Leveraging Passion: How a University College Graduate from Cork, Ireland is Achieving Success in Sales at VMware

How are you using your passions to reach your career goals? Connect with University College graduate and VMware Sales Academy graduate, Niamh Dorgran, to hear how knowing what fuels your drive can inspire you to do what you have always dreamed of professionally.

Name: Niamh Dorgan

Role: Inside Sales Associate

VMware Office Location: Ballincollig, Cork – Ireland

Fill in the blank: Dare to become a VMware Evangelist for all wonderful things IT.

Leveraging Passion to Launch a Career in Sales

When I was five years old, I thought that I wanted to be an artist or hairdresser when I grew up. However, I didn’t possess much talent in either of these departments, so as I grew older, I started to seriously consider what career path I wanted to take. Like most people, I wanted to have a successful career that I enjoyed. I knew that I wanted a job that would allow me to meet new people and help them find solutions to their challenges because I enjoy making meaningful connections with others and having a positive impact on their lives.

While at the University College Cork, I majored in Management and Marketing. Through my studies and a particular course on Commerce, I became certain that a career in Sales was the right path for me because it is all about interacting with people. It is a career that can empower you to help make positive changes in other’s careers or businesses, which would give me the opportunity to make an impact on others.

Achieving Career Goals at VMware

Up until my final year of university, I did not know much about VMware. Then two friends of mine got summer internships at VMware in Ballincollig, Ireland. From the day they started, each of them sang VMware praises. VMware’s company culture sounded fantastic. My friends gushed that everyone at VMware was extremely nice, collaboration was encouraged across the board, and most importantly, employees were proud to work there.

Both of my friends encouraged me to apply to VMware after college. I did more research and discovered that VMware is a global software giant leading the way in Information Technology. The VMware Sales Academy, a six-month placement program for new graduates interested in a career in Sales, sounded like an excellent platform to launch my career. I applied for a position online, went through the assessment process, and happily accepted a position as an Inside Sales Associate graduate.

From the moment I started at VMware, it was clear that my success, along with the success of the other Sales Academy hires, meant a lot to our management team. Within the first week, our Graduate Manager, Brian, allocated time for each of us to design our career plan. Along with the other grads, I thought of my short and long-term goals. We have kept these plans and have been reviewing them as we’ve progressed through the program. It has been very reassuring to know that management is so invested in my career success. Within my first week, I knew that my friends had been right about VMware. Everyone wants to get to know you, and essentially, see you flourish.

A Day in the Life as a VMware Inside Sales Associate

 As an Inside Sales Associate, I work alongside our Inside Territory Executives (ITEs) to manage prospects and customer accounts in the $20k-$100k space. I am on the UK / Ireland team and am in charge of managing activity in the London region with my respective ITEs. A typical day entails contacting prospects that have been generated by our dedicated Marketing team. I speak with prospects to clarify their needs and how VMware can help them. I also process opportunities that come from our large partner network in the UK. The team has been very welcoming from the beginning, and I’ve had some fantastic mentors along the way.

Shaping Career Paths at iWish

On February 11^th, I had the unique opportunity to volunteer at the iWish event with VMware in Cork, Ireland. iWish is an initiative aimed to inspire, encourage, and motivate young female students to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). During the event over 2,000 young women stopped by our stall to learn more about VMware and the concept of virtualization. One of the highlights for me was hearing my colleagues share their career journeys. I had not realized that many of my coworkers had not pursued a career in STEM while in university. From business to sociology, many paths were taken by my colleagues and the event speakers to get where they are today in the technology industry. It highlighted the fact that passion and determination can shape the overall success of ones career, and that people do not have to necessarily obtain a degree in STEM to work in the technology industry. Overall, my participation in I Wish was a great learning experience that I enjoyed. I cannot wait to go back next year, and who knows, maybe one day I will have the opportunity to share my career journey at I Wish in the future!

The post Leveraging Passion: How a University College Graduate from Cork, Ireland is Achieving Success in Sales at VMware appeared first on VMware Careers Blog.