Richard Marks
I have been involved in many different businesses, industries and positions over my working life so far. I have seen workplaces where their staff fear competition, and squeeze out anyone who suggests change. I have seen businesses that have been successful, and I have been part of ones that have closed after achieving the set outcomes.
One thing I have learnt is that learning is constant, development is constant. At no given point is anyone ‘finished’ learning, for everyday we find new ways to do something, a shortcut to work, a cheaper parking place all of these are learning. Just not in a formal sense of the word. You don’t get a ‘Participation Certificate’ for finding a cheaper park near work. Many manager’s don’t look for the merit in providing their staff further education to better return for the company, training lacks in most companies and this has also helped impact the ‘loyalty-less factor’ of today.
I have grown up in Canberra and spent most of my life here, I spent 3 months in Brisbane which I again was exposed to many more industries and workplaces. My formal qualifications after completing Year 10 was as an Electrician, which I then later obtained my Diploma in Information Technology and moved into IT, that makes it sound so short and brief. But my adventure zoomed in is far more complicated then that. I did my apprenticeship with my father, upon completing that I was unwell and was told it would be best for me to avoid heights and driving for 12 months. So I ventured off to get an office job (thinking my days of trades was over), I got a couple of short placements working through a hiring agency. My typing skills were good so they placed me in data entry roles. About 9 months in, Canberra is not the place for not being able to drive so I moved to Brisbane. This was a goal for me to live in Brisbane, so I got a job and moved. We have family there so I was able to sort out temporary accommodation work things out and go from there. I got a job in what I thought was a call centre (in-bound), attended my Orientation and started my training to realise I was a Telemarketer (out-bound). I cannot stand telemarketers or the idea because it is un-relational and cold which is forceful and generally unappreciated.
So I used my contacts from my electrician days and got a job working in a Call Centre (in-bound) dealing with warehouse orders, shipping etc. catching the train to work and looking for a place to call home. During this time, I learnt a lot about people and what they will say to get what they want. I was young and still learning about business and people myself, nobody cares for you more than you do yourself. There is always a motive to their gains. So after being promised placements, then applying for the position to being denied because a manager cannot keep their word. This helped me to grow and learn to be more suspecting in future. By this stage I was able to drive again, and found myself a house I flew to Canberra and drove the rest of my stuff to Brisbane. I took a job back on the tools as an electrician and met a nice family owned business in Brisbane. Felt like a good fit since I was part of my own family business in Canberra.
Realised again that some people will feel threatened and others will see opportunities. Looking from both side of a situation can often help you in understanding another persons view. I ended up standing firm to my beliefs that Australian Standards and laws are not negotiable, a lesson I was taught early in my apprenticeship. After this I was getting frustrated, survived there for almost 3 months and called my father up and moved back to Canberra overnight to start work for him only as a short-term stop gap job to help me get some funds back.
Currently I work full-time in Information Technology as a Network Engineer, and assist my wife with operating her dance school. Being a resourceful person I look after most of the areas for the dance school, including but not limited to: design work, videography & photography, sound and lighting, sewing and costume work, business practices and processes and more. We live in an information age where utilising some research and some confidence and persistence you are able to learn new skills and develop them.
A hobby of mine is ‘flipping cars’ I get great enjoyment from fixing up cars and spending my time under a bonnet. I also have a musical interest and play drums and guitar, once upon a time I wrote my own music and played at open mic gigs. I have a server setup at home and am a very big believer in further developing my own skills within my career and finding new methods and systems to improve efficiency. I am passionate about people and helping others to find their passion and direction, as well as coaching and mentoring others and see them achieve their potential as an individual. I am passionate about improving businesses and ‘restoring’ morale and the environments, and am happy to assist managers to finding solutions to team issues and similar.
You can find me on LinkedIn
Modern Day
I more recently as of 2018 got interested in Triathlons and competition, swimming, cycling and running. This was sparked by the birth of my daughter, gave me a reason to quit smoking and living an unhealthy lifestyle. I began training in the gym (I didn’t own a bike at this stage), so I was running on a treadmill and using a wind bike.
I got my first bike and started to commute to work, it is almost exactly 10km to work and 10km home. I then got a better quality bike from a mate, which I kept as my performance/competition bike. Enabling me to put commuter friendly racks etc onto this bike to get my gear into work daily.
