I have been on the railway for nearly 7 years now and I can truly say it's never been boring. There is a true family atmosphere and everyone looks after each other. The Railway has changed a great deal in the last few years and is still changing now, it's modernising and evolving all the time. It's an exciting time for our particular company, in that we have just been awarded a 9 year contract, we are a new fresh brand, we have new trains arriving and our inherited fleet of trains are coming to the end of an exciting major refurbishment programme. Everyone is accepted and Equality and Diversity is a major factor of everyday work.

Your professional reputation is about you and will follow you throughout your career, it's important to protect it. Sometimes you may not agree professionally with business decisions or strategy. You should never let an employer feel like you have to compromise your professional integrity to aid your popularity within the company to secure promotions. It is important to check the values of the company you are seeking employment with and make sure they are a good fit for you. Research how others have rated working for the company you are considering taking a position at. Don't always think about the salary, there is much more to it in order to ensure your success and happiness within a company. Ensure you work for a company who value you and will help you develop your professional career and thrive.

Experiencing new things will broaden your horizon and give you things to talk about. This is really useful for life experiences and for discussions at interviews when the time is right to move on. Seek out new opportunities to meet new people and take part in exciting and innovative new projects. Want to try something different from your day job and see if you like it first? Why not do some shadowing or grab the opportunity to go on secondment within the business you're working in? With a secondment this is ideal as it means your original position will be waiting for you if, and when, you decide to return. You never know, a secondment may lead to new doors opening that you never thought about previously!