Having completed a degree in Fashion Studies after leaving school, my burning ambition at the age of 20 was to work in the world of fashion. I loved the glitz of the catwalk and the fast pace of the ever changing trends. I also knew I wanted to meet and work with different people every day.
When I heard that Harvey Nichols was going to open its only Scottish store in my home town in 2002, I excitedly applied and was offered the position of Sales Advisor on Menswear. My journey had begun and I couldn’t wait!
As part of the Menswear team I was lucky enough to get lots of ‘glamorous’ opportunities, like visiting Armani’s Head Office in London for a trend presentation, and being invited to Diesel’s new season launch party at Elstree Studios. These opportunities taught me a lot about fashion, and built my confidence in speaking to large groups when delivering presentations to my colleagues to ensure I passed on the knowledge I'd acquired during my trips. I was really keen to progress within Harvey Nichols, realising what a fantastic company it was to work for.
Soon, I was selected to take part in the store’s Junior Management Training programme. This opened my eyes to many new aspects of the company, and sparked my interest to work in a different function altogether - Human Resources. Being given the chance to prove myself in this department as the HR Assistant to the Edinburgh store was a big challenge for me, having never worked in an office before. The team supported and developed me and, when the next opportunity became available I was ready to take that step up. Further movement within the team opened new doors for me again, and I was promoted to Senior HR Assistant and then HR Advisor.
With the support of the Company I completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management, and whilst completing my course I was seconded to the role of HR Manager to cover my Manager's period of maternity leave. This has been my biggest challenge to date and I embraced every minute of it, gaining some of the most valuable experience of my career.
Now, at the age of 30, I have been promoted to the position of Senior HR Advisor and work as part of the senior management team. Harvey Nichols is well and truly in my bones; the Company has inspired and developed me beyond my expectations, and offers the same opportunities to all staff who show the same drive to succeed. I feel very lucky to have joined such an extraordinary, forward thinking and inspiring company which allows its staff the opportunities to learn, grow and progress. Who knows where in Harvey Nichols I might be in another 10 years!