Staff Spotlight
Richard
Marketing Manager
As Marketing Manager, Richard heads up our training and product marketing activity, working closely with the design and consultancy teams to create new promotional materials and organize industry events.
- 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 went to University a bit later at the age of 22 to study Journalism & Creative Writing at Roehampton in South-West London. The course was a good mix of the serious - the theory and best-practice procedures behind newspaper reporting - and the creative, such as poetry, short-story writing and songwriting modules.
I then went on to do a Masters in Magazine Journalism at Kingston University. This was a really hands-on course that involved making the monthly student magazine, as well as placements at the Guardian and Champions League football magazine. It also included useful modules in Photoshop, writing and laying out webpages as well as designing magazine covers etc.
My first role after graduating was as a copywriter for a property insurance company in West London, the position sat within the marketing department. Marketing was not really an area I knew much about or had considered as a career path, but I found it was a good match for my skills and the role gave me a good grounding in all areas of it, plus an understanding of concepts such as SEO (search engine optimization) and basic coding skills.
- What attracted you most to the role at Saville?
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In my previous role, I was fast-tracked to Marketing Manager after a couple of years. The current incumbent left and they wanted to appoint internally rather than externally. However, the stress and hours became too much for me at a relatively young age and I found that I was no longer finding time to do the aspects of the job that I really enjoyed – writing articles, working on the website, and closely with the design team. I decided to take a backwards step and apply for Marketing Executive jobs elsewhere.
To be honest, I knew very little about psychometrics, or the world of assessment, when I saw the advert for Saville Assessment, but I liked the feel of the company and the people I met at interview; the role seemed like a perfect opportunity to get back to enjoying what I enjoyed doing and it was absolutely the correct decision to make!
- Tell us a bit about what your role entails, what do you enjoy most about it?
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I am currently Marketing Manager, heading up our product and training marketing, liaising with the consultancy team to ensure they have everything they need to pitch and promote our products, ensuring our website is regularly updated, overseeing advertising campaigns, and working with our design team to create new promotional materials etc.
I really enjoy getting stuck into marketing new products, working with different people across the business and researching and writing articles.
I am also part of the fundraising team, which puts on regular activities and initiatives to raise money for some great causes, which is fun and rewarding.
- Tell us about your journey within Saville Assessment
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I have been here nearly six years now. I started off as a Marketing Executive, mainly looking after our SEO, web presence and Google Ads (all areas I’m still in charge of today), but the role has evolved over the years to helping to organize events, exhibitions, creating mailers and web pages, writing articles and helping with our social media activity.
I progressed to Marketing Manager in early 2023 after an internal shuffle and am glad to have been recognized as having the experience and potential to be able to step up and do it.
- What does an average week look like for you? Do you tend to work from home, or from the office?
- I work from home most days but do try and come into the office at least once or twice a week as I enjoy seeing colleagues and collaborating on projects face-to-face as well as virtually.
- What do you enjoy most about the culture at Saville Assessment?
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The people - it really is a great team that respect and support each other.
I like the flexibility to be able to work from home or the office on any given day. I also enjoy the regular socials - spontaneous post-work trips to the pub, as well as organized company-funded activities such as bowling, picnics, summer parties, cricket at The Oval etc.
- Do you have any advice for someone starting out in the industry?
- I would say it’s important to be patient - it took me quite a while to get my first role after graduating and I almost went down a different route of working as a mortgage advisor, but I’m really glad I didn’t. When you do get a foot in the door, work hard and really make the most of the opportunities you are given.
- What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?
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I love music - I play guitar in a band and love going to concerts and festivals with friends. I also enjoy watching and playing football, and follow my hometown team Colchester United (currently languishing 21st in League 2!)
I’m also an aspiring writer and had my first novel ‘Fragments of Youth’ published last year, it’s available now from Amazon etc (a less-than-subtle plug there! 😊).
- Who would you choose to play you in a film of your life?
- Probably somebody British and not overly-glamorous, such as Martin Freeman or Simon Pegg.
- And finally, tell us a fun fact about yourself
- I once won a competition to have brunch with Terry Venables, he was genuinely lovely and it was amazing to hear all about Euro 96 from the man himself.
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