A Day in the Life of – Paul Saroya

I am Director at a company which started 10 years ago with myself and fellow Director Mark Lambert. We now have 17 advisers up and down the country. We specialise in Later Life Mortgages.

What does your morning routine look like? 

A typical morning starts at 6.20 a.m. and my first job is to help get the three kids off to school on time! This will be then followed by scanning my to-do list and calendar for the day, to make sure that I know exactly what the day entails and what priority order to do things in. Once this is completed I then start to attack all of the emails that have landed in my inbox from lenders, advisers, clients and trade bodies. The rest of the morning is spent on working through my to-do list, unless I am due to be out for meetings.

What does a typical afternoon look like?

I will typically be spending time either with our advisers, our introducers or with the trade bodies that we are part of – such as The Equity Release Council, where I am part of their Standards Committee. I will also be assessing how the company is doing when compared to the targets that have been set out, and what we need to improve on generally. Towards the end of the day I will make sure that all replies have been sent and I will start on a to-do list for the following day. This way I can sleep easier with everything written down and off my mind for the night!

What do you find to be your most productive time of the day?

I often find that the morning is my best time, where I can make sense of the days goals and then start to attack them.

How do you manage your time to ensure you have a good work / life / home balance?

This is a key question for me, as I really believe that a good work/life balance makes for more productive work, whilst also nurturing important out-of-work relationships. In fact, this is so key that we ask all of our team to engage in something that really works for me – a “Wheel of Life”. This is a chart of different aspects of life such as work, home life, money etc. It helps you figure out what is most important to you, and to work out how you will improve your current position and what you will do to make that happen. For me, for example, this charts out doing fun things with my wife or visiting certain holiday destinations with my family, alongside my goals for work and how I will achieve them.

What is your favourite part of your working day in your role?

The favourite part of my day is knowing that no two days are the same for me! I juggle leading the company and nurturing our advisers to become the best that they can be, with seeing clients myself on a daily basis. When you add into the mix the work that we do to raise standards within our industry you can hopefully see why I say this!

What does a typical dinner time look like in your household?

Dinner is usually around 6 p.m. each night. I occasionally share the cooking duties, but if I am not the cook for the night then I am catching up with our three children, seeing how their day has gone and how they are feeling. After dinner there is the bed-time routine with my youngest, football or boxing with eldest and watching dance with my middle child – so there is a lot to keep me busy!!!

What do you do to unwind?

To unwind I love to exercise, play football and golf (badly) and watch television. I find that the exertion of sport allows me to get any frustrations out of my system, and watching television with my wife allows me to relax.

If you could give one piece of career advice what would it be?

Whatever you are planning to do, from starting a business to having a client meeting – be prepared!!!

How important has your support network been in helping you through your role?

My support network has been amazing and really important. I would say that you need to put yourself “out there” to gain a great support network around you.

Does your job require a degree?

No – I do have one, but it is not needed at all!!!!!!