I’m Maddy, I’m 24 and I’ve just finished my first month as Administrative Assistant at Kafico!
If it isn’t obvious, I’ve never written a blog before so forgive me if it’s a little informal and chatty (seems a year of lockdown has made me very comfortable with sitting alone in my house, talking to my computer). I wanted to give a little insight about what it is like working at Kafico, as someone who had before now, never really thought about data protection.
So, from the beginning. After graduating from university with a degree in Psychology and Criminology, I felt officially lost, I’d reached the end of the plan and no one was there to say, “this is what you do now”. So, I got a job and planned to go travelling – and then COVID-19 hit. Not only did I lose my job, but I also lost my chance to hide from the future and escape to different countries for a while. So now what? Time to face the music and work out what I feel passionately about, what interests me and most importantly what can I learn more about.
When I first got offered this job I was over the moon, I knew next to nothing about Data Protection but having studied law, I immediately felt so excited to be working in an area I knew I would be able to understand. I felt invigorated by the team and what they were doing. From the outside I could tell they were all very passionate about their work and really seemed to enjoy it.
Jump to the first day, and the imposter syndrome hit HARD – would I be able to do everything they asked of me? Would they think I’m a phoney? Had I accidentally said I was the inventor of data protection on my CV? Safe to say I was nervous. This was the first job I’d ever had that was a job I wanted and didn’t just pay the bills – but interested me.
I wanted (and still want) to be the best at everything asked of me.
Now here we are, a month in and to say I’m enjoying it would be an understatement. The team are so friendly and even more knowledgeable than anyone could imagine. Coming into this role I really didn’t expect to feel so overwhelmed by all the things Data Protection interacts with. It really does impact everyone’s lives.
I also found it quite eye opening to discover just how valuable data is, demonstrating how important it is to protect it. I’ve learnt so much, like the rights each individual has to their data and the different circumstances that might lead someone to want to access, erase or rectify their data. The best part though, I still feel like I’ve got a lot more to soak up. The people I work with really know their stuff and are so willing to teach anyone who will ask.
I am really looking forward to growing into my role more and seeing where my journey with Kafico will go. Joining such a small and close-knit company has really made me excited for my career progression for the first time since graduating!
Maddy Watson, Kafico
