The Tecmark 10 – with PPC executive Sahida Aarndell

PPC executive Sahida Aarndell joined Tecmark in July 2014. After growing up in St Maarten, and twice living in France, she settled in England two years ago. We caught up with her to talk work, law degrees… and boxing. Follow Sahida on Twitter.

1. What does your typical day look like?

It usually starts off with Manchester’s beautiful weather, a cup of tea, downloading the Adwords editor for recent changes and writing out reports for PPC and paid promotion campaigns. I always have a to do list from the day before and get started on that early in the morning. Now that I’m a part of the SEO team there are two separate to do lists, which keeps me busy – and that’s a great thing.

2. What’s the most satisfying aspect of your work?

The results from the work I’ve put into any campaign, whether it’s social or PPC. I’m still learning and my energy is put into work; practice makes perfect. I feel like a PPC wizard more and more every time.

3. And the best thing about working at Tecmark?

Being surrounded by a team that makes you feel so comfortable, a team you can call family. The environment, in general, is so down to earth. I’ve never been at a place of business where my say is just as important, my ideas are welcomed and my opinion matters. Tecmark itself is the best thing about working.

4. You’re originally from St Maarten. Be honest: do you now prefer the Manchester rain to the Caribbean sunshine?

Being an island girl, I can definitely appreciate the sunshine a lot more now I’m living in Manchester. There are certain things you shouldn’t take for granted – and the sun is one of them!

5. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned over the last 12 months?

To trust my instincts. Most of the time I would have someone else look over my work to be extra sure of what’s being said and how it’s written – given that my English is totally different – and it’d turn out that it was correctly done. Your first gut instinct is always right.

6. And what do you expect to be learning over the next 12 months?

I expect to learn more about SEO – and perhaps every other department we have. The graphic design side of things seems very interesting and, at the moment, I’m actually taking a class taught by Jordan and Alex, our two graphic designers. I’m also taking a coding class by David from our dev team.

7. How do you relax away from work?

Watching my top shows (MTV’s Catfish, Gotham, Daredevil and Law & Order: SVU), part-time studying (I’m in year one of six of a BA Hons Law at the Open University) and the occasional gym days.

8. What, so far, has been the most enjoyable part of your law degree?

What I’ve learned and the doubts I overcame. I used to think all laws were the same, but then learned that UK laws are far different from others. I was most worried about my English; everything is so different here, in terms of the law and the language.

9. We’ve got a full weekend to watch a law TV series – what do you recommend?

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. It’s based on actual crimes – mostly rape, domestic violence and child abuse. Either that or Elementary; you can never watch too many versions of Sherlock Holmes.

10. And finally… Manny Pacquiao or Muhammad Ali?

This is an unfair question; I’ll have to go with both. Muhammad Ali is the GREATEST ever. He’s an all-time legend, whereas Manny Pacquiao is a legend in the making for his time/generation. You can’t compare the two; they’re both great boxers, humble guys and have amazing boxing records.