Going Places in Life and Career
By Alice, inside sales
Like many other graduates and expats, I arrived in Ireland with a degree, a suitcase, and a lot of dreams and hopes. I had left my home country, France, so I could focus on building a career. Ireland seemed like the right choice: an English-speaking country, lots of opportunities, and a vibrant culture. When I moved to Galway in 2016, I did not know a soul but was confident that with hard work and good energy, I could build the life I wanted for myself.
Living abroad in your twenties is not always easy, as you go through your first years of adulthood, which include their fair share of challenges, but also great moments! Therefore, it was a priority for me to be part of a company that had a healthy organizational culture and where I could also enjoy myself and meet new people.
My Career Path
A year after moving to Galway, I joined MathWorks Ireland as a sales development representative, a couple of months after the new office opened. I thought that my lack of expertise in the technology field would be a barrier, but this was not the case. I remember being surprised at how beautiful and modern the office was. Another fact was how nice and welcoming everyone seemed to be. After the first week, I already had made some new friends and felt completely integrated. Great for the extrovert that I am!
In the role, I was able to build my technical knowledge by listening to customers and application engineers. After 11 months, I got the opportunity to move to the Renewal Sales team. And during the pandemic, I got promoted to inside sales representative, where I started to dive deep into account management and customer projects.
Next month, I will start a new challenge, as I will become account manager for tech startups, supporting sales in five European countries. This is an amazing opportunity for me to advance. I am really looking forward to working with the local field teams and with some of the most innovative tech startups across Europe!
In my career, I thrive to make a difference. I believe that by supporting start-ups in their early stages, I can contribute, at my level, in creating a better place, especially with all the innovations in medical devices and green tech.
Beyond the Job
Over the past five years, I have made the best memories working at MathWorks: being part of the tag rugby league in the summer, traveling with the team for the worldwide annual Sales Kickoff, the Christmas parties. I also am a member of the social committee called Great Place to Work (GPTW), and I co-lead MathWorks Galway Women in Tech.
With GPTW, we organise staff events at the office for holidays such as Paddy’s Day and Halloween as well as virtual events like a book club during the pandemic. We also plan outings around Galway, with our next one planned for the Aran Islands. With Women in Tech, we organise workshops and discussion platforms to inspire and empower people; one of our upcoming next events will talk about gender bias in languages and perception of leaders.
Both initiatives give me the flexibility to work on staff-based projects and try and make sure everyone is having the best experience possible within MathWorks.
My Advice to Career Seekers
Making changes can be hard, but knowing what was important to me in a company was key. MathWorks Ireland really fosters a collaborative and inclusive environment where everyone is encouraged to bring up ideas and can be themselves. In additional to the more formal events planned by GPTW and Women in Tech, individual staff organize activities that anyone can attend, such as horse riding or boat trips, and post about them on our internal social networking tool. The company also provides opportunities for advancement and rewards hard work. In just five years, I’ve seen that hard work pay off as I’ve changed roles three times.
I hope that my journey can inspire people to go for the career they want, and that anything is possible if you put the work in it. It may take time, some failures, and redirection. No one’s path is smooth and perfect; we all have our struggles and moments where we re-evaluate our choices. But everyone should be able to chase their dreams and build the life they want for themselves, no matter what!
