What kind of placements did you do during your 4 years at ESPEME?

When I first joined ESPEME, I wanted to know more about careers in marketing and communication and, in particular, to take advantage of the opportunities the school gave me to travel and discover new cultures. To this end I spent 6 months in Montreal in an industrial company as a Junior Marketing Manager during my 3rd year. Then, in my 4th year I had an internship at B&W in Aix en Provence, a sales support company for the major retailers, where I managed sales campaigns for leading brands like Colgate, Procter & Gamble, etc.

My internships at ESPEME reinforced my determination to work in Product Marketing.

Did you work out a career plan from the very first year at ESPEME?

Not exactly. I was attracted by marketing fast-moving consumer goods and high-tech goods.. My aim to become a product manager only began to take shape during the third year with my strategic marketing courses and my placement in Montreal.

Once you graduated, how long did it take you to find your first job and what sort of job was it?

When I left ESPEME, I did a post-graduate course with a 6-month internship at 3M as Junior Product Manager.  I got a job as Product Manager at Philips 4 months after graduating.

How did you get the job?

It all happened very quickly. I replied to an offer posted on APEC and got a call 3 days later asking me to come for an interview in Mans the following week. I had a marathon seven-hour interview, in French and English and I left with my first contract in hand!

What's it like when you first arrive in a company?

I was lucky enough to find myself in a company where the average age was quite young and there were a lot of new graduates like me. It made it much easier to fit in.

How did you feel about starting work? Were you ready?

I think we were really well prepared at ESPEME for the kind of work we were expected to do but it was the experience I'd got from my work placements that very quickly made a real difference.

Did you use what you learnt at ESPEME every day? What did you find most useful?

I'm using what I learnt at ESPEME more and more now I have a managerial position. The market segmentation courses, and the strategic analyses and transactional analysis are always useful.

What were the main difficulties you came up against when you first started working?

My first jobs were in a technical environment and my colleagues were all engineers. It was quite challenging at the beginning to learn the vocabulary and the basic concepts. But my marketing background quickly proved to be a major advantage in the decision-making process with the sales teams.

Who is your line manager now?

I am the Product Vice President so I answer directly to the Chef Executive Officer of my call centre company. The company employs 450 people and has offices in Canada, the USA, the UK, Singapore, India and Australia with a turnover worth over 50 million euros.

What are your working hours?

It varies enormously because of the company's geographical situation but I can work from 7 o'clock in the morning until 9 o'clock in the evening And on other days I can start at 10 o'clock in the morning and finish at 3 in the afternoon.

Is it easy to manage your career and your family life?

It's never been a problem for me to combine my family life and my professional life. I can manage my working hours as I like and work from home. My wife and I have just had a baby and it's a real boon to be able to work from home.

Have you had any professional meetings that have changed your life?

My first boss was a real model for me. He taught me how to act in a company. After that, the people I was working for were always more important in my list of priorities than the work itself. When you are working in a climate of confidence and you feel your skills are being recognised, the sky's the limit.

What was your first salary and what are you earning now?

My first salary was €27,000 and now I'm earning around €170,000.

What do you remember about ESPEME?

I have great memories. It was a key period in my life and I learnt so much not just in academic terms but also from a professional and personal perspective.