Case Studies

NAME : Stephan Martin-Michaud   NATIONALITY : French   UNIVERSITY ATTENDEND : EPSCI, groupe ESSEC   DEGREE OBTAINED : Business Management   AGE : 28   JOB TITLE : Associate Sales Representative (ASR)

 

I was attracted to join the Academy because I had a previous experience with Cisco working as a Marketing Intern for 8 months. I already knew that Cisco was a great company to work for, giving a lot to its employees to achieve their business objectives as well as their personal goals.

 

The assessment center was a good experience. Regarding the number of applicants, I was expecting a lot of technical tests or sales questions to make the difference. In fact, our recruiters were looking at personalities. We also received a lot of valuable information from the Cisco staff.

 

I have been on the program for about 3 months now. We attend different classes mixing between technical and sales classes, learning a lot about working in a team, running a presentation and using different sales techniques. Also, a lot of Cisco’s top executives come to Amsterdam to give us presentations and share their experience of the business.

 

So far, the most challenging is definitely the technology classes. I was quite nervous to enter the Academy with no strong technology background. But we actually get all the tools and all the classes available to understand every piece of a network.

It is amazing to see how much Cisco gives us in order to succeed and be the best Account Managers on the field.

It is a lot of work but you are able to see fast results. After 3 months, I already feel much more confident in a lot of topics, such as presentation, communication and technical.

 

In addition of the skills that you develop in the Academy, you learn about yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses.
One very valuable thing is having a lot of individual feedbacks either from your colleague or your managers. It helps you perform better every time and see exactly where you are standing.

 

The most enjoyable part of the program is being with a great mix of people. We are 44 people from many countries with different backgrounds and cultures. We learn a lot by interacting with each other, either at work or outside. There are a lot of “characters” in the Academy and every individual brings something valuable to the rest of the group.

 

I see the next 6 months being at the same time hard, challenging, valuable and fun. I am really looking forward to spending time in Paris for our field visits to really see how “the real world” is and get in touch with our customers and my future colleagues.

 

I really believe that this program is a great opportunity to start a carrier in one of the best companies, but also to learn more about yourself. I feel so lucky being able to spend a year in Amsterdam with 43 other Europeans, receiving high quality teaching to join Cisco.