sarah gallagher

Here, I was a cook at 'Australia's Most Central Pub'. This position was undertaken as a means to understand some of the extreme jobs the international travellers I had met were experiencing in Australia. Myself, and four other backpackers, worked seven days a week in this community, 200km North of Alice Springs, living and working on the property throughout the entirety of the employment.

A temporary position offered before again embarking on travels through India, I worked with the full time ladies in sorting and organising the linen to be washed to commercial quality.

My position assisting the shearer's both in the shed, and then preparing them five meals a day while staying in our remote accommodation, was a position I accepted in between international travels. These physically and mentally demanding position offered extreme contrasts in realities to former employment and education opportunities. Working the entirety of the week in remote shearing quarters, highlights my ability to undertake any task in a positive and persistent manner.

Employed by Elite Associates Temporary Division I work across a variety of Luxury Retails brands. With placements ranging from one day, to several weeks I work mostly within Harrods, London. To date, I have worked for Hermes, Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, Dolce and Gobbana, Jimmy Choo, Elie Saab, Nicholas Kirkwood and Stuart Weitzman. This work requires me to to learn the varying products at great speed and adapt to the different teams and environments. It is providing excellent experience in product knowledge and strengthening my ability to cater to high-end clientele.

Based in the Broome showroom, I gained an extensive knowledge of high end pearl jewellery, the production process and the history of pearling in Australia. This position required me to implement my high quality of customer service and sales skills through working with VIP clients, conducting 'Pearl Discoveries', visual merchandising and training new staff. Additionally, I travelled with the company for training, assisting with the operation of trunk shows, and working in the stores of Melbourne.

This position was a summer job I acquired in between travels in South East Asia. I assisted with setting up the new flagship store in Bourke Street Mall, then working as a sales assistant, with a focus on the stock management of the storeroom.

This position entailed serving new and potential banking customers over the telephone. I held an extensive knowledge of the deposit accounts and would assist in all enquiries of this area. There were often high volumes of incoming calls at one time, and I successfully worked to KPIs. The length of this position was due to international travels either side of employment.

Working nightshift, six nights a week, as a packaging operator for the almonds, throughout the winter months, required great resilience. Here I was able to understand varying conditions many experience within their workplaces, in Australia. I held knowledge of the different parts of the machine and how to operate, and fix, them.

My position within Service Stream was selling solar panels on behalf of Origin Solar, with assistance from the government rebate scheme of the time. The introduction of solar hot water and heating products then required further knowledge of the products. It involved both inbound and outbound calls. Here, my capabilities in customer service and (therefore) sales was reflected in my high sales results, ranking in the top 10 salespersons nationally.

This unpaid work experience was conducted on a two day a week basis, in order to apply my skills acquired from my University Degree and gain an idea of which direction I wished to take professionally. I assisted in visual merchandising and marketing, both in head office and left to my own devices in store. Here, I begun my realisation of my ability to merchandise for varying markets, often working with a large amount of stock in stores. Meanwhile, in head office, I acquired an insight in to the operations, assisting in a variety of jobs with new stock arrivals, inDesign, Photoshop, and sourcing visual merchandising props.

This part time position at the Midas and Mollini Melbourne stores was undertaken throughout my full time University Studies, providing me with the basic skills required for customer service and sales, along with the steps required for successful experiences for customers. I conducted managerial tasks, often working a day in store solo. Consistently, I was ranked in the top sales persons within the state, and nationally.

Activities and Societies: Minoring in Marketing and Sociology