Commercial Enablement Intern

My experience

I joined Softcat in July 2024 for a placement year as an AWS intern working with the AWS Alliances team. This role involved supporting with AWS activity such as enablement/ focus days and collaboration with AWS and partner marketing. Half way through my placement year there was a big company-wide restructure across the Commercial/ Alliances department, which meant I moved into a new role as a Commercial Enablement intern. This transition was a bit scary at first as it meant working with a completely new team, having a new manager and learning a new role. However, I soon realised how much of an amazing opportunity it would be to work with more people across the business and learn even more. It didn't take long at all to settle into it and get to grips with what the Commercial Enablement team did and why it was created- as it was a completely new team too. This role included supporting with the implementation of the new Vendor Framework, planning sales incentives, centralising/ tracking vendor activity in all Softcat offices and focusing on making sales training more targeted and effective.

I really enjoyed my time at Softcat in both roles and met so many lovely and supportive people. So, as it was coming up to the end of my placement year I proposed the idea to my manager of working part-time and continuing in my role throughout my final year at University. Softcat really got behind it and made this possible and I am delighted to be in this part-time role whilst I finish University and then be able to transfer back to full time when I graduate!

Highlight

One of the biggest highlights from my time at Softcat so far has been the opportunity to meet so many genuinely lovely and inspiring people through the wide range of events the company hosts. From the company-wide Kickoff, to Team Nights Out and the local office End-of-Year Party, each event has offered a chance to connect with colleagues beyond the day-to-day work.

These experiences have been more than just fun- they’ve helped build strong relationships that make collaboration and teamwork far more effective. Getting to know people on both a personal and professional level creates such a supportive environment where you can really feel confident and thrive even as an intern.

Advice for student following in my footsteps

Just throw yourself into everything and always say yes to everything because even if it may seem daunting to start with, you always end up learning so much. Especially to start with spend as much time as you can in the office to get to know people across the business (outside of your role and your team) as it can really broaden your experience and give you a better perspective of the company overall.