I have always worked in retail from a young age while at school, college and now as my main career. I am hugely motivated and ambitious wanting to always be a high achiever always wanting to impress my superiors and also myself. People have always believed in me so I find this is what encouraged me to make decisions to put myself forward for more responsibility. The biggest milestone for me was believing in myself, as even though people believe in me, I was always afraid of letting someone down. I now know when I believe in my own capabilities I can succeed at anything.

While I was finishing my degree I applied to numerous recruitment agencies. I met with a recruitment agency in Dublin who were very helpful and assessed my experience. They then suggested the Sales Operations Manager position for Lidl. It sounded like a great position but I was anxious that management might be a big step. Thankfully after 2 successful interviews I started working for Lidl in their regional distribution centre based in Charleville.

The role as Sales Operations Manager is so diverse, with a level of responsibility I thrive on. There are also great benefits which are a bonus; such as a competitive salary, fully expensed company car, health cover and the accountability of running your own business within the district you manage.

If I’m honest my subjects in school didn’t seem to be about shaping my career. You should always speak to your career guidance teacher as they provide very useful information as to what’s needed, such as if you want to go to a university you will need a language.

When I completed my Leaving Cert I went to Waterford Institute of Technology to complete a Certificate in Business Studies. After 2 years I received my cert and decided to continue to complete my degree. At this stage I had to select a stream to take, I chose retail management. It had just been introduced that year I chose it, so it was new for everybody. It was a very practical course which also included a year of work experience. This year really helped me confirm that retail was what I loved and I went on to complete my Bsc in Retail Management.

Communication is a module I studied while at college and as we all know it is very important to communicate well to achieve results and improve your confidence level. I have done numerous presentations while at college which prepared me for speaking in front of large amounts of people in the work environment. Also the I.T. I studied in college was helpful as it an essential requirement for most organisations as technology is the way forward. You receive basic training in college which you can keep building on through practice. Typing is important in college for projects and also in the work environment for projects. It is also a help so that you can understand different systems which may be introduced into your stores.

Currently I am in my dream job, as I am working as a Sales Operations Manager for Lidl.

I am currently participating in the exchange programme with Lidl Germany to further develop my knowledge of the language and how we operate in the country in which we originated. When I return to Ireland, I would like to complete my Masters in Retail Management as a challenge and goal for myself.