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The Sunday Times |
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March 5, 2000 |
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Switching Off |
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Away from high finance with a little light interpreting work |
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Isobel Carter is no stranger to corporate insecurity. Former director of strategic planning for Europe the Middle East and Africa for Chase Manhattan Bank, left for the world of headhunting when Chemical Bank acquired Chase Manhattan in 1996. |
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After gaining useful experience with two firms she decided to set up on her own. Incarter International was founded in March 1999 to provide banks and corporates with a range of senior staff, including specialists in corporate finance, international capital markets, and custody. |
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Start-up has been both exhilarating and tough. Her antidote to all this is a quick spot of international interpreting. Sounds stressful? " For me, it is a relaxation", says Carter, who was a conference interpreter for the United Nations for several years before entering the world of high finance. " I love languages. And I like to travel". |
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Since launching her business, she has done three international conferences, including one on the monitoring of nuclear weapons in outer space and another on industrial development. But her favourite was a writers' convention in a tiny village of north of Helsinki. "We were in a little rickety booths down by the lake with our headphones on. It was a beautiful a sunny day; clear blue sky, fresh leaves on the birch trees. And a tiny professor from Minsk giving us an update on the Russian 20th-century novel. It takes your mind right off the business because you have to concentrate so hard. A change is good as a rest : you come back as refreshed as from a holiday" |
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Due to client demand Carter has formed an internet alliance with other self-employed headhunters. This enables her to enhance her offering to large corporates-each member has complementary niche skills-and to share problems. |
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"When I've had a bad day, I can phone up my friends and we can share problems we have on VAT returns or IT systems. A problem shared and laughed at is a problem halved". |
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