Emily joins The Penny Post Group

Posted on Oct 17, 2022

Emily Alexander joined Voyager Alliance, part of The Penny Post Group, at the beginning of September! Emily joins us as Communications Officer, having previously working at her local community credit union in Business Development for nearly 3 years! As part of The Penny Post Group, Emily will be working across, Voyager Alliance, Retail CU and Penny Post Credit Union.

How did you get into credit unions?

“I’m afraid I don’t have an exciting story here! I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, and I was looking for jobs back in the West Midlands. Being a graduate, looking for your first job can be quite daunting, so I was taken aback with the roles on offer, and then I came across credit unions. I applied for my local credit union and in the interview process I had to create a presentation with what I wanted to achieve within the credit union and I was hooked with the impact credit unions have. I then moved on to The Penny Post Group after nearly 3 years.”

How are you enjoying Penny Post?

“Joining The Penny Post Group from a much smaller, community credit union, I have learnt a lot in such a short amount of time here! I am really happy to be here, and everyone is really friendly and helping me settle in. I am working within the marketing team; the team is really motivated and has great ideas so I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve!”

What are your biggest achievements?

“Firstly, I would have to say my master’s degree! I spent 4 years in Manchester studying for my degree and master’s degree in Business. Moving nearly 100 miles from home at 18 was super scary. I was lucky to meet some really great friends and even met my boyfriend! Mixing the emotions of moving away from home, with the new subjects to learn, assignments and exams, I am proud that I graduated with a 1st class! Finishing the Credit Unions Futures programme was also a real high for me. I had only been apart of my credit union for around 6 months before embarking on a yearlong training course, designed to teach you all about the different departments of credit unions! I was really happy I was awarded the winner of 2020’s CU Futures programme! Both my degree and then completing CU Futures took a lot of hard work but reflecting on both of those achievements, I’m really proud of myself!”

“I used to be so shy and worried about voicing my opinions professionally, but throughout CU Futures I learnt so much about all roles within credit unions, and I feel I have really developed professionally and personally! I think starting on the programme with only 6 months working experience and although I felt like I was thrown in at the deep end, I honestly think this was really beneficial! As a result of the programme, I am confident in my own abilities and I understand the benefit of asking questions, asking for help and being open to new ways of thinking! The icing of the cake was winning the 2020 programme and travelling to Colorado to learn more about credit unions overseas! Travelling 5,000 miles on my own was probably the scariest thing I have ever had to do! When I arrived, I was so jetlagged, and only had a day to adjust before I was rushing around for the rest of the week at the Mountain West Colorado Credit Union Conference. It was a trip of a lifetime!”

Good luck in your new role, Emily!

Want to stay up to date with Emily? Connect with her on LinkedIn here.