Interview with Corvil’s VP of International Sales, Elaine Giblin.
You graduated from UCD with a degree in Electronic Engineering Did you always know that working in technology was what you wanted to do?
No, not at all. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I was in school. I was very good at Math and Science in school. I met with my career guidance teacher and she suggested Engineering might be worth considering. When it came to filling out my CAO form, I put both down Engineering and Medicine and I got enough points to do either. I'm quite empathetic and thought I might struggle as a doctor watching people’s suffering, so I went into Engineering. I liked some aspects of it but not all. I struggled for a few years, but I just put my head down, studied and came out with a 2:1.
What was your first job after you graduated?
After I graduated, I started applying for Technical Engineering jobs. I had a friend in HR in Tellabs in Shannon and she convinced me to interview for an Engineering role they had open. Shortly after they offered a job, and I started as a System Test Development Engineer. It was a big change from college…………..You think you know everything because you have just graduated, but you realise very quickly you don’t!! However, I was lucky and ended up with a good bunch of guys who took me under their wings and taught me a lot.
What made you move from an Engineering role into Sales?
I soon realised I was more outgoing than a lot of the Engineers. I was an extrovert. I ended up communicating with different parts of the organisation on behalf of the team. Even though I was the most junior on the team, I was the most vocal. I ended up taking on the role as the spokesperson for the team. I would interact an awful lot with the Marketing, Sales and Customer Service teams. I remember we were launching a new product at the time., That was where I really got out into the field and it was then I realised I was not an Engineer. I was much more interested in the customer facing side of things and Sales was what I wanted to do.
You joined Corvil in 2004., Can you talk me through your career progression?
I was living in New York at the time working as a Technical Sales Engineer for BT. A friend of mine knew the guy heading up Sales for Corvil in the New York office. He asked me if I would be interested in a Sales Engineering management role. At that stage I had been in New York 4- 5 years and wanted to return to Ireland so I told him I was not interested. He then asked if I would be able to assist him with the interviews to access candidates’ technical skills. I agreed to help him with the interview process. That is when I met Raymond Russell (Co-Founder) and Donal O’Sullivan (VP of Product Management). We all ended up getting on very well and they assured me that if I took the job I could return back to Dublin whenever I wanted - and the rest is history! I accepted the role as Sales Engineering manager in the New York office and built up the team from there. I hired a lot of great Sales Engineers, but as the product was quite technical, I ended up doing a lot of the Sales myself. I ended up moving from that role straight into a Sales Director role. I was a Sales Director in Corvil for roughly 3 years when the opportunity came up to work as a Sales Director in Corvil’ s newly opened London office. I wanted to be closer to home so took up that role. It was a big challenge as I had to learn all about the European market which was different to the Americas. I was in that role for another 3 years before being promoted into a Team Lead role as VP of Sales. It was daunting at the time as I had no previous experience in coaching and mentoring other people., I now have a team of 17. Accepting a leadership role took me out of my comfort zone but I have never looked back. It is a very fulfilling role.
What are some of the biggest challenges that women who want to venture into the world of Technology face today?
One of the biggest challenges I feel that women who pursue careers in Tech face, is that there are few women currently in the field. I went to an all-girls school and then flipped over into an almost all-boys engineering class in UCD. I feel I have been working with men since! Tech is a predominately male industry. People always ask me, “Is it sexist?” and I have to say I have never experienced that. I am not sure if it was because at that time Tech was so new that the people that got into it were forward thinkers. They want to learn, they want to grow, they want to go places - maybe that made them more liberal. I have never faced any kind of sexism throughout my career or felt like I missed out on opportunities because I was a woman. At the end of the day, if you work hard, you will do well. I have learned that there are no shortcuts. If there is a hard and easy road to take, always choose the hard way., You are missing the journey if you take the easy way and the journey is actually what you get out of it, not the destination.
Who do you think should consider a career in the Tech industry?
If you are curious, energetic, open to change, someone who devours learning, a risk taker, then I would recommend you choose Tech You will love it! Tech is fast paced., It is always changing so you will have to be eager to learn to keep up. No two days are the same., It is changing all the time so you need to be able to consume information at a fast pace. The one piece of advice I would give students today trying to figure out what to do in college is pick something you are genuinely interested in, something that gives you a kick because that is what will give you the edge. It is easier to study and learn something you are passionate about.