JP Venman
- Sales Development Representative
- memoryBlue
School Information
School: Michigan State University
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2018-2019
Career Information
Working For: memoryBlue
Title: Sales Development Representative
Industry: Technology
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
I start the sales cycle for tech companies through prospecting and cold calling, making introductions between prospects and my senior sales reps.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Living in a foreign country for almost two years and navigating the turbulences and challenges that arise daily from living in a foreign language and foreign culture.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
It gave me the confidence to handle stress, take on challenges, and put myself into uncomfortable situations and come out the other side more resilient and better off.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
It grew my belief in my work ethic and furthered my confidence to handle situations that I initially wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
Frederique and Laurent (2018) – a charming French couple whose house was my first project. The finished product on their house gave me the confidence to tackle the rest of my district manager summer.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Things tend to not go well – so.. figure them out!
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
I still rely on a good friend from College Works Painting for helpful and in-depth conversations regarding work and life. I also connected with a former College Works Painting alumni that I didn’t previously know when I moved to a new state.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Where a college student can become more than just a GPA.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Potential College Works Painting participants – It’s not about painting. It’s about the soft skills, grit, and character you can develop if you work hard and truly want to test yourself. Current College Works Painting participants – When you’re lost in the trees and not sure why you’re doing this, step back and take a look at the whole forest to remember why you did this in the first place.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
“I look at College Works Painting as developing many skills that will make you a better person in whatever field you choose to go in – such as: hearing no, work ethic, feeling uncomfortable, asking for people’s trust and money to perform a service, following through on promises, setting expectations appropriately, etc. To enter my current career field – tech sales – you hear no a lot, and it can be rough. Get used to it early.”
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Learn to hear no and take it in stride.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Cancun.
Last words of wisdom?
Always go back to why you started and why you’re doing it. It’s a temporary grind for lasting confidence and skillsets that can shape the many years that lie ahead of you.