Sales Operations Associate Review

The placement year at SAP has been fantastic! Due to the size of the corporation there are so many opportunities to get involved in, this also means that everyone’s placement year is different from one another’s. Having the 70/30 scheme in place allows us to spend 30% of our time in another area of the business.

The work I completed was essential within the business operations and I would say that to the most part I felt valued. My immediate team and manager, that I saw each day, would recognise the work that I put in and were very complimentary. However, at times, when working on certain projects, it did not feel like my work was valued. I believe this comes from working in a global team because understandably, it is hard for employees you work with remotely to recognise the time and effort that their request entails.

Lots of support throughout the placement. My team was always happy to help and answer any questions I had. My manager was very supportive in terms of helping me network and would put me in contact with some of his connections so I could see other areas of the business.

The level of work varied a lot depending on where in the quarter we were. At the start of the placement I took over all the tasks from my previous intern and I found ways of making these process’s simpler and automated. This meant I had more time to offer my managers with current work they were doing. There were times where I was extremely busy and others when I had practically no work to do (during a period of organisational change). If I felt I had too much work, it was easy to manage my managers expectations and when there was no work to do, I looked elsewhere and helped my mentor with projects.

I felt a high level of responsibility during the placement year, especially after my managers knew me and trusted my work practices. I was given projects to co-ordinate and work on from start to finish and the entire management of these was up to me – although I had support if I needed it, I was able to properly take control of certain projects myself.

I have been able to apply some of the teaching from university into my work. Part of one of my university modules was about Microsoft Excel. Having this knowledge prior to joining SAP really helped me, but I learnt so much more within Excel throughout my year which I know will be useful in future jobs. I have also developed a variety transferable competencies, professionalism and awareness for organisational policies and processes.

There was a good atmosphere in the office, the SAP Feltham office has a free onsite gym and the free lunch canteen is amazing. I loved not having to plan my lunch for the next day and it really saved a lot of money over the year. The office can be quiet on some days because there is flexibility to work from home if needed. However, having the intern community around meant that even if my team wasn’t in then it was not lonely.

The placement program was extremely well organised as it is run by a dedicated team. This team asked for feedback at numerous points in the year so they could act upon any feedback and improve the cohorts experience straight away. Having the month-long onboarding with the previous year’s interns is great because it really helped me to understand the role and my responsibilities. As it was my first experience in a professional office job I feel this transition stage was vital.

One of the things I enjoyed most during my time, and something that really helped my development, was being able to meet or call with employees and senior members of SAP. I really like the culture of SAP and how approachable everyone seems. To me it felt like despite being in a senior role, individuals didn’t mind taking the time to talk with me. There is OpenSAP for online courses to further develop skills and knowledge.

There are set programmes for sales and presales roles however there is unfortunately no graduate schemes. Some people do manage to gain a job and stay on at SAP working part time in their final year or come back after graduation, however this depends on whether there is the headcount in your team.

The intern cohort is huge so there was always lots of social events going on especially in the summer and start of placement. There would be after work drinks nearly every Thursday which usually take place in Richmond or Clapham Junction. Most of the group social events revolve around drinking and going out.

I lived in Richmond and found a professional house share to live in. I would highly recommend this area. It was only a short commute into work on the train and I would then get the free bus that goes from Feltham station straight to the office. I left my accommodation till the last minute, but I would say it is very easy if you are looking for a house share living situation. Although not the case for me, typically the closer you live to the office (in Feltham) the cheaper accommodation is, however bear in mind living closer to the city is more fun.

As said above, the intern cohort would go to Clapham or Richmond for drinks socials as it is only a short journey on the train. Although there isn’t anything to do in Feltham, the office is not far from Central London so a couple of times my team had organised a few trips and activities outside of work hours in the city centre.

I went to external events which were great for networking opportunities. There is lots to get involved in outside of your role - the placement team sent out regular emails with upcoming opportunities. I know there is also a football team however I don’t believe I saw anything about the netball team.