I Want Your Job: Abigail Scott ’19
Abigail Scott ’19 majored in marketing and currently works for VMware as a Sales Development Representative. She is currently based in London, which has given her the opportunity to work with people around the world. She credits her four years at the Providence College Business School to her current success in her role at VMware.
During your time at PC, what were your original career goals and aspirations?
During my time at PC, my original career goals were to combine my passion for trendy news and working with people, so I initially wanted to be a news anchor or go into PR. I enjoyed being the forefront of a news story or outlet, so PR seemed like it would combine my news interests with my business degree. I ended up not doing either of those, but I couldn’t be happier where I ended up.
How did you get your current position, and what was the interview process like?
I am currently in a sales position at a technology company. I had initially spoken with a family friend of mine who is the founder of a PR agency in Boston, who had said that he could see me doing sales rather than PR. He suggested I go where the money was… tech sales! I began researching technology positions and by chance mentioned to another family friend that I was looking to go into technology sales and live in London, and he connected me to the job portal hub. I then had a virtual interview my senior year, and I was then flown out to London for an in-person interview! The in-person interview was a bit nerve wracking. It was five hours long with different senior employees within the company. They asked a lot about why I would thrive in sales, seeing as though I didn’t directly have a sales background.
Was working abroad something you knew you wanted to do, or was this job an opportunity to go abroad that you were not expecting?
During my senior year, I was between living in Chicago and potentially living abroad. My boyfriend, who also is a PC alum and now my fiancé, and I decided that this was the right time to live abroad; we thought when would we ever be able to do this again in our life?
What is it like working and living in London compared to the U.S.?
Working and living in London is very different than the U.S. I will say they don’t value college education as much as the U.S. does, so I found it hard initially to prove myself at the beginning. Managers were expecting me to know how to use Salesforce, Salesloft, and other technology services that you don’t learn in undergraduate but those around me had learned in their “work experience” rather than going to undergraduate universities.
Can you explain what a typical workday/week looks like for you?
A typical workday/week for me looks like working from home now due to coronavirus. Beforehand, I was working in an office setting overlooking Tower Bridge in London. My current duty is to generate leads, hold and attend meetings, and pipeline for my Account Executives so that they can have meetings with prospective customers and close a deal.
What are some of the challenges you have had to overcome, and how did you adjust to these challenges?
Some challenges would definitely be language barriers due to working in the EMEA region. Currently I cover the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Greece as my territories. Oftentimes I’m speaking to a prospective customer whose first language is not English, and I have to adapt and connect them with my native speaking Account Manager.
What advice would you give current PC students looking for internships and jobs?
Oftentimes, what you’re studying is not going to directly apply to your first job, and that’s okay. It’s all a learning experience. I would also say internships, internships, internships… it’s the majority of what you talk about in an interview and since you all go to college, that is all they will ask you about in an interview because it’s really the only work experience you will have when managing a college education and looking for a job.
Anything else you want to discuss, please feel free!
Happy to share more about sales and women in technology. I was never interested in sales or technology in college – the most I knew was about my iPhone as far as technology goes! But then I realized you will learn it all in your first job, and you will have training and more.
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