Samar Shah, Partner Success Team Leader

Describe your role

I’m the first point of contact at Unifrog for the majority of schools so, if they have problem or want something updated or changed, they come to me and I help get it sorted.

If you could be any superhero, who would you be?

Any superhero who can fly and get to places really quickly! I’d love to visit sunny destinations whenever I feel like it...

What does an average day as a customer success lead look like?

On a typical day I’ll come into the office, respond to emails, and make sure any other project work is progressing smoothly. I also answer the phones and help the rest of the team out whenever I can.

What advice would you give to your schoolgirl self?

Not to stress! I’d tell my schoolgirl self not to worry about the small stuff as it won’t actually matter that much in five years’ time - ignore the drama and hit the books instead.

What do you like the most about your role?

I love that my role can be really varied at times. Although the majority of day-to-day tasks are similar, the project work is very diverse. Also, I get to speak to a lot of teachers on a daily basis and find out how Unifrog is benefiting them, which makes me feel good!

Arash Khosravi, International Partnerships Manager

Describe your role

I am the International Partnerships Manager so I make sure our international partners are happy in how they’re using Unifrog, and that they’re making the most of the platform. I help make sure they’re engaging really well so that we’re helping as many students as we can across the world. I also support the International Area Managers, and spend lots of time answering schools’ queries and onboarding new schools so they’re happy with rolling out Unifrog. This is actually my favourite part of the role - I love chatting to schools all over the world and seeing how they’re getting on.

What's your favourite Unifrog tool and why?

There are so many to choose from! It’s probably the Webinars tool though - I really like the fact that we are doing student facing webinars. This is such a great avenue for us to share information, give students exposure to universities, and help them find out everything they need to know - sometimes about things they’ve never even thought about! I really love the fact that over pandemic we’ve rolled out webinars to help students in new ways.

What's the best concert you've ever been to?

My all time best was a John Mayer concert. I’d wanted to see him for ages and it honestly blew my mind! I know all of his songs, the atmosphere was amazing, and I felt so lucky singing along with the crowd.

More recently, the best concert I’ve been to is an Oh Wonder concert. It was two weeks before lockdown and it actually ended up being the last stop on their worldwide tour as the rest of it was cancelled because of the pandemic. It’s just nice to look back on that concert with my girlfriend and know we got the chance to see a great band who we love together before all the craziness set in.

What's your party trick?

This has got to be my Rubik’s cube trick - I can solve them in under a minute. I’d always wanted to learn how to solve them and I had spare time on my hands in my first year of uni so I got on YouTube and kept practising until I got it right. It took me about a month to learn and my personal best is 56 seconds - it always goes down well when I show it off! 

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I was an only child growing up so didn’t have much entertainment - I got obsessed with video games. This was back when you played games off of floppy disks and it was all really new technology. All I wanted to do was be a computer games tester - for someone who spent their whole childhood playing computer games, playing games everyday forever sounded like the dream! Ready Player One would have been my dream world! Computer games testing wasn’t really a thing when I was growing up and it didn’t feel serious enough to be a career - it’s different now, but back then gaming was definitely more of a hobby than a career.

Ben Mahoney, Area Manager

Describe your role as an Area Manager at Unifrog

My key role at Unifrog is to build strong relationships with schools. This means ensuring they’re getting the most out of Unifrog, fully embracing what the platform has to offer, and keeping abreast of the ongoing developments. Area Managers are crucial in spreading the Unifrog ethos - leveling the playing field so everyone has the same opportunities -  I am part of the larger process of delivering this, while ensuring all the effort the company puts in to make this happen has maximum impact.

What gets you out of bed in the morning to go to work?

People normally say their alarm clock, and I'm no different, but once the alarm clock has done its job, then I'd say it's the nature of what I do - no two days the same, working with a diverse range of schools, delivering training and support on a fantastic product, and helping literally thousands of people access a resource which makes a real and positive difference to their lives; as the saying goes, 'find a job you love and never work another day in your life'.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt working at Unifrog?

That a tool like Unifrog can really change a young person's life, and how different my own pathway might have been if I'd had the benefit of its guidance.

What would your perfect weekend look like?

I’ve got young children and so my perfect weekend would be spending time as a family, getting outdoors, walking, playing football, trampolining - anything active to tire them out.

Charley Fowler, Area Manager

What do you find most exciting about being a Unifrog Area Manager?  
I love the excitement when a new partner school comes on board, and we have the first strategy meeting to establish their goals with the platform. It's exciting to help schools take a step back and think about what beneficial changes using Unifrog can bring to their CEIAG programme. Additionally, my partner schools are spread across the East of England and London, and I find it really exciting when I discover cute coffee shops in places that I never would have visited if it weren't for my job. 

As our Gatsby Benchmark Champion, how do you help schools meet the benchmarks? 
As Gatsby Champion, my role is to be as clued up as possible on all things CEIAG policy related. With my partner schools, I'll support them in various ways with this. Often, we'll go through their CEIAG plan with a fine tooth-comb comparing this with the DfE's guidance on meeting the benchmarks. Many of my partner schools are working towards achieving CEIAG awards, so I'll help them by applying my knowledge of how Unifrog relates to the benchmarks and the assessment frameworks for the awards they're applying for.  

How has your background in teaching helped you in this role? 
Before Unifrog, I was an RE teacher at secondary school in Camden, London. Teaching gave me first hand experience of the challenges schools face in a variety of areas, as well as the positive impact good careers education can have on students. Teaching develops your resilience and your ability to empathise with others. All of these things drive me to do a really good job of supporting my partner schools as an Area Manager. I enjoy addressing the variety of issues my schools face relating to careers and destinations, and I love celebrating their successes using Unifrog to combat these. 

What’s your favourite song and why? 
Tough question! I'm all for a girl power anthem. Fighter by Christina Aguilera is one of my faves.

Coralie Colmez, Director and co-founder

Describe your role

I'm one of Unifrog's founders, so over the years my role has included pretty much everything from Sales to Data analysis to HR. These days, I get to spend all my time on what I like the most, which is developing the platform. We look at ideas from wherever they come, including teachers and students at our partner schools and everyone in the team, and decide which ones we want to go forward with. I then work with Alex (the co-founder) and our lead programmer Stu to make them happen! I focus mostly on our products that involve using data, whether that's information from outside sources like UCAS or job market predictions, or usage stats from the platform. 

How do you make sure you keep in touch with the rest of the team when you’re working remotely?

The person I talk to most is Alex, and I live with him so that hasn't been too challenging! Otherwise, day-to-day I work with a small team that are in charge of the data we use on the platform. Most of what we do is cleanly separated into different projects, so we can keep track of almost everything by email, and an occasional Zoom call. For things that involve more of the team, we started using Slack and it's great, both for smaller work questions and just to keep in touch. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Always ask yourself what it is that you really want, and then do that instead of doing what the world expects of you. And remember that the decisions you make are very rarely permanent, and you can change your mind and your life at any point.

What book do you always recommend to other people?

I love reading, so this could be a long list, but one of my favourites is Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, which is about a pandemic. So recently, people have been a lot less enthusiastic when I recommend it to them! Her writing gives the book an addictive other-worldly feeling, and it has a very lovely message about the importance of art. 

What does your ideal weekend look like?

Sleeping in indecently late, sun all weekend, a good party, and the perfect level of hangover.

Emily Nash, Teacher Resources Creator and Editor

How did you find starting a new job while working remotely?
Having not met many people over lockdown, it’s been really lovely getting to know the Unifrog team over Zoom! Everyone is so keen to help out and answer questions so that helps to break down the barriers that you might imagine you’ll have when you start a new job whilst working remotely.

I miss having a separate home and work space. I’m fantasising about going into the office - which I did not ever imagine saying before lockdown! It’ll be nice to go for work drinks and coffees again with the team.

What part of your job do you find most challenging? 
I’m the writer and editor of Unifrog’s Resources library. The challenge I tackle and enjoy most often is working out what students need when they learn a new topic and how they can best digest this knowledge. I try to think back to the lessons I found most engaging when I was at school. Being given the tools to learn more about myself as a student and explore future options was the most interesting and exciting thing to learn, so I try to bring this to the resources I create.

Besides this, one challenge is choosing a playlist to listen to when I work so that I don't get carried away with singing along!

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want with you and why?
First, I would want a hot shower because there is no greater luxury than relaxing under the hot water. I want to be clean on the island, you know!
Secondly, I would want a lifetime supply of soy sauce for all the fish I’ll be catching and frying. It’s the best sauce anyway.
And finally, sunglasses. Regardless of island leisurewear, I want to look cool when I'm finally rescued!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I feel like I'm cheating on London by saying this, but it would be Tokyo - specifically the Meguro river. There are coffee shops, and galleries, and the most beautiful cherry blossoms. I love living in a big city and I loved getting lost in Tokyo when I visited. It’s a very calm place which I was surprised by because it’s so hectic. I’ve been taking Japanese lessons for the last couple of years, so maybe one day I’ll actually make the move! 

Would you rather be able to teleport or time travel? Why?
Definitely teleport: there are so many reasons! Mostly, because judging by Dr Who and the movies, time travel rules are scary when you break them! I also want to explore the world - there are so many beautiful places to visit and amazing people to meet in its current form. I also think going back to the past would be lonely - our current time is so different and so technology focused, there’d be no one to really relate to in the past. Plus, teleporting has lower carbon emissions, so it’s a win win!

Greg Brown, International Area Manager

What does a good work day look like to you?

 The great thing about working at Unifrog is that every day is different. As an International Area Manager I’m often travelling, so when not on the road I really enjoy working from home in the peace and quiet. Plus, I always get to choose the office music! A good day will involve Skype meetings with Unifrog partners and a big part of the role is having a flexible schedule. I can be speaking with people in Kazakhstan in the morning and the Cayman Islands in the evening.

If I’m travelling for work and out in different countries, a successful day is always measured by the positive reactions from students and staff when you present Unifrog at their school. It’s great walking around after the session and hearing the murmurs of excitement.

What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to you whilst travelling for work?

 A couple of years ago I was in Singapore visiting some Unifrog schools and I decided to take a trip to the ‘Treetop Walk’ in MacRitchie Park. I knew there were lots of macaque monkeys around but I didn’t bet on just how aggressive they could be. As I was crossing the bridge I saw them sizing me up but decided to take a selfie on the bridge anyway. Just as I was looking at the screen, I could see a big macaque monkey charging at me from behind! It jumped on to my shoulders, reached into my bag and tried to grab my stuff. Thankfully I’d seen it coming so turned around quickly and fought him off. He was obviously after the Unifrog booklets in my bag…even the monkeys are keen!

Where are you living at the moment?

 A few years ago I moved to Copenhagen from London. I love living here and because Copenhagen is a lot smaller (and quieter) than London, it means you’re never too far from the beach or forests as well as the city centre. The best thing is the freedom to cycle around the city. Danes are obsessed with cycling, and there is even a word – ‘Copenhagenize’ - which describes making a city better for getting around by bike. The food is also amazing and although I’m not that into seafood (which is a big deal here) there are plenty of delicious pastry shops and ice cream stands to keep me happy. If you need an excuse to visit, just google ‘Nyhavn Sunset’.

You grew up in Northern Ireland – what are your favourite things about it?

 Northern Ireland has a unique charm to it which is hard to find anywhere else - It’s a small place with a real sense of community. If you meet another person from Northern Ireland elsewhere in the world then you’ve an instant friend. Despite its small size it has amazing scenery, from rugged rocky coastlines to sprawling mountains and lakes. The slower pace of life makes it a lovely place to relax when I’m home visiting family and the food always goes down well – an Ulster fry with potato and soda farls, Fifteens and Yellowman honeycomb! 

Hayley Jayne Wilkinson, Account Manager

What do you like the most about your role?
Meeting new people - it’s mostly been on Zoom so I’m looking forward to meeting people in person again! I work with lots of different teachers as well and love being able to help them out and share my knowledge and excitement about the platform with them!

What’s the best thing about working at Unifrog?
Definitely the people. I love spending time with the team on our team days and catch ups - even when they’re online and not in person! And it’s not just the people, but the whole ethos behind what we do for our users and our employees. We really do look after each other and Unifrog as a company looks after us. We have so many measures to support our wellbeing and to make sure we are happy! We have a staff book club, we do quizzes, and we run social activities like Bake Off (which I won, by the way!).

What's your favourite pizza?
It’s a strange one! First of all, it has to be a pizza on a proper fresh dough base. Then, I like BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce, and my 3 toppings are chicken, red onion, and pineapple. Pineapple on pizza is the best and BBQ sauce has a hint of sweetness that brings out the flavour of my toppings perfectly- I have a sweet tooth so it’s so me! Oh, and you’ve got to have a garlic and herb dip to top it off! So good! 

Where is the best place you've ever travelled to? Why is it the best?
In 2018, I went to Stockholm with my fiancé and absolutely loved it. We went in November, so it was very cold but I do enjoy the winter and getting wrapped up warm. It was such a lovely city - not too busy and plenty of history to explore and learn about. As a stationery addict, the highlight of my week was discovering lots of new stationery brands and stores. Scandinavian stationery design is my favourite so I certainly stocked up on lots of new notebooks and pens whilst I was there!

Which reality TV contest/programme do you think you'd win? Why?
My family always tell me to go on Bake Off! In fact, my fiancé thinks my cakes are better than the ones he’s eaten from bakeries, and he’s really critical so for that to come from him is high praise! 

I love baking, but I actually think I’d be too nervous for Bake Off.  I feel like I wouldn’t have a clue for the blind bake and the timings would stress me out. I’m normally really calm but baking just does something to me! I was baking one evening at home for my team in my last job and it went wrong- I got so stressed, I threw the pan across the kitchen and my fiancé banned me from baking for work! I would make headlines with my stress! As much as I love baking, I love eating the cake - if you’re not allowed to lick the bowl on Bake Off, I don’t want to be on it!

Jacqui Hogan, Account Manager

What does your role as an Account Manager at Unifrog involve?

It involves visiting lots of schools and colleges and trying to understand how we might best be able to support them in delivering and monitoring their careers guidance.

What do you enjoy most about working with schools in the North of England?

As a Northener, I love working with schools in the north of England. Every day is different and I enjoy getting to know all the students and teachers in my various partner schools. My work involves a lot of driving and I get to drive through some of the UK's most stunning countryside. 

Is working for a social enterprise important to you?

Working for a social enterprise is very important to me. As a child I lived in what was considered to be an underprivileged area and know only too well the challenges that this can pose to young people. The fact that Unifrog aims to help level out the educational playing field, giving students access to information and resources to help them find the best destinations and opportunities for them is a huge incentive for me and make me feel proud to be a part of it.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

It’s a Marcus Aurelius quote: ‘Do not think that what is hard for you to master is humanly impossible; and if it is humanly possible, consider it to be within your reach.’

Jen Carter, Account Manager

What’s your favourite thing about your role?

My favourite thing by far is getting out into schools and colleges and meeting my contacts to chat through how they can use Unifrog most effectively. No two schools use it in exactly the same way, and everybody has challenges which I love to try and overcome. The platform is so flexible in the way it can be incorporated into the curriculum, and the perpetual tweaks and content launches mean that my meetings are always punctuated with exclamations of “I didn’t know it could do that!”. 

As my contacts will testify, I love a cuppa and a catch up, and I really enjoy building relationships with my schools and colleges so that everyone feels supported and able to come to me with anything they might need, be it platform queries, suggestions for future tweaks, or requests for training.

What’s your favourite anecdote about Unifrog having an impact on a student’s life?

Technically this isn’t one of my wins, but a fantastic colleague of mine went into a school on the day the Canadian University search tool was launched, and on a whim (or was it pure serendipity?) she decided to showcase that tool. For one of the students there that day it opened their eyes to the world of possibilities and they subsequently applied and were accepted to study in Canada. Unifrog really does change lives!

What advice would you give to your 17-year old self?

There are a few clichés that I could come out with here and they’d all be true! 

• Act now, apologise later.
• Don’t stress too much, whatever will happen is going to happen anyway.
• Follow your instincts, they are there for a reason!
• Pretend to be confident until it comes naturally.
• Procrastinate less (having spent far too long thinking about these questions, I’m not sure I’ve learnt this lesson yet!)

What do you get up to when you’re not working? 

I’m married with 2 teenage/tween girls and a dog, so they take up a lot of my time! Alongside working part-time at Unifrog, I’m also studying a master’s degree at Uni in Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy, a subject I love and find fascinating.  I volunteer at Childline as a counsellor once a week which is incredibly rewarding, and lastly, I’m a trained massage therapist and I work the odd shift at a local clinic to keep my hand in. 

My favourite way to relax is taking long walks along the river near where I live with my dog. That or playing cards, board games and video games with my kids.

Kaya Carter, Partner Sucess Lead

What do you like the most about your role?
I love talking to teachers on a daily basis and getting to know them better. It’s so rewarding to hear about how the platform has benefitted them and helped their students out. It’s always lovely being told stories or anecdotes about how our platform is used and the real impact it is having. I’m also so lucky to have such wonderful colleagues! My fellow Partner Success Leads, Samar and Rebecca who I work side by side with are amazing and I love working with them every day. There’s such a great team atmosphere and everyone’s really supportive of one another.

What motivates you to work at Unifrog?
Working for a social enterprise or an organisation that does good has always been really important to me. I’m motivated by Unifrog’s aim to level the playing field when it comes to helping students research and find the best opportunities for them. I would have loved the opportunity to use a platform like Unifrog back when I was in school because I really struggled with deciding what university I wanted to go to and I know Unifrog would’ve helped me massively with this. It makes me proud to work for an organisation that genuinely helps students with these decisions.

If you could be any superhero, what would you be?
Nightcrawler because if I could teleport, my life would be complete! There are so many places I would love to travel to, Japan, India and Mexico being top of the list. Being able to to teleport from one side of London to the other and avoid the tube would also be pretty convenient.

What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?
Back when I wasn’t a vegetarian, I tried ostrich in South Africa, which I remember being pretty tasty. I also ate an assortment of roasted bugs in Thailand, which I didn’t enjoy quite so much. 

Kim Anderson, Area Manager

How long have you worked at Unifrog and what have been the biggest changes in that time?

I'm pretty old school at Unifrog, joining the company way back in 2015. I can remember the early days when we only had three tools. Unifrog is constantly developing and improving so there isn't just one big change. I guess the main change is that there’s now too many of us to all fit around one desk at Team Day!

What’s your favourite tool on the Unifrog platform? 

It's like asking which is my favourite child! The UK university tool will always be a stand out winner,  it never fails to impress people when they see it for the first time. It also makes me wonder how I made a decision on university back in the day, basing my decision purely on the  pictures in prospectuses. Other than that the Subjects Library - in particular the 'Geek Out' section - as it’s jam-packed full of cool stuff. I would definitely have loved it as a student.

What part of your role do you find most challenging? 

Getting hold of teachers! You guys are always so busy that trying to find time to speak to a teacher is like trying to pin down water. 

What’s your favourite film and why? 

Film would be my specialist subject on Mastermind. I'm such a geek - surely no-one can have a favourite? I probably have a favourite in every genre. Growing up with a big brother definitely formed my taste, starting with the Goonies, Rocky and Lethal Weapon (I didn't say it was good taste!). But now being a mum, you don't really get a say, although Moana and The Lego Batman Movie are actually surprisingly good.

Matthew Jones, Area Manager

Describe your role as an Area Manager at Unifrog

Every day is different and there is no ‘normal’ or ‘repetitive’ week. As I cover north west England, north and mid Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, I travel quite a bit. One day I can be over in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, the next in Greater Manchester (take a look at a map of the UK, it’s some distance)!

There’s no normal 9-5. Some days I’m on the road at 5.30am or catching a flight over to Belfast at 6am and not walking back through the front door until gone 9pm later that night! Whilst demanding and often very tiring, it’s also exciting, rewarding and most importantly, doesn’t bore me to death! I enjoy the role as it keeps me on my toes and at the end of every day I feel like I’ve achieved something.

You've lived in Anglesey all your life, tell us your favourite fact or thing about what it's like to live there?

Bar two brief stints elsewhere yes, I’ve lived in Anglesey my whole life! When I was 16, I left Anglesey and joined the British Army as an Electronic Avionics Technician in Harrogate. But it wasn’t what I anticipated and I left after 12 months to go back into education and work towards university.

Anglesey really is such a beautiful place to live and many of the teachers I meet love coming over to Anglesey in the summer! What I most love about it is it’s a great place to bring up my daughter (who’s now 2)! It has everything - from my family and friends, beautiful beaches, countryside, the mountains of Snowdonia just round the corner and the cities of Liverpool and Chester within a short commute.

What made you want to work at Unifrog?

So, it’s quite an interesting story. I was at home (set the scene) doing some work when I got a call from a friend (and now colleague Tom) asking if I was interested in speaking with his boss regarding a possible job. Out of interest I accepted and Alex, Unifrog’s co-founder, setup a Skype call to show me what exactly Unifrog was.

At the end of the call, Alex asked me for an answer. In my mind I already knew I was going to say yes but I didn’t want to look overly keen and asked for a few days to consider his offer. The next day, I called Alex to accept and made my way to the old office in Bethnal Green on the Saturday afternoon to start training for the following week - dedication!

Seeing how fantastic Unifrog is for supporting kids to make the right choice, to really broadening their horizons and how they can make their aspirations a reality is what sold the job to me. When I joined the army, I wasn’t aware of half the options available to me. I made a naive decision at 15 without really considering all my options. So you could say what made me want to work for Unifrog is the fantastic product, Alex and Coralie’s vision and my own experiences from having made uninformed decisions!

What do you do to unwind?

I love spending time with my beautiful daughter Raya and dog Baxter (yes, named after the dog in Anchorman)! Whether it’s family days out or just a walk with a pit stop to the park. A simple walk will be the best thing ever, with Raya jumping up and down in muddy puddles (all parents will be able to relate). Other than spending time with family, I’ll have the occasional day out with friends watching football - from the lunch time kick off to the evening kick off and every match in-between!

Neil Smith, International New Business Lead

Describe your role
As the International New Partnerships Lead, I’m the first point of contact for new international schools that are interested in joining the Unifrog community. I spend lots of time emailing prospective schools, researching different international schools, designing ways of approaching them, and following that through with targeted campaigns via phone or email. Sometimes they get in touch with us so I look into their school, identify the best parts of the platform for them, and get a demo set up with an Area Manager. 

I’m also on the webinar team so I help organise and host webinars for staff and students on making decisions about the future or using the platform. I wanted to be on the team because a lot of the time my work is done through emails, so having a more interactive and direct link with students is great and it gives me a different insight into Unifrog.

What made you want to work for Unifrog?
I’ll go with the classic “I wish I had access to a resource like this when I was at school”. I actually ended up dropping out of my first degree programme and reapplying. Even though I finished that one and had some great experiences, I still felt that it wasn’t necessarily the best fit for me. It wasn’t until I went on to do a postgrad that I found myself studying something I absolutely loved in a perfect environment. It’s very easy to go through the motions and not be critical or analytical about what you want to do or how to get to where you want to be, so the more resources students have like Unifrog, the better off they’ll be!

What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?
Probably snake. I don’t think snake is particularly unusual, but the experience was. I was in Vietnam and had been recommended “Snake Village” as a great place to visit. The whole place was meant to be snake themed, but when we got there, it was just one restaurant with a bunch of snakes! It wasn’t what we were expecting, but it took us so long to get there that we stayed anyway. I’m happy to eat pretty much anything and would probably eat snake again, but it was more of a novelty than a really delicious meal.
Other than that, I guess haggis is unusual. Non-Scots get pretty weirded out by it, but for me it’s normal for special occasions. Of course nowadays you can just buy it wrapped in plastic rather than the more traditional sheep's stomach. Still, it is great served with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes).

Where is the best place you've ever travelled to? Why is it the best?

I love travelling - who doesn’t?! I think one of my favourite places I’ve ever been to is Japan. I got a cheap train pass that lets you go anywhere on the condition that you take the slow trains instead of the highspeed ones. I saw many of the big cities and lovely countryside, but for a tenth of the price. I loved being able to travel by old-fashioned, rickety trains at my own pace. My favourite place in Japan is probably Osaka - it has a big city vibe but is more accessible and you’re right in the centre of lots of other places to visit.

Rebecca Scannapieco, Partner Management Lead

What made you apply to work at Unifrog?

Without wanting to sound cliché, I knew I would have loved to have access to the platform when I was at school. It makes thinking about and researching your next destination so much easier as a student! Having gained more knowledge of the platform, I know given the chance again, I would have applied to some universities abroad. I also love that the platform has made such a big impact for students and knowing that I’m a part of that is so rewarding.

What did you learn working at Zara that has helped you in this role?  

Working in Zara in my previous job definitely taught me a few things! I was able to improve on my communication skills, multi-tasking and also learning new systems and programmes. Unifrog is constantly changing and so being able to learn a new system quickly comes in handy. And working in an office means I can finally put all my clothes that I have accumulated whilst working at Zara to good use!

What’s your favourite thing about talking to teachers every day?

Whether I’m onboarding new schools, helping teachers with admin related queries or guiding them through how to use the platform, it’s always really satisfying to know that we are making their job that little bit easier! We tend to speak with the same teachers on a regular basis which is really nice as it makes it more personal. It’s always nice to have a chat with teachers about how they're getting on, and it's fun to speak with teachers from all over the UK - I especially love a Geordie accent!

Which actor would you get to play you in the movie of your life and why?

Anna Kendrick because like her, my singing is Pitch Perfect (although Samar might say otherwise).

Rob Cannings, International Area Manager

What does a day in the life of an International Area Manager look like?

As International Area Manager for Europe, my day is usually one of two very different scenes. I spend about 7-10 days of every month visiting a different European country, or sometimes two! During these trips, I get to visit our fantastic partner schools and help them integrate Unifrog into their curricula, train staff how to use the platform and most excitingly introduce it to students. I also get to visit schools that we don't yet work with to demonstrate the ways in which Unifrog could help them deliver better careers and higher education guidance for their students. When I'm back at Unifrog HQ here in London, I do all of the above remotely via video chat, recharge and put the finishing touches on the plan for the next trip.

How has your previous experience in Higher Education helped you in this role?

Five years of working in careers and employability services across three different London universities was a great foundation for understanding the environment I now find myself in. In particular, my role at The London School of Economics gave me the opportunity to work very closely with graduate employers from a variety of sectors. This means that I've been involved with helping to shape the future of young people - in one form or another - for a long time now. On a more day to day level, when you've run countless presentations, seminars, and workshops for 18-21 year olds, standing up in front of students a couple of years younger to do something similar doesn't faze you quite as much as it could!

What’s the best thing about travelling as part of your job?

Forgive me for the obvious answer, but as a massive foodie I can't look beyond that. So far in 2020 I've been lucky enough to enjoy ravioli in Rome, gyros in Greece, pastéis de nata in Portugal, and bacalao in Barcelona - do I get extra points for alliteration? - and that's just off the top of my head. As a big football fan, I've also tried to take in a game as often as possible too. I've got to games at the San Siro, Estádio José Alvalade and El Madrigal so far this season. Bonus points for anyone who can name the teams that play in those venues without resorting to Google!

What was the first album you bought?

Being the youngest of four children, I was lucky enough to get some excellent hand-me-down cassettes - yes I was born in the 80s! - from a very young age. I vividly remember dancing around my room to The Prodigy when I was way too young to process the lyrics... I can't remember the first album I bought, but the very first piece of music was a single - Cotton Eye Joe, by Rednex. Thankfully, it didn't lead to me buying whatever god-forsaken album that song featured on. For some extra narrative detail, I also remember that during the trip to Our Price in Torquay to pick up that particular banger, my sister purchased the far more respectable Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio. For shame.

Sheri Barnett, Senior Content Creator and Editor

Describe your role

My role is Senior Content Creator and Editor, which means I research and write new guides for students, I edit guides written by the rest of the content team, and I manage the content team. I also work with experts, universities, and employers to make sure our student facing content is sound, and come up with new projects for the team to work on. In a nutshell, it's a lot of talking, a lot of reading, and a lot of writing - three of my favourite things!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learnt working at Unifrog?

The most surprising thing I've learnt working at Unifrog is just how many incredible opportunities there are out there! When I was at school I didn't know I could study in Switzerland, or complete a degree in Adventure Filmmaking, or take part in a school leaver programme and study later. There is such a wealth of opportunity out there and - having not had anything like Unifrog growing up - it surprises me every time I find something new and exciting on the platform!

What would your perfect weekend look like?

My perfect weekend would definitely be a city break somewhere in Europe. I love travelling and would quite happily spend every weekend for the rest of eternity exploring new places with my friends or my husband.

What's your favourite pizza?

It's controversial! I love a vegetable pizza with extra chillies and pineapple! I also can't eat dairy and hate vegan cheese, so I go cheeseless...at least no one wants to share with me and I get it all to myself!
 

Sophie Oulton, Area Manager

What does a day in the life of a Unifrog Area Manager look like?

Normally an early start! I work with about 170 schools and colleges across North London, Essex and Suffolk, so I'm often up early to reach somewhere in time for a 9am meeting. Most of my time is spent meeting staff and discussing their goals for careers, and we work out how they can achieve them with Unifrog. I also meet with schools who aren't yet using Unifrog, to talk through how the platform could suit them, and then help them get set up with it. 

What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

Problem solving. I work with lots of different types of schools, who run things in a variety of ways. A big part of my job is adapting Unifrog usage to suit them best, and to make sure it has real impact in every school.

I also love public speaking, which I'm lucky enough to do lots of at the various conferences I attend, or CPDs I run, throughout the year.

How would you describe the culture at Unifrog?

Supportive. We now have about 35 people in the team and we're based all across the country, but we constantly check in with each other to see how we're all getting on, and what we can share from our days.. whether it's best practice, interesting news we've heard that day, or tweets that have made us laugh!

What would your superpower be?

Always managing to pin the tail on the donkey.

Tom Yeaman, Data and CRM Manager

When are you at your happiest?

I'm at my happiest when I'm solving problems. Luckily, I get to do this everyday at Unifrog! My role requires me to get stuck into a wide range of problems; I’ve spent time analysing Unifrog usage data to help inform the training we run with partner schools, as well as building automated processes to keep our accountancy software and sales data synchronized. It’s really exciting to be a part of an agile, social mission driven company, where I have greater responsibility and influence on how we achieve our goals. 

What motivates you about your role?

Everyday, we help students make better decisions on their futures - which is pretty motivating in and of itself. Also, I find I'm at my most motivated when I'm working as part of a team. Due to the ambition of the company I'm often collaborating with smart colleagues to solve big problems - meaning I start each day with a spring in my step!

What is your favourite hobby?

That’s a difficult one, but I would say trekking. My wife and I have trekked across Spain, in the Himalayas & through the Costa Rican jungle in the last few years. My legs are still recovering from a 25km walk to Kew Gardens, maybe more of an urban hike than a trek!  Ps. my photo was taken near the summit of Acatenango, a dormant volcano in Guatemala.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Being able to fly would be hard to beat. It would be enormously satisfying to be able to shave 5 minutes off my trip to Tesco (oh and travel the world of course!)