Julie Terry - P.A. to the Managing Director of Staples UK

The voice on the other end of the 'phone was exactly what I expected of the Executive P.A. to the Managing Director of 'Staples' - one of the U.K.'s premiere office suppliers. The person however, was so far removed from the stereotypical career secretary that one could not help but smile.

Her name is Julie Terry and she's been a PA for many years. The last two of them at Staples where she supported the outgoing M.D. and now makes ready for a changing of the guard, without so much as a ruffled feather in evidence.

"I think I always wanted to be a PA" says Julie in that calm, I can handle anything voice. "And the reality is that I find the job challenging especially now, with so much change going on."

I had to ask. " Did you fear being rolled out with the old guard as sometimes happens when high level management are in flux?"

"Not at all. I met my new boss - Andy Randall - just last week and he spent nearly two hours talking to me about the job, my career, my aspirations with Staples. Obviously things are going to change, but when you feel understanding and genuine interest coming from the other side of the big desk, somehow you know that things are going to be just fine."

I asked Julie what she found to be the most challenging part of the job and she said "The fact that Staples is a retailer". She went on to explain that "Retail brings a different set of challenges that require slightly different skills, for instance a much heavier emphasis on customer service". All in all it seems a lot of things about Julie's job are a good fit for her.

Julie's day-to-day routine as an Executive among the Exec's of the P.A. world, involves things you'd expect and a few that I hadn't thought of before.

For instance the occasional reception she gets when placing a call for her boss, the MD. " Once in a while they do wonder if they've done something wrong" she says with a wry laugh. "However, it's usually some routine question or task that I've been asked to follow up on."

Whilst providing that extra bit of customer service Julie still finds time to sit on the team which administers Staples sizeable community charity efforts and in addition to this, is settled on the committee which helped to flesh out Staples brand new company intranet in the UK. As if this isn't enough, she also managed to combine her busy work schedule with a 2 Year Part-Degree in computer sciences!

When asked what the best part of her job was, it became apparent that she knew as much about the Company as they knew about her.

"I've seen some remarkable efforts to make Staples an even better place to work; increased benefits, Flexitime, but the open door policy for me, provides the best sense of security and of respect. They take it very seriously here. That gives me a great deal of confidence in where they're going."

Still though, I couldn't get away from the fact that she was about to bring in a new manager. Wasn't she nervous in the least?

"No." said Julie. "When someone takes that amount of time to sit down and really hear about who you are and what you expect from them and from the Company, you can fairly well consider that it's going to be a good fit."

When asked about any special plans she had made for the incoming MD, came again that slight chuckle. "I think we're going to work things through just a day at a time. But one thing I do know, it's going to be exciting and challenging.

Shouldn't we all feel that just once in a career?

Day In The Life Series: We are always interested to hear from senior P.A.'s, or people that work in a particularly interesting environment or have a very special story to tell - if that is you, send a short message via email to cportman@deskdemon.com and we will be in touch!