KEY POINTS:
NICKY HARRISON
National Human Resources Manager, DHL Express (NZ) Limited.
What was your first job?
My first full-time job was as an administrator for a UK-based company that had three divisions; private investigations, debt recovery and mortgage brokerage.
My role involved the preparation of proposals, sales materials, reports and submissions.
I also managed mortgage, insurance and loan applications and relationship management of lawyers.
That was 20 years ago, when I was 15. Once in the HR field I knew I wanted to work on making a business successful through its people, so I put myself through university whilst working full-time.
Did you enjoy it?
I loved it. The directors were entrepreneurial and the businesses were growing fast so they had high expectations of staff and threw me in at the deep end.
I had the opportunity to develop relationships with some experienced people who coached me.
What did you learn?
How to present myself to customers.
Through working with, and shadowing the sales team, I learnt persuasive and consultative skills.
I learnt that being organised, accurate and confident in your work is important, plus how to communicate and network with people at all levels.
Why did you leave?
After two years, I recognised the limitations for me to develop my career.
I needed to get exposure to more mature businesses, the corporate world, and other industries.
Any advice for someone starting out? A lot of ambitious people move too quickly from job to job.
They should be challenged in their current roles first to develop the depth of experience needed to continue to grow.
