You’ve met most of our older and longest service staff. However, we also have a few younger ones too. Meet Joey, our youngest office staff. She recently joined the Presto Drycleaners team as a HR and Accounting Executive. She is in charge of day to day operations helping different departments come together to work smoothly. Coming to the office as early as 7.30am to open the doors to the factory and office, Joey makes certain that all departments are able to do their work without any interference and bumps in the road. Her position in the company requires a lot of maturity and patience when handling people from all kinds of backgrounds.

In order to gain work experience to build up her career, she left her family back in Malaysia to support her family and excel in her career. However, with the recent pandemic, she hasn’t had the chance to go back, not being able to see her family and good friends for over a year. Let us get to know more about Joey and her career goals in this interview.

1. We heard that you come to the office as early at 7.30 am. Why do you do so?
   
   Although work officially begins at 8 am, I come in at 7.30 am to open the doors to the office. Apart from that, 2 of our drivers come as early as 7 am to pick up the clean clothes that are either to be delivered to the outlet stores or homes of our customers. When this happens, I am required to be there as I am responsible for the cash that is to be collected each morning from the drivers.

2. We heard that you were a Sales Executive in your previous job before joining Presto Drycleaners as a Human Resource and Accounting Executive. Did the change in job affect you?
   
   Previously, I worked as a Sales Executive in the hotel industry at Malacca. I mostly handled events ranging from corporate to weddings. Over there, I was required to talk and meet different people each day which allowed me to build relationships with clients for job purposes. Apart from that, everyday was different for me, I had different projects and clients to attend to each day.
   
   However, now at Presto Drycleaners, I have a more systematic routine that helps me better in my work life balance. For example, instead of having constant changes in a day’s work plan, now I’m able to stick to a monthly schedule that is well ordered. All in all the change in job did not affect my life badly but in a good way.

3. Did you see yourself working for a local laundry and drycleaning brand when you graduated from your University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources?
   
   Honestly, I did not. I envisioned myself working for a big company. However, working for a small scale local company allows me to witness how a company runs on the back end. Working at Presto for example, I am able to see how the operations department works which allows me to better understand the job scope of each job when looking for recruiters. Another plus point is, working closely with other departments in the company allows me to pick up skills and knowledge from other employees that allows me to widen my skill set. This is always useful when doing up a resume. Hence, working in a small scale company has its perks too!

4. What is your dream career/ end career ambition?
   
   Since my first job, I’ve always enjoyed working with people and being able to engage with them. With that came my interest in Human Resources as this required me to get to know and communicate with people.
   
   My career ambition is to be able to pursue as a Human Resource Manager and eventually be able to mentor people on how they are able to work towards achieving their career goals and ambitions. Overall, I’d like to mentor people who were as lost as I was when I first graduated from University. This would enable them to have a guided direction towards their success.

5. We are aware how most employees at Presto Drycleaners are older. How do you manage to work with people of varying ages within the company.
   
   I always remind myself to be humble and patient. People of my age are privileged as they were brought up in an era where the internet and google were readily available for us to use. With the help of the internet, we were able to get detailed information and answers with just a click. However, the older generation was just recently introduced to technology and we have to understand that they require slightly more time to get used to the changes. Hence, having a different approach to them makes it more manageable to work with them.

Joey is a young and driven employee that recognises how hard work pays off. We hope you enjoyed getting to know her. Do drop some love for her on our Instagram page.

At Presto Drycleaners, we believe that recruiting the right people opens up opportunities that develop the company into a more diverse organisation with a wider range of skills, ideas, perspective and talent. If you’re motivated, determined and enthusiastic, we are looking for changemakers to join our team! Drop by our jobs page, https://prestodrycleaners.com.sg/jobs/ to identify which positions are available and email us at hr@prestodrycleaners.com.sg with your resume and contact details. We would love to hear from you!