1 The new job

As I sat nervously awaiting my turn to be interviewed for a job as PA to the regional managing director of Cunningham Investments, a large finance house, at their South-East office in Canterbury , Kent. I couldn’t help but notice that the candidate before me, and the two who were waiting to come after me were all female. The role of a Personal assistant, PA, was considered by many as a glorified secretary, but I considered that acting as PA to a senior manager a was more responsible and challenging role that could well be a useful stepping stone to an executive role in the future.

“ Mr Daniel Jenkins, please come in with me, I’m Helen Cassidy, Regional Director of HR, I will introduce you to the other interview panel members as we go in. Just relax and be honest, we have seen too many people overstate their background, experience, and personal attributes who have soon been caught out, we need someone we can trust.”

After the introduction to George Chisholm, the regional director, his current PA Christine Murdoch, who was retiring, explained the duties and responsibilities of the role, which, as I had thought, involved a lot more involvement in analysis and preparation of proposals rather than basic secretarial duties which would mostly be carried out by others.

“Mr Jenkins, or would you prefer that we call you Daniel, to be honest you are the only male applicant we have had for this vacancy as a PA, why do you think that it is an appropriate position for you.” asked Helen Cassidy.

“ Daniel is fine, but most people other than my mother, call me Danny. I have just graduated with my BA in Business Administration and Finance, and obviously cannot expect to walk into a senior position without proving myself and getting practical experience of the realities of business life compared to some of the theoretical rose-tinted ideals I have been taught at University. That does not mean that I see this as a temporary stepping stone until something better comes up, as Ms Murdoch explained it is a challenging role in itself. As regards whether it is an appropriate role for a male, women are now challenging for many of the senior positions and doing jobs that were traditionally seen as the preserve of men, why not the other way round, equality works both ways.”

The rest of the interview soon flew past, in a formal and probing, but friendly, manner and I left thinking that I had given a good impression of myself.

The following day, I had a call from Helen Cassidy, and after telling me that I had not been successful, suggested that we meet up for a further discussion and arranged to meet at her office the following day.

“ Thank you for coming to see me Daniel, you must be disappointed, you interviewed really well, and if it had been up to me you would have been appointed. However Mr Chisholm is old-school and he and Mrs Murdoch both expressed a preference for a female for the role. The successful candidate is not as highly qualified as you but has several years experience in a similar position. However I am not confident that she has the strong personality needed to work with Mr Chisholm and to be blunt I would like to keep you in as a possible substitute if things go wrong.

I cannot offer you a senior role but can start you off in the general administration office, dealing with investment applications and taking calls from clients. I know it is not what you were looking for, but will be good experience, starting at the bottom can prepare you well for a more challenging role in the future.”

“ The job market is pretty bleak at the moment, and many of the friends I was at Uni with are having to take on roles in fast-food outlets or distribution warehouses just to survive, Cunningham’s has a reputation as a good employer who treats its staff well, and if you are prepared to assist me in studying online for an MBA until I get to a position where the workload is too much to handle, i would be pleased to come to work for you.”

i started work the following Monday and was soon into the routine. At first I was basically acting as an office junior, filing, copying, running errands, while I learned about the company’s financial products and how to deal with enquiries from potential clients, it was not a particularly challenging role but it gave me an insight as to how everything worked. Most of my colleagues in the general office were girls or women and, although they were polite and treated me well, I was very much not included in their social groups and most of them kept their distance. This meant that at coffee breaks and lunchtimes I was often left to handle incoming calls and sit in as receptionist while they all got together, which I didn’t mind as I enjoyed meeting with and talking to people.

The only problem with this was my shoulder-length hair. At Uni, I had played in a rock band to help pay the bills and hadn’t had a chance to get it styled into a more formal business cut and it was now well over my collar down to my shoulders. I was told that it was company policy that loose long hair was frowned upon when working in reception as being unprofessional and that it needed to be tied back. The first time I had to do the job, one of the girls loaned me a scrunchie, partly as a joke for them all as I am sure that they had less girly bands they could have given me. However I found it to be quite comfortable and it meant that I was not forever pushing my hair back out of my eyes and behind my ears, and I took to wearing one all the time, in amongst the women and girls it was just seen as nothing out of the ordinary. One day Carol, one of the more friendly girls, suggested that rather than just leaving the hair in a low ponytail that she could tidy it up a bit more and I ended up with it in what she called a messy bun high on the back of my head, and although a feminine style, felt comfortable and looked professional, and soon became usual for me. The style also went with my normal wear of black skinny trousers and white open-neck shirt, fashionably loose outside my trousers.

I was now becoming more accepted by the girls in the office and occasionally went out for lunch with them, and being part of their groups and being slim and relatively short , with my hair tied in a bun was often mistaken by waitresses as another one of the girls and addressed as Miss or included in ‘What can I get for you Ladies’, which amused them a lot. As well as my looks being a bit androgynous, working and mixing with the girls and woman, and joining in their conversations, I was also adopting some of the way they expressed themselves which, with my high tenor voice just strengthened the impression of me being female.

One Friday morning I was covering reception during a coffee break when an elderly gentleman approached the desk.

“ Good morning Sir, what can I do for you.?”

“ I have an appointment with Mr Chisholm, please tell him that Charles Montgomery is here to see him.”

“ I’m sorry but he has just left for a few minutes, is he expecting you?”

“I am a bit early but it is important that I see him, I will wait here for him.”

“ You are more than welcome to wait in reception, but there is an interview room free where you may be more comfortable, and I can bring you in a coffee, or tea if you prefer.”

Thank you so much, what is your name, I would like to compliment George on his choice of staff.”

“ It’s Danny Jenkins, Mr Montgomery, and there is really no need for that, I am just doing my job.”

“ You do not look too busy Dani, if it is ok, please sit over here with me where you can keep an eye on things and tell me about yourself.”

I quickly told him that I had recently graduated and was learning the business from the bottom, but hoping to develop into a more senior role. We chatted about how the company operated and he asked me what I liked about the company, and where I thought there was room for improvement, or at least an alternative approach, which led to a quite lively discussion.

“ Ah, there is George now, it has been nice chatting to you Dani, and it has pleasantly passed the time.”

“ Thank you Mr Montgomery I have enjoyed the chat too, I trust that you will be visiting us again, and look forward to seeing you soon.”

“ I am sure that you will, Dani, I am sure that you will !”

Later that afternoon, I was called up to see Helen Cassidy, unsure of why , and what I had done, I went in with a worried look on my face.

“Please sit down Danny, and take that worried look off your face< I have what I think is some good news for you. When you were on reception earlier, you dealt with a Mr Montgomery, yes?”

“That’s right., a really pleasant elderly gentleman, I chatted with him to pass the time while he was waiting for Mr Chisholm.”

“ What you didn’t realise is that Sir Charles Montgomery is our company chairman and is a very senior figure in the world of finance.”

“ Oh dear, i hope that I didn’t say anything that I shouldn’t have.”

“ Far from it, you made a very good impression, to the point that I have some news for you, some of which you will consider as really good, and some of which you will need to have a good think about. Sir Charles‘ PA has suffered a family bereavement and will be taking some time off work and he needs a temporary replacement. He was really impressed with your qualifications and attitude and the logical way you expressed your thoughts about the company, and would like you to fill the role for the immediate future, are you up for it?”

“ That is amazing, of course I am interested, what is there to think about?”

The problem is Danny that he thought you were a girl, which is an easy mistake for someone his age, considering how you are wearing your hair, and the slightly androgynous clothes you are wearing. I think it will be difficult and embarrassing for him if we tell him you are really male and suggest that if you want to give this a try, it will mean you dressing and acting as Dani with an ‘i’, a female. Are you still interested?

To be continued.