Guest speaker: Chris Marsh from UK Fast

On Friday 6th June The Juice Academy hosted a very special guest speaker. Chris Marsh, the director of partner development at UK Fast came in to talk to Cohort 4 about all things social.

Straight from the start it was clear to see that Chris had a strong focus on what he believes to be essential in developing yourself as a professional, highlighting several different aspects of what it takes to excel yourself as an individual, and enhance a company’s reputation at the same time.Chris gave a brief history of himself, explaining how he had always had an interest in IT and had worked in customer services used for server hosting for 6 years, which helped him develop his interpersonal skills. The best customer service skill he learned? Smile!

Chris also informed us that he had previously been an apprentice himself with the Arcadia Group in Liverpool, which he described as a “positive learning experience.”

This really helped to create an encouraging atmosphere amongst the group as we are all relatively new apprentices ourselves, so it was comforting to hear that someone as successful as Chris had also chosen a similar route to us.

However, the most important idea that I, as well as the rest of the group, took away from the talk was the importance of networking. Amongst all of the great advice that Chris shared, he emphasised that effective networking is a fundamental factor of establishing yourself in your specific field of work.

“Don’t walk into a room and start telling people how good you are. If you can get other people to do that for you, you’re doing it right.”

Throughout his time at The Juice Academy, Chris also made it apparent that he likes to do things a little differently than your regular person. The offices at Melbourne, the company that he previously worked at, and UK Fast are a true reflection of his desire to be original and comfortable at work: one minute you’re sat at the same old desk and then before you know it you’re walking through Narnia, all before ending up down the rabbit hole with Alice!

On behalf of The Juice Academy and Cohort 4, I would just like to thank Chris for spending his valuable time with us and providing such insightful ideas and advice. The information that we gained about the significance of networking, always striving to be honest and original and creating a positive public perception will inevitably help to guide us throughout our careers.