Richard Blakely

I am a creative soul with a keen eye for detail, who has lived and worked in several countries across three continents. I enjoy expressing myself through my work, be that through drawing & painting or through writing. Another passion of mine is for language, and I love dissecting words and exploring their origins and uses.

My professional career has followed this second passion in various guises. In my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, I wrote a number of short- and long-form scripts for various media, including screen, radio and theatre. After leaving university, I volunteered at a charity, writing film articles for online publication, before moving on to a job as a proofreader for a law firm.

My work at Linklaters LLP utilised my zeal for accuracy and high quality, and I worked there for close to six years. It also demonstrated my tenacity and endurance, as the entirety of that time was spent on the night shift, working from midnight to 8:00 five nights a week. I believe it takes a particularly assiduous individual to be able to keep reading through legal texts at night, whilst continuing to maintain a high level of quality, both in said individual’s work itself and in the text being corrected. That is the kind of dedication that you want working on your team.

Eventually, for the sake of my health, I needed daytime work, and, as Linklaters had no daytime positions available, I moved to Spain, where my English expertise came in useful in my new role as an English teacher. It was not an avenue down which I had previously travelled, but I found I took to it quite well and quickly developed a rapport with my students in both of the schools in which I’ve worked during my year and a half here.

In my free time, I enjoy creating art. This often comes in the form of drawing and painting, or sticking one thing to another, but I also enjoy stretching myself and trying new things, such as photography, pyrography and cake-decorating. I believe that, even if artistic skills aren’t specifically needed for a particular job, a creative mind can be extremely useful in overcoming any obstacles or challenges that might arise.

I enjoy working with people to build a community wherever I might find myself. I frequently cook enough food to share with those around me, and in my current situation, this has inspired others to do the same. When I see a need, and I’m able to help, I will often do what I can to help ease people’s burdens, be that washing dishes or offering a listening ear. While I’m not comfortable taking a “leadership position”, I feel that this kind of “leading by example” can be beneficial in drawing communities or teams together.