I am now working fulltime for DNS Arrow as a Resource Controller. My role is split between Consultancy Bookings and Instructor Bookings so my day-to-day activities are quite varied and I’m always kept busy. I started my new job at the beginning of February, so I’m now in my 4th week and can honestly say this is one of those employers that will make my top 5 list! The people at DNS Arrow are fantastic – really supportive, good communicators and pretty sociable, which makes for a great working environment.

As always, starting in a new place of work has been pretty daunting – my first week was a total information overload as I got to grips with the company’s ‘big picture’ – who DNS Arrow is, what they do, etc. – as well as learning exactly how I fit in and the specifics of my job. My IT skills have proved useful and I’m extremely glad I tend to pick things up quickly as I have had to learn how to use 4 bespoke in-house systems as well as the various procedures governing consultancy bookings. Thankfully I think I can do all the basics – still have much to learn – but given time and practice I’m sure I’ll be looking for more responsibilities to make the role more challenging!

A few people have asked me what has happened to HG1T and my personal tuition service. Well, given the current financial climate I decided that fulltime employment was the way to go as it offers security and a regular income! I am still offering 1-to1 tuition on evenings and weekends to anyone who requires IT assistance.

One of my past ‘Computing for Beginners’ students recently contacted me to arrange IT support specific to her university degree. She is currently studying at the University of Leeds and needed a little guidance in how to access online resources that her tutor had posted on the student blackboard. So far we have covered pod casts, PowerPoint presentations, and Google searches. Something she found very useful was the ability to copy and paste useful snippets from websites which were relevant to her studies. Previously she had printed out pages and pages of text, pictures and the surrounding ads, which was a waste of paper and ink! By highlighting the relevant paragraphs, copying them and pasting them into a word-processing programme, my client was able to construct a montage of information pertinent to her project.

Another useful lesson I recently delivered related to basic file management. By organising files on the computer’s hard drive, documents are easier to find later and unused/unwanted documents can be deleted to clear storage space on the computer’s memory. We spent 20 minutes creating new folders, moving files and deleting unwanted items to create a logical, easy to access filing system which my client now utilises to organise her university work and personal files.

So, looking to the future, if the less computer confident people of Harrogate and the surrounding areas need some friendly support, I am still available for home visits at an extremely reasonable rate!

Visit my website for more information:www.HG1T.com

Happy computing!