Haworth Inc. designs and manufactures adaptable workspaces, including movable walls, systems furniture, seating, storage, and wood case goods.
Founded in 1948 by G. W. Haworth, Haworth is a privately held, family-owned corporation headquartered in Holland, Michigan, United States.
I am currently working as the Business Development Manager at Haworth at the Dubai Branch.
In this role, I am responsible for:
I assumed the role in January 2020, and currently, I am undergoing training. I also interned with Haworth in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
In the early part of 2018, I concluded my third year at Enderun College and was preparing for my internship during the summer.
I was studying business administration at Enderun.
Prior to my interview with Haworth, I took a class in Enderun, where we were learnt how to create a proper resume, a good LinkedIn profile and how to properly answer interview questions, including a mock interview with our professor.
I was able to schedule an interview with Haworth Philippines, and a week later, I was contacted and told that I passed the interview, making me the first male and foreigner to intern at Haworth Philippines.
When my internship was drawing to a close my boss was impressed with my performance and the Global Accounts Manager, wrote a referral letter to the Hong Kong office, which lead to an internship with Haworth in Hong Kong.
I started my second internship last year, and this was very exciting for me.
Hong Kong was so cool because at this phase of my work I had the privilege to meet clients from big companies like Mercedes, HSBC and even Microsoft.
While my boss was still in Taiwan, she contacted me asking when I will be ready to start full-time work with Haworth. I had not even completed my internship yet, and I was so happy. Due to the political climate in Hong Kong, it was difficult to organise my visa and I accepted a role in Dubai, where the managing director offered me the role of business development manager for Africa.
My story will not be complete without mentioning the critical role Enderun played in my employment. The Office of Career Services was very helpful in my internship application process – they were always in touch with me to know how my application was going and they informed me of the details of the documents I needed to apply for my Hong Kong internship. It was also through the great internship opportunities provided by Enderun, that allowed me to know about Haworth and intern with them in the first place, and for this, I am very grateful.
Enderun is truly a manufacturing plant for leaders. Most of the professors in our classes are industry experts who share their professional insight, instead of theoretical knowledge. This prepared us for the practicalities of the corporate world, and I can say that this was key to my success, in both internships and currently my job.
A characteristic that cannot be overlooked in my field of work is a willingness to learn and adapt to sustainable concepts. Relationships are a key reason for my success. I don’t think I am where I am today because I am the smartest kid, but I do believe that great relationships got me here.
In areas where my intellect couldn’t get me to, my contacts and previous bosses were instrumental in getting me there. So, I think a great thing to note is always treat people well and offer the best service you can with the whole of your heart, and you will be fine.
Lastly and most importantly I believe God gave me favour everywhere I went to. He opened doors for my sake. I encourage people to always have faith and lead a kind life.
I get to travel for free to many countries, I am currently typing this right now on a plane heading to Dubai to receive my starter package from my office, and I will still be returning to Dubai later this month. I get to meet and work with and offer services to people from Fortune 500 Companies. This is a very good exposure for my career and for this I am very grateful.
Another reason I am excited about my job is that it is challenging. Since Africa is a new area of expansion for my company, I have the exciting responsibility of developing the business on the ground. And if you know me, you would know that I love great challenges.
I will be concluding this with advice that Sir Jack shared with the students at one of our events. He stated that Enderun offered a lot of opportunities to help students further themselves in their lives and prepare them for the corporate world. This stuck with me forever, I applied this as a student but I always realized that this is a universal principle, if one observes his/her environment and notices some opportunities, they should always be willing to exploit those opportunities in such a way that it would benefit their lives. You don’t have to be a Titan (an Enderun Student). You just need to be willing and observant.
Life is fun and simple, and if people look at things that way, they would not be discouraged even in hard times.
I would also like to encourage people to be pleasant and make good friends.