I started working for Dixons Carphone 19 years ago, as a Christmas temp at PC World - as it was known back then. From those humble beginnings, my passion for B2B as well as the drive and commitment to push myself forward, helped me climb up the career ladder.

Temp to career take-off

There are two key reasons I initially started working for PC World and Dixons Carphone’s other brands. Firstly, I discovered I had a passion and talent for Sales. The second reason was the flexibility that they offered.

Throughout college and university, Dixons Carphone allowed me to transfer across multiple stores enabling me to continue earning whilst I was learning. Between my time at college, I went from temporary staff to a permanent role, but it was only after university and going full-time, that my career really took off. At no point during the early days did I envisage that I’d make the climb to become Head of B2B Strategic Partnerships.

The first proper step in my career came with my first role in management - when I was 21. One of the big benefits of working for a company the size of Dixons Carphone, is their willingness to invest in their staff. Whilst training for the management role, I was put into ‘Step into Management’, which was a series of workshops teaching me all the basic skills I’d need - like support and self-awareness training. The training really gave me the foundations to push on and achieve more in my career.

Uncovering my passion

During my time as Assistant Manager, I contributed to the success of one of the flagship stores in the Northeast including winning awards, but more importantly, I discovered my true talents lay firmly in B2B. That's where my career changed dramatically.

I absolutely loved working with business customers as the transactions turned into relationships. After my successes as a Business Sales Manager, I became Regional Business Sales Manager for the North East, Scotland & Ireland. That went incredibly well for me and despite the recession and I managed to help my region increase business by around 60%.

Onto the B2B years

Over the next two years I continued on as a Store Manager and then a General Manager, but during that time I really missed B2B. As the business recovered from the recession, I again looked to the B2B market and was offered a new role as a Channel Development Manager to help develop a companywide strategy. From there I helped introduce B2B to different parts of the business, implementing more training and workshops to ensure our staff were at the top of their game. The five years I spent in the role was really interesting and helped open up the business to the huge B2B market whilst teaching me a lot of new skills.

In my next step up on the career ladder, I was tasked with taking over the Corporate Team. I set about splitting the team into three sub-teams; Channel Sales, Corporate Sales and Strategic Partnerships, helping them to strategically support different parts of the business. In the space of a year, I managed to increase revenue from £5M to £25M with the same team, but with a much clearer focus on what we needed to do. From this major success, I was moved up to where I am today; creating bespoke partnerships with big UK businesses. My career to date has been a bit of a rollercoaster, but with the support and training of Dixons Carphone and a real desire to succeed and achieve, I’ve made huge progress both personally and for the business.

Recipe for Success

I’d have to say it’s my colleagues who’ve helped make me who I am today. I can certainly say that these last 19 years would have been much more difficult without the guidance of the four key managers I’ve had in my time here. Without their support and honesty, I probably wouldn’t have made it as far as I have today.

My team here have also played a significant role, from helping me realise my strategies and plans for improving business, to just being fantastic at what they do. Whilst the financial side of what I’ve done is great, watching my team learn and grow definitely dwarfs anything else I’ve achieved.

My last insight into achieving career success is having tenacity, being able to get your head down and do whatever it is you’ve set out to do. If you have that tenacity and drive to succeed, Dixons Carphone is the perfect environment for you. I started as a 17-year old Christmas temp and have ended up as Head of B2B, which illustrates why Dixons Carphone is a business like no other. If you want to do it, you can, because we have every single role you can imagine out there.

Do you have a strong drive and ambition to succeed? Take a look at our B2B roles at Dixons Carphone and apply now.