Liz Grossman

6.00 am

I start my day with a 20-minute meditation followed by 30 minutes of yoga and a 20-minute jog around my neighbourhood. I live in the heart of Auckland City, which means because I don’t have to drive to work, I get 3 hours to play with each morning. After fitness is ticked off, I make myself breakfast, jump in the shower and then I’m ready for my 20-minute walk to work while listening to a podcast.

9.00 am

I arrive at work and head up the stairs to our amazing office at GridAKL. It’s a shared space where we work alongside entrepreneurs and startups in the tech industry, so it’s a very creative and collaborative space to work in. Another bonus of working at GridAKL is that it’s dog friendly, so there is always a furry friend to greet you when you walk through the door.

9.30 am

After saying hi to my follow work colleagues, I open my laptop and check what my diary is looking like for the day. If it’s a Monday, I will catch up with my manager and chat through any pressing matters that need answers; we call this a WIP (Work in Progress). After that, it’s back to my desk to tackle my inbox.

10.30 am

I have a catch up with my mentor Andrew Dale. I’ve recently signed up to a mentor programme and Andrew’s role is to offer me challenging ideas, provide new ways of thinking and to inspire me, as well as build my self-confidence, through encouragement and constructive feedback. It’s a 6 month journey and I’m already experiencing the benefits of his mentorship.

11.30 am

Time to jump on a scooter and zip across town to meet with a restaurant owner who is struggling to find staff. At Go with Tourism, we connect Tourism and Hospitality job seekers with employers, so my aim is to find out more from this business owner and see how we can support him to recruit.

12.30 pm

It’s time for lunch! I usually bring my lunch to work but its pay day and I’m going to treat myself! I join my workmates and head down to the Fish Market. Our office is surrounded by so many amazing cafes and restaurants, which makes it hard to choose what to eat - we are spoiled for choice! Our team walk back to the office via the waterfront to catch some sunrays and look at the super yachts.

1.30 pm

I put an hour aside to contact Tourism and Hospitality employers who are looking to hire and connect them in with job seekers who are registered on our Job Connector. There are so many epic jobs available in the Tourism and Hospitality industry right now.

2.30 pm

As I’m off to a Tourism conference in New Plymouth in a few weeks’ time, I jump on the web and book my flights and accommodation. I also check out the attendee list and see who’s attending the conference. My aim is to meet as many people as possible, make connections and promote our brand and offerings. I then jump onto LinkedIn and look at their profiles; this provides me with some background information on each of them, which will be helpful when I meet them in-person.

3.30 pm

It’s time to check in via a video call with our remote team, which includes our colleagues who are based in Wellington, Queenstown and Christchurch. We hear what everyone has been up to, share a few laughs and chat through how we can all support each other on various projects. It’s all about teamwork at Go with Tourism and it really does feel like a work whānau.

4.30 pm

I pop downstairs and meet with the HR Manager of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This is going to be an amazing tournament that will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand and is scheduled to take place from 20 July to 20 August 2023. This tournament draws 1 billion views from all over the world and is expected to bring around $60 million to Auckland’s economy. They will be recruiting over 200 staff for this event and I’m keen to connect them in with our job seeker database.

5.30 pm

It’s the end of the day and I feel like I’ve ticked a lot of things off my to-do list, which is a great feeling. I head over to a networking event down at the Viaduct called ‘Women in Events’. It runs every month and attracts women in the Events industry (MICE – or Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events - is part of the 9 sectors of the tourism industry). I’ve attended this networking event for a few years now and have been able to connect people into jobs and help businesses find staff. It’s fun to catch up with industry colleagues over a glass of bubbles while eating yummy canapés and listening to interesting guest speakers and networking.

7.30 pm

It’s time to head home. I jump in an Uber and am home within 10 minutes. No need to cook dinner tonight as I ate at the networking event. Check my social media, catch up with a friend via Facetime and then watch some Netflix.

10.00 pm

Time for bed. I hit the pillow and look forward to doing it all again tomorrow!