Meet Claire

The start of my career was a rocky one, as I caught glandular fever a few months after starting university and had to defer my place. It seemed like a huge setback at the time, but now I look back I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was always creative and got my best grades in art, textiles, and English Language, but my parents had encouraged me to study a more academic subject at university which I wasn’t enjoying. I also didn’t cope well with the anxiety of being away from home.

I did what every unemployed teenager did at the time and went to a temping agency, where I was sent to a financial services firm to stuff literature into envelopes. I didn’t know anything whatsoever about pensions or investments, but the company offered me a permanent role supporting the in-house advisers (mainly because I was the only temp who showed up every day) and paid for me to do my financial planning qualifications, meaning I didn’t have to return to university and could avoid taking on any student debt.

After that, I did various adviser support/admin roles, but I always felt like I had the creativity to move into marketing. I used to stare at adverts on the bus and flick through glossy brochures, dreaming of producing marketing material myself. I got my big break in my mid 20s working in marketing for AXA and I was eventually offered a copywriter job at Quilter on my 30th Birthday. I’m now responsible for writing the brochures that I used to stuff into envelopes when I was 18!

I love my job and I really feel like I’ve found my niche. I’m a real people person and the most important thing to me in a job is working with fun people and being able to be creative.

I’m not sure I have one big influence, but various people have shaped me along the way, either by challenging me and triggering me to examine my behaviour and grow in confidence, or by supporting and encouraging me.

I remember the old classroom style technical training I had in previous roles – I’m not sure I appreciated it at the time, but now I have to write about technical subjects like tax and trusts I really see the value in what they were trying to teach us. My adviser support roles gave me a really good grounding in financial services and an understanding of how everything works, as well as massive appreciation for our incredible contact centre.

I’ve worked with some amazing fellow writers at Quilter and my previous boss Ali taught me loads about avoiding negativity and being mindful of company reputation in everything I write. At the time it could be a painful process, and there were many times my work would be returned to me covered in red pen, but Ali’s voice still pops into my head (in a good way!) every time I write or edit a communication. I think it’s important to learn from constructive feedback and not take criticism personally, but this can be one of the hardest lessons to learn.

Firstly, find a job where you can be happy – even if it takes a while to know what that is. Different things make different people happy so don’t let anybody dictate what’s right for you. There can be a lot of pressure to make loads of money and have a high-flying career, but I’ve learnt over time that the things I really value are having a good work-life balance and working with fantastic, supportive people. I’m lucky to have found that at Quilter.

Secondly, for creative people, I think it’s important to remember that creativity can be applied to virtually any industry – especially given that we live in online world, where engaging content is really important. I never thought I’d end up in financial services and maths definitely is not my strong suit, but all companies with a marketing department need people who can write, do artwork, produce videos, and tell a good story. If you work in a regulated industry, the benefits and rewards may well be better than working in a flashy media job, even if it doesn’t sound quite as impressive when you’re telling your friends down the pub!

Finally, try to take the knocks and be resilient. We’ve all had times when we’ve been unhappy at work and that’s miserable, but things tend to ebb and flow, nothing is permanent. If you can work out your talents and find a role that really matches your skills, that’s a huge step in the right direction.

I already knew Quilter’s great reputation (Skandia at the time) from working with financial advisers and, as one of the biggest financial services companies in the city, it was the place I wanted to be. I wanted to work for a head office where I could have an influence and work on huge, national projects, and that’s now something I have the opportunity to do every day.

When I applied for my role at Quilter, I wrote a personal letter to the manager telling them it was my dream job (100% true) and wrote a couple of example marketing flyers and articles based on themes I picked up from their website. My approach paid off and my boss told me afterwards that they’d never seen a job applicant show so much enthusiasm. Taking the time to do this can really make you stand out!

Quilter’s culture is fantastic. Particularly post-Covid, we’re given the flexibility to work in a way that’s best for us to deliver the work we need to do. That makes a real difference in a creative role, where looking after your mental health and being in the right headspace is key to continually producing great work. I also like the fact that I can express my personality through my appearance and Quilter is very inclusive of LGBTQ+ employees. This means I can be myself and I feel my work benefits as a result.