Achieving your Career Goals: Annie's Story

Tell us a bit about your job and your career so far?

I work as a team administrator in digital and marketing. I started with school admin as an apprenticeship before moving up into retail a couple of years ago.

What does a normal day look like for you?

The day to day involves a little bit of everything, from processing invoices to ordering stationary for colleagues. However I always get unexpected tasks like website testing or more recently preparing emails to go out to customers! I know it might sound boring to some, but I really like it!

What is the best bit about your job?

The best part of my job is definitely getting to hang out with my colleagues every day. Everyone in my team is so funny and we all get along so well. There’s never a dull moment and it’s lovely to go to work and speak with people you can call friends.

Was there anything you looked out for when searching for roles, because of your epilepsy?

Not in particular. I did have negative experiences in past jobs with colleagues not able to cope with my epilepsy so it’s always something I kept in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day I went for jobs with myself and my abilities at the forefront of my mind and epilepsy more towards the back as that’s not something that should matter to them. I only really had to make sure I could get to the location as my epilepsy means I’m not able to drive!

How did you find looking for a role that you wanted, that would also be (safe? Suitable?) for you?

Looking for jobs is always hard at the best of times so I personally went through a temping agency where the office I was placed in chose to make me permanent. It was really a testament to the fact that once people see epilepsy, many realise it’s not as scary as it’s made out to be. I was safe due to it being a desk job and having many understanding people around me.

Were there any considerations you made, or your employer made, regarding your epilepsy?

I didn’t ever make any considerations myself as I never see myself too different from everybody else, but when my seizures started becoming more frequent in the office I would sometimes have to go home. This lead to my boss making the decision to get me a laptop instead of a desktop PC so I could work from home. I was lucky in this way because I recover from seizures quite fast so I could hop back on to work when I felt ready. My employer has also always been good at making sure I’m ok and asking if there’s anything I need, even during COVID-19 where I’ve been working from home. It’s reassuring in the way that if I ever do feel I need extra support, they will be there for me.

What have you told your colleagues about your epilepsy? What were their questions?

Well in my case all of my colleagues know about my epilepsy due to my surgery as I was away for 6 weeks and there wasn’t really much hiding the fact that half my head was shaved when I went back. This lead to a few of them asking what kind of epilepsy I had and the kind of seizures I have which I didn’t mind at all. A few of my closer colleagues know about stresses it can cause and various horror stories I have but most of the time the questions they ask are based around how I knew I had it and how I cope with it which I find comforting in a way because you know that these people care about you. For me, questions have never got too personal, it’s mainly just people hoping I am ok.

What advice would you give to a young person with epilepsy who is beginning their journey into employment?

I’d definitely say not to let your epilepsy outshine your skills and personality. Of course your epilepsy will come up, whether that be in your interview, induction or on the job but that definitely isn’t your defining feature! If you show who you are outside of that, you should be fine!

Have you ever had a seizure at work, and if so what was that experience like?

I’ve had quite a few seizures at work and they’ve all been handled really well. More often than not I’m driven home by a colleague as I only live 5 minutes away by car. The worst seizure I had, I had to have an ambulance called and a colleague of mine actually came to the hospital with me and waited with me until my Nan showed up. It was one of the scariest moments of my working life but it was handled so well and isn’t talked about anymore which is something I’m happy about as I always imagined those kinds of stories will linger around or ruin work relationships.