Lois Sharpe

• To date, much of my previous employment experience has been within the hospitality sector, where I have developed exceptional service skills; enlisting a bubbly, approachable and friendly countenance to provide customers with an excellent experience within any establishment.
• I was trusted by my employers to train and support new starts, ensuring that they work efficiently within their roles and strived to deliver exceptional customer service within a fast-paced environment.

My key responsibilities within these roles included:

• Money handling
• Customer service
• Making and serving drinks
• Maintaining a pristine working environment
• Staff training
• Food prep
• Food service/ taking orders
• Complaint handling
• Working as part of a team

• During my gap year, I travelled to Spain to work as an Au pair. Leaving my home, family, and friends behind to embark on this new challenge, allowed me to build new sets of skills.
• This experience helped me to mature not only personally, but also professionally as my independence and confidence improved.
• It also allowed me to become an adaptable and culturally aware professional, with skills developed in language acquisition, cultural exchange, and fostering supportive and educational atmospheres.
• I also learned to accept and welcome difference and became proactive in understanding and embracing different cultures.

Key responsibilities within this role:

• Language skills
• Adaptability in adjusting to new environments', people, and cultural settings.
• Environment and personal management in multitasking between multiple responsibilities and learning skills of prioritisation.
• Interpersonal skills, including communication in building strong relationships with others.
• Self-resilience

• My employment with Marks and Spencer's provided me an abundance of professional skills. I demonstrated expertise in retail management, customer service, and sales optimisation.
• I also learned to enhance customer satisfaction and drive sales through excellent communication skills.
• Although I worked primarily within the food department, I frequently did overtime for managers within different departments (Retail, Bakery, Operational staff) to help out when needed and improve my understanding of how the store operated as a whole.
• I also secured a permanent contract despite this employment originally being temporary for the Christmas period, showing how well I integrated myself into the working environment, and how my hard-work and efficiency was valued by my employers.
• Assisting customers with any needs on the shop floor
• Taking stock
• Working at the tills
• Challenge 25
• Tidying and rearranging the store
• Administrative tasks