My career began with Stewarts supermarkets in Northern Ireland as a General Assistant, and after I graduated from university I became a Trainee Manager, then moved into HR. In 1989 Tesco acquired Stewarts, and helping colleagues through this transition was one of the proudest moments of my career.

I took a career break after my first child was born, and was able to return part-time and build my hours up to become Customer Services Manager in Carrickfergus Extra. I’ve since been Group Customer Manager, Group Personnel Manager and am now Store Manager; my favourite position to date!

I love the people aspect of my job, my team, my customers and the drive to give the best customer service we can.

Tesco were especially supportive when my husband was in the RAF, allowing me to transfer as his job moved around a lot. My work-life balance is good today: so I can plan my working week around any family commitments.

The culture and values here have changed a lot over the years: the focus on the customer is fantastic and our core purpose of “Serving Britain’s shoppers a little better every day” is so much more than words. For me, it means that no matter how small your role, you are still important to your customers and colleagues. The politics of Northern Ireland are never an issue in my store: we’ve worked hard with things like the equal opportunities policy and managing staff around certain times of year (e.g. Marching Season) to make Tesco as diverse and inclusive as possible.