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.
You can watch the full interview with Maninder Randhawa here
Maninder Randhawa joined HPE straight from university in 2012, after graduating with a computing degree. Having experienced consultancy, sales, programme development and now working in the HR department, Maninder is passionate about investing in early careers.
Now in the role of EMEA University Talent Acquisition Lead, Maninder walked us through his journey, offering some valuable insight and advice for anyone looking at embarking on a similar journey.
“I applied for about eight jobs before I was offered a role at HPE. I started as a technical consultant, visiting some really cool customers across a range of industries including aerospace, banking and military. It was eye-opening seeing just how bad some of their IT was, but it was fascinating to see what they wanted to achieve as a business and how we could help them get there.”
“After four years, I moved into a sales role – which I had no experience in, but I really enjoyed it! After progressing through sales, it was time for another career change and I became the UKIMEA early careers lead, setting up the early careers strategy and programme. This helped to streamline and standardise the experience for our apprentices and graduates across the company.”
Through his time at HPE, Maninder has seen over 800 colleagues complete the early careers programme, which focuses on building a community, ensuring satisfaction inside and out of the job with quality social times as well as engaging work life.
November 2023 saw Maninder given the opportunity to take charge of EMEA university talent acquisition with a focus on highlighting the attractive nature of working at HPE and bringing the right people into the organisation. Managing a team of recruiters who work across 35 countries, it’s a very different role to the one he started in!
“Imposter syndrome is real. I never thought I’d be good enough to work at HPE. I was pretty average at school and it seemed like HPE was just full of the very best people. But it really is full of the best – mentors, managers, good people with good advice. Colleagues are there to help and it’s ok to make mistakes as long as you’re asking for help and learning. Although I had no experience in talent acquisition, people had faith in my personal development and career, and I am grateful to my managers and leadership team for putting their trust in me. It’s been a real period of growing and learning and I almost enjoy feeling like an imposter now!”
You can listen to Maninder discuss imposter syndrome as a guest on George Anderson’s ‘A bit of a boost’ podcast here.
Having started in consultancy, it may have taken a bit of time to figure out his passion, but Maninder is convinced he’s in the right place.
“I assumed I’d go back to sales, but I’ve realised my passion is seeing early careers develop. Watching a graduate or apprentice come in and progress with promotions, pay rises, learning new skills and stepping out of their comfort zone is incredibly rewarding. In fact, one of the best rewards was watching the first person on my early careers programme take over my job five years later. I’m all for investing in internal talent and those with potential – and now someone who was on the programme actually runs it.”
Less than a year into his new role, Maninder is laser focused on the day job. Having never worked in HR, there’s a learning curve that’s very different from the world of IT and sales, where he started. However, with his eyes firmly fixed on the future, Maninder hasn’t stopped his professional development, with a Master’s degree in leadership and management and a passion to keep progressing to director-level. It’s this drive that he uses to inspire and motivate others.
“It’s vital to be open to change. I’ve changed my career from being a techie, then into sales, programme management and now recruitment.Also,wrapped around those personal changes, the company has evolved. There will always be change, and it’s important to try and evolve yourself, with a growth mindset to dedicate yourself to improvement and learning, to amplify your strengths and be adaptable to change.
“Investing time in your career and learning and development is also incredibly important. It’s not just about doing your day job, but recognising what you have a passion for and looking at the skills you want to develop. Putting time aside to grow is essential – even an hour a week to watch YouTube or listen to a podcast on a specific topic, spending that time looking to your future.
“Networking is also an essential element of career development. As a graduate, it can be tricky to understand what networking is, or the value in it, but it’s about learning about the people that work in other departments. Grabbing a coffee with them and learning what they do, what they enjoy and the different roles that are required to run the business. I never knew HR encompassed so much – it’s easy to think it’s just hiring and firing, but I’ve learnt that there’s so much more, including talent acquisition, where I sit now.”
With so much knowledge, experience and passion for early careers, Maninder offered some advice for those searching for a first career.
“Believe in yourself. Figure out your aspirations, write down your strengths and passions, and go for it. Do your research – what industry do you want to be in? Use your passion, energy and enthusiasm to go above and beyond. Volunteer, take on additional work, keep knocking on doors. There may well be failure and rejection, which can be demoralising, but don’t ever give up. I didn’t know I was going to end up where I am! My starting point was as a technical consultant and I still don’t know my end point – or where I’ll be in five years. Just make sure you’re doing a good job with whatever you choose. Once you’ve got that covered, everything will open up in front of you.”
HPE offers a range of opportunities for apprentices, graduates and early careers. If you think you might like to join us, take the first step and complete a free virtual experience online. This gives you a chance to test drive a career in tech, covering software engineering, presales and digital sales, and providing a completion certificate that stands out to recruiters.
Also check out our student website, which allows students to apply for jobs at HPE, and opt-in to our talent community. This allows us to contact you when positions become available that match your profile.
You can watch the full interview with Maninder Randhawa here
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