Vanessa Fernandes

I opted to work full-time in the summer of 2013 at the Railway. The gastro-pub had just been newly renovated and had new ownership. I was required to learn the new systems, manage the till, as well as serve behind the bar and at the table. Everyone in the team was new and the challenge was to attract as many new customers as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed the team effort and my organisational skills were put to the test. I will be returning to the Railway during my university holidays.

I assisted in setting up the new branch in Kingston. As a sales assistant, I was helping with customer queries and managing the till. I was also required to encourage and welcome customers into the store at the front of house.

The Kings Head is an established gastro pub in Teddington. I was required to put the customers first, communicate well, learn the menu and worked hard on my organisational skills to ensure that each table was monitored well. It was extremely challenging especially when the restaurant was busy. I was able to keep up with the pace and enjoyed working with the team in my first waitressing job.

I was a Saturday sales assistant at this specialist cook shop in Teddington. The owner informed me that I was selected out of four candidates because she felt that I came across as friendly, approachable and easy to communicate with.
I was trained to manage the tills, learnt about all the products in the shop, answered telephone queries, checked stock items and built good relationships with the customers.

I had a one week experience at the Chiswick based product design company. I was required to assist in solving complicated problems as well as coming up with new and innovative designs to meet the client’s requirements. The two known clients were Remmington, on hair care range and Etihad Airways.

I found it to be an extremely rewarding experience to be a ball girl for top players such as Andy Murray, Fernando Verdasco and Novak Djokovic in the show court. It was a privilege to be part of a team where we were required to be professional and presentable at all times to maintain the reputation of the All England Tennis Club.

Rigorous training was required to be a ball girl. Structured and Intensive training took place on a Saturday and Sunday morning in the run-up to the relevant tournaments. We were required to take tennis related tests and learnt the formations. The fitness build up was gradual. I was the captain of my team for 2 consecutive years.