The christinethomasz's Podcast

Helen Cowan | Founder of The Tall Wall and Executive Coach

Helen describes how her positions at KPMG evolved into her creating her own company as a collective of executive coaches. She gives young people brilliant advice about how to create a positive approach to embarking on a career. Most notably 'If you don't ask, you don't get'. Take a listen and get some expert career coaching tips from Helen.

Tim Mallon | Tax Specialist

Tim gives us an interesting insight into the variety of career paths that can be chosen when considering Accountancy as a career. He describes how being forced to go out of his comfort zone was the making of his professional career and he has some great advice for young people who need some assurances about the best steps to take on the threshold of their own career choices.

Nathalie Paris | Geordie French Storyteller

Nathalie's personal and professional journey from France to England is an inspiration for young people who are tempted to take the leap to go abroad to study. She tells us about how her career as a French teacher and England had evolved into her own unique brand of French Geordie storytelling. Nathalie gives us a brilliant insight into how speaking a variety of languages can lead to a fulfilling career.

Ben Gilhepsy | Director of Operations

Ben tells us all about his journey from working in the labs, doing the job he thought he wanted to do, to how his professional life took a different turn where he realised his real skills were managing people. Ben has worked in industry for many years and as part of his role has supported lots of professionals and young people in their quests to work in engineering. He also has some great advice for young people embarking on careers in engineering and STEM subjects as well as  the role of apprenticeships in the modern workplace.

Ann English | Digital Communicator

Ann's career in marketing spans the opening of the Metro Centre and the need for a new approach to attract visitors in the 1980. She then goes on to describe how her ideas and skills in marketing have evolved over time,  in particular her new found confidence in public speaking. Ann's journey through marketing is a brilliant insight into how some things have changed in this industry, but how many of the core ideas remain the same. For anyone interested in embarking on a career in marketing, listen to Ann, she gives some great advice.

Melanie Cant | Social Media and Web Design

Melanie tells us all about the different roles she has had in the workplace, and how she is particularly proud of how she left a full time job to set up her own business as Elm Marketing. She is now an award winning web designer who also specialises in social media marketing. Melanie is a classic example of someone who has retrained and carved a career for herself in something that when she entered the job market as a teenager, these roles did not even exist. She gives young people excellent advice about marketing and web design, and is a great example of how being adaptable and hard working can bring a great deal of success.

Lauren Brown | Junior Doctor

Dr Lauren Brown gives us a brilliant insight into the role of a junior doctor. Her journey through the application process for Medicine, the course, the choices within the course, the opportunities to work abroad and the social events that support the success of the students. She explains the many different career paths that can be taken and gives us an insight into her own career choices now that she is a qualified doctor.

Kate McGuigan | Youth Work and Teaching Early Years

Kate McGuigan, our young trustee has had numerous experiences before deciding what she wanted to do in her career. She describes the mistakes she made as well as the fabulous experiences that put her career back on track. She has worked as a teaching assistant a youth worker and her work in McDonald's! She is now training to be an early year’s teacher and loving her new profession in teaching. 

Ben Straughan | Haines Watts Graduate Programme

Ben is a great example of someone who has worked really hard to get exactly where he would like to be. Having completed his degree, he has recently started on a graduate programme at the accountancy firm Haines Watts. He gives young people a great insight into the attitude and the approach needed to be successful in both their studies and in getting the very best placements after they graduate. It was a pleasure to interview Ben his positive attitude is a real inspiration.

Andrew Needham | VAT Partner, Haines Watts

As an English Literature graduate, Andrew describes how having an arts background can be a huge help in the world of finance. He also describes how studying law became a route into his career in finance. Andrew tell us about his very different experiences working at one of the 'big four' finance companies in compared with his latest role as VAT partner at the Haines Watts. Young people will gain a great insight into how their experience of work can hugely vary depending on the firm. Andrew gives us a great insight into how he ventured onto his career path, and his successes within the profession.