Orla O'Brien, Incident Manager, Vodafone

What was your path to working in Vodafone?

I studied Mechanical Engineering in Trinity for four years, and then I began an Erasmus in Germany with a company called Unitech, who are a corporate partner of Vodafone. I began to realise the scale of what Vodafone did, and that it wasn't just mobile phones and data bundles! They do so much more and I got an insight into Vodafone being a technology company. Some friends had done the Vodafone graduate programme in other countries, so the international aspect of the company appealed to me and it was something that I wanted to be a part of.

What does your job involve?

My job involves supporting the business in delivering the best service to customers. As an incident manager, it is my job to make sure problems are resolved. So, ,as part of this role, I am working with different teams within the business, external partners and vendors.

What core skills are needed to work in technology?

The core skills needed to work in technology are a good technical grounding, I had that coming from engineering, so I had that perspective on how to approach problems. Another important skill is the ability to communicate that knowledge in a clear way so people understand the importance of it. Thirdly, its important to have an awareness of what's developing in the business and what's coming down the line, so you know what's happening this week, this month or this quarter. This can help you get a start on whatever projects are coming down the line, and may need to be integrated into our systems.

What's the best thing about your job?

The variety. I don't know what's going to be happening every day, it really is so different. We work at a very fast pace, so I have to react to new situations and work with new people all the time, as part of a team with whom I work very closely. It's really interesting to be a part of that sense of teamwork and community.