You are a Management Assistant at Thomson CompuMark. Can you describe a typical day at work?
Almost every day is different. Not only, I am the personal assistant of our Managing Director and our Group Managing Director, I am also the office manager in Antwerp. Next to managing calendars and preparing meetings in Belgium and abroad, I am also responsible for all removals within the company. In Antwerp we have 250 employees who change places very often. Not always an easy job but challenging. Booking travel and organizing trips from door to door take some of my time as well. Due to the reorganization within Thomson Reuters, I am the project manager for several new projects which have to be implemented for Thomson CompuMark.
You like working in an international environment, isn’t it? If I am not mistaken, you worked in London for quite some time.
I would not be able to work in a small local company. I love an international environment and the contacts from whole over the world. In 2000 I decided to move to London, a city which I love a lot. Via a headhunter I got a job as Personal Assistant to the CEO of Thomson Legal & Regulatory Europe. A very challenging and demanding job but more than worth it. I have learned a lot about different cultures and countries.
What were the main culture differences you had to face with?
I was very surprised that a lot of institutions and organizations were still years behind in my eyes. In the UK for instance, you can only open a bank account if you have an invoice with your name and address on. As long as you can not show such an invoice, you can not open an account. Your employment contract, passport or letter from the Belgian bank do not matter. Most invoices are paid with checks. Something that didn’t exist in Belgium anymore. The first train I took, looked very old, the kind of train my great grandparents took, a train I had only seen in a museum.
How did your London experience enrich you in both a professional and private way?
It was the best decision I ever took in my live and the best experience I have had. The work and lifestyle is different to ours. Live and work are very hectic and you almost need to run to keep up but it was very stimulating and gave you lots of energy. In the office it was hard work with long days. Usually I arrived around 8h00 and only got out around 19h00 with no lunch break. Working at the headquarters of the European group was fantastic experience.
In the UK, most people are very open and talk to you very easily. On Saturdays, I went for a walk. By coincidence, I bought this book with weekly walks and on Saturday, people met in the “middle carriage” of the train. Very weird to me but it was another great experience. The whole day you were out walking through woods, parks, fields and meadows talking to all kinds of people. Everyone just turned up and enjoyed a nice day out. This is one of the things I miss the most since I am back in Belgium. I haven’t found any similar organization here. The museums and galleries are also very interesting, you can just visit them whenever or wherever you want. Most of them have free admission and have at least one night when they only close around 22h. I could go on for hours and tell a lot more, but feel free to ask when you meet me during one of our meetings.
Véronique, let’s say: there is a London job offer, would you do it again or perhaps would you prefer another city, another country?
Well as a matter of fact, last week a colleague of mine in London asked whether I would be interested in coming back. Due to the reorganization, some jobs disappear and some are created. I have to admit that I was tempted but I love my job in Antwerp too much to change at this moment. I do not exclude moving abroad again but then it might be further, maybe to Australia or Canada.
Of course, a lot of things changed since the turn-up of the financial crisis, business life is facing major changes. How will this influence the contents of the Management Assistant job?
I believe that companies will always need management assistants. As a polyvalent employee with a lot of technical and personal knowledge and skills we are most often a central person within the company. Multilingual experienced assistants are a real asset to the companies we work for. I do believe we have to learn and develop our knowledge and skills continuously.
Are there any further professional goals you set for the near future?
As a lot of women at my age, I am thinking of what I would like to do for the rest of my career. I might move to a complete different environment, even move abroad or just continue doing what I am doing now. But nothing has been set in stone yet.
Next to your busy job, you are also very active within EUMA. Not only are you the Membership Coordinator for EUMA Belgium, you are also part of the Conference 2010 team to find speakers. Not easy to combine all this, I can image. How do you cope with all this?
At EUMA Belgium, I met so many very enthusiastic people with whom I can share my experience and who can help me in my own job. Our group is very dynamic and gives me a lot of energy. I believe that as a member of a voluntary organization, you need to contribute to it as well. I try to do this by being the membership coordinator. Being part of the Conference 2010 team is very challenging and I am sure I will learn a lot by organizing such an event.
What’s your main drive for your EUMA commitment?
Meeting people from different origins, age, nationality with a common drive for their jobs and lives. Sharing experiences helps doing my day to day work.
Last but not least, is there any special message you want to share with us?
Robert van de Walle taught me a lot during several trainings organized at our company.
His quote:”If it has to be, it starts with me!” made me look to things differently and has been my motto since.
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