Job roles in client relations might include building and managing relationships with clients, helping either external customers or colleagues in the same business solve their technical problems, or translating complex technical information into language that can easily be understood by non-technical people.
These are the ideal types of job role for anyone who is great at communicating, loves meeting new people and solving problems.
I product manage the customer services platform and the team of online service designers who deliver online services to citizens through the one.gov.je website and internally to States of Jersey departments and staff. Our online services allow our customers to do things like apply for benefits, pay contributions, report crimes etc.
I support my team with any questions they have about the services they’re developing. I manage the list of online services that we are currently working on (roadmap), sign off services for go-live and prioritise new requests in conjunction with my team.
Most importantly is a genuine interest in process improvement, building positive relationships with your colleagues and always
considering the end user’s experience when they are using your services. To get to a management level, you also need product management skills, a proven track record of delivering change, business analysis skills and experience in managing a team. I analyse customer feedback to make sure our customers are happy with their online services. I meet with our service owners to ensure they are happy with their current online services and discuss any new online services that would help our customers.
I would recommend getting some business analysis experience. You could then aim to get some form of design experience. If you want to manage a team and a product, consider getting a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) management qualification.
My role is Head of Account Management at Switch Digital. My job is to work closely with clients to understand their goals and objectives, and then coordinate projects across our four teams: web development, digital marketing, creative and content and communications. Previously I worked client side (I spent 9 years in New York/London most recently working at the FT and American Express) which was a great foundation for an account management role because I understand what it’s like to be ‘the client’!
With such a diverse range of clients across many different industries you never know what’s around the corner! Agency life is very fast paced and I constantly need to think from different angles – for example, one client might be trying to raise awareness in the professional services industry, another might be launching a B2C product in a specific market. An average day might include: a monthly reporting meeting at a client’s office, a briefing session for a new website project, overseeing a photoshoot, discussing options with the creative team and a projects meeting at Switch where we talk through the priorities for the week. I love working agency side because you get to work alongside people who are highly skilled in specific areas (such as web development and digital marketing) and the role is overflowing with variety. It’s absolutely impossible to get bored!
Communication skills are probably the most important thing, being able to understand a client’s objectives and priorities, their challenges and where they want to be in 5 years time. Getting under the skin of what the end goal is and most importantly what the ‘why?’ is. This enables us to make recommendations that might be above and beyond the original brief. I also need to be very analytical and data driven – digital marketing is about numbers. What is the ROI, the click-through rate, the YoY uplift, results vs targets, the cost per conversion? Our job is to maximise the client’s budget to get them the best results – it’s an extremely satisfying industry because we can show clients exactly what we have delivered.
I would say try to work out what you genuinely enjoy doing (if you lose track of time whilst you’re doing it, that’s a good sign!) and then overlay that with which some research on which industries and job roles are growing. That way you are placing yourself in a strong position, where your skills and experience will be in demand. And because you enjoy it, you’ll look forward to going to work every day. When you start your first role, focus on attention to detail (I would recommend triple checking that things are correct). It’s really important and once people trust you with small things, they’ll start giving you more and more responsibility. Attitude is also imperative, be positive and enthusiastic about your work, try and make people’s lives easier – if people enjoy working with you, you’re on the right track! Lots of people in Jersey are very willing to meet job seekers and offer advice and mentorship. So I’d also say to buy lots of coffees – invite people for coffee and you’ll have the opportunity to learn from them for 30 minutes – it’s the best ROI you can get!
