I knew that I was reaching my three-year Purple Birthday when a number of LinkedIn notifications started popping up, congratulating me on my anniversary. It was a bit of a surprise actually, in some senses it feels like I have been a Purple person forever, but then I still remember being intimidated by my two computer monitors (something I could not live without now, how do people work on one screen!?)
So, as I have been reminiscing about my time in Purple HQ I thought I would share with you some of the things I have learnt over my years here.
Google is your friend
Every year, just before the schools break up, I go out to local secondary schools and talk to teenagers about careers. Every single time I tell them that if they are at a job interview and are questioned about finding a solution to a problem, the right answer is always Google it! If you have a problem, I would bet a new plastic fiver that someone else has experienced that problem and posted the solution or some guidance online.
Google doesn’t have to just be about problem resolving. If I want to know if there is an easier way to do something google it - you would not believe the amount of crazily useful things I have discovered over the years that help me in my job every single day.
Never ever assume
This was a wise piece of advice given to me by Andrew very early on in my Purple life. Never ever assume you know what the client wants, you will only get it wrong. I have also learnt this the hard way and you only have to undo what you thought you knew and start all over again. That is why I now ask a million questions, you might think I am asking the obvious but trust me, I am just making sure we are all on the same page!
People really are awesome
The main part of my role is people and I am lucky that I work with some incredible people, whether that be wonderful clients or the absolutely flipping fantastic Purple team that are here at Aske. I have had clients bring me flowers, bake me my dinner, send hampers of tea or even bring their dogs to the office just so I can meet them. (Yes I am dog obsessed!) I have also been to some amazing places and been given the opportunity to go behind the scenes of many great businesses and charities. We really do have some wonderful clients. The Purple team are also incredible, the support network that we have is brilliant, we are a close bunch who work hard and play hard together and I am incredibly lucky to have them all in my life. Soppiness over and let’s move on…..
Learn how to use your computer!
I remember watching Phil use his computer in my first few weeks and being amazed at the shortcuts and hacks that he knew to work faster and more efficiently. This wasn’t just in the web world but also in every day programmes such as Microsoft Word and Excel. I wanted to be able to be that fast and efficient and I spent ages looking up ways to use programmes and popular shortcuts that I now use on a daily basis.
Use Chrome
This one needs no explanation at all, just use Google Chrome!