In the Spotlight with HPE | Emily Williamson

[Alex_Podmore]

What makes our team tick? 

Our Spotlight series introduces some of our key team members, exploring their roles and delving a little deeper into their passions, shining a light on what makes them tick.  

Emily Williamson was part of our internship programme in the UK and Ireland, working in the public sector sales team in Manchester. Just a month before she finished the 13-month programme, she looked back over her experience and explained the impact that HPE’s focus on early careers has had on her. 

Stepping onto the right path 

Emily wasn’t sure of her career path when finishing school, choosing to study Accounting with Management at university as she liked maths and wanted to pursue a career in leadership. Applying for around 15 internship placements, HPE was the only tech role she looked at. 

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do; I know I don’t want to be an accountant, which is why I applied for so many different roles! More than being drawn to the technology sector, I was interested in the company itself. I really liked HPE’s beliefs and values and what they stand for as an organisation. I also really like the things that they do around sustainability and that was the main driver to me. I was really glad to get this one because I aligned with what HPE believe in.” 

Inspired by the real-life impact public sector services have on every citizen in the UK, Emily gravitated towards the public sector teams. She now supports day to day sales activities as well as working on events planning and team initiatives. Entering the workplace for the first time can be daunting, but the work is varied, to provide a realistic and stimulating workplace experience, and there are also opportunities for personal development and learning more about the industry. 

“I carry out data analysis for the teams as well as reporting and forecasting, and I also get to work on some really exciting things as well. For example, planning the invites for Discover last year in Frankfurt was one of my big responsibilities and I also worked on a section of the sales kickoff that was to around 2,000 people in the sales team in UK and Ireland. I worked alongside my manager to help her ensure her session was success. 

“One of my highlights has been the face-to-face events. I really enjoy talking to customers about what we're doing and it's really satisfying to see the impact that has on them and how interested they actually are. It shows that what we're offering is really valuable.” 

Gaining wide-ranging experience  

The early careers community spans interns, apprentices and graduates, supporting each with unique programmes to encourage team members to explore their talents and aspirations. Emily’s experienced the wide-ranging offering, including workshops, webinars and training development days that run alongside the day-job to enhance skills and build new ones. She’s also taken part in an additional sales-specific programme – the successful Sales Readiness Programme, which has enabled many early careers in sales and other valuable skills.  

“HPE really invest in and value their early careers community, whether that be interns, apprentices or graduates. I quickly noticed how many people within my team and in the wider business are ex interns. I really like how they give you so many opportunities for personal development and learning. They really want to set you up with the best possible chance of success, whether that's with HPE or not. I've been involved in the Sales Readiness Programme which runs for the second half of the internship. This gives you a really rounded view of what it's like to be a salesperson to set you up as well as they can to return as a graduate account manager.” 

A strong and supportive team can make all the difference in the overall experience, and Emily has found that working with the public sector team has been rewarding, learning more about the industry as well as her colleagues. Emily explained the importance of a supportive culture within the workplace, as well as outside it, and has really felt that through her time at HPE. 

“The team are phenomenal, everybody really wants to help you and as an early careers person in the team, the culture of support that there is across everybody in the team, no matter how senior they are, has been really valuable to me this year. 

Looking to the future 

With one more year left of her university degree course, Emily will return to studying full time, however the HPE internship has given her a taste of a career in tech, as well as invaluable experience on which to build. Expectations of internships can centre on superficial tasks and very little responsibility, however Emily has found the programme full of opportunities, with the freedom to get involved in a range of things that interest her and explore different business units. 

“The biggest challenge for me was coming into a technology company without any knowledge of what it's like, there's so much to learn. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a bad thing because I've learned so much this year and it's all been so interesting. I think to start off you can feel like it's a little bit overwhelming and like you're not a technical person, but you don't need to be to work in a company like this, you can still perform really well with a normal person's level of technical knowledge. 

“Transitioning from uni was quite a challenge, it’s been a massive learning experience for me, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and it’s really helped me to shape what I want to do in the future.” 

Find out more about early careers at HPE here and the range of options available for apprenticeships, interns and graduates. 

Look out for our next spotlight for another insight into our talented team. 

Alex Podmore
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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