Vivek Manchanda
MBA
India
India
Salesforce Consultant, Excelian Limited
How did your time at Stirling prepare you for life after graduation?
The programme was really well designed which really helped you to understand and focus on your career plans. During the MBA we had to prepare many presentations in groups or individually, which helped increase my confidence to speak in front of people. We had many guest lectures from professional people which helped me develop an understanding of UK business culture and working conditions.
Briefly describe your career history to date:
Prior to starting my MBA, I worked as a salesforce developing in India for two years with a company called ASTADIA. After I graduated, I joined Excelian Ltd as a Salesforce Developer, and now I am working as a Salesforce Consultant.
How did you get into your current job?
I got contacted by job agents, and as I was looking for the same job which I used to do in India, it was quite easy to enter the market.
Describe a typical working day:
My current job involves developing company internal CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems using salesforce (online CRM platform 'Cloud based'), as well as developing company websites and different kinds of client and employees portals.
List three things you love about your job:
New challenges; learning more about business; and the co-operative atmosphere.
List three things that you dislike about your job:
Timing...as an IT firm employee, there are no proper working hours - sometimes you have to work for eight hours and sometimes even eleven hours in a day.
What advice would you give to current students and recent graduates?
I would advise all the students that they should start doing market study about the new technologies and job market in their last semester/year. If they have any past experience, they should continue in the same field as this will give them plus points to enter the market. I have seen many students who try to change their fields after doing an MBA or other masters course which makes it really hard for them to get a good job due to no experience.