Careers Angel Profile: Isabel "Millie" Jenkins
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| Name | Isabel "Millie" Jenkins |
|---|---|
| Email Address | izmillie@yahoo.co.uk |
| Industries/Sectors | Other ; Retail |
| Employer | Urban Jungle (plant nurseries and cafés) |
| Position | Nursery Assistant |
| Experience | 5-10 years (approx.) |
| Degree | French & Spanish (graduated in 1999) |
| Other Qualifications | CIPS level 2; RHS level 2 (theory); NVQ Customer Service level 2; OCR secretarial skills levels 2 and 3. |
| Internships | |
| Information | www.urbanjungle.uk.com |
| Things I Wish I'd Known | Five and a half years at a small, family-run company gave me good experience of the publishing/ consultancy/ events industry and project management, but little scope for career advancement. I then made the leap into a large-sized company, but one in which the admin and management section of the business is still small enough (a few hundred people) to make a difference. I wish I had spent more time at Durham University Botanic Garden. It's only round the corner from Grey and it's where I fell in love with plants just before graduation! Nice place to de-stress after exams. Office-based jobs for 20 odd years have done nothing to help my mental and postural health (we are not all meant to be accountants and gym-goers). I wish I had made the career change to horticulture earlier. I am now less well paid but happier and physically stronger from working on my feet. My husband and family have been very supportive of my new career although work is seasonal and on a rota (we get more time together in winter than spring, summer and autumn). In the retail sector, weekends do not necessarily fall on a Saturday and Sunday and in horticulture we have to be prepared to work outdoors in all weather although office work is minimal. |