LAURA MCLAY

• After the birth of my third son, I decided to set up a domestic cleaning business that allowed me to work flexibly around my home and family commitments. I work with my sister and we have now built up a large regular clientele base. However, I feel like have developed many skills and acquired experiences in lots of different professional environments that can be better used in new and more exciting roles.

After retraining as a Child Development Officer, I worked for a Gaelic day care nursery on the Southside of Glasgow. I was later promoted to centre Supervisor after completing my SVQ4 qualification. My main role was to ensure that all children attending the centre were receiving quality care in line with all legal, governmental and local guidelines and policy frameworks while providing them with learning opportunities across the early years curriculum. I supported the manager in ensuring that all individual care plans were updated, reviewed regularly and confidentially, supported the staff team with gaining further learning and training opportunities and worked closely with all stakeholders to ensure that enquiries, concerns or queries were dealt with in a considerate and professional manner. I also attended many courses to further my own personal professional development such as child protection, paediatric first aid, outdoor learning, gender neutral environments and supporting families who have a parent or carer in prison

• I was employed for several years by Lorca Spanish in Glasgow, which offered both informal learning and corporate language services to a large number of students. I enjoyed my varied role within this small school, but was looking to further develop my skills in a new and more challenging role. At Lorca, I was based in the school office, dealing directly with staff and students, and also with online applications and enquiries, as well as assisting the teachers with any administration/clerical needs that they might have. I have a lot of experience using the various Microsoft programmes as most of the work involved updating various spreadsheets, the input of data accurately into the system to record payments and general office finances and promoting the company through various social media platforms.

• After completing my Degree, I decided to look for employment abroad, and was lucky enough to find work in an International School of Languages in northern Spain. I was employed as an English teacher, and was responsible for planning and delivering classes to a variety of students, from very young children to the Military. Often my colleagues and I would be expected to travel to clients outside of the school, to businesses, factories and companies and we were also responsible for the translation of various plans to the region into English. In the role of TEFL English Teacher at Inlingua Training, the focus was on delivering dynamic English language instruction to diverse groups of students. I tailored lesson plans to meet the specific needs of learners and fostered an interactive and engaging classroom environment for young learners. I utilised various teaching methodologies to enhance language acquisition and retention while assessing student progress regularly. I also monitored and assessed student performance, providing constructive feedback.

• I was based in the Collections Department of the company and worked in a target based, competitive environment. Main duties involved the inbound/outbound telephone collection of student loans repayments, and the processing of the deferment applications. As a Collections Agent at the Student Loans Company Ltd, responsibilities included managing accounts and facilitating the recovery of outstanding debts, engaging with clients to negotiate payment plans and resolve issues was crucial in maintaining positive relationships. I used my experience and communication skills to provide information regarding loan statuses and payment options, adhered to company policies while ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. In most cases I was able to successfully negotiate repayment plans for numerous accounts, improving recovery rates while maintaining accurate records of client interactions and payment agreements and resolved disputes efficiently, ensuring customer satisfaction.