Here is the day I’ve been dreading.
It’s been playing on my mind for a loop, over and over and over again.
How, how on earth am I supposed to interview myself?
I’ve been doing our ‘Meet the Team’ interviews for a few weeks now, and we’ve gone through Sophie, Scott, Lance and now it’s down to me. I thought about skipping me altogether, but I didn’t want it to feel like I didn’t exist, so I resigned myself to getting Lance to pick the questions I would answer, and I’d try to muddle through the rest myself.
So, hi. I’m Hannah! I’m our Candidate and Compliance Administrator, and I’ve been with Best in Class for over a year now. Without sounding corny, it’s been the best year ever, and the happiest job I’ve ever been in. I’m all things candidates, and it’s my job to make sure that all of the candidates we put in schools are completely compliant and ready to go!
Confession time; I spent almost an hour trying to find a way to describe myself and, in the end, I buckled and asked Lance (who is steadily becoming more and more annoyed that I started this series in the first place) if he could let me know what it’s like to work with me…
“Working with Hannah is definitely interesting, from her constant stream of Pepsi Max to her constant thoughtfulness and kindness. She is an extremely hard working person who has grown alongside Best in Class, coming out of her shell (and the closet) more and more every day. Hannah always helps keep the office positive and would offer to help anyone with anything. The only annoying thing about working with Hannah is that she properly times her paracetamol with a 4-hour alarm interrupting the day”.
I reckon at this point, the questions aren’t necessary because that seems to be me down to a ‘T’, but I’ve already answered them, so we might as well…
What is your favourite thing about Best in Class?
I would have to say that my favourite thing about Best in Class is that everyone brings something different to create a really unique group of people, which means we’re never ever bored. Someone will always find some way to keep everyone entertained and there’ll always be a story still to tell. We must have seen every film combined and our inside jokes go on for days. I’ve never gone home from work and not learnt something new about the people I get to share my day with and I love that. I know that verges so closely on ‘the people’ which was Sophie and Scott’s answer, but I couldn’t avoid it because they’re absolutely right.
If you could be any animal, what would you be?
I would be a cat, but only if I could be a cat that belonged to Sophie or Connor. Connor is desperate for a cat and Sophie has two cats which are her actual children, and I think I’d have a very happy life if I was taken care of and loved as much as I know Sophie and Connor do and will do for their cats.
What is your ideal first date?
My ideal first date would be something where you can do an activity, like mini golf. It means you can get rid of any awkward silences and there’s always something to talk about, even if that’s the only thing. The best first date I’ve been on was ice skating, that was super fun.
Who is your role model and why?
I’m very lucky that I have quite a few ladies in my life that I look up to, who are my role models. My mum, my older sister and Sophie are some of the ones that influence me day to day, and they all inspire me in different ways which means I’m never without a constant source of support, kindness and motivation.
What is something that you used to do a lot and now miss doing?
I used to absolutely love saying up until 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning. I used to work really long hours in a few different jobs at the same time that would often have me leaving the house at 7am and getting home at 11 at night, and I would struggle to be sociable all the time without any down time. So I would get home and stay awake really late to make sure I had time to relax or do something I enjoyed, and my favourite time was the middle of the early hours where everything was quiet and no one would bother me. More than once I was awake enough to see it become bright again, but now if I can stay awake later than 11, I consider myself impressed with such a wild night.
If you could listen to one band or artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?
Even though my favourite band is Fleetwood Mac, I think I would try be strategic and pick a band which has a huge discography and a wide range so that I wouldn’t get bored easily. I think I’d have to choose Queen because I know every single song and no two are alike, I think I would have to listen to their music for a very long time for it to ever feel repetitive.
What is your phone lock screen right now? No cheating!
My lock screen is a photo I found years ago, it’s been the same forever. It’s a bookshop but it’s a picture of the glass front door and it has the quote, ‘I want to make beautiful things even if no one cares’ in yellow writing. I like to look at it because I tend to always look for external validation in the things that I do and it reminds me that I can be doing a good job, and creating something beautiful and worthwhile, even if no one else might notice. As long as I’m happy with it, then it’s worth it. Also, it’s written in yellow which is my favourite colour, so that’s a bonus too.
So there you go! A comprehensive compilation of Lance and I’s opinion on what I’m like in and out of work. I get to speak to a lot of candidates and clients here and there, but I’ve never had the need to tell any of them what my ideal first date would be, so hopefully you’ve gotten to know me a little bit better than you would’ve done otherwise!