Navigating Careers: Cassandra's Journey to Dell Technologies

Cassandra C. | Account Executive, Direct Sales | Singapore

Originally Published: January 6, 2023

My Career Path before Dell Technologies

I started my career as a secretary, before eventually moving into Sales Support. Here, I coordinated sales activities and communications with product principal offices in Australia, Japan, South Africa, Europe and the United States. Over time as my involvement with customers intensified and my skills became stronger, I started being trained to cover direct customer sales in Singapore on a locally and international level.

From there, I moved onto many different roles within this company. This even including fire-fighting consumable deals and packaging automation projects for manufacturing plants. During those days, it was rare for a woman to be in this line of work. I typically had to work with consultants, plant managers, engineers, and supervisors, which were predominantly males.

Switching Careers

After a good 14 years, I decided to leave the trading and packaging scene. Instead of leveraging my industrial knowledge and experience, I decided to switch course to intangible services. I eventually landed myself in Singapore’s MICE industry where I focused on oversea exhibitions. I was responsible for handling Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, India and China. I had the opportunity to work both directly with exhibitors and indirectly through an agent network to deliver growth. It was an exciting journey, and I had a great time selling at some of the world’s largest competitor shows in France and Germany.

However, over time the intense traveling and repetitive shows finally wore me out. I decided to move on and somehow landed an opportunity of becoming a business owner. I began working with a German principal on sowing seeds and placing vision inspection systems in different countries. Like any other advanced machines, the inspection systems were evolving rapidly. 

My journey to Dell Technologies At this point in my life, I was very interested in how technology can improve production, create efficient methods, and drive human progress. I eventually decided to exit the business. In the interim, I enrolled with Workforce Singapore and had the opportunity to attend a variety of their workshops and trainings right before the pandemic started. During the pandemic, a family member suggested that I should consider applying to a role at Dell Technologies under the SG United Mid-Career Pathways Program.  This was a training program that gave individuals who may not have the industry knowledge or experience an opportunity to learn and grow with Dell.  This 9-month program had no salary, but they did have an allowance. At that time, I thought, “I'm getting paid to learn, why not.” So, I went through the application and was accepted with an opportunity to work on the South Asia Channel Team. I have loved every moment from the interview process, to actually working at Dell. The respect and support given by team members really showcases Dell's values on diversity and inclusion. They’re not just all talk and actually back up what they say. At the end of the program, I knew that I wanted to stay in technology and that Dell Technologies will have its doors open when I’m ready.

Eventually, I returned as a Medium Business Account Executive in Singapore. This is a new beginning, and new opportunities to network with more colleagues and leaders. I’m excited to learn more at Dell and to reach new heights. My work has been meaningful with the unreserved support of my team members and their collaboration, I know without a doubt that I can be successful in every aspect. I love the connections that I’ve made, the new leader who never fails to inspire me in my current role, all while still having that mentorship guidance from my previous leader.

If you ask me why I did what I did, my answer is, “One cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore." It was a leap of faith at one point, but I did not leap blindly. I knew my eyes and ears were open and I had determination in my heart. I kept faith in mind and landing exactly where I needed to be. I’m very proud of my choices and glad I have the opportunity to excel with Dell Technologies.

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