism.
What brought you to Barrhead Travel?
I completed my HNC with the intention of doing an HND however after attending a jobs fair with a friend I decided to apply for a job with a B2B tour operator. I landed the job and worked there for seven years in various departments. An opportunity came up to work in the corporate world of travel where I met a good friend who moved on to work for Barrhead Business Travel. Some years later my friend told me there was an opportunity with Barrhead Business Travel and so I went for it!
How have you progressed since then?
I was the Team Leader for three years and in this time I had the opportunity to develop my skillset by incorporating management and account management into the role. A year and a half ago I succeeded the previous Account Manager and I am loving the opportunity to grow within the role and developing great relationships with my clients and suppliers. If I hadn’t moved to Barrhead Business Travel I would never have had this opportunity elsewhere in such a short period of time.
What has been the highlight of your career?
There have been a few but the one I am most proud of is rolling out a Mental Health & Wellbeing focus company-wide. I approached senior staff with my ideas, they loved them and developed them into an overarching company focus. I was included in every aspect of the process and put forward to be the company’s first Mental Health and Welling Champion. I was sent on a Mental Health First Aid course to ensure I was comfortable with my new responsibility.
What advice would you give someone based on your experience?
You can achieve anything you want as long as you work hard for it. Make the most of all situations even the bad ones, take the positives from them and never focus on the negative. The most important thing to learn is you have to fail in order to learn, to grow and to be determined in getting to your fixed or subsequently changed goals, so don’t be hard on yourself along the way, you will get there.