How One VMware Finance Team Landed an Internship Award from Oxford Brookes University

From solving our customers’ toughest business challenges with cutting-edge products to participating in worldwide marketing campaigns, when you intern at VMware you will have the opportunity to do meaningful work that is having a positive impact on the world. Recently, Oxford Brookes University recognised VMware and in particular, Senior Director Northern EMEA Field Finance James Males and his team for just that. Let’s learn more…

VMware Careers: Tell us about yourself, your role, and what your team does at VMware?

James: I’m the Finance Director for Northern Europe, and together with my team of Finance Controllers and Operations Analysts we are responsible for what I call “Driving Controlled Growth”. This may sound very simple for an objective, but in fact, it is an awesome intellectual challenge for a $1bn business spanning +20 countries and impacting 1500 staff.

VMware Careers: You recently hired an intern on your team, please could you share more about the role this person played on your team?

James: The greatest privilege of my career is to recruit a new intern each year, and to see these young adults mature into outstanding professionals. We recently recruited our 8^th consecutive intern and she is already involved in producing business metrics, competitive analysis, team performance indicators, economic assessment as well as daily engagement with staff of all levels from sales professionals right up to our CEO.

VMware Careers: When an intern comes on board, what impact does it have on the overall team?

James: The intern is seen as a peer to all other members of the team from day 1, we invest time in training and upskilling him/her and at the same time give them accountability and responsibility for work and support, as we would with any other team member. The intern is therefore as critical to our success as anyone else on the Finance and Operations team.

VMware Careers: Recently, you won an award for the Best Internship from Oxford Brookes University, please can you explain more about this award?

James: We worked closely with Oxford Brookes throughout the internship, engaging with the outplacement tutor and ensuring that the student’s professional development was aligned to and exceeded the expectations of the University. It was a great example of a partnership between the student, the university, and the employer

VMware Careers: How did you feel when you won the award and what does it mean to you and your team?

James: Well I was not prepared at all to win, and certainly not to give an acceptance speech! There were over 100 employers and students invited to the award ceremony and I felt extremely humbled to win, my team were absolutely thrilled but of course the true prize is in the quiet knowledge that we will all be working for these outstanding young adults one day!

VMware Careers: What advice would you give to students looking to intern at VMware?

James: Our EPIC2 values that we have used to make our company successful, along with a sense of curiosity, humility, creativity, integrity – are qualities that we look for in the intern interview process too. We hire over twenty interns each year at VMware UK, across different functions, an internship at VMware is like joining a family. Just be prepared that you might never want to leave!