Building a Life and Career: How Melissa Masters Work-Life Balance at Dell Technologies

 Melissa Branley | Account Executive | Sydney, Australia

Originally Published: August 29th, 2023

With over 20 years working at Dell Technologies Australia, I often get asked how it is possible to stay in one company for so long, and the answer is that nothing stays the same at Dell for too long. My life at Dell for the past 22 years has seen me have four different roles as well as co-lead our Women in Action Employee Resource Group (ERG), have two children and two maternity leave periods, have a wedding, study my MBA part time, take long service leave, travel to the US, London, India, Japan, Malaysia, and more. It really is the perfect work-life balance! I started in 2001 as an Inside Sales Account Manager before moving into a Sales Manager role, where I managed a team of account managers. Then I had a career shift into marketing before moving into a Field Sales Account Executive role, where I am today. I did all of this while having supportive and caring leaders who wanted to help me develop my career, push me to be my best, and support me with the work-life balance I needed for each stage of my life.

With a young family, I need a company that allows me to balance my personal commitments with my work. As an Account Executive in a remote role that's on the road visiting customers, I can balance my work and still meet any family commitments. Recently, my eldest daughter made the regional cross-country carnival for school, so taking an hour or two out of my morning to be able to see her race was so valuable for me; it wasn't something I had to worry about or even get permission for. If I have to drop my girls off at soccer training during work hours, I know I can work from the parking lot at the field or make that time up once the kids are in bed. You get out what you put in here at Dell, so it's left up to me to balance managing my work, customers, and sales targets with my responsibilities as a parent of young kids. I also make sure I fit in some me time by playing netball and coaching my youngest daughters’ netball team.

I have made lifelong friends at Dell and can confidently say the people are my favorite thing about the company. We support each other, celebrate our wins together, and work hard when we need to get the job done. We also enjoy the downtime and celebrations when we get together socially.

To learn more about life at Dell, please visit our stories.