Account Manager Review

In my role I support customers with their existing agreements. This means working with customers through emails and phone calls on inbound demand. I also manage my own portfolio of accounts and it is my job to keep these customers up to date by dealing with outbound demand. I am also involved in numerous projects throughout the department.

I have definitely improved my communication skills whilst working at here as I deal with customers on a daily basis through various medias. I have also completed an internal training course, designed around understanding the success of the business and learning how to goal set. This is also along side studying for my degree in business management.

The company culture is brilliant here. You can tell that senior management do actually care about the culture they create, and don't just do it to pay lip service. My team is close and we work effectively together. There is always opportunity to branch out and work with other teams also, which helps build the relationship

The onboarding process here is great for all staff, however it is even more focused for apprentices. There is great support from Team Leaders and Mentors with both work and studying. There is internal training programs which are good and provide plenty of opportunity to develop yourself. There are also projects going on throughout the business which give you the opportunity to put your new skills to practice.

The support here is great. Team leaders will have time to support you with the work and with your development plans. There is also support from a mentor who will assist with University work and understand your progress with this side of the program. Team Leaders will also always give enough time to complete university work if needed.

Support from Manchester Metropolitan University is good. They have regular office hours to discuss any assignments if you need to, as well as assignment work shops built into the sessions. There is also a skills coach who helps bridge the gap between university work and your day to day role.

In my day to day role I have definitely implemented some learning from university to my job role. Not everything does apply and sometimes it can be difficult to apply based on this. I have also had to spend a lot of time learning my industry and learning about other parts of the business so that I can complete certain assignments, which helps give good knowledge.

There are lots of training programs that you can take part in. There are also some company events but these have been cancelled recently due to Covid-19 and there are often some wellbeing days designed to take some time away from the day job. it would be nice to see some work with local communities.

Yes

Overall I think that First Response is a brilliant company to work for. They provide plenty of training and development opportunities and have good salary and benefits. Often they reward loyalty making you not want to leave. The staff there are helpful, especially when you are new and the team leaders always support you.

The application process can be daunting at First, but just stick with it. Be yourself throughout the whole process and make sure your voice is heard when doing the tasks. You want to stand out as a good candidate without stepping on other people to get there. Take part in as many different projects as you can whilst you are working here.