Alumni: Alex Lorck

A new addition to the blog this year is the alumni network. I have, and will continue to, interview several professionals who graduated from La Salle. Here on the blog you can read summaries from the interviews, and gain inspiration to where the degree obtained at La Salle can take you. 

  Another previous student I have interviewed, is my big brother. His name is Alex, and he graduated from La Salle in 2011. After graduating, he got hired in a graduate program by the multinational technology company Tech Data. After finishing the graduate program, Tech Data hired him in the sales department. He  has steadily received increasing responsibilities, and is now working as a key account manager. When Alex started the graduate program, he did not like that he would have to work in the sales department for a period of time. However, he found that developing the skills that he was worst at and most uncomfortable with, helped him develop into a sales person. This has also affected his private life, in a positive way, more than he could ever have imagined. The first thing Alex does when he gets to work in the morning, after the obligatory morning coffee and cigarette, is view the financials from the last working day. Then he examines if there are any issues, such as obsolete products, long lead times or pricing errors. If he detects errors, he has to take necessary corrective actions. When this is done, he starts the follow-up work,  where he carries out dialogues with customers, as well as schedule meetings. If he has time, he will also walk around the office to talk with the product specialists and educate himself on new products and services, as this is a chance for him to find new opportunities. Throughout the day, Alex also spends a lot of time communicating with clients, both by exchanging emails and on the phone. The days Alex has meetings, he first of all makes sure he gets to the meeting on time with clear objectives set. After the meeting, he is responsible for documenting the minutes and coming up with an action plan for the future. Then he has to make sure this gets sent to all the attendees. He also has to subsequently follow up on the action plans. Alex believes that the knowledge he gained from La Salle is particularly important for leadership positions, but that it also is useful in dialogues with leaders, colleagues, influencers and customers. It allows one to show that they have been trained and that they are knowledgable,which again makes it easier to be taken seriously. When I asked Alex if he had any advice for students at La Salle, he told me that we should not expect to get our dream job immediately upon graduation. It is extremely demotivating to apply for jobs, but those who wait for something good and are willing to work to make good things happen, can expect good things in the future.

If you want to know more about Alex, you can check out his LinkedIn profile: 

no.linkedin.com/pub/alexander-lorck/21/46a/140