Graduate Jobs at Cisco

JOB ID:1299668
Program Start Date: March 2021

About Cisco: 

It has never been a better time; to lead, inspire and innovate. Today at Cisco we are building teams that are expanding our technological capabilities in exciting new ways across mobile, cloud, security, IT, collaboration and big data spaces, including software and consulting services. Through the Internet of Everything we transform our customers' businesses worldwide. We are pioneers and have been since the early days of connectivity. We work with customers across all sectors so your revolutionary ideas will impact everything from retail, healthcare, and entertainment, to public and private sectors, and beyond. There are over 3 billion people and 10 billion connected things in the world now, and over 50 billion estimated in the future, your career has exponential possibilities at Cisco. Join us to collaborate with like-minded innovators in a fun and flexible culture that has earned Cisco global recognition as a Great Place to Work.

What you will do:

By joining the Customer Experience Delivery team you will become a trusted advisor to our customers. You will consult with them to build a solid, long-term relationship, providing thought leadership in solving their technology challenges and supporting them in achieving their business outcomes. On a day to day basis, this involves working with them directly to review their technical business requirements in order to propose new technology designs that will meet their current and future needs. This will involve the provision of a range of IT consultancy services and the creation and presentation of project documentation incorporating elements design, implementation and testing in line with Cisco standards.

On an average day this means:

• Building and maintaining relationships with a variety of international customers
• Navigate customers through evolving technology and digital transformation
• Prepare customer's business and technology infrastructure for emerging trends
• Propose and review data center, cloud, network or security designs exceeding business specifications 
• Install, configure, and integrate new solutions or applications of Cisco and Third Party solutions
• Keeping an eye on the ever increasing security requirements and constantly evolving threat landscape
• Manage or optimize existing network or cloud infrastructure with redundancy and risk mitigation in mind
• Solve technology and software problems that cross a broad range of technologies, help reduce risk and increase operational efficiency
• Opportunity for travel and face-to-face customer consulting as required 
• Building a specialization in a specific technology, customer or market segment, based on broad general training

What we can offer you:

Participate and thrive in the Cisco team culture, built on openness and transparency. You will spend the start of your career with Cisco in one of our training hubs (Krakow, Poland) where you will have the opportunity to connect and socialize with a large group of likeminded associates from all over Europe. Through world class training you will have the opportunity to become a leading expert in Software, Cloud, Mobility, Security, Collaboration or Datacenter. You will then move into your permanent role where you will be given real responsibility from day one. You will have the opportunity to combine your degree education with learnings from our advanced training environment to build creative solutions to real business challenges. We want you at the heart of the Cisco transformation to software, services, and solutions. We offer a fantastic work environment while you will receive a competitive salary and generous benefit; including ability to work remotely and lead a balanced lifestyle.

What you will need to succeed:

• You are excited by the fascinating world of Cisco software, security or infrastructure solutions, and you love to see customers succeed. 
• You have minimum a BS/BA from a 3-4 year technical program degree in Engineering, Cyber Security, Computer Sciences, Physics or Mathematics preferred
• You are able to live and work in South Africa with no additional VISA sponsorship from Cisco 
• You are fluent in English
•  A technology enthusiast, enjoying talking about innovation and always keeping up with the latest technology news.
• A strong communicator with the confidence to engage and talk to a wide range of people.
• View team collaboration as instrumental to achieving success.
• Enjoy looking at practical real life challenges and think creatively to solve them.
• Approach situations with an open and curious mind, taking on challenges with an eye for opportunity.

Programme structure (TBC due to Covid):

• First 6 or 12 months (together with all associates from across EMEAR): full-time training, shadowing and job rotation in Krakow (Poland). Cisco will support you with the relocation to Poland and with obtaining a Visa/Work Permit when applicable. If you have no work experience this will act as your transition from university campus to work life.
• After 6 or 12 months: join the local CX team in South Africa, assuming ownership and responsibility of regional CX deliverables and customer success, supported by ongoing mentorship and guidance to accelerate your continuous development. Shape solutions of real world challenges, closely mentored and integrated into our diverse team.

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Why you'll love Cisco
Are you ready to change the World? Do you want to be passionate about your employer and the brand you represent? Everything is converging on the Internet, making networked connections more meaningful than ever before in our lives. Our employees' ground-breaking ideas impact everything imaginable - from entertainment, retail, healthcare, and education, to public and private sectors, smart cities, and everyday devices in our homes. Here, that means you will take creative ideas from the drawing board to dynamic solutions that have real world impact. You'll collaborate with Cisco leaders, partner with expert mentors, and develop incredible relationships with colleagues who share your interest in connecting the unconnected. You'll be part a team that cares about its customers, enjoys having fun, and you'll take part in changing the lives of those in our local communities. Come prepared to be encouraged and inspired!


Who You'll Work With

You’ll be part of our Cisco Sales Associates Program (CSAP), an award-winning and industry recognized early-in-career development program for top university graduates from around the world. You’ll train alongside incredibly talented individuals, like yourself, from different countries and diverse backgrounds. Early on, you’ll make long-lasting friendships and belong to a rich human network that will support you throughout your career.

As a successful Associate Sales Representative (ASR), you’ll learn to discover, build and drive new opportunities with our Cisco partners while collaborating with Cisco engineers to provide technical solutions that drive business outcomes for our customers.

What You’ll Do
Cisco Sales Associates Program offers a global environment that provides a phased approach to training and on-the-job-experience. In the first phase of your experience, we will develop your technical, sales and communication skills and give the opportunity to rotate through a variety of areas. You will learn how to position Cisco’s architectures, solutions and products to our customers.

The program will begin on July 26th, 2021. While challenging, it will push you to become the best version of yourself. We'll encourage you to pursue industry-standard certifications and be assessed and coached through customer simulations and on-the-job activities. We’ll offer you a safe and fun environment to practice what you’ve learnt, all the while providing you with feedback to develop your potential.

Once you complete Phase 1, Phase 2 will advance you to a Virtual Sales Account Manager (VSAM) role as part of the Cisco Global Virtual Sales (GVS) Team. The GVS organization is passionate about driving sales productivity breakthrough and building compelling business value for our partners while nurturing our partner relationships. As a VSAM, you’ll build positive relationships with existing customers, working closely with them to understand their business strategy and uncover new business opportunities whilst achieving their desired business outcomes. You’ll partner with Sales Engineers and together you’ll position the benefits of our Cisco solutions to your customer, using our market-leading collaboration tools.

From there, your career can develop and grow into a variety of sales opportunities at Cisco.

Who You Are

• Technology enthusiast, who enjoys talking about innovation and always keeps up with the latest technology news.
• A strong communicator with the confidence to engage and talk to a wide range of people.
• Willing and able present your ideas in front of an audience.
• View team collaboration as instrumental to achieving success.
• Enjoy looking at practical real-life challenges and thinking creatively to solve them.
• Approach situations with an open and curious mind, taking on challenges with an eye for opportunity.
• Ability to take complex problems and simplify them.

What You Need To Be Eligible

• Preferably hold a degree in Business and Management, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, MIS, Engineering and other related degrees.
• Must have graduated between December 2018 and January 2021.
• Fluent in English
• Must be able to legally live and work in South Africa without visa support or sponsorship (student visas or visas obtained on your own are not applicable for the program))
• Be willing to relocate to South Africa as the country of hire, upon graduating from the program
• Willing to relocate for 12 months to a designated CSAP training hub if required. Visa assistance and relocation package to training hubs will be provided as required.