A Day in The Life of a Business Development Executive in Gungho’s Charlotte office – Mikala
Today we are speaking with Mikala, a Gungho Marketing Business Development Executive from our US office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mikala joined our US team shortly after graduating from East Carolina University, where she majored in Hospitality and Tourism Management and minored in Business Administration. Mikala previously worked at a Country Club in the events department.
What was it like changing job roles and entering a new industry?
It was so much easier than I thought it was going to be. I had previously worked in high pressure environments in customer service roles. I enjoyed transferring into the role at Gungho, which is team orientated, target driven and sets out clear daily goals. Gungho operates a great work culture & team environment which made me feel comfortable very quickly.
Speaking of targets, how do you find working in a target driven role?
I enjoy the targets and like to have my goals in black and white. Everyone at Gungho is behind you and wants you to achieve your goals so there are no unrealistic expectations. With the support around me it just reinforces what you want to achieve in a day, or a week. We all work together to hit our targets!
So, talk me through your typical working day…
I wake up, get ready, give my dogs cookies before I leave the house. I typically stop at Starbucks on my way to work and I get an iced coffee, no matter what the temperature is outside!
When I start, usually my colleagues in the UK office are on lunch, so it gives me time to read through my emails and catch up on what’s been going on in the UK through the team chats. I then have my group team calls with everyone at 9am, this is where we set out a plan for the day.
Right after I get off those calls, it is complete dialing madness! I start calling into Financial Institutions on the East Coast of America, and then work my way across the United States.
How do you find working with the colleagues who are based overseas?
I love it! Everyone has been great – I have even had colleagues from the UK office come and meet my family and friends here in Charlotte!
I obviously have a great group of work colleagues in the office here in Charlotte too, but it doesn’t even feel like my colleagues in the UK are that far away as we keep in contact throughout the day on Microsoft Teams video and chat. With the time difference, there is only a couple of hours where we aren’t in contact with the UK team.
Gungho staff are luckily enough to get a 3-day weekend, how do you spend this time off?
I love to go up to Chapel Hill to visit my best friend, it’s a college town with lots of restaurants and bars. It’s about 3 hours away, so with the 3 days weekend, we are able to pack in a lot of time together, which is nice and something that was difficult to do regularly with past jobs.
What would you say to someone thinking about joining Gungho Marketing?
So worth it! It is great, the work life balance is better, the management is great, there is a positive team energy which is created by a helpful, and supportive team.
To listen to the full interview recording, click here.
