Our ‘Firsts’ With Veeva
By: Marta Fitó & Albert Sánchez, Associate Consultants
In June 2020, we started in Veevas’ Consultant Development Program (CDP) as Associate Consultants in their Barcelona office. We wanted to share with readers our amazing experience during the first couple of months at Veeva: from onboarding to our first project.
June 15, 2020: This was the start for us — due to the disruption coronavirus caused globally, we started remotely. Not to worry, your typical first-day jitters and excitement were still there.
June 20, 2020: This is when we met six other new Associate Consultants joining the European June class. We kicked it off by connecting over Zoom with managers and other Associate Consultants to get to know one another better.
Veeva has been determined to keep its employees connected. Just within our first week, we had the opportunity to meet other Veevans from all around the world. We met U.S Associate Consultants that were joining the U.S. June class, Senior Consultants, and even global managers. We have to admit, that the whole onboarding process was extremely flawless considering we were joining the company during a global pandemic. This added on to the excitement of joining a new team,
Highlight: During our first month, one of the most exciting parts was being able to go into the office for the first time! We were able to meet everyone in person (especially after starting remotely). It was pretty surreal being able to have coffee, in-person conversations, and even the chance to improve our ping-pong skills. We had the opportunity to get together with the rest of the CDP team members and all the other Veevans based in Barcelona.
The Learning Opportunities
After completing our first week of onboarding, we started a capstone project. This type of project resembles a real project but in a pre-built environment. This allows our Project Manager and another consultant to play the role of the customer. This helped us understand the structure of a project at Veeva, as well as practicing configuration and data migration features. These are important skills to practice since these are the roles that Associate Consultants will likely be in during the beginning of their role.
Having to learn the ins and outs of software like our Veeva CRM was no easy task. However, with the help and support we received from the rest of our colleagues, we became more confident in our abilities to complete the expected tasks in our positions.
Our next step: Then we moved on to internal projects. Within these projects, we had the opportunity to work hand in hand with Senior Consultants, learning from their previous work experience, while being able to help them deliver successful solutions. Internal projects help us strengthen our skills and allow us to get even more familiar with Veeva products.
Finally, after this whole journey, it was time to jump onto our first project with a customer. The question “Will I live up to the expectations?” pondered in our heads. We both remember how nervous we became minutes before our first meeting started. As the call progressed, we realized how prepared we actually were — thanks to the training and support we received from our colleagues. Finishing our first project lead our insecurities and fears to be replaced with excitement: our journey towards becoming well-rounded consultants had begun, and we were now feeling ready for any challenge!
Veeva is a company that embraces its values — doing the right thing, customer success, employee success, and speed on a daily basis. As an Associate Consultant, you can really feel that. We’ve learned so many new things in a relatively short period of time, helping us grow both personally and professionally. Our experiences wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t for the amazing group of people at Veeva. Our team members are always eager to help and support us in so many different ways.
So, after our first month, we could not be more grateful to have joined such an amazing team, and a company that not only is successful but also thrives on the success of its employees.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Veeva.
