Switching roles: Hollie on becoming a receptionist at Salmon

I became the full-time receptionist at Salmon last month! Becoming a receptionist is a lot different to being a youth worker – I’ve gone from helping out in the Salmon summer schemes and with young people with special needs, to answering phones and sorting out mail!

As a receptionist, I am learning new things every day. My job involves answering phone calls, dealing with enquiries about Salmon or events at Salmon, and doing basic admin work.

A day in the life…

My day starts at 8.45am and finishes at 4.45pm. On an average day, I handle phone calls (transferring them to the correct person), deal with complaints, collect the post and place it in my colleagues’ pigeon holes, and guide and direct people that come into the building for Salmon or for one of our other tenants (like the soft play group or the alternative education group).

About 1pm or 2pm I go for lunch and when I come back in the afternoon, I handle more calls and update new membership forms on our database system. I also take post to the Post Office if needed.

Longer hours

I love that I’m meeting new people every day at reception, including new young people. The hours are different to youth work hours – I’ve gone from long hours each day as a Youth Work Apprentice (from 2pm to 10pm on average) to a morning and afternoon work schedule.

I still get to help out in my favourite club, which is the 6-9s club on a Thursday night, but I do miss some of the other clubs, such as Mixables on a Friday night, and picking up the young people there from school and dropping them home through that club.