Company and Job title:
Representation of the European Commission in the UK, Head of Media

Sector:
Public

Background:

• Studied Government at the London School of Economics, taking French and German modules. I also spent 4 months studying at Leiden University in the Netherlands
• Worked as an au-pair in Germany for a year between school and university
• Before working in the UK, I worked for the European Commission in Brussels for 13 years.

Language skills:
French to a high standard, German is rusty but used to be very good and I'm sure I could get back into it easily. Good passive understanding of Dutch, intermediate Spanish and beginners Greek.

How would you describe your job?
Challenging! I lead a team dealing with the UK media over all sorts of issues related to the EU. I am also responsible for our digital and social media activities. When in Brussels, I would brief journalists from around the world.

How do your language skills help you do your job?
You can't join the Commission without languages skills and once you are in they are invaluable, not just for your day-to-day work, which is in French and English, but for connecting with your colleagues from across Europe. Dealing with journalists from around the world, it's great when you can talk to them in their own language.

What do enjoy most about your job?
I like the intellectual challenge of arguing our case in the media. I love seeing the media stories get your message across when you do a briefing. And I love getting out and about and meeting people in universities and companies and hearing what they think.

What other skills and qualities do you need?
You need to be quick-witted – you never know what's going to be thrown at you. And you need to be a self-starter – the Commission is the sort of place where you get most out of the job if you put a lot in yourself.

What's a typical day for you?
It starts by reading the press reviews to see what has been said about us, and then writing any letters needed to correct inaccuracies. A lot of time is spent answering journalists' queries. I might find myself judging a journalism prize, or talking to a group of students about the EU.

What's the best thing about knowing another language?
Being able to see things from a different perspective. When you speak another language, you also experience another culture, and that is a very important thing in widening your horizons.

How do you use your languages socially?
My parents live in France, so I use it when I go to see them. I have a lot of friends in Brussels that I speak to in French, or German. When I lived in Belgium, Dutch was important when I went to somewhere like Antwerp.