With 20 years’ experience in the financial services profession, Lauren Jones joined us last year as a paraplanner, working closely with Nicola. We’re delighted to have her onboard and she’s quickly become an integral member of the Jane Smith family.
Many of you will already have worked with her over the eight months or so that she’s been with us.
Now, though, in your latest Jane Smith Financial Planning update, we’d like to take the opportunity to formally – and belatedly – welcome Lauren to the team.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Lauren, at home and work.
Hi Lauren, tell us a little bit about your career so far…
I left university with a Business Information Systems degree. After a brief spell at Mitsubishi, then at Close Motor Finance – dealing with finance for car purchases – I fell into financial services. That was 2004, and I started as a junior administrator, making cups of tea and filing.
I was really lucky that my manager at the time was incredibly supportive and encouraging, eventually persuading me to take some exams. I’m not an “exam” person, but I progressed into a junior paraplanner role and then just kept going.
In 2017, I sat my final exam to achieve Chartered status while 32 weeks pregnant. I was incredibly proud to pass, although I put some of my success down to taking two brains into that exam room!
After that, you arrived at Jane Smith. What drew you to your current role?
First and foremost, I was looking for a financial services role that was part-time. My son is seven now and it’s important to me that I’m around for him.
One of the reasons I enjoy my paraplanning role so much is the chance to dig into what really drives people and to get to know them. When the Jane Smith role came up and I started investigating the company, I was immediately drawn.
To have an all-female business in a profession that traditionally, and still, has such a large gender discrepancy was a huge pull. And then, of course, I met everyone, and they’re all lovely too. When I was offered the role, it was a no-brainer.
And how have your first eight months been? What are your Jane Smith highlights so far?
I’ve loved everything about my time here so far. Everyone has been incredibly welcoming and helped me to find my feet.
Getting to know clients, digging into what makes them tick, and then investigating the best ways to help them achieve their goals… that’s what drives me. I also see my role as very much about giving Nicola the time and space she needs to do what she does best.
Every day I’m trying to make Nicola’s life easier, and I’d like to think she’d agree I was succeeding!
What is life like for you outside of work? What do you do to wind down and relax?
I live with my husband, Anthony – we married in 2018 – and my son, George.
George’s obsession is animals, so we spend a lot of time at Twycross Zoo, where there is also a Gruffalo Land. This is a real double whammy, playing into George’s love of Julia Donaldson too!
When we’re not out and about as a family, I like to wind down by sewing and crocheting. I sew handbags and clothes. And I crochet animals. Mainly for George, but I have also gifted animals to friends and family. A few have even migrated into the office, having been gifted to colleagues.
It’s a really therapeutic hobby and a great way to wind down. I also like to relax with trashy telly (Judge Judy is a favourite). After a hard day at work, background television that you don’t really need to concentrate on is a great way to decompress.
And we like to get away to the seaside as a family too. We’ve been going to Southend-on-Sea for years. George is autistic so the comfort and routine of going to the same place – for five years on the trot now – really helps him. We stay in the same house; we know where everything is, and the beach and the park are close by.
It might not be glamorous, but it works for us!
Thanks, Lauren. Finally, some quickfire questions:
Name three things you like:
Crisps, dessert after dinner, and silence.
Three dislikes:
Lateness, crumbs, and parsley. Oh, and bad manners.
The first album you bought:
Probably something by a 90s boy band, maybe The Journey by 911?
Your favourite song to listen to in the car:
I prefer audiobooks. Usually biographies rather than stories. My favourite is probably Romesh Ranganathan’s Straight Outta Crawley.
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