Women in Tech Interview with Frances McVey: Attitude is Everything
I’m back from the summer break and I hope everyone has had an enjoyable summer holiday and managed to take a break. The #LifeAtVeritas stories continue and I’ve got some great interviews coming up in the next few weeks. First up is Frances McVey’s interview, she works in EMEA Sales as a Business Development Leader running the newly created Demand Generation team based out of our modern funky Dublin office. She has recently joined Veritas and it is great to hear a new hire’s perspective on our company and what motivated her to join our growing successful #TeamVTAS. Read her interview to find out more...
Zoe: Hi Frances, can you tell our blog readers a little about your career progression and what made you choose a career in IT?
Frances: So, I did my master’s degree in Linguistics and Politics, thinking I would work in that field in some capacity – a career in IT wasn’t really on my radar. Because I had an interest in linguistics/language acquisition, I decided to move to Barcelona to teach English for a year. That didn’t really work out, I only taught for a couple of months. But I stayed in Barcelona, and I got a job doing Sales for an IT outsourcing company. It was a great company that gave people with little experience (but a lot of energy and drive) the chance to progress, quickly. And that’s what I did. I was lucky enough to get a lot of exposure early on and to work directly with some of the biggest IT companies in the world. I can’t imagine working in a different industry now.
Zoe: Wow, that’s an interesting career journey into the tech sector. So, what advice would you give school leavers and graduates trying to secure their first IT role?
Frances: I would say be flexible and open-minded – when you’re straight out of university or school you think you know exactly what job you want, but often the reality isn’t quite what you imagined or doesn’t quite fit your strengths. So always keep an open mind – you never know where one job might take you in the future. Take any opportunities you get, see them as stepping stones, learn as much as you possibly can, and you might surprise yourself as to what you enjoy and what you’re good at.
I’d also say don’t underestimate the importance of the jobs you’ve had when you’re young - restaurant work, summer camps, all that sort of stuff shapes you and is where you learn how to work hard. Companies know that just coming out of school, college or university you’re not going to have any relevant experience, so don’t try and pretend – if you can show you’ve worked hard, been given responsibility by someone in some capacity, then that’s a great start. What you lack in experience you can make up for in attitude!
Zoe: I like your response and I agree attitude is everything. What has been your career highlight?
Frances: So far, I would say two: my first would be my promotion to a leadership role in my previous company, and my second would be getting this role within Veritas. If you ask me again in a year or two, I’m sure there’ll be more!
Zoe: So, you’ve recently joined Veritas, why did you choose to join us?
Frances: I was already familiar with Veritas as I had worked with the EMEA team in a contractor capacity, and I always liked the brand and the products. Then, the opportunity came up for me to come in and build a new team which was just exciting, it’s not the sort of opportunity that comes along too often, to start a new team from scratch and have this blank slate to work on. There’s so much opportunity here. I knew from the get-go that Ross Walker (my boss) was happy for me to come in and build that how I felt best – so to be given that freedom and control to be trusted to do it your way, with support and input from a fantastic team, that’s a great thing. There’s a lot of change going on here with Ross leading that and that’s exciting to be a part of and to see where we’ll get to.
Zoe: What do you enjoy most about your role at Veritas?
Frances: The actual day-to-day role is what I love to do, spending time coaching and training with my team and supporting them in any way I can. I’m also surrounded by great people with a lot of industry experience and who are happy to share their knowledge. There’s a fantastic Sales Leadership team around me who I’m learning a lot from all the time, every day. It’s exciting for me to think where that may take me in the future.
Zoe: Who has influenced you most in your career?
Frances: I was lucky enough to have an amazing mentor very early on in my career at my first IT sales job. I think the best leaders are the ones who see leadership potential in others when they don’t necessarily see it themselves. He spotted that and helped me nurture that and I’m very grateful that he did because I was young, I lacked confidence, I had no experience. I learned a ridiculous amount from him about business and leadership. I try and keep that in mind, all the time, helping people as much as I can and sharing my knowledge, taking a chance on people, giving people the support, trust, and confidence to do great things and chances are they will. I always have in mind “pay it forward".
Zoe: What motivates you?
Frances: For me, it’s helping people succeed in their role and beyond. If I can have some positive impact on people’s lives – professional development, helping them find their confidence, do something they thought they couldn’t do then that gives me great satisfaction.
From a personal point of view, I’m super competitive, so if you give me any sort of goal to reach -that motivates me, I like a challenge.
Zoe: How do you define success?
Frances: Well of course, in my role, success is ultimately defined by the numbers we deliver. But, more personally, success for me is about learning new things, taking on challenges (and failing), pushing through your comfort zone. If we don’t hit our quarterly target, but we tried new things, we learned from our mistakes, we worked hard, we refined the process, and of course, had fun doing it, then that’s a success for me.
Zoe: Why should people choose to work at Veritas?
Frances: It’s an exciting time to join Veritas and you can feel that. There’s a lot of change going on which is great. There are plenty of opportunities to progress and grow within the company so that’s a very compelling reason, and you won’t be left unsupported – there are so many talented and experienced people who are there to offer their expertise. We’re also market leaders and have great products so that provides people with confidence in the brand.
Zoe: What’s the Dublin Office like?
Frances: It’s great! I think right now there’s a palpable energy of a new and exciting time for everyone. People ultimately want to be part of something successful and be able to take pride in that, and if you have that then that creates a perfect atmosphere to work in.
Zoe: Finally, describe Veritas in one word?
Frances: Opportunity!
So, that concludes my interview with Frances McVey, if you enjoyed this insightful and honest blog, then do stay tuned as there will be more interview style posts from other women who work at Veritas posted shortly. And if this has inspired you to join our growing diverse team, then check out our latest sales and marketing roles and apply here. There are plenty of opportunities at Veritas! So, why not join our successful team today?
Finally, watch out for more #LifeAtVeritas blogs and podcasts coming soon!
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