What is your career background? 

I joined the council in October 2018 and have worked in customer service department since then. My background was in the motor sales industry so I had plenty of experience in dealing with customers and was used to speaking on phone and dealing with people. My previous job involved a lot of travel and I had a young family so the work-life balance on offer with the council was much better. 

What does your role involve? 

We are the first point of contact for the citizens of Limerick in all aspects of what the council does. We deal with queries on the phone, email and at the public counter. We deal with all kinds of requests from roads to waste to housing. We can take up to 1,000 calls a day so the day goes pretty fast! 

We ensure people have all the documents they need before applying to or engaging with other departments. You need to have a broad knowledge of everything the Council does which was a challenge at the start but I had a lot of support from colleagues and that has really helped me. 

What are the most rewarding things about working for a local authority?

I enjoy interacting with people and this job gives me the opportunity to do that and to help people. So at the moment I am really happy in customer service. It can be a challenge as so much knowledge is required, but I really like it. 

Why should someone consider a career with a local authority?

There are good opportunities for career progression and training. You have the chance to transfer to other departments.  The work-life balance is great, as someone with a young family, that’s important to me. But most of all, it gives me the opportunity to make a difference to my local environment.