customer service representative

administrative assistant

first aid instructor

business development representative

communications coordinator

St John Ambulance

St. John Ambulance, Vancouver, Canada February 2013 – July 2014
Account Manager/Customer Service Supervisor
Joined as a team-member and promoted to Account Manager/Supervisor within 3 months due to demonstrating a consistent record of exceeding targets. My promoted responsibilities required me to be very versatile within my role and left me responsible, not only for a team of employees, but also for all major accounts that we held.
 Account Manager for all major Canadian organizations requiring training and certified ‘key-accounts’ – working to establish and preserve astounding client relationships.
 Organizing and maintaining the team rota, working hours, sick time and holiday allowance.
 Interviewing, hiring and dismissing, as and when required.
 Receiving inbound calls, making client and Account Receivable outbound calls.
 Handling and satisfying customer enquiries and complaints whilst maintaining a professional and efficient standard.
 Training new and pre-existing employees on new systems and updates
 Setting targets and ensuring those targets were met and often exceeded.
 Monitoring staff performance as well as encouraging up-sell tactics and techniques to maximise sales opportunities.
 Motivating my team, above and beyond the expectations of my employers.
 Overseeing and updating all aspects of company social media.
 Researching competitor progress and promotions.
 Coordinating all departmental communications.

Volunteer Experience Overview

I was a volunteer, so the requirements for me were quite lax. As long as I passed the prerequisite Medical First Responder (MFR) course and worked within the scope of my training, not much else was expected of me. The extent of my involvement with management was primarily communicating which events or dates I would attend as a volunteer first responder.

Work Culture

As a volunteer, you work predominantly alongside other enthusiastic volunteers, which creates a relaxed and enjoyable work culture. The camaraderie among volunteers makes the experience much more fulfilling.

Event Participation

Moreover, since volunteers are deployed at public events (e.g., football games, theatre plays, etc.), you essentially get to enjoy these events free of charge. This aspect adds an extra layer of motivation and enjoyment to the role.

Overall Experience

Overall, the experience most will have as a volunteer at St. John Ambulance is quite positive. The combination of teamwork, community service, and the enjoyment of events makes it a rewarding endeavor.

A typical day at work envolved coming in, logging into the phones, picking up a registration to be completed from the files. And then, not knowing what we were going to hear about next that our boss was not happy about.

I learned that I do not work well under someone with leadership skills that are that of a drill sargent. We were rarely offered any positive reinforcement, and when it was received the feedback that was given was almost an insult (I.E. "I am very pleased that you guys have kept things in numarical order.")

The phones were our first priority but we were expected to do other things as well and keep up, even when the phones were ringing off the hook, and we were chained to the desk so to speak.

Leadership skills were lacking, and at times my manager even insulted me personally infront of my co-workers.

Overall I am dissapointed in my experience, and excited to move on to a healthier work place that fosters respect and team work for everyone.

The St. John organization has been instrumental in both my personal and professional development.
It is through this organization I have developed my instructional capabilities.
In order to manage any organization of this size there will always be problems that arise due to it's sheer size. For the most part they have capable and adept people in place there that rise to meet all of the challenges.
The current Branch Manager I am working for  is very good in that position.
Over the course of my time there I have been fortunate to develop several true friendships and everyone has a very positive attitude.
As for what the hardest part of the job is and what the most enjoyable part of the job is, they are both connected.
Having to deal with the public can sometimes be difficult, but on the flip side of the coin that is where the most job satisfaction comes from. Connecting with people and delivering to them the skill sets necessary to save lives is very stimulating and fulfilling.

Instructing programs can be challenging as group dynamics and required time lines can often go astray.
Average 9 hr day.
Equipment is generally good condition, fellow contractors are pleasant and staff at branch ranged from stellar to dismal.
 I learned that provincial often didn't hold true to their word when it came to communications. Often never replied to when questions asked.


On the volunteering side, it was great to get advanced training for free.(although a lot of people sign up get the training and cheat the system).
Went to a good many events I would never had gone to on my own.
The leadership when I was in was often a confused, arrogant, vain. New ideas and recommendations not generally accepted. 
 Did not hold true to their policy of abuse/respect in the organization.

Pathetic recognition for members going above and beyond the call.

It has apparently gotten better.  But I won't go back.

It's ridiculously hard to get a straight answer from any one person (you have to jump through multiple people to finally find the answer you were looking for to a seemingly simple request or question). I genuinely have no idea what half the people employed by head office even DO for the organization. The turn over is high. The pay is not comparable with other first aid organizations for instructors. Most of us who are still here are here out of loyalty (or stockholm syndrome, take your pick). Good instructors with many years of knowledge are leaving for better pay at other company's and the administrative staff at the branches seem completely overwhelmed with how much work there is to do with the few people left to help do that work.

Don't waste your time here, overly involved "Directors" and "CEO" fancy themselves as working class hero's when in fact they all contribute to a very hostile work environment. Zero integrity here, poor first aid classes and services, good AED lineup but more money then the competition. Very low pay with an employee base that is terrified of loosing their jobs = a difficult existence for them, not much in the way of enjoyment at SJA. Finally, I was offered a "Directors" position which was really nothing more than a low level managers job, that's not the rub, they lied about the position and the compensation package AFTER I verbally agreed to the job and told the other potential employers I was off the market. VERY shady and NO ethics or integrity. Very poor, untrained management and "CEO", go elsewhere or stay on EI, it's not worth the hassle.

This was a medical response team, medical emergencies were the typical day of work.

I learned a exceptional amount of information in order to conduct my job responsibilities. As I was management I have no comment for this. My coworkers were flexible and in relation to management I always received good reviews from the members of the team.

I enjoy medical situations as it very much is a situation where your actions directly help and can on occasion save a person's life.

The hardest part of the job is also the most enjoyable part, the ability to help a person is the most enjoyable, having this ability and still being unable to help someone is the hardest. Long hours can also get to you as well. The training required to be a medical responder is not easy either.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people are very supportive, inclusive and allow you to work independently for yourself.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
A lot of training material and knowledge of technology equipment to understand before starting. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Flexible. Provide a good supplementary income. Do not discriminate againat people with barrier wheather language, cultural, or physical disabilities.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
It is not a regular 8-5 job for someone at an instructor level. You pick up work as it becomes available.

I am a first aid instructor so for me a typical day involves teaching one of the many classes we provide. 

I learn a bit about how people learn and what it is like to be an instructor. However, for me personally, I am constantly learning ways put the most information into people and keep examples interesting in ways I think my students will absorb. 

I very rarely deal with co-workers because there is no team team; kinda makes me sad because I'm such a social person. 

the hardest part of my job is dealing with, what from where I'm sitting, seems like excessive red tape. 

The most enjoyable part of my job handing out a certificate to someone knowing I enabled them to save lives in their future travels.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 7 salaries reported	$43,143 per year
Administrative assistant 8 salaries reported	$39,672 per year
First aid instructor 4 salaries reported	$57,125 per year
Business development representative 12 salaries reported	$64,958 per year
Communications coordinator 1 salary reported	$65,000 per year

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