Welcome to our Coffee Chat series, a place where we sit down with a delicious cup of coffee and get to know one of our ThousandEyes team members. Today, I’m joined by Zhanna Amirova, a sales specialist based in Germany. Grab a fresh brew for yourself and watch our coffee chat or read along below as we dive into what a day in her life is like, why she loves being in international sales and what her advice is for you on finding the right job.
What was your university experience like?
My university experience started in Russia, where I grew up. I’ve always had a passion for languages, and so I studied international communication and completed my degree in Germany at the international business faculty. During my studies, I worked at a German company and had some insight into international sales. International business and languages have always excited me, so I knew that I wanted to go into international sales.
What led you to ThousandEyes?
My curiosity! I worked for Cisco at AppDynamics for three years, and many of my customers frequently asked me “What is beyond application intelligence?” I always wanted to be able to answer this question, so when a recruiter reached out to me and I looked into ThousandEyes, I got really interested and it caught my attention. This was the end-to-end visibility that I was searching for in my previous role.
What excites you about coming to work everyday?
You have to love what you do, and I am at the point of my life where I know that I’m exactly where I want to be. I wanted to be in international sales, and everyday I enjoy having international meetings and projects. I know that this is the best solution every customer could get, and so I go to every meeting with that attitude. I love what I do and enjoy everyday—it gets me out of bed every morning.
What is a moment at ThousandEyes that you have found to be personally satisfying?
There is one moment that every sales specialist looks forward to during the project: When setting the project to a close in Salesforce and fireworks explode on the screen. That’s my favorite part—it’s amazing, and I love that!
What does a day in Sales look like for you?
I prefer to get up early, around 5 AM, which is usually three to four hours before my first meeting. I enjoy having the morning to myself to meditate, stretch or drink a cup of coffee on my balcony. I like to go through a mental checklist for my meetings to prepare and ensure that I am ready.
My work day begins around 7:30 AM or 8 AM, where I go through my emails and agendas. I usually have several presentations and meetings with prospects, and so I make time to ensure my notes are updated and I’m prepared for any questions customers might have.
I spend my day presenting to customers, creating presentations, having follow-up internal meetings and discussing next steps. I work with sales engineers and our customer success team, as well, at various points during the day.
I really love what I do, and part of what I enjoy the most is (during non-COVID times) traveling around Europe and meeting people in person. Meeting with people face-to-face just energizes me, and meetings feel higher quality. At the end of the day, the customer needs to trust the person they are working with, so it is important for me to get to know them. I normally travel a lot, and I love that — I cannot wait to get out there again!
We’re hiring in Europe, do you have any advice for our new teammates?
Absolutely: being open. That’s because the world offers you so many opportunities. Always staying open and being curious about where your life brings you, what projects are out there, continuing to learn a lot and staying focused on knowing exactly what you love and what brings you joy. If your job doesn't bring you joy, then it's not the right job for you. It can be a tough job because there are times where you have to be flexible and work early or late hours, but being excited about your job every day is what brings you further in your career.
Come join our award-winning workplace!
Getting to know first hand what it is like to work here reminds us why ThousandEyes is continuously recognized as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work. The analysts look at more than 60 elements of ThousandEyes team members' experience on the job, and here are some stand-out stats:
- 99 percent of employees agreed "our customers would rate the service we deliver as 'excellent.'"
- 99 percent are appreciative that "people celebrate special events around here."
- 98 percent said "management is honest and ethical in its business practices.'"
- 98 percent believe "people care about each other here."
- 98 percent felt "when people change jobs or work units, they are made to feel right at home."
Read more about this award at http://reviews.greatplacetowork.com/thousandeyes. If you love to solve complex problems daily and be a part of our incredible team, check out our Sales Careers page to see open opportunities.