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Career Confidential

Pourya Vatankhah

Pourya Vatankhah

Be hungry, be positive, believe in yourself, make plans for the long term and short term, and discuss them with your leader. Set up that career path for yourself because everything is possible.


What’s your title and how long have you been in your current position?

I’m a digital brand consultant in Wiesbaden, Germany, and I’ve been in this job for four years.

What other roles have you held at CSC?

I was a client service partner first, and then moved into the consultant role. I’ve been with the company for six years.

Why did you choose to work for CSC?

In my first interview, I had a very good feeling. It was really positive, and I got a very good impression about the company. I wasn’t very familiar with CSC, or what the company does. But during that first meeting, I quickly got the feeling that the communication lines with senior management are very short. Now that I know what CSC Digital Brand Services does, I know I made the right decision.

What does your typical day look like?

I’ll look at the schedule for the day and see what meetings I have with my clients. I start my day with the daily huddle with the team at 9 a.m. All the team members, business development managers, account managers, and me will talk about what we have planned for the day, what we’ve been doing, and what we hope to complete. Then I’ll go to my email and clean up my inbox, then get in touch with clients, to make sure that they’re supported and advised on how to protect their digital assets.

What does your career growth look like at CSC?

In that first interview, the regional director wanted me to start in sales because of all my sales experience. They needed people in sales for that region. I told them before I can do sales, I’d like to learn more about the products and service offerings. I wanted to understand more about the business and the culture before I moved into a sales role. They later asked me to take a sales role in London, but I wasn’t ready. They approached me a few months later with a sales position in Germany. My circumstances changed and I wanted to try something new, so I said yes.

Later, I was selected for a manager role, not the consultant role that I have now, but then I was later offered the consultant role as well. They knew about my sales experience and wanted me in that position. At the time, I had another offer from my leader for an operational leader job in the region. So I had to make a decision, and I ended up choosing sales.

What makes your team different?

We work very closely together and there are only six of us in the office. We’ve become very good friends outside of work. When I joined the team, I had just moved to Wiesbaden and didn’t really know anyone here. We’d meet after work and go for dinner. We try to include everyone within our team as soon as they come on board. This is a very friendly environment. You get compliments when you do something well. Everyone expresses their positive thoughts and ideas with the team. That makes us a very strong team.

Other than the people, what do you like most about the culture at CSC?

I can just pick up the phone and call Mark Calandra, the vice president of Digital Brand Services, and ask for his help with something. I haven’t done it, but I know he’d pick up the phone. He called me once because I couldn’t travel to the U.S. That’s an uplifting action from a senior manager who’s taking time from his busy schedule to give me a quick call.

I can reach out to my global product director if I’m struggling with a client and ask for help. And he’ll jump on a call with me. This doesn’t happen at other companies. Our senior managers are experts and are always available to support us, should we need it.

What gets you excited to start work in the morning?

It’s the contact that I have every day with my clients. I have a very personal relationship with some of them. We talk about everything. Sometimes my calls aren’t even sales calls, they’re just to touch base and catch up. Let’s be honest, many people were struggling through the pandemic as well. The human interaction I have with my clients is exactly what I needed.

A client will tell me about a gap within their domain security posture or brand protection strategy. And filling that gap and helping them makes me feel great. It can take a long time to close a deal and get a client to sign. All the work that I’ve put into the deal, all the energy, and suddenly, it’s there and I’m closing the deal. I’m creating revenue, earning money, and have a happy customer. Everybody wins.

Is there anything new that you’re learning that’s important to your job?

Next year will be my fifth year in this position. And I’d like to look at certain areas where I can improve myself. I know I’m not perfect. I’ve recently been taking on additional responsibilities to stretch myself in the leadership space.

I’m now focusing on developing my leadership skills. I want to help and motivate someone who might be struggling. I also want to help new team members who are onboarding and help get them to a stage where they can be successful.

What surprises people most when you tell them about your job?

I tell them I’m a sales consultant in a digital industry and they usually ask me to be more specific. I tell them I’m trying to help people with intellectual property, and domains fall under intellectual property, along with mobile apps and websites. I also tell them I help clients protect their organizations against fraud. People are always surprised because my job is so diverse. You have to really start working with the products to gain a full understanding of what we’re doing.

How do the teams in your office work together?

Sometimes I’ll have a client where I’m not entirely sure if they’re satisfied with our services. I can always reach out to the client service partner or the account manager and sit down to discuss the issues. It’s very easy. We’re all busy, but never too busy to help each other.

What would you tell someone who was interested in joining CSC or becoming part of your team?

It’s all about having a positive mindset. Imagine yourself doing great things. This is something that you can do at CSC if you want it. CSC gives everyone the opportunity to be successful in their role because a successful employee makes for a successful employer. Be hungry, be positive, believe in yourself, make plans for the long term and short term, and discuss them with your leader. Set up that career path for yourself because everything is possible.


Have we piqued your interest? Consider joining us.

CSC offers exciting, career-building opportunities that allow our people to drive their career in the direction of their choice. A multi-time Top Workplace, we're a business, legal, and financial services company that provides knowledge-based solutions to clients worldwide. We're also the trusted partner of choice for more than 90% of the Fortune 500®, more than 90% of the 100 Best Global Brands®, and more than 70% of the PEI 300.

From our headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware across offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East, CSC prides itself on a record of growth and stability. We've been privately held and professionally managed for more than 120 years.

We are the business behind business®. With us, you'll provide world-class client service while growing your career.

For more information, visit cscglobal.com/careers.