For people who know me this is hard to imagine, but I could not speak properly until I was 7 years old. I feared interacting with people and was incredibly shy and timid. My older sister would speak on my behalf and I was happy to let her take charge and protect me from my biggest fear – people.
At 14 I couldn’t be around large groups of people, social environments made me anxious and even answering the home telephone terrified me as I didn’t want to have to talk to a stranger. My school reports said I wasn’t assertive enough and lacked confidence and ambition.
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up; I never dreamt of being an astronaut or a doctor, a pilot or a teacher. So at 15 when my teacher said to me “Jody, you’re going to amount to nothing, you’ll spend the rest of your life working in a supermarket” I did what I was told, I listened to one of the most influential people in my life and guess what happened after I left school that summer with 6 GCSE’s?
Correct…I started working in a Supermarket.
And that is when my life changed.
At 18 my store manager saw something in me and took a chance on me. He mentored me to become a manager. His belief, guidance and support were the making of me and along with the coaching of many other leaders who championed me, I had an amazing 22 years in a fantastic company where I felt valued and could make a difference.
My teacher was almost correct, I would spend over half my life working for a supermarket company. However at the time he failed to acknowledge that Retail and more recently Hospitality would give me the life skills, education, behavioural development and leadership capability I needed to thrive and be the best version of me, whilst helping others to achieve their goals too.
There are really close synergies between Retail and Hospitality, and unfortunately both industries have a negative perception that it’s only a stop gap job or for those that lack ambition or are holding out until they get ‘a real job’. So this is where I focus my attention; the most influential people on our Generation Z (and very soon to be Alphas) are the teachers, the career leaders and the parents. They are the one’s who make an impact on students and the career paths they’ll choose, so it’s important we focus on informing these people of the amazing educational opportunities and career pathways Hospitality has to offer.
Fast forward to now, I’m a People Director within the Hospitality industry and I’m surrounded by strangers, colleagues, guests and friends every day. I’d say I’m an assertive confident person, maybe too extroverted (Is that even a thing? Some would just say loud!), and I love having fun and being sociable!
To end my ramblings, there is a place for everyone in Hospitality, whoever you are and whatever walk of life you come from. This really is an industry that’s open to all and I’m living proof that you can build a successful career. If you’re thinking of joining our industry, or you already work in Hospitality but not sure if there’s a career for you, I would say just go for it! You’ll receive the coaching, education and guidance you deserve, surrounded by people who believe in you whilst doing what makes you happy.
