A Day In The Life Of General Assembly’s Gayle Johnston


What do you do, and how did you get here? 
My job is to speak with every student that comes to our part time and full time courses. This is to ensure that the course is right for them and to advise them how best to achieve their goals. In addition, I run information events with the admissions team to give people an opportunity to come down to campus and speak with us.

How do you spend your day? 
In a typical day I will be mostly on the phone reaching out to potential students and speaking with them about what they are looking to achieve. I will also be interviewing students for our ‘Immersive Programmes’ and speaking with anyone who drops by campus.

What’s the best part of your job? 
The best part of my job by far is the people. For me nothing is impossible if we put our minds to it and our students achieve so much everyday. It is great to be in an environment that is so inspiring. I have a lot of respect for people who want to change their careers with an immersive course or those who fit in learning with a part time course around their lives. It is truly amazing what some of the students achieve.

What’s the hardest part of your job? 
In the beginning it can be difficult understanding the courses and what they offer. It is also important to keep up with our subject matter as the tech world can move fast.

What traits are ‘must haves’ to do your job well? 
First and foremost you have to care. You are dealing with people’s lives and so it is of upmost importance to me that wherever they invest their time is actually going to be of value. A little bit of tenacity won’t go a-miss, we deal with hundreds of potential students a week.

 

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Any advice for people applying for a job like yours? 
Be genuine, be authentic.

What’s your ultimate goal in your career? 
I wouldn’t say I have an ultimate goal in my career. Who knows where my career will lead me. What I will say is that I always want to be motivated to learn and get better. If I ever find myself in a position where I am not learning I want to have the confidence to be able to change that. I hope if I follow this mantra I won’t go far wrong.

How do you unwind after work? 
Being from a smaller city in Scotland, London is like a playground to me. I make sure to take full advantage of everything here, in particular the theatre and the food.

Tell us one quirky thing nobody would know about you.
I was once a tractor driver on a watermelon farm in Australia. The person before me got fired because they kept squishing all the watermelons. No pressure.


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Author Aoife Geary

Aoife Geary is the Content Editor at Jobbio specialising in the areas of Workplace Culture, Diversity, Startups and Digital Trends. She's partial to a burrito, a bad pun and living way beyond her means.

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