Sales Associate Review

As a sales associate at SAP most of your communication will be with your managers and colleagues as you are expected to take on different tasks that revolve around forecasting. As sales is a number driven business area there is a lot of emphasis on planning and execution as each person within your team has a number/target of sales they must reach each quarter. There is also the freedom to get involved with other opportunities outside of sales.

I have learnt many new skills during my placement year which I believe will be very useful for the rest of my career. From learning how to use different SAP systems ( Which are used in nearly every organization), to developing interpersonal skills and stakeholder management I feel SAP has invested in to me and developed myself as an individual.

Yes and No. To be honest it really depends on what team you are placed in. Some teams you have to gain a lot of trust from colleagues to be put in positions where you are given more responsibility and relevant work which is completely understandable. However different teams/business areas are more trusting and open to brining you on to projects, customer calls etc which in itself is amazing because you gain real first hand experience. The best thing to do is just work as hard as possible whatever team you're in and those opportunities will come!

As a sales intern at SAP you receive a lot of support and guidance. You are given a mentor about halfway through the placement who is usually someone higher up in the business. This is great as you are able to get a different perspective from someone who has been in the business for a long time with tons of experience. Moreover, managers and colleagues are generally more than happy to spend time and have a chat with you!

Generally speaking most people at SAP are welcoming and very friendly which is always nice coming in to a new atmosphere. However in my experience there is a tendency for a lot of the older generation to be a bit stand-offish and rude which can sometimes be distasteful. Other than that the overall company culture is okay.

The pandemic has stopped a lot of things from happening during the placement year which has been annoying but other than that I feel I have gained a lot from my time at SAP, made some valuable connections and relationships and also developed my skillset. Overall it has been a good placement.

Yes

I would tell people to be fully aware of the role they're getting in to and also advise them t reach out and speak to other people who have worked in that same position so you can get a realistic perspective of what it is like. Also, it is important to realize that when you get to SAP you should understand what you want out of the year and act accordingly; not simply just going through the motions otherwise you will end up wasting a year and make no progression.