Traffic Planner
CEVA Logistics

Carly H

Hello, I’m Carly H, and I’m a traffic planner at CEVA, Bristol. My job involves planning lorries, network and artic, on a daily basis. I check for the deliveries and the times are booked in, and if they’ve got collections I plan that in and make sure they’re back on time to go out on the next lorry out. I love the job because literally it can just change so quickly and you’ve just got to be able to do that change straightaway. Traffic: you’ve got to divert your lorries, phone relevant customers, you know, it’s just such a buzz from it. When you get home from work, you actually feel like you’ve done a day’s work, which is a nice feeling.

00:00:45 School was fine. I loved it. I do wish I’d paid perhaps a little bit more attention when they said ‘This is an important bit you need to learn,’ and you don’t realise until perhaps afterwards that all those times they said that, it does pay off. I was a planner. I always had plans in my mind. I was a bit of a designer, trying to make sure everything always looked nice, all the coursework, everything we did. Not the best at taking the things in. I was better left alone if I was… had more time to do things than, you know, there and then in that classroom you had to take it all in. Given a couple of extra days, I took it in a lot better.

00:01:28 I got here by doing a travel and tourism course, worked in hotels, left hotels and went to another transport company, lost the big contracts we had there, which, funnily enough, this company took, and I came here four and a half years ago just kind of not thinking I’d ever get the job because the advert looked a little bit too much what I could offer. I got the job and I’m still here. My granddad just always told me to do my best, and you’ve got to do what you enjoy, and that’s what’s I’ve always done. And if I don’t enjoy it then that’s when I start perhaps getting itchy feet or move on.

00:02:11 Transport has always been a male place. I came four and a half years ago, and I was the only female doing the planning in the whole company, and since then we’ve got probably three more people that do it, maybe four. But you get the respect, and it is good, and it’s a good feeling knowing you’re the only female doing it.

00:02:31 My outlook of things have changed in the last year. I’ve got more confident, had the guts to say what I feel and think, whereas before I’d keep everything back – work, personal. Back in August I went for a manager’s job here, and being told by the managers who interviewed me how I’ve changed, and how they were pleased I’d gone for the interview and how I’d progressed so much was a real nice feeling, knowing they’ve noticed me now, so that was good.

00:03:04 If I could have my dream it would be to work in a nice big hotel and be in charge of the events, or the booking ins, the reservations, and that kind of side, front of house. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do and that’s where I’d like to be, working back in hotels or events. My partner is in the RAF. When he gets posted next year, wherever he gets posted I’ll go, and that’s when I’ll start seriously looking for the hotel jobs. So that’s my little plan. ENDS