Case Studies
Samantha Morgan, BA (Hons) Modern Languages and Marketing Studies graduate 2001
European Process Leader, Kelloggs
Since graduating in 2001 I have been working for Kelloggs based in Manchester. I joined in June 2001 as a Germanics Credit Controller within the European Financial Services Centre. This role involved contacting the Food Service Accounts across Germany requesting payment for outstanding amounts. In September 2001 I was asked to take on the Austrian Accounts and eventually took over all accounts within Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This role also involved liaising with Customer Services based in Bremen. It involved travel to Bremen at least 4 times a year and also customer visits to larger customers, such as Spar, Metro and Markant along with the Bremen based Sales Team in order to discuss payment terms etc. I found that unlike some other language degree graduates I had benefited from my time spent abroad working within an office environment, using the telephone and found that my understanding of the German culture helped when dealing with colleagues and customers in Germany!
Within my role I attended courses to enhance my language skills – I studied French in order to strengthen my A Level knowledge and commenced with Dutch which enabled me to vary my role within Kelloggs and help other team members dealing with European markets. In 2003 I commenced a course with The Institute of Credit Management (ICM) studying towards The Certificate in Credit Management – a qualification which is widely recognised in the field of Credit Control. I am halfway through the certificate qualification. I hope to complete this and progress onto the Diploma.
In December 2003 I was promoted to Senior Credit Analyst for UK and Europe. This involved working closely with the European Process Leader setting targets and monitoring results on a one to one basis for the Credit Analysts responsible for UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and France. In July 2004 I was promoted to European Process Leader and who knows where things will go from there!
Katie Giles, BA (Hons) European Languages graduate 2005
Sports Presenter, Deutsche Welle
After graduating with a first class degree in European Languages (French, German, Spanish), I took up a year-long placement at Deutsche Welle (German International Broadcasting) in Berlin, arranged by the School of Languages. I was really keen to work in media, and also wanted a job in which I could use my language skills, so to get an opportunity to work at an international and multi-lingual TV station like Deutsche Welle was a dream come true.
I spent an interesting year moving around the various departments, learning about all the different aspects of work here, but focused mainly on translating in the newsroom, which I really enjoyed. As my placement was coming to an end, Deutsche Welle asked if I would be interested in doing a casting to stay on as a sports presenter. The answer was of course - yes! The casting itself was pretty nerve-wracking as it was my first time in front of a camera, but great fun and I feel very fortunate I got the opportunity at all. After the casting I was sent on a two-day training course, given some practice time in the studio on weekends and then just a few weeks later was presenting my first show!
I absolutely love the job, really enjoy the excitement of
working in the studio, and the nerves involved in live
TV. At the same time I get to use my language skills,
translating texts from the German show, or reading up
on stories printed by German press agencies. The years I
spent at Salford stood me in great stead for the lingusitic
standards expected of me here, and of course, without
the placement which the School of Languages organised
for me, I would never have had the opportunity at all.
Helen Platt, BA (Hons) Modern Languages (French and German) graduate 1999
Marketing and Communications, Deutsche Bank
After graduating from Salford in 1999 I took on a 12 month placement at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, within the Electronic and Online Banking support department. Three months into the placement I was offered a full-time position within the Electronic Banking development department where I was trained initially as a Business Analyst and then as a Project Manager, implementing various communications and network solutions for our Corporate and Investment Banking online products.
I gained my certificate in Project Management after successfully completing a 6 month project management course from the International Project Management Association (IPMA) in Nuremberg, and in 2002 was appointed as Business Manager for the UK, Continental Europe and Germany, responsible for project portfolio management, budget controlling and financial planning. As you can imagine, my languages came in very useful!
As of July 2004 I made a complete career change and switched to Marketing and Communications within Deutsche Bank’s Global Technology Office where I am now responsible for event and project management, internal and external communications (articles for publications, intranet website) as well as working with the Chief of Staff to Deutsche Bank’s Board of Directors. My next challenge is to gain my certificate in Business and Marketing from the Industrie- und Handelskammer (German Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and I am currently learning Swedish. All in all, the years have gone by so fast but I've enjoyed every minute, and the 2 residence abroad placements as well as the "business oriented" aspect of my course at Salford have certainly stood me in good stead for my career here at Deutsche Bank.
Suzanne Cowling, BA (Hons) Modern Languages and Marketing Studies (German and French) graduate 2006
My role at Hughes Safety Showers mainly involves assisting the Marketing Manager (together the two of us make up the Marketing Department!) with all aspects of implementing the Marketing plan, from advertising, PR, direct marketing and product literature, to managing the content of the website, creating e-newsletters and planning and attending exhibitions. I have been lucky enough to travel to Düsseldorf and Utrecht and I have regular contact with our overseas partners - in particular colleagues at the German Sales Office, distributors as well as media contacts – which allows me to use my languages. The company is also currently paying for me to study my CIM Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing at Salford University.
Amy Tarrant, BA (Hons) Modern Languages graduate 1998
I wanted a language course that had primarily 'vocational' content as opposed to endless literature. It was also important to me that the year out was in paid work rather than university in order to have work experience on my CV on graduating. The year abroad was definitely the highlight of my degree. I had two great jobs in European cities which the University organised for me.
After University I went to work in Frankfurt for 2 years, then returned to the UK where I got in to a marketing career which I realised I wanted to develop. Having languages helped me secure a regional marketing role at American Express and I used my German and Spanish almost daily. From there I transferred to AmEx Singapore and lived there for 3 years before returning to the UK to work for Bupa International where I currently am.
There are so many language degrees to choose from and competition for graduate jobs is fierce to having completed a course that was so practical gave me the edge over other language graduates. I'm often surprised when I meet other language grads that their spoken language is not so strong as they concentrated so much on literature in their course.
Cahir Connolly, BA (Hons) Modern Languages and Marketing Studies graduate 1999
Trade and Investment Research Officer, The British Embassy (Mexico City)
I graduated from Salford in 1999 and I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in marketing but in a public sector role. A couple of months after graduation I was offered a job as Alumni Co-ordinator at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone. In this role I was responsible for co-ordinating relations between the Institute and its graduates. I was responsible for organising graduate reunions and promoting famous and successful graduates who had studied at the Institute. I co-ordinated the Alumni magazine and in 2002 the magazine was runner up at the prestigious HEIST education Marketing Awards. The job also gave me the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and Norway for graduate reunions that I organised. The travelling part of this job heightened my interest in International Student Recruitment and in 2001 I was offered a job at The University of Kent as International Marketing Officer. At the University of Kent I was responsible for designing and implementing marketing recruitment strategies for international students throughout the world. This exciting yet demanding job gave me the opportunity to travel and talk to students about study opportunities in the UK. I regularly travelled to India, Nigeria, Russia, Mexico, Uganda, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar amongst other countries. The job made me realise that I wanted to live overseas and use my languages more.
In 2004 I started my job as Trade and Investment Research Officer at The British Embassy in Mexico City. My job at the British Embassy basically involves working with UK companies who are interested in exploring Mexico as a potential market for their products or services. I help organise exhibitions and programmes for British companies visiting Mexico and I write market reports on various sectors including textiles, water and chemicals. Working at the Embassy is extremely exciting and Mexico City (the second largest city is the world) is an incredibly vibrant, colourful and crazy city to live in. I am speaking Spanish on a daily basis which I love and I am trying to get to grips with Mexican slang which at times seems like a completely different language!
Sophie Parron, BA Modern Languages graduate 2007
NGO administrator, Terre des Hommes
After I graduated in 1997, I worked as a French teacher in Spain for one year before studying for a Masters in International Relations at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Once completed, I got my first field mission in 2001 with an NGO, the Peace Brigades International (Human Rights) in Colombia where I was based in the north-west region. My main tasks involved administration and finance, small logistics, and accompanying human rights defenders and advocates. From 2003 to 2004, I worked for PBI in Mexico and my tasks were the same as in Colombia. A year later, I undertook some training by the French Red Cross in order to become a field delegate. In July 2005 I was posted in N'djamena, Chad, as administrator of the mission whereby I was working on the mission financial and logistical aspects. After staying in Chad for a year, in 2006 I had another mission, as administrator, with the French Red Cross in Haiti for seven months. In April 2007 I was recruited by Terre des Hommes, a Swiss NGO, working in the area of child protection and rights as administrator for the mission in Afghanistan. I stayed in field for 15 months before moving to a position in Terre des Hommes head office as HQ Administrator for Afghanistan, Morroco & Indonesia.
Working for an international organisation like Terre des Hommes is the ideal
opportunity for me. When I completed my Masters I wanted to combine my
languages degree with my MA in International Relations and apply it to ‘useful
work’, i.e. to a career in which I could help the others and contribute, at least a
little bit, to the improvement of the other people's lives. Studying at Salford
University was fundamental to this as I was able to study in a multicultural
environment and was encouraged to work as part of a team. Also, as the essays were written in English, my proficiency in English dramatically improved. Being able to speak different languages is an important requirement to getting a position in an NGO, and being able to do so was a vital aspect in securing my first position.
My daily tasks in my current job role involve checking of the monthly accounts
for the Terre des Hommes delegation in Afghanistan, Morocco & Indonesia,
which includes monitoring the project and donor contracts; training the local
administrator according to the administration procedure and how to upgrade
the accounting software; overseeing and applying budgets, and; undertaking
audit follow-ups. Going on field visits is the most favourable part of my job as it reinforces the link between the organisation’s HQ and its field office, so provides strong motivation. The preparation of the budget can be a hard task, as several elements have to be taken into consideration, and HQ and the field offices don't always have the same priorities of what is important.
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