Meet a Personal Trainer

Interviews with real people in real roles across our industry.

Name: Janelle Schlitter
Role: Sports Administrator
Qualifications: Certificate IV in Business Administration, Bookkeeping, MYOB

Interested in finding out more about a career as an Administration Officer in the Active Industry? Read our Career Guide.

Q&A with Janelle Schlitter

The first thing that interested me about this career was the fact that it was in sport. I was working for Suncorp Stadium as a casual member of staff. The word sport just caught my eye.

I got into this role because I had the opportunity to work at Suncorp, who had a relationship with Queensland Sport and Recreation and Sports House. They were having trouble finding someone with the correct qualifications to fill an administration position which was advertised to Suncorp staff. In the end, that is how I ended up applying. 

The majority of this role is customer service, but being an administration officer, I had to do a Certificate IV in Business Administration, which has certainly helped me perform at a high level. I have qualifications in bookkeeping, MYOB, Microsoft applications, and I hold a real estate license. 

In my role, I have a lot to do with a lot of different sporting entities and it’s all people-based. My experience in sport includes playing touch football for 30 years including playing at a representative level, I have managed state-level sides and coached as well. I suppose all of that combined has helped me excel in this role because I understand the different challenges that can arise for sporting entities. 

A typical day in Sport and Recreation is not very typical. 

Generally, I arrive in the morning and make sure I’m set up. I then make sure our meeting rooms are available and ready to go for our tenants and external sporting organisations. Checking emails and doing accounts payable/receivable throughout the day is a given. 

I do a lot of customer service as well. I’m at the front desk, so people see me as they walk in every day. A smile and chat goes a long way for some of our guests. 

We have sporting entities that hire rooms at night as well, so I make sure all of those spaces are ready to go before I leave for the day. 

I absolutely love talking to all the different sporting entities finding out about what’s going on with them. I love this job because I can be social and talk sport!

The most satisfying part of my job is when tenants and other companies that use our facilities express how good an experience they’ve had here. That’s what this building (Sports House) is all about; sporting entities all coming together. 

People who work in this industry have a real passion for it. We’re here to help get more Queenslanders active, so if you have a passion for something like that, I think it goes a long way. 

Having that passion for sport and recreation will get you to the next level.

You must have an attention to detail. Make sure you have experience with Office 365 applications and booking software. 

Again, any previous customer service experience will be very beneficial in a role like mine. 

It’s just so much fun. If you love sport and you love being around people with high energy and a passion to achieve, this is the job for you.

See more videos from Janelle and other people working in Active Careers on our social media!