Move Faster. Win as One: Connecting as a Team with Connor

#LifeAtATT doesn’t always start with your first day on the job. For some, like Connor, it started at an early age.

“My grandfather worked for AT&T and joined through their executive development program way back in 1961,” he tells us, “Hearing his stories is where my interest in AT&T started. As I was finishing undergrad, I wanted to find a place to call home and start my career. I knew AT&T worked with both consumers and businesses, so I looked into their B2B Sales Development Program and applied. I walked across my university graduation stage and moved to Atlanta the very next day.”

Building a Career

Our B2B Sales Development Program is designed to launch recent graduates into a successful sales career. This program is focused on training the next generation of sales-driven leaders in industry best practices. From day one, Connor was immersed in the company culture and given the tools needed to connect with our business customers. Upon graduating first in his class from the program, Connor was offered a role with our Fiber team as a Fiber Sales Executive in the North Texas HQ Market.

“I spent a year and a half selling fiber solutions to small and mid-size businesses. Then, I was asked to join the leadership team as a Sales Manager. I oversaw more than 12 new account executives during the height of the COVID pandemic, which was certainly an additional challenge.”

Having proved himself as a Sales Manager, Connor was able to take a career leap in joining the Executive Chief of Staff team, supporting Jennifer Van Buskirk and the Mid-Markets business unit. In this new role, he helped develop and implement strategic initiatives. After two years, he presented with the opportunity to take on his greatest career challenge yet, leading some of the Indirect Transformation in support of the Integrated & Partner Solutions organization.

“In this role, I help to ensure we are strategically and thoughtfully transitioning AT&T’s go-to-market strategy from a direct to channel-focused motion.”

It’s not uncommon for employees to move around the company. The exciting and frequent opportunities for growth are one of the key elements of our culture here at AT&T.

“I think it’s really important that the company is always looking for new eyes, fresh perspectives, and keeping its talent challenged.”

Building Relationships

Connection is at the center of everything Connor does. From shaping the strategies that our sellers implement, to connecting with our customers, and connecting with co-workers across business units.

“It’s extremely important to have relationships across different teams so we can Move Faster and Win As One. Collaboration helps not only to accomplish a project, but also to see different perspectives and learn how other business units approach similar problems. We learn from one another.”

Connecting changes everything. This relates to both professional and personal relationships. One of the ways Connor enjoys connecting with other here at AT&T is at our quarterly social employee mixers.

“Connection means understanding someone’s role and what they need to be successful, but it’s also understanding who they are outside of work. Our quarterly mixers are a great way to get to know one another. It’s very motivating to see that our executive leadership attends these events, getting to hear from employees directly and in a social setting. They are out interacting and investing in the team on a professional and a personal level.”

As Connor makes an impact in our Indirect Transformation, his future is bright with his next career challenge on the horizon.

“Our strengths are Fiber and 5G. I am most excited to see the products, services, and solutions we create leveraging this core technology. I believe some of the most groundbreaking moments for AT&T are just ahead.”

If you feel the same as Connor and would like to begin your #LifeAtATT, he left us with this piece of advice…

“Before I applied with AT&T, I learned as much as I could about the company and its culture. I also reached out to AT&T connections from my university through LinkedIn. Like with most things in life, it’s about who you know and who knows you. Get connected.”