My first two weeks can be described as nothing less than a whirlwind! From a welcome breakfast on London Bridge to meeting one of our clients in Southampton, I’ve definitely had an all round LACE experience.
In my first week I found myself sitting in on the Leadership Team Meeting, a completely new experience to say the least. With floods of information coming my way from different members of the team, I was given my first real insight into how the business operates. This meeting eventually turned into a dinner where I then got the chance to chat to everyone on a more personal level – a great introduction!
Two trips to Southampton in three days to meet a new client gave me the opportunity to dive right into what LACE do. I sat in on several interviews with our senior consultants and took notes. This experience allowed me to observe the pros at work first-hand.
When the interviews finished we reviewed my notes and I was able to ask about anything I was unsure about. One thing I still can’t get over is how friendly and welcoming everyone has been. Right from my first day it has been emphasized to me that no question is a stupid question, and to feel free to ask anyone anything at any time. This made everything a lot less daunting and has enabled me to soak up a lot more information.
Last night I went to a talk on Trust and Technology in Westminster. One of the exercises was to unlock your phone and then swap it with the person next to you for 30 seconds. I swapped my phone with a well-dressed businessman, naively thinking that he wouldn’t do anything outrageous. To my dismay, when he handed back my phone, he had texted Cathy (our Founder and COO!), saying ‘Love you baby’ followed by three, large, red love heart emojis. Cathy replied immediately thinking that I had texted the wrong person… Cringe!!! I went bright red and explained to Cathy what had just happened. The whole team were in stitches about it afterwards.
What a way to end my second week! Had that happened in any other company I expect there would’ve been somewhat different outcome – one that didn’t end in laughter! I feel extremely lucky to have been taken on by such kind and close-knit business and am very much looking forward to the challenges that will be thrown at me in the future. I’ve even been assigned the task of organizing the end of year party in November – wish me luck! 🙂
Tara McCormick joined LACE soon after graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in Classical Studies.
