Role: Europe management information business partner
Location: UK
Highlight: career opportunity
What were you doing before you joined Vodafone?
I had children quite young so didn’t have the opportunity to go to university. I worked part-time and, when they were a bit older, studied part-time for my HNC. When my children started school I joined a local firm that supported me in studying for my AAT qualification. After I gained that, I needed a new challenge. Vodafone gave me the chance to work for them and study for CIMA.
How do the skills you’ve gained from the CIMA qualification help you in your job?
One of the skills I use a lot, and which I got from the TOPCIMA exam, is picking out the key points from a raft of information and prioritising them. It’s particularly helpful when I’m meeting with my manager as obviously he doesn’t want to have to wade through a load of detail to get to what’s important. But in fact I need to prioritise almost daily. I’m constantly faced with fresh challenges and need to decide which are urgent and which can wait.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I love meeting people. I work in head office and we have contact with our offices around the world so I’m constantly in contact with different people and different departments. Now my children are older I would love to make the most of the fact that Vodafone is an international company and go overseas for a year or 18 months to experience another culture.
Can you describe some of the challenges in studying for your qualification?
It’s really tough. You have to be very disciplined. When my kids were at school, I studied. And when my friends were going out, I studied. You have to find the dedication to study and see that the outcome will be worth it.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of studying for the CIMA qualification?
Don’t think about it, just do it.