Sania Samad

"Sania is a Sales Operations Analyst, making use of data to support sales teams to meet their sales targets.Sania is logical, curious and resourceful, good skills for her role as she needs to dig into the smallest details to see where teams are struggling and then to look at the whole picture to see how that team can improve. This role fits well with her ‘Investigator’ type and she is certainly the ‘Communicator’ as she helps teams to understand her findings and make use of the solutions she offers.She fits the ‘Manager’ type working with several teams and helping them to pull together on projects, organising their time so they can be effective. "

"Sania works for a company that produces innovative software solutions to help businesses and organisations to function and develop.Sania’s job is to analyse the company’s sales pipeline, gathering data and information to see if the company will meet its sales targets and if there are any areas for concern. She looks for solutions to problems and opportunities to improve sales, as well as creating reports to help improve efficiency of the sales managers and teams.She works with all the different departments in her company – Marketing, Finance and Human Resources – gathering and using data from them as well as responding to queries. She says she works with an incredible team, they support her with her work and help to send new opportunities her way, and are always up for a laugh which is important too! She checks data, writes reports and timetables and even has the opportunity to get away from her desk to play table tennis, table football or air hockey in the office in the afternoon!"

"Sania was never good at taking exams, and decided university was not for her – also she did not want all that debt and no job on completion. She was not really sure what she wanted to study. She ‘stumbled’ across apprenticeships, after hearing an apprentice from GlaxoSmithKline do a talk. She decided this was a perfect route for her.After doing A-Levels in Business, IT and Economics at college, Sania took an apprenticeship with Microsoft for a year and was then promoted and did an extra year and a half. Her starting salary as an apprentice was £14,000 per year. She completed her IT apprenticeship and also qualified as a Microsoft Excel specialist.Sania then wanted to experience different roles and she applied for several roles before getting her present position."

"Sania says she is a bit of a ‘tomboy’, she likes to play football or video games with her brother. Of course, she likes shopping and going out with her friends too.When she was an apprentice, Sania was chosen as one of six apprentices to speak to Phillip Hammond (Chancellor of the Exchequer) about young careers and women in tech. It was an incredible opportunity that she will remember for the rest of her life! She has also travelled to Seattle for work, to attend a Microsoft Business Applications Summit.Sania says there are lots of opportunities for progression, and she meets regularly with her manager to discuss this. She is hoping to have progressed to team manager by the time she is 25."