Louise Gould
Recruitment Co-ordinator
“I joined in April 2003 as a Front-of-House Host in the Commercial Department Within six months I was promoted to a supervisor, and within another six months to Assistant Photography Manager. In the following ten months I won a brand new car as Employee of the year, was nominated as manager of the Year, completed my Foundations of Management course and was promoted again – to Retail Manager. After proving I had what it takes to be a star in the top attraction in London I have recently made a lateral move into my current role.
More than a job
“After gaining my degree, I wanted to find a job that was more than just a job. It was actually my mum who persuaded me to apply. Knowing I had a passion for entertaining and loved being around people, she felt this was my perfect job. Mums always know best!
“I remember on my first day, being so impressed to learn about the company's values, and then discovering that they'd actually been written by the staff themselves! It made me feel that here was a company that really cared about its people. I remember being particularly struck by something my trainer said. “You spend half your life at work – you might as well enjoy it.”
“That philosophy really comes through in the team spirit, which totally exceeded my expectations. Having everybody coming up to welcome you and introduce themselves can be quite overwhelming!
World class recruitment
“As Recruitment Co-ordinator, my role is to ensure that applicants enjoy the recruitment process experience to the full. I feel I'm responsible for recruiting and maintaining a world-class Front-of-House team with the right balance of energy, confidence and personality. It's a role I take very seriously – for many applicants, I'm the first impression they have of the company.
“Day-to-day, I have the trappings of my own desk, phone and PC but that's as close as it gets to an office job. Most days I'm planning assessments, catching up with new starters, working on a new project or facilitating training. Fortunately, given the type of attraction we are, there are always plenty of exciting changes happening.
“There are of course days that I'll be bogged down in deskwork, but these are usually broken up by a call that some or other celeb such as Christen Slater is in the building – and of course, there's no better excuse than that to leave your desk!
“I really enjoy running assessment centres, as I love showing off what an amazing place this is to work. I can see the excitement in the faces of the applicants when I show them around the place and I love the way the Front-of-House team responds by really showing off the positive culture we have.
All working together
“A key thing that drives this business forward is that there is no hierarchy. Everybody has a voice and everybody's opinion counts. Everybody is dedicated to our success, which makes for really supportive and challenging environment. Add in all the positive energy, and it also makes for quite a wild social scene!
“The culture is key to our success. It is vital that no matter where you work you demonstrate positive energy. It all goes towards making sure that our guests leave laughing and smiling, happy that they've had a great time.
It's what you make it
“For me, all the ingredients of a dream job are here. It's totally what you make it – and if you want, you can make every day as exciting as the first. There isn't a day that I don't feel like going to work.”
