Experience report as marketing manager at SEO Marketing Cologne
Interview with Melanie Fantastico: Marketing and Sales Manager
There are many opportunities to gain a foothold in today’s professional world after studying, for example, to become a commercial specialist. From sales and marketing to controlling and management, there are many areas and sectors in which you can enter and continue or start your career. What are these possibilities? What are your experiences and career paths in this field? We asked our marketing and sales manager and received valuable tips and impressions.
Melanie tells us how she started her career and how her path has developed to date. You can find out whether she is satisfied and whether she would recommend it to others in her honest, open testimonial.
Questions for Melanie:
How did your career start?
I started training as an insurance saleswoman after graduating from high school, but I quickly realized that I didn’t want to continue in this profession after my training; I enjoyed sales, but the products weren’t right for me.
So what was the next step?
After that, I decided to find my fortune in retail. That was the case for many years. After 5 years in retail, I simply wanted to get a new qualification from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and implemented it. Based on my professional experience and my previous training, I was able to complete an examination as a retail saleswoman. That satisfied me for the time being, as I had already reached a managerial position in the “store management” department. But after another 5 years and two children, I once again wanted more.
What kind of idea of professional development did you have in mind?
This time I decided to start another course of study, which I completed with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Many interesting subjects came my way, which made it clear to me that there was more to it than working in retail.
What made you decide to do this course?
My goal was to get out of the store as a store manager in order to be less physically and more mentally challenged. I also wanted to take on even more responsibility. For the first time, the Bachelor’s degree gave me a new position and new experiences. I joined the sales force and worked as a district manager. I was no longer in charge of one store, but had 11-16 stores where I was responsible for everything, including sales and 300-500 employees.
How did your professional life continue after graduation and your new job?
I was passionate about this job for about 2 years, 24/7, but as I had two children, I had to find another solution in the long term. So I decided to change industries again and find something that would give me a better work-life balance. Then came the great opportunity and I found my new vocation as “management assistant” in an IT company that offered everything to do with learning in the new age. We are talking about learning platforms, content, creation tools and much more. Here I was not only able to be an assistant, but also to learn a lot of new things, to live out my passion for sales in a new way and to create and implement my own challenging projects. This job was just great!
And what is your professional situation today?
Now the following happened, my position was no longer filled due to a sale of the company, so for the first time in 5 years I was faced with the situation of not being able to decide for myself when a career change was due. I was in the fortunate position of having good contacts from that time and was therefore able to start my new, current job straight away. Today, I am a mother of three and at the same time Marketing and Sales Manager at SEO Marketing Cologne and work for Cert-EU with the same tasks.
How can we imagine your day-to-day work?
My day-to-day work is exciting and very varied. I face new challenges every day. And my tasks vary greatly depending on the project and topic. There is no such thing as a typical week and with three children and the current corona challenge, there certainly isn’t one.
Starting with exciting phone calls with customers and always new impressions and life stories and professional situations, I collect the most relevant information, wishes, goals, i.e. all the data from all customers. I then evaluate this data and create the necessary offers and analyses based on the evaluation. After signing the contract, I implement the wishes and goals of our customers based on the timeline discussed. So everything is included, the sale, the pure implementation(SEO and web design) and the associated marketing.
The best thing about my job is that I can take on all functions in our team and can ask my colleagues for advice and support on many things. Here is a great and creative team, who are really all specialists in their field. I’m such a little all-rounder and I’m happy and grateful that I can do all my favorite activities at the same time.
What advice do you have for prospective students?
Be honest with yourself and check exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie. It is even more important to enjoy what you do. Ask yourself what you really want. And if you have made a decision that is perhaps not so good, don’t hesitate and try again, not all the time, but with careful consideration. There’s no point if you’re not satisfied with what you’re doing. Only those who are satisfied and happy with what they do will deliver really good work. This creates a win-win situation for you and your future employer.
Would you recommend becoming part of your team?
Of course! I can only recommend to all marketing students that if you are looking for a job and a team in which you can remain true to yourself and feel comfortable, then SEO Marketing Cologne is the right place for you! But be careful, only employees who enjoy their job and are passionate about it are welcome here!