Sevriyandi Sovian: Demystifying Tech
By Seth Robinson
Sevriyandi Sovian has built a career working in Tech. Now, he’s demystifying the job search, and helping recent grads understand the nature and scope of the roles on offer.
Sevriyandi completed his undergraduate studies in the Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), majoring in Accounting and Finance. It was an area he’d been passionate about since high school, but when it was time to think about his next step, he decided to pursue the Master of Management and expand his scope.
‘After finishing my BCom, I started out in the working world, with some time at Apple, which was really my first taste of working in tech, and then a role in Auditing and Assurance at KPMG. I decided from there that I actually wanted to go back to school and do my masters. At the same time, I applied for an Analyst role at a marketing agency, so I went into my degree thinking about how I could build on my quite focused undergrad experience and add that breadth.
I took one class in particular that I remember, Marketing Management, that gave me a really good understanding of the marketing space. The degree was perfect, in that it allowed me to seek out those areas I wanted to learn more about, classes like Advertising, Marketing Technology, Supply Chain Management, Strategy and Change Management,’ he says. ‘I was also managing a full-time work and study, which was great in its own right. I learned a lot about balance, and Kaizen, a methodology they use at Toyota, which is all about working as efficiently as possible.’
After graduating, Sevriyandi continued his career in tech, with roles at Salesforce and now Microsoft, where he is employed as an Enterprise Technical Specialist.
‘At a day to day level, I talk to a lot of different businesses to find out what types of product solutions will work best for them. For example, I might meet with a CTO, COO or CMO to identify a particular problem they’re having at their customer service centre, and we’ll look at what kind of solution we can create for that. What’s been really interesting for me, however, is gaining an insight into the terminology surround the tech industry. Most of the time, tech companies will all have different names for similar roles, or vice-versa, and decoding what those roles are or those position descriptions mean can be quite a challenge.’
With that in mind, Sevriyandi and his co-founders have launched a new initiative, Tech Tribe, a community that hosts seminars and events to help jobseekers understand the ins and outs of finding a role with a technology company.
‘I think all of these companies, Salesforce, Microsoft, Google, etc. are all looking for a diverse team in terms of both background and education. Having a variety of people working within these organisations offers fresh perspectives and opportunities, but if you think about someone coming with a degree in physics or even philosophy and looking at these job listings, the language is really inaccessible. We’ve hosted panel events where panellists come and talk about their role, and what that actually means, and we go inside and demystify what these titles mean. There’s also a networking component, which is really valuable as well. So far, the feedback has been that it’s all been really eye-opening.’
The Master of Management at Melbourne Business School equips students with a strong foundation across business disciplines, along with specialist training in organisational management. Hone your skills in managing innovation and change, motivating and leading people, and how to develop strategies for national and global markets.
For students who are thinking about a career in tech, or entering the job market in general, Sevriyandi thinks there’s one resource in particular that’s worth investing some time in.
‘I don’t think you can overstate the importance of LinkedIn and personal branding. The truth is more often than not it will be the first contact you have with most recruiters, as when you apply for a job the first thing they’ll do is look up you’re LinkedIn profile. But it’s a lot more than an online CV. It’s a great way to connect with members of your professional community, and how you start to get a sense of someone’s personality and professional achievements. It’s also a great way to find potential mentors and learn new skills.’