Sabina Koirala

After I completed Master of Professional Accounting from the Melbourne Institute of Technology, I started working as an accounts payable intern at Vocus in Melbourne. It is a big telco company which is crazy about its customers.  After finishing the internship, I was offered employment to work as an accounts payable officer.

Now let’s go through how my average day at work looks like:

6.00 AM

I wake up at 6 am in the morning so that I can reach work by 8.00 AM. Vocus gives us the flexibility around work start and end times. It doesn’t have to be 9-5. Also, there is no dress code at Vocus, so you are free to wear casual clothes. How cool is that? As I am a coffee person, the moment I get to the station as I use the train to go to work, I buy coffee from the station café. I like to pack my breakfast from home. On the train, I enjoy my coffee with some music. Must I say the train ride in the morning, I enjoy it.

8.00 AM

I reach office around 8 am. I grab fruits from the kitchen as Vocus gives us free fruits and breakfast. My manager starts earlier than me. I say morning to her, and we do a quick catch up on how things have been and what needs to be done for the day as she works from home sometimes. In our team in Melbourne, we are six team members and an intern. The great thing about Vocus is that the manager and the team are helpful, and I can ask them any doubt without hesitating. All the team are highly experienced hence it feels I am learning every day.

After that, I start looking at my e-mails. Most of the emails will be related to purchase order enquiries. I often e-mail buyers asking for the purchase orders, and if there is some problem with the purchase orders like if they don’t match, I reach out to them. Also, some e-mails I directly sent to the suppliers if we need them to reissue an invoice or need them to send us an invoice for the job completed.

10.00 AM

Currently, we are working on a project where we are in the phase of changing the AP automation software. When I was doing an internship, I was mainly focused on testing the new software. We team were involved in it so that we could decide if changing the software is a good decision for us. It has been challenging and rewarding journey so far. If there is some meeting that I need to attend I can either join in from my desk or we have lots of meeting rooms in the company which we can use depending on the size of people and is easy to use. In the meetings, we share what problems we are facing with the new AP software and what has been successful.

As we receive a heavy number of invoices, I get lost into the invoice’s world. Sometimes it really is engaging when you are trying to process an invoice because you need to make sure all the details are correct, and everything matches.

12.00 PM

My lunchtime is around this time. If I am too hungry, I go out at 12 and if not, I go at 12.30. Before heading to lunch I do a quick recap of what has been done and what needs to finish after lunch. I usually go to café which is just in front of the building or sometimes brings lunch from home. I eat rolls or cheese tomato toasty most of the times along with tea. Also, sometimes we get free drinks and snacks from Vocus and it throws the end of month celebration party with food and drinks. On top of that, we have a birthday celebration once in one or two weeks.

1.00 PM

After lunch, I am ready to work on processing more invoices. As we have a new intern in our team sometimes, she sits with me and I take her along in the process and clarify her doubts. And if I have any doubts, I have lots of helping hands. We are a team and we help each other in every way. Also, if  I am sick of sitting, I can stand and do my work which is good for my back.

2.00 PM

As my manager finishes at 3.00 pm mostly, I catch up with her to discuss if there is any problem in our new project and try to resolve it. She also gives advice on what’s more important to work on for the rest of the day. Also, someday, I use LinkedIn learning to learn new skills. Currently, I am learning to build Excel skills. Vocus has given free access to its employees to use the learning in LinkedIn.

3.00 PM

Last hour for me before I am done for the day. I check any new emails and try to finish the rest of the work. During this time if I have any doubts, I can still reach my manager.

Vocus is a diverse place and the people who work here are talented, friendly, and amazing.

4.00 PM

I head home around 4 PM. I catch a train to home from the southern cross station and is an easy walk from work to the station. When I am going back home, I like to read novel. I just finished a novel called The Book of Joy and have started a new classic novel called Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

I reach home around 5.00 PM I eat my snacks after reaching home and relax. I watch TV for some time. Currently, I am watching The Crown on Netflix. After that, I head on to the kitchen to cook dinner.

9.00 PM

It's my bedtime. Time to relax and get a good night sleep to get ready for another awesome day at work tomorrow.