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The manager
Ruaridh Beath (29) is a distribution centre manager for Swan Petroleum.
Ingredients
Method
I
was a trainee in this company for a year when I left school after A levels.
I was doing all sorts of jobs like deliveries and invoices. It was the job I
got into before joining the army and I really enjoyed it. I was in the army
for three years and when I got out I joined the tax office but hated it! I came
back here to work as a sales representative (a 'rep'). After a few years I moved
up through the company and now I mange the whole depot from the sales reps and
office people, to the stocks and drivers.
I learned some things in the army that I use now. For example, I gained more confidence and learned how to manage my own time. Now I have the experience of managing other people's time as well as my own.
When I started off as a rep I was calling on new and existing customers. I would be out of the office for 70 per cent of the day. I usually only saw seven to eight people a day, mainly commercial clients in industry. Now I speak to a lot of my customers every day and I may have to see some of the bigger ones once a week. I'm getting to know them very well because it's not a one-off contact.
I
haven't got any degrees or a technical background but I've done OK. To do this
job well I think you need to be able to talk to all sorts of people. One minute
you're on the phone to a domestic customer, like an old lady who wants 500 litres
of oil for heating today and the next minute you're talking to somebody who
is speeding £25-30,000 on diesel. I really enjoy speaking to different sorts
of people.
My advice is not to be afraid of getting in at the bottom so you can work your way up. You will then have a much better understanding of your colleagues' jobs and responsibilities, which will be a big bonus if your goal is to become a manager. There's nothing I can't do in the depot - from taking a delivery in to driving a lorry out. Progression in this job can be quite fast if you work hard.
