Heather James – Senior Marketing Executive
“I love that the business allows me to take the next step in my career whenever I am ready to.”
“I work in a team where we regularly meet up and share best practice to help accelerate others in their progression.”
Q. How long have you been working at MarketMakers?
I have worked at MarketMakers for almost 3 years.
Q. What did you do before MarketMakers?
Prior to my role at MarketMakers I worked part time in retail and attended Portsmouth College where I studied Business, Sociology and English Literature. After completing my A-Levels I decided to attend university where I studied Sociology.
Q. What made you want a job at MarketMakers?
I quickly realised during my first term at university that it wasn’t the direction I wanted to go in and struggled to see myself enjoying the next three years. With it having always been in my plan, I felt lost and unsure what would give me the same career/progression structure. At that time a friend of mine was working at MarketMakers, really enjoying her job and constantly talking about her next promotion and new challenges. It was this that urged me to apply for a position at MarketMakers.
Q. What position did you start in at MarketMakers, and what positions did you progress into?
When I started at MarketMakers I was an Account Executive, actively calling on behalf of our clients to generate new business opportunities. I progressed twice during my time in our Operations department. Firstly to Account Manager and then to Senior Account Manager. After a year and a half, an opportunity opened up in our Marketing department that sparked my interest. After meeting with the head of department, it felt like a great fit for me and I was offered the position.
Q. Do you think progressing has been easy, have you been given enough opportunities?
I wouldn’t describe the progression at MarketMakers as ‘easy’, but it is very achievable and rewarding, and the statistics show that. Being one of the 150 people promoted in 2018, I was lucky enough to have a say in designing my own role in our Marketing department and I enjoy progressing and developing my skills for the role more than ever.
Q. Talk to me about the support that was on offer- have you completed any programmes through The Business School?
The Business School offers a huge variety of learning opportunities that work in conjunction and support promotions. For me, the best thing about the Business School is their reach across personal lessons as well. Sessions such as Managing Money, Mind Power and Goal Setting have been influential to my growth.
Q. What do you like the most about working at MarketMakers?
I love that the business allows me to take the next step in my career whenever I am ready to. It is a unique position to not feel like you need someone to move department or achieve their own promotion to do yours.
Q. Are you offered support in your role, who is your manager what do they do for you?
My manager is Gemma Storkey. We have a weekly meeting scheduled which enables me to openly discuss my progression and any support I may need in order to get there.
Q. Do you use your progression to help inspire other members of staff?
I think when people see you get promoted and achieve something that you have been talking about it can be very inspirational. I work in a team where we regularly meet up and share best practice to help accelerate others in their progression.
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