TFI - Paula Gibbons
The Friday Interview
What is your name?
Paula Gibbons
What do you do for a living in 10 words?
Business Development for the most amazing company on the planet.
Where do you currently reside?
Sunny Coatbridge, 20 minutes outside Glasgow.
Describe yourself in 3 words?
Dedicated, Creative, Driven
Tell us what your typical day at work looks like?
I feel extremely lucky as my day usually consists of getting to chat to interesting and amazing people within industry, whether that be my team, existing clients or reaching out to potential clients to see if I can help. Lots of coffee. I regularly carry out market analysis, attend meetings, and identify growth opportunities for the business. Being a dynamic role, it is a combination of strategic planning and relationship building, which I love…Currently I do all of this whilst trying to ensure my golden retriever puppy doesn’t destroy my house!
What would you want to tell your 20-year-old self-knowing what you know now?
Travel, have fun, take risks, read lots of books and embrace change. Always be yourself, don’t follow the crowd, don’t be afraid to explore different paths and remember that failures are valuable lessons. Spend time with your family, invest time in building meaningful connections and most importantly, do what makes you happy and take care of yourself and your well-being along the way!
What would you class as your biggest achievement so far?
I love to travel and have managed to have some amazing experiences in some really beautiful places, having been to 6 of the 7 continents so far – Antarctica is my goal for 2024!
It may seem fairly obvious but also my job, I am proud to represent a company with such amazing values.
What was your favourite programme as a child?
The Queens Nose & Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Who did you idolise when growing up?
My dad
What memories do you have of your first ever job?
My first ever job I was waitressing in a restaurant. On my very first shift, I was trying to appear overly confident and attempted to pick up a full tray of drinks, a bottle of Budweiser tipped first and knocked off every single glass, they all went down like dominoes spilling over an old ladies back…..It is NOT as easy as it looks!
If you could invite anyone (dead or alive) for dinner who would you invite and why?
This is a tough one as there are so many people that come to mind, Salvador Dali, Einstein or Da Vinci would be all be fascinating and I could get to pick their artistic genius minds, but to be honest, If I have to choose one person it would be, the one & only, Billy Connolly, I could listen to him all day and night.
Tell us something about yourself that not many people would know?
I was weirdly good at the long jump & high jump in school. I was undefeated for 3 years in a row. I have a severe phobia of mice – even cartoon mice!