Staff Spotlight
James
Sales & Marketing Director
James has been at Saville Assessment since 2010 and uses his wealth of knowledge and experience to shape the Marketing & Sales direction of the business.
- Tell us a bit about your background prior to Saville Assessment, where did you study, what was your first role after graduating?
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I studied Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Fellow alumni include Michelle Yeoh who just won the Best Actress Oscar – she didn’t study Marketing, but still pretty cool.
After graduating I had a temp job supporting a sales team for a media company in an office back home in the Midlands. Their head office was in London and I met some of the Directors at the Christmas party who suggested I interviewed for a Marketing Assistant role. I had never really been to London and didn’t know anyone down there but figured if I didn’t like it I would just go home… but 16 years later…still here!
- What attracted you most to the role at Saville?
- In all honesty, the role at Saville was suggested to me by a recruiter. I hadn’t heard of the company and didn’t know anything about psychometrics but out of obligation to the recruiter, who was quite enthusiastic for it, I applied with low to no expectations, thinking if I don’t get it then it doesn’t really matter… but 13 years later….still here!
- Tell us a bit about what your role entails, what do you enjoy most about it?
- In a nutshell, I am responsible for the sales and marketing activity at Saville and driving our global growth strategy. My favourite thing about the role is the breadth and variety – working with the team here, our international partners and collaborating with all parts of the business to elevate what we are doing. At the heart of it is making sure that what we do is matched by excellent client service and I love seeing that passion for client focus in everyone I work with.
- Tell us about your journey within Saville Assessment
- I joined Saville, as marketing incumbent no.1, as a Marketing Exec. Since then I have been fortunate enough to work with great people in a growing company which has allowed me to progress to being Sales & Marketing Director.
- What does an average week look like for you? Do you tend to work from home, or from the office?
- I think one of my favourite things about my role is there isn’t really an average week; no two weeks look the same and I’m sure that is what has helped keep it fresh and interesting over the past 13 years. I am lucky I live within walking distance to the office so I tend to be office-based most days. Whilst I could do my job from home, I know how much I benefited from learning and observing the people around me at work so I want to make sure I am personally giving my peers that opportunity and experience too.
- What do you enjoy most about the culture at Saville Assessment?
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At the heart of our culture is our amazing people. You can’t be somewhere for this long without great colleagues around you and the people are definitely one of, if not the best, things about Saville Assessment. I like to think our tools for identifying the right people have a little something to do with that too.
Outside of the people, I would say it’s the culture of opportunity. If you want something and you do the work, anything is possible and I find that really rewarding and motivating. It is definitely a culture where you get out what you put in.
- Do you have any advice for someone starting out in the industry?
- As someone who was completely new to his industry, my advice would be don’t limit yourself to any industry or have pre-conceived ideas. Be open to new opportunities, be curious to learning about them and who knows what will happen. That’s certainly been my experience.
- What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?
- Most people at work will be able to attest to how much I love a holiday! I love to travel and don’t discriminate between sightseeing cities, relaxing on beaches or skiing down mountains. If it is a new place to explore with great mates then I am in my element.
- Who would you choose to play you in a film of your life?
- Ha! That’s a tough one to answer. To avoid any controversy, lets go with an unknown actor just waiting for his big break and hopefully playing me can be it!
- And finally, tell us a fun fact about yourself
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1.) I was sportsman of the year at school
2.) I still hold the school record for the 200m
3.) I met Roger Black at a school athletics tournament
Two are true, one is a lie – that’s for you to figure out…
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