Today ladies and gentlemen, we are interviewing the interviewer: Alba the Community Manager of FXStreet. We are going to be able to take a deeper look into her dreams, passions and the improvement that she has made working with Excel. What is more, we’ll discover something about her that might surprise us and also, we’ll look into more detail on her multi tasking job at the office.
Alba at work
First of all, how does a day in the life of the Community Manager at FXStreet look?
I wake up at 5:20 AM, quite British I know, because I live in Blanes, a sea town that is one hour and a half by train. I like to have breakfast, and especially drinking a big cup of coffee, and that’s why I prefer to wake up early to have time enough to take the train. When I arrive at the office I check my emails and I start working on my marketing duties, such as reports and leads, because I’m Marketing Assistant as well.
Then, in the Content department we have a stand-up where we discuss the topic of the day in order to publish the best content on FXStreet and its social media channels. And apart from social media and marketing I also manage some Communication tasks.
What do you like best about your job?
I really like to answer to our users in social media, it feels great to help others and it’s interesting to know what they find useful in FXStreet. Also, one of the other things that I enjoy is writing blog posts in our corporate blog.
Is difficult to say but if we look at the negative side of your job, are there any aspects in particular that you dislike?
Excel! Haha At the beginning I wasn’t so used to Excel because I am a Word girl so I needed a lot of practice to go faster in terms of reporting. But nowadays I have improved (I hope so!).
If you were not a Community Manager, what would you like to do for a living?
I had always loved writing so as the journalist that I am I would dedicate my life to journalism. Also, and it might surprise you, one of the other things that I would love to do is working as a theatre actress, especially musical theatre. Since I was a kid I took theatre and dancing classes because I was a shy girl and theatre really helped me. Before university I was between studying scenic arts or journalism but finally I decided to study a journalism degree, even that at university I did theatre as well. Here’s a photo of my first play as Red Riding Hood when I was three years old:
It seems that on FXStreet everybody puts on headphones while working at the office. What do you usually listen to?
I like to listen to a morning show from a very popular Spanish radio station (Los 40 Principales) called “Anda Ya”. It’s a show with jokes, the latest hits and the most positive attitude. It’s perfect to start every morning full of energy!
On the other hand, I have different playlists on Spotify: from movie soundtracks, Broadway musicals, the latest pop hits, to artists that I have been following for years.
So, do you have any favorite bands at the moment?
More than bands I like singers. My favorite ones are Selena Gomez, Harry Styles, Lea Michele, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
Being honest, are there any weird habit you have when working?
Yes, and I have more than one haha Usually when I’m working I put on headphones and if I really love the song playing I start moving my shoulders, my head and my feet, and sometimes I whisper the lyrics.
Talking about working, which software, websites or tools do you mainly use at work? What for?
The tools that I use the most are HootSuite, BackOffice, MailChimp, WordPress, Google Analytics, Microsoft Azure, Sublime and DFP.
Curiously, animated gifs are often used in internal emails among collaborators at FXStreet… share with us a gif that you particularly like!
I find so funny this panda gif:
Alba in her personal life
First of all, what do you typically do when you get out of the office?
Basically going to the train station to take the train haha As I have a long journey back home I take profit of this time for reading, writing and listening to music. I always bring with me a book, a pen, a notebook and my iPod.
What is the last book that you have read?
The last book that I finished last week was “Paris for one and other stories” by Jojo Moyes. It’s a romantic novel with short stories that happen in Paris. What I really liked about this book is that it’s not a cheesy one, it’s a novel about real stories that could happen.
Do you have any unusual or specific hobby that you would like to share with us?
Musicals are one of the most important things in my life. As the musical actress Lea Michele would say “Broadway is the air that I breathe” and that’s what it means to me. Going to the theatre to watch musicals is the hobby that I most enjoy. But also I love traveling, cinema, reading, writing, going to art museums and amusement parks.
So looking deeply into your love for musicals, what is your favorite musical and what character would you like to play?
Spring Awakening is my favorite because of the music and lyrics but also because of the story. For me a good musical needs a good story behind, a story that touches your heart and makes you think when you leave the theatre. Spring Awakening exposes the transition of a group of young kids to adulthood in a very poetic and real way talking about sexuality and domestic violence. If I had to play a character I would totally love to be Wendla in Spring Awakening, even that her destiny is a tragic one. Here’s the first song of the play, singed by Broadway actress Lea Michele as Wendla:
What are your holiday plans in the upcoming months? Do you have any dream destination that you would like to travel to?
At the end of this month I’ll travel to Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean sea. It’s the perfect place to relax because it has some of the most amazing beaches in Spain:
My dream destination is New York since I was kid. I have never had the chance to visit it but next year will be the year. I want to watch a lot of musicals in Broadway and visit the most emblematic landmarks and the places where it was filmed Sex and the City, Gossip Girl and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. So 2018 is the year!
What do you prefer movies or TV shows? If you choose a movie… can you recommend us one that you have watched recently?
I like both but I usually I watch more movies than series. A movie that I will always recommend is La La Land. It’s music, lyrics, story, dancing scenes, costumes and the actors make this film a great movie that I would never get tired of. It’s a musical masterpiece.
Changing the topic into something more “physical”, do you play or like any sports in particular?
I like going to spinning classes at the gym but also I have another kind of cardio… like Carrie Bradshaw said:
Nowadays, it seems like it is a controversial and popular topic but do you support Barça? If not, dare to say which football team you support…
I know that I’ll disappoint some of my colleagues but I’m not a Barça fan, I’m an AC Milan supporter. I’m not the biggest fan of football but I support this team because I lived in Milan.