Natalie L

Finance Systems Support Analyst

My current role is a finance systems support analyst. I work for a law firm called Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. I work on a support desk, so queries come in from partners, secretaries, billing teams and business development. It could be providing reporting details. It could be as simple as they need access to a system. No two days are the same. We get various queries. You get a sense of achievement providing people with the information that they require. I think my skills lye in providing support. I am very analytical, I enjoy solving queries, whether it’s financial or IT based.  My experience at school was very positive, I thoroughly enjoyed school. The subjects that I enjoyed were German, not that I was particularly good at it, but I thoroughly enjoyed that. I also enjoyed divinity, learning about different cultures, religions and learning about their different rituals and traditions.

As a child I didn’t know what career I wanted to go into because you’re not exposed to the different career options that are available. I was interested in economics, but I didn’t know that there were bankers, traders and all the various different roles. I was also interested in fashion, but I didn’t know that there were buyers, merchandisers, suppliers. So at a young age, I never expressed that these were the areas that I wanted to pursue and a family friend spoke very highly of IT. I knew that I was very good in that subject because I did that at school, so I did a bit of investigation and that’s that area that I chose to pursue.

After school I went to college, my college course was computer studies and then I progressed to University and did computer science there.

My mother worked for a residential home, she managed a residential home and my father worked in the motor industry, the motor trade. They were very supportive of the roles that I wanted to do. Never dictated to me what I should do, or what profession I should pursue.

My first job was working in an IT department as a desk top technician. That was working in a different environment, it was a broadcasting company so it was very relaxed, you didn’t dress corporate, it was casual, I thoroughly enjoyed that job also.

Then I progressed to work for a law firm, still working in IT. My next role after that was working for a larger law firm but working in the finance department so I was exposed to a new area of finance, so I’ve got an extra string to my bow.

Although I work in a corporate environment I’ve got various different interests. I am particularly interested in fashion; I have got a fashion website called fashion Wall Street. I document the style of corporate attire, I write articles about fashion to inspire my colleagues and people that work in the industry. I interview people also that work in the city. I patrol up and down Fleet Street, which is the street that I currently work on and take photographs of people that work in this area.

I think what’s most important to me is working in an environment that you enjoy and I’ve got an exceptionally good team. It’s the people that actually make the job. I enjoy working in finance and I also enjoy the IT element so I see myself still working in the industry or potentially being an entrepreneur.