Business Development Agent Review

I enjoyed my job to full extent. The people at Astute Ltd. and the environment that you work in is absolutely perfect for a placement student. The amount of learning available in this role is something you will understand only if you work here.

Every company has good and bad people, but fortunate for me I was valued enough to be able to stay in Astute Ltd. longer than I expected. The colleagues and managers are all very helpful and tend of work as a team. We also socialize togather, and there's nothing like a friday night-out with all the colleagues.

I doubt there is another company out there that provides such good training. There are a few training modules that are mandatory, and then there are other training modules that are optional. Being an IT student, I went through all the training modules and feel that this is going to be of great help to those who are not from an IT background. A few example of training courses / modules include Network & Database Training, Telemarketing Steps and there are a few that are more technical such the Cisco Sales Professional. End of the day, it is totally down to an individual, if they want to learn there are measures available for you.

On daily basis, one has to hit target. Having an IT background, I was very comfortable in getting my daily target early in the day. I would believe if one is not from an IT background and are from Marketing or from Business oriented degree, they are more likely to get their daily target. I get a break of 15 minute, then an hour for lunch and then another 15 minutes break which is perfect for a quick smoke out in the fresh air and to freshen up.

I started my placement as a Business Development Agent, and in 6 months in my placement, I took management responsibilities. I used to do admin work for my manager to get hands on experience of management. Along side that, I also got involved with the IT Department and carried out various projects with the IT Administrator. I was able to put the skills I had into practice at Astute Ltd in the IT Department and polished them to great extent.

I think telemarketing is an art - if one learns this art, he is sorted for life. It is basically an art to deliver your message across to the other person in shortest yet most effective way possible. A good telemarketter is always successfull in communication, and hence will know what to say and when to say. I also developed specialist skills in the IT Department - specially in network infrastructure. I had the chance to carry out a few projects in Astute Ltd. which I belive will help me to great extent in future. I believe in an environment as professional as Astute Ltd. one can progress very fast and learn alot more than just telemarketting. Its all about how much you want to - believe you can in Astute.

In any office environment, you are expected to behave professionally. Astute has a very target oriented, fast and buzzy environment. You will always see people arround you busy in something or the other. It is good to have such an environment because in a telemarketing company, you need this buzz arround you that keeps you motivated all the time. The managers and team leaders in the company are very helpful and always make sure that you are doing all the right things to get you on target. The performance is always kept a good track of, which tells you exactly where you stand and what you need to do.

I can not say for anyone else, but for me - this was a perfect placement. I always wanted to polish my communication skills and wanted to persue an IT based career. I got the best of both worlds. My weekly and monthly log sheet shows that there has not been anytime during my placement that I did not learn something new or was wasting my time. At times, it was all about money - other times it was about learning new things. All in all...I think it was very well planned year.

There are about 8-10 modules that are mandatory for every person that joins Astute. Apart from these trainig sessions, there are others that are availble upon request. I am happy to say that there is not a single module that I did not do. In total, I believe it would cost me a fortune if I go to a specialist training company and do all these modules with them. The amount of time and money that was invested on me - I would like to thank Astute for this.

I think that Astute has a lot of potential. We have a very strong customer base, and the placement students after they finish their placement can also get placed into the customer base (including companies like Azzuri, BT, Avaya, Nortel etc.) I started as a Business Development Agent and have progressed to IT Administrator and a Team Leader. I think if one is willing to put time and effort, there is no way you will not progress.

I have never socialized in this country to this extent. The colleagues are absolutely spot on, places arround in Bournemouth are great - including The Opera House, where people like Dj Tiesto and Armin Van Buuren come. We have various events like Treasure Hunt, Astute Christmas Party, Quiz Night etc which are all great fun to be a part of.

Cost of living in Bournemouth is wayyyyyy cheaper than that of cities like London and Oxford where you would expect to have most of the placement opportunities. Bournemouth is situated on the South West coast of England with a beautiful sandy beach. The beach is about 10 minutes walk from Astute, and you can see the Sea from any window of the building (7th Floor). I live in a studio flat for which I pay roughly arround 350 Pounds including all bits etc. The town centre is about 10 minutes walk from Astute as well so what ever you need - its a maximum of 10 minutes away.

Every night is a differnt night - people in Bournemouth are party crazy. I am not really a party animal myself but I do see there is always something going on - stag do - henn nights etc...it is crazy out here...!!!

I go gym on daily basis - 7 days a week for at least 2 hours and up to 3 hours. This is something that I have been donig for past 6 years and I don't think I will ever stop going to gym. I like to keep m yself fit. Summers are great as the beach gets full packed with people (birds for those who are more of studds). Honestly - there is so much to do out here, you just need to choose what you want to do.