- Name: Astha Sharma
- Age: 27
- Current location: Copenhagen, Denmark
- Home town: Jaipur, India
- Education: MBA, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Current position: Sales Excellence Manager, Philips
- Organization description: Philips is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, creating everything from light bulbs, to healthcare equipment and headphones. It employs more than 100,000 people across 60 countries.
- Bio: Astha Sharma is the youngest Sales Excellence Manager at Philips worldwide. Growing up in India, she was first exposed to global opportunities as a student volunteer with AIESEC. She moved to Denmark for her MBA, and hasn’t looked back since. She worked as an Inside Sales Specialist for over 3 years at Danish company Xstream before landing at Philips.
- Countries I've worked in: India, Denmark
- Sector / subsectors: Sales, Management, Training, Business
- Areas of expertise: CRM, Stakeholder Management, Sales training, Change Management, Sales Analytics, Coaching, Marketing Automation
- Country: Denmark, India
- Region: Europe, Asia
- Sector: Business
- Degree subject: Business & commerce
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Where do you work, what’s your role, and what does that entail?
Astha tells us about her role as Sales Excellence Manager for the health division at Philips Nordic, which sells everything from MRI machines and CT scanners, to juicers and electric razors.
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So you grew up in India, and now live in Denmark. Can you tell us about how you got to where you are?
Astha talks about going from a city of 3 million in Jaipur, India, to one of only 300,000 in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the importance of updating your LinkedIn in Scandinavia.
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So once you landed your job from LinkedIn, what was your career trajectory like?
From inside sales, to market research, to performance marketing manager, Astha takes us through her climb up the corporate ladder.
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You’re obviously very passionate about your work. Tell us how you actually went about landing your current position at Philips.
Astha talks about being headhunted on LinkedIn for a position at Philips and going through three interviews, including one with the CEO of Philips Nordic.
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What are your best interview tips?
Astha says it’s important to remember that the company needs you too, and they aren’t just doing you a favor.
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What do you think got you the job at Philips? What did you do in your interview that set you apart?
Astha tells us what the CEO of Philips Nordic asked her after her last interview, and what she thinks set her apart from the pack.
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So India and Denmark are very different. Can you talk to us about the challenges, personally, when it came to making that move?
Astha talks about learning that 7:05pm in Denmark, means 7:05pm. Not 7:07pm. Not 7:15pm.
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What about professional challenges or differences?
Astha says the major difference in work culture between India and Denmark is the hierarchy structure and how it works.
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You mentioned you travel between Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands. Do you notice differences between them from a professional context?
Astha breaks down the subtle differences between Swedish, Danish, and Finnish work cultures.
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Are there certain traits or abilities people need to succeed in your line of work?
Astha talks about the importance of being a people person.
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What’s your best advice for someone looking to head down the same path?
Astha talks about the importance of hard skills, like knowing CRM tools and using Salesforce software.
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You mentioned networking. Do you have a specific tips? How do you go about it if you’ve never done it before?
Astha says it’s not necessarily the kind of events you go to, but if you’re going to enough of them. She gives us her best tips for networking, and her experiences.
Tags: networking
