The lowdown on what it’s really like. One woman talks about her work and life.

Name: Emma Thomas

Name: 33

Job title: Group Company Secretary, Nestor Healthcare Group plc

Top survival tip
Develop a sense of humour and learn to be patient – especially when other people try to ignore your advice when they haven’t thought through an issue you’ve spent hours working on.

The reaction
When I tell people what I do for a living the usually ask, ‘Why, if you have qualified as a solicitor, do you work as a secretary?’

The day-to-day
I don’t have a typical day. One day I could be spending most of my time helping to write the Company’s annual report and accounts. The next, I could be preparing for a board meeting, attending meetings on a new project to buy a company or negotiate a new joint venture, advising the managing director and looking into a new employee benefit plan.

The ‘core’ part of my role is to look after the board of directors and to make sure they are properly advised. I attend all board meetings, minute them and make sure the relevant information is circulated so that informed decisions are made. I advise the directors on all aspects of Company law and the Rules of the Financial Services Authority. These rules regulate how publicly quoted companies should regulate their affairs.

I am an officer of the company, which means that I can sign documents on the company’s behalf. As I am also a solicitor, this normally means I review and sign all important contracts. As a senior member of the executive team, I tend to become involved with most important issues dealt with centrally by the company.

The past
When I was small, I had a vague idea about being an actress.

Getting started
I trained as a solicitor (which I found a boring but good, solid business grounding). I was a junior lawyer in a large City firm of solicitors then moved to become assistant company secretary at a food manufacturing company. It suited me really well as it was an opportunity to work at a ‘proper’ legal job outside London and was also a chance to use my skills in a business environment.

I learned everything I knew about being a company secretary on the job as there was no one around to tell me how to do it. Luckily for me, there was a ‘shake-up’ at the company and less than a year from joining, I was appointed company secretary.

Typical path?
I’m not sure if there is a conventional route for people going into this kind of role. Some people take special company secretary’s exams after university but many come to the profession as qualified lawyers or accountants.

Skills and personality
Here’s my top five list of skills:

• Common sense
• Ability to think laterally – to find solutions
• Attention to detail
• Stamina (ability to work long hours)
• Man-management and organisational skills

Personality traits that help in my job include a sense of humour, diligence and the patience and ability to do lots of things at once.

Freedom and control
I get loads of autonomy in my job. Although I report to the board of directors and work very closely with the finance director, because I am relatively senior and am the only lawyer working in my organisation, I am allowed to get on with my job most of the time.

The hours
Normally, I work about 55 hours a week but quite often I have busy periods where I work over 60 hours a week. When it’s quieter, I’ll work about 50 hours.

The cash
My basic salary falls into the £65,000 to £100,000 bracket. But including benefits I earn over £100,000. I think I am paid well for working hard.

Starting salaries for qualified company secretaries (those who have trained specifically for the role) are in the £30-£35,000 region. Newly qualified solicitors working in private practice in London now earn about £40,000 and salaries increase quickly with experience.

Gender split
In my profession, at the senior level the gender breakdown is about 80% men and 20% women; at the entry level, it’s about 50:50.

Sometimes at work I’m inevitably treated differently than a man but I don’t think I’ve been discriminated against because I am a woman; sometimes being female has distinct advantages, although I’ve never overtly used my status as a woman to get what I want. Women tend to have the ability to focus on a number of different tasks at the same time. They also tend to become less ‘stressed out’ at the prospect of many deadlines looming at the same time.

I was educated in a very academically focused all-girls’ school, where we were encouraged to think of ourselves as able people, rather than girls. I knew lots of boys socially, but was not pitched against them in an academic environment (until university). So I did not feel held back or intimidated by them. Also, my parents have always been very supportive of anything I, or my sister, wanted to do and have never made us feel that we should or shouldn’t do anything because we happen to be women.

I think that discrimination can often be encouraged by the state of mind of women; I try very hard not to think of myself as any different in terms of ability and dedication than a man. However, it is relatively easy for me to act in the same way as a man at work as I don’t have any children and I have a very supportive and domesticated fiance´.

The perks
The best things about my job are variety, autonomy and the pay.

The pits
The worst thing is the long hours and need to spend much of the day concentrating hard – if I get it wrong, the Company could suffer badly.

Greatest achievements
I was promoted to company secretary of a top 250 company at the age of 27. Also, one of my previous employers tried extremely hard to keep me from moving to my present job. It sounds big-headed but it really meant a great deal to me.

Biggest blunder
Three months after beginning my present job I crashed my car (with the Group Finance Director, Group Financial Controller and a subsidiary finance director inside) into the Subsidiary Finance Director’s car.

Coping with stress
I don’t work weekends and I try to have regular holidays. At work, I try hard to see the funny side of disasters that strike.

Seeking inspiration
I find it really important to talk to other people at work and to build a good working relationship with colleagues.

Child-friendly job?
I’m not too keen on babies, so I have never really had to think about it much. However, now that I am about to get married, it’s possible that children will feature at some stage. I certainly wouldn’t want to give up work in order to have children (we couldn’t afford it and I would be bored within weeks) but I know that it is possible for a woman to have a satisfying career and children. I’ve seen friends do it.

The future
In 10 years’ time I see myself as company secretary of a top 100 publicly listed company, working four days a week – maybe a mother, too.

The verdict
This job makes full use of my potential. Every day. I am constantly facing challenges I’ve never met before – this is a great part of the attraction for me.

What’s it like doing your job? If you want to share your day-to-day get in contact: Work&CareerChannel@email.ivillage.co.uk.