Had I not taken on a secondment I don’t think I would have found a role that I’m able to excel in and enjoy. This was a change to what I was used to as I’d never been part of a project team before. There were ups and downs but through my willingness to learn and put in effort I have found my niche and even now I don’t stop learning and understanding processes I may not have had exposure to in the past.

I have rarely asked for or applied for promotions during my career, generally feeling I was happy where I was and not wanting loads more responsibility, especially since I lost my 21-month-old daughter in 2015. I wanted to come to work, enjoy it and then go home without any added pressures (plus I hate being interviewed!) I think I have naturally progressed and become involved in other things, specifically over the past 10 years. I’ve done it by working hard, being loyal and putting effort into everything I do. I’ve been lucky that my managers have always recognised my potential and pushed me to progress myself and my career. It’s definitely helped when working for the same company for a number of years! I could probably have progressed a bit quicker if I had pushed for it, but that’s not me and that’s ok. You don’t have to be pushy to get where you want to be; it might just take a little longer.

It sounds obvious, but sometimes it can be easy to perform the actions required for your role in a way that doesn’t best amplify your strengths. Be acutely aware of your own strengths and play to them, putting together a development plan for areas of improvement. I’d recommend developing your strengths too. Just because you’re naturally good at something doesn’t mean you should rest on your laurels. Have a mindset of wanting to move from the top 10% to top 1%. Always welcome feedback too whether it’s positive or constructive. Don’t take constructive feedback negatively, to be imperfect is to be human. We all have areas we can improve on.