Originally, I applied for an administrator role in the company in January 2006. I was interviewed soon after and was notified in late January that I had been successful.
I interviewed for and became a supervisor in April 2007. I then interviewed for my current role at the end of July 2008 and was called for a meeting and notified of my success in the selection process in September.
Describe a typical day?
Typically, I would spend the first part of the morning following up on queries that are outstanding and trying to get updates from the relevant parties. While the daily production is going on (up to 3:30), a big part of my job is helping others on the team with different issues they may not have seen before and signing off on security price movements and corporate actions.
Generally, there is always something coming up that needs to be prepared for, such as reports to be prepared or outstanding queries to be investigated. Also, the daily distribution of work across the team needs to be looked after which is a task shared by myself and the other assistant manager on the team. We would be the point of contact for all the supervisors and administrators on the team also, which means any issues that they may have would also be dealt with by us.
What are the main tasks and responsibilities?
My main task is to help run the team efficiently in a way that ensures accuracy while maintaining a good team ethic and atmosphere. I am the main point of contact for the client who I am responsilble for and also for other departments within the company who may have any queries. This is also the case for anyone on the team who may have questions related to daily production/personal issues/holidays etc. My role is essentially a supportive one to my Manager and Group Manager.
What are the main challenges?
Within this industry, there is a constant learning curve which keeps you on your toes. I am always coming up against a new query or issue that needs to be resolved. The strict deadlines are always challenging but there is always someone to help out before things get too bad.
Also, initially when I stepped into the role, the idea of having people reporting to me made me wonder how I would be able to deal with it. However, as I had a good relationship with everyone on the team previous to me taking up the position, this was easier than I expected to get used to.
What particular skills do you bring to your workplace?
Good communication skills and approachability are skills I try to improve all the time. I believe these are of paramount importance in any job, but particularly in my current role.
I also enjoy problem solving and have quite an analytical mind.
What's cool?
I am lucky that on my team there is a great sense of support from those reporting to me. If you are ever under pressure, there is always someone asking how they can help out and willing to pitch in to get things done. This makes things alot easier in a deadline driven workplace.
What's not so cool?
Delegating work can be a hard task . Generally myself and the other assistant manager try to share this task as it sometimes takes a lot of thought and effort to organise the workload across the team.
