Name: Jordan Raby
Discover, London. GSI India Networking Event on the Sunborn Yacht Hotel, London, UK.
Photo©Steve Forrest/Workers’ Photos
Placement Job Title: Enterprise Group for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Alliances Sales & Marketing Support
Placement length: 12 months
Placement company website: https://www.hpe.com
Three words to describe your placement: International, insightful & rewarding!
Most interesting part of your placement? The most interesting part for me has been getting a true insight into how a global business operates and to what I could be doing in the future. It has been fascinating to see how a company with a turnover of billions actually generates its revenue. Working in an EMEA team has also meant I have had the opportunity to meet vast amounts of people from all over HPE, as well as many other companies that we work with.
Hardest aspect of your placement? Understanding how to work with different cultures – in my role I mainly deal with six of our partners whose business roots mainly come from Indian heritage. It is important to realise not everyone works the same way as the UK so it has been interesting learning to adapt to these different business styles which can be very challenging at times.
Most enjoyable aspect of your placement: Attending Discover 2016 – the company’s flagship event of the year where over 10,000 IT professionals come together at the Excel in London for a week. I worked on the marketing of the platinum sponsor of this event and organized strategic alliance events. It was a fantastic opportunity to network and was interesting to listen to the exciting technology innovations that are being made. I also had the opportunity to travel to the EMEA Business & Operations campus in Scotland to stay there for 4 days. Here I learnt more about inside sales, looking more at the sales negotiations and the pricing frameworks involved in deals.
What have you learned that you never thought you would have this year? More so than anything else has been how you behave and act in a business environment, particularly that of sales. The placement has taught me a huge amount about professionalism and has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills further. At university you learn about the academic side, but going into a placement allows you to gain the social skills needed in business.
How has your placement helped focus your future plans? It has allowed me to have practical contact with both marketing and sales which has certainly broadened my options. I have really enjoyed both areas of work, but my eyes have definitely been opened up to a sales role. There aren’t many jobs where you get to meet and interact with people as much as you do in sales.
LinkedIn account link: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jordan-raby-7685b9107