You're reading: Not all rosy jobs are glamorous

Even the most glamorous jobs have side effects -- sometimes quite unexpected ones.

Often florists have to work with allergy-provoking flowers, such as lily of the
valley or freesia. The strong fragrance from orchids may cause headache,
nausea and increase stress. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)Katya Orekhova, an exuberant 30-year-old, has a job that many fashionistas probably dream about: she gets paid to help clients shop. But what she didn’t know when she decided to become a personal shopper about four years ago is that she would have to tame people’s difficult personalities and sometimes babysit others.

“Often people are tempted by the superficial image of a certain career they think would suit them better,” says Olesya Putina, managing recruiter from Recruit Alliance agency. She explains that there isn’t an ideal profession: emotional or physical “side effects” are present in all jobs.

Most of Orekhova’s clients are 35-40 year old women, who have the means, yet, lack either the time or stylistic ability to refresh their wardrobe. Typically, Orekhova takes them to Kyiv’s finest shops, but occasionally flies exceptionally affluent clients to Milan, Paris and London for the latest collections.

But affluent clients can be emotionally demanding. Once Orekhova had to spend a significant time trying to tactfully explain why her overconfident client shouldn’t pair a bright pink Yves-Saint Laurent bag with a camel suit.

“We sometimes get into some personal stuff. Some women get vulnerable and open up about how they want to be perceived by men, be it more romantic, edgy, formal, or just younger, ” says Orekhova, who sometimes is asked to help clients imitate the style of characters from “Sex and the City” and other celebrities to create the perfect image for the client. Others, she says, are so reserved that it’s challenging to please them.

Male clients are easier in certain ways because they are decisive, but surprisingly, they are often more needy. “Men often just need a nanny, someone to take care of them,” says Orekhova. And especially with bachelors, this role often falls on their personal shopper.

But to Orekhova, like many other people in love with their jobs, the shortcomings of her profession seem like minor inconveniences. Putina of Recruit Alliance says this is how people often feel when they suit the job.

Alina Alferova, for instance, does not mind wearing no makeup or perfume – something that would affect her job as a beer taster at Miller Brands Ukraine in Donetsk, a subsidiary of SABMiller plc. She can’t smoke prior to the tasting, either, but that side effect may even be welcome.

Beer tasters discern the smell before tasting the sample.
(Courtesy)

Alferova has the palate that allows her to distinguish among 57 kinds of beer – a quality that only about 15 percent of people possess. Loving beer does not mean you qualify for the job. But nine months of training does.

She drinks beer to a strict schedule to ensure a consistent and quality taste. The tasting sessions take place twice a week, sometimes more often, and on those days she has to be particularly tame with her habits.
Lunch often has to wait, for example – no eating or drinking anything besides pure water is allowed at least one hour prior to the tasting.

But Alferova’s job gives her a certain degree of autonomy – despite the fact that she works for a large corporation. And that freedom is something that many people crave in their jobs, concludes Putina, the recruiter. Another quality in demand is creativity.

Few jobs seem to be as creative as flower arranging. And most people would struggle to think of side effects in a job like that.

Maryna Zubko, a florist at Melodiya Kvitiv, says that a surprising number of accidents happen if you have to make an arrangement fast.

On her working desk is what the five ladies in the shop jokingly refer to as “a manicure set.” It consists of wire cutters, flower clippers, a hot glue gun and multi-purpose scissors. Zubko shows off burn scars on her hands from the glue guns. Another florist said she had stapled her hand recently.

If a florist sneezes a lot, it does not mean they have a cold. They might just be a reaction to aerosol flower sprays or allergy-provoking flowers such as lilly of the valley or freesia. Some orchids are poisonous and require extra careful handling.

During the holidays, the florists also get to decorate dozens of Christmas trees, but that is an expected side benefit. What is unexpected is running to their clients to deliver an arrangement in time when they get stuck in a traffic jam. They also have to remember the Latin names of flowers, such as leucadendron, leucospermum or barbatus.

“You have to love the flowers and the job, otherwise, it’s a tricky one,” says Zubko.

Kyiv Post staff writer Mariya Manzhos can be reached at [email protected]