News - “I Didn’t Get Where I am Today…”
26/6/09 - Scotsman Recruitment Section Q & A
Who? Ljiljana Vukadinovic Hunter a.k.a. and t/a Lili Hunter – mainly because nobody west of Slovenia can pronounce my real name!
What? Parent, Director of my company, employment lawyer, mediator, trainer and working on a few others!
What does your organisation do? We advise employers on employment law, but taking a pragmatic and solution-focused approach. We also mediate workplace disputes and train line managers on employment law and the people skills required to manage effectively and without being sued too often.
What does your average working day involve? The reason I set up my own company is that I still can’t decide what I want to be when I grow up. I am easily bored and need constant change and challenges to keep me enthused. My secret desire to be a comedian and actress is satisfied by the events, training and seminars I deliver both to the general public and in-house. I love getting people fired up and entertaining them. The part of me that wants to please my mother by being a respectable lawyer will get involved with corporate clients’ employment law issues – I could be advising them, drafting documents, representing them at the employment tribunal (that bit is good sometimes because I can pretend to be Aberdeen’s answer to Ally Macbeal). The intuitive part of me that has an honours degree in psychology is often involved in mediating disputes in the workplace. When I am not doing any of those things I am working on business development and marketing.
First senior job? Partner in a law firm
Do you work for love or money? Both. I have to love what I do, but money is important too. I am not really interested in material things, but money symbolises freedom to me and that makes it very important.
Did you have a mentor? I have several! Because I seem to have a multifaceted personality when it comes to the world of work, I like to get input from different people on different aspects of what I do. I am a veritable sponge for information and think other people’s experiences are second only to learning from your own.
Any major turning points along the way? Loads. I am a risk taker. I don’t take silly risks, but I will always put my money where my mouth is. Having my son in my final year at University was pretty sobering. It made me reassess what I wanted and how I would get there. Earlier this year I resigned as a legal partner in order to set up my own company – that was pretty major I suppose. Everyone keeps saying that I am “brave” to do it in this economic climate but I thrive on taking on the impossible and proving everyone wrong.
What has been your biggest hurdle? I don’t think I’ve had hurdles, just challenges. The hard stuff in life makes you stronger, more resilient and more creative. You don’t learn much if everything comes easily.
Was your first job for pocket money or was it the first rung on the ladder? I worked in a hotel as a waitress while I was at school. The chefs were young and used to throw food round the kitchen. I could tell some scary tales about that. Let’s just say I never send food back to the kitchen now, no matter how bad. I just make a note not to go back there.
What’s the worst job you’ve had? Being a cleaner in a hospital. It is fine on the wards, but the toilets are a real challenge.
What’s the weirdest job you’ve had? I delivered Betterware catalogues, which I found to be a very odd experience. Door to door sales people are very brave. I got bitten on the knee by a dog and had to give up because I couldn’t walk and I was too scared to go near houses with dogs in them.
What did you want to be when you were growing up? Comedy actress, artist, lawyer, psychologist, photographer, journalist, Tibetan monk, oh and an archaeologist.
Any regrets? None. I do what I want to do even if it is very risky. This has brought me success and the things that didn’t work well (or were complete disasters) provided me with valuable experience and learning.
What do you like least about your job? Nothing. Being my own boss means if I don’t like it I will ditch it.
What would you change about your job? The size of my turnover!