Careers
Mat's Story
It quite common for colleagues to start their career with us without having a plan – and that’s what it was like for Mat who joined us as a Customer Advisor in 2013 after having a few unstable jobs and no real direction in what he wanted to do.
Mat tells us how applying to be a Customer Advisor was the best thing he did, as with great support and guidance it allowed him to learn the ropes and progress his career into something he never thought was possible.
If you’re reading this thinking could this be me, of course it can, whether starting as a customer advisor or an apprentice, no matter where you join us at what stage of your career, development and the ability to move around the business is something we embrace.
Read Mat’s story and find out more about being a Customer Advisor.
Hey Mat! Thanks for chatting with us – really looking forward to hearing about your career story. First tell us, a little bit about yourself and where your career began?
Hi everyone, I’m Mat and I live just outside of Shrewsbury. I absolutely love football and going to gigs and festivals to see live music (I dabble in a bit of guitar here and there too!).
I started my career at Severn Trent as a Customer Advisor in July 2013 – feels like such a long time ago now, I guess it is! I’d not long left a role I didn’t enjoy, and I was having a few issues including getting paid regularly, so needed something more reliable!
A little confused about what to do next, I applied to work for Severn Trent – they were and still are one of the biggest employers where I live in Shrewsbury, so that was a big pull in applying and I’d heard good things.
So, you started as a Customer Advisor. Tell us a little bit more…
Starting as Customer Advisor was a wise move for me - it gave me the ability to absorb lots of information! Having no idea how the water sector worked, every day I learnt something new and was building my confidence. I found that no day was the same, and I really enjoyed it. I was also well prepared for the role because of my training and support from my team mates and Team Leader which was so helpful, so this gave me a great foundation to build my career on.
That’s great, sounds like a wonderful role for someone to start their career with us. So, what is it that you do now?
I’m currently a Customer Journey & Strategy Specialist and my role is to make sure the customer has a voice in the room. This means I’m always on the lookout for improvements to our processes to make life easier for our customers, supporting on customer-based projects and occasionally helping pick up the pieces when we do something wrong – so starting as a customer advisor stood me in good stead, as I could relate to our customers issues as I’d heard them firsthand. You learn so much when speaking to our customers, not just about them, but also about what our business does and how it does it – I like to think of it as a master of all trades!
What would you say to anyone thinking of applying to be a customer advisor?
Do it! Not only is the Customer Advisor role massively rewarding because you get to help people all day, but it’s also often the starting place for an exciting career too!
And finally, what would you say is the best thing about working for Severn Trent?
Knowing that my work can make a real difference for our customers every day.
Thanks Mat! It’s been great chatting and great to see how you’ve developed your career with us.