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Susan Beadel
Our next 'Day in the life' comes from Susan Beadel. Susan
is the PA to the VP for Sales, Motorola, Europe Network. She shares her experience
working for Motorola and a bit about where she hopes to go one day!
Tell us about a bit about your background
I am the PA to Mr. Richard Slee who is the VP for Sales — Europe, Network
at Motorola. I have worked at Motorola for five and a half years. I started
working here as a Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary in November 2000
and worked in that department for just over four years. I applied for my present
position in February 2005, was lucky enough to be successful and started working
in July 2005. My background was both PA and Legal so both roles suited very
well. PA roles in Motorola are hard to come by so it was great to be successful
in my application. Moving from legal to a sales environment was a big change
but I have not looked back and consider it one of the best moves I ever made.
The job has grown in size as Richard has taken on new countries and teams.
Now I also provide admin assistance to a few of his UK based team members,
although this is on a "when I can fit it in" basis. What are the three most important skills you use at work?
- Communication
- Loyalty
- Team Work
What does a typical day look like for you?
It's always very busy. Diary management is a huge part of
my role. Richard travels extensively and a lot of my time is spent arranging
it. I also travel sometimes. Arranging meetings with CEOs of other global
companies is always very difficult due to the time, location and language
differences etc. I communicate a lot with other PAs world-wide.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced and how did
you tackle it?
I am in the middle of one of the most taxing challenges
since I took over this role. Motorola are playing a huge part in the '3GSM
World Congress' in Barcelona in February 2006. I will attend in the role of
Executive Support. Pulling everything together, including travel, accommodation,
customer meetings, customer demonstrations etc. is proving quite a challenge,
even with an outside agency doing a lot of the work.
How have you got to where you are today in your career?
I believe in hard work, determination and a willingness
to adapt.
What are your career plans for the future?
I would like to become an Executive Assistant. Richard's
current position doesn't require an EA so I might have to look elsewhere in
the company. Vacancies for these roles do not come up very often but hopefully
Richard will move up the ladder and want me to move with him. Fingers crossed!
What are you doing to make sure they happen? What new skills
will you need to learn?
I learn new skills everyday, simply by being at work. I
am working on raising my profile within the company and externally. The Congress
in February will be a very good event for this.
What one key piece of advice would you have for PAs who
want to get into this sector?
Be prepared for long hours, but also the rewards. You can't
do this job "part time" and you have to be 100% flexible.
What does Sue’s boss have to say?
‘Sue makes the impossible task of doing all that I have to do in my job, just about possible. To say that Sue is super -efficient would be accurate but would somehow sell short all the other qualities she brings to her work. If I had to pick one of these qualities it would be her uncanny knack of anticipating the business needs, my Team's requirements and my own forgetfulness! Sue is a pleasure to work with and I really couldn't do without her'
‘Sue makes the impossible task of doing all that I have to do in my job, just about possible. To say that Sue is super -efficient would be accurate but would somehow sell short all the other qualities she brings to her work. If I had to pick one of these qualities it would be her uncanny knack of anticipating the business needs, my Team's requirements and my own forgetfulness! Sue is a pleasure to work with and I really couldn't do without her'